The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability .
The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high-level time perception studies .
It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment .
Overall , there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals , but some studies do not find such differences .
Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks .
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition ( ASC ) .
Studies and personal accounts from clinicians , parents , caregivers , and self-reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time .
Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals , there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism .
Double standards: Memory loading in temporal reference memory
Three experiments compared human performance on temporal generalization  tasks with either one or two different , and distinct , st and ard duration s encoded . In the first two experiments participants received presentations of two different st and ards at the beginning of each trial block and were instructed to encode either one or both of them . When instructed to encode one st and ard they then had to judge whether each of a number of comparison stimuli was or was not that st and ard . When instructed to encode both they were then tested using just one of the st and ards but the participants were unaware , at the time of encoding , which st and ard would later be used as a reference . No marked effect of the number of temporal st and ards encoded was found . In Experiment 3 participants received either one or two temporal st and ards and had to use both when two were presented . This manipulation produced flatter generalization gradients when two st and ards were encoded than when just one was , and modelling attributed this difference mainly to an increase in reference memory variability in the double-st and ard case . This suggests that the variability of representation of duration s in temporal reference memory can be systematic ally increased by increasing temporal reference memory load
The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability .
The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high-level time perception studies .
It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment .
Overall , there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals , but some studies do not find such differences .
Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks .
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition ( ASC ) .
Studies and personal accounts from clinicians , parents , caregivers , and self-reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time .
Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals , there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism .