Uta Frith
| Professor Uta Frith | |
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| Born | ) 25 May 1941 Rockenhausen |
| Thesis | Pattern detection in normal and autistic children (1968) |
| Doctoral students | Simon Baron-Cohen Tony Attwood |
| Notable awards | Fellow of the Royal Society Fellow of the British Academy Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences |
| Spouse | Chris Frith[1] |
| Website | |
| sites.google.com/site/utafrith twitter.com/utafrith |
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Uta Frith DBE FRS FBA FMedSci (born 25 May 1941) is a developmental psychologist working at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She has pioneered much of the current research in autism[2][3][4][5][6] and dyslexia,[7][8] and has written several books on these issues. Her book Autism: Explaining the Enigma[9][10] provides an introduction to the cognitive neuroscience of autism. She has been influential on the work of Simon Baron-Cohen[11] and Tony Attwood, both of whom worked under her as PhD students.[1]
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Education
Uta Frith was born on 25 May 1941 in Germany. Her birth name was Uta Aurnhammer. She completed her undergraduate degree in History of Art at the Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken but then changed direction to work in Psychology. She trained in clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and went on to complete her Doctor of Philosophy on autism in 1968 on pattern detection in normal and autistic children.[12][13][14][15]
Research
Frith's research[16] initiated the current representation of a theory of mind deficit in autism. Her paper Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind?[11] proposes that people with autism have specific difficulties understanding other people's beliefs and desires. This study was conducted with Alan M. Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen, who was a PhD student with Frith at the time.
She has also suggested that individuals with autism have 'weak central coherence', and are better than typical individuals at processing details but worse at integrating information from many different sources.[17]
Frith has also commented favorably—and with a certain amount of awe—regarding the work of Temple Grandin, PhD on National Public Radio's Independent Minds: Temple Grandin, broadcast on 14 January 2010. Grandin is a well-known autistic who developed the Squeeze or Hug machine to calm autistic persons experiencing high anxiety and panic attacks.
Frith has been described as "the neuroscientist who first recognised autism as a condition of the brain rather than the result of cold parenting."[18]
In popular culture
In December 2012 Frith appeared as a guest on BBC Two's Dara Ó Briain's Science Club.[19] On 1 March 2013 she was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.[20]
Awards
Professor Frith is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge and an Honorary Dame Commander of the British Empire.[21]
References
- ^ a b "BBC iPlayer - The Life Scientific: Uta Frith". Retrieved 2012-06-25.
- ^ Houston, R. A.; Frith, Uta (2000). Autism in history: the case of Hugh Blair of Borgue [c. 1708-1765]. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-22088-7 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Gilles Trehin (2006). Urville. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 1-84310-419-9 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Elisabeth Hill; Frith, Uta (2004). Autism, mind, and brain. Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852924-4 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Frith, Uta (1991). Autism and Asperger syndrome. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38608-X [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Frith, Uta (2008). Autism: A Very Short Introduction: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-920756-9 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Frith, Uta (1983). Cognitive Processes in Spelling. London: Academic Pr. ISBN 0-12-268662-4 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Frith, Uta; Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (2005). The learning brain: lessons for education. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 1-4051-2401-6 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Frith, Uta (2003). Autism: Explaining the Enigma. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Pub. ISBN 0-631-22901-9 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ "Book Reviews: Autism: Explaining the enigma By Uta Frith". British Journal of Developmental Psychology 21 (3): 465–468. 2003. doi:10.1348/026151003322277801.
- ^ a b Baron-Cohen, S.; Leslie, A. M.; Frith, U. (1985). "Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind" ?". Cognition 21 (1): 37–46. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8. PMID 2934210.
- ^ Frith, Uta (1968). Pattern detection in normal and autistic children (PhD thesis). Institute of Psychiatry, London. http://www.theses.com.
- ^ Frith, Uta (1970). "Studies in pattern detection in normal and autistic children. I. Immediate recall of auditory sequences". Journal of Abnormal Psychology 76 (3): 413–420. doi:10.1037/h0020133. PMID 5490707.
- ^ Frith, U. (1970). "Studies in pattern detection in normal and autistic children". Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 10 (1): 120–135. doi:10.1016/0022-0965(70)90049-4. PMID 5459646.
- ^ Bishop, D. V. M. (2008). "Forty years on: Uta Frith's contribution to research on autism and dyslexia, 1966–2006". The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 61 (1): 16–26. doi:10.1080/17470210701508665. PMC 2409181. PMID 18038335.
- ^ List of publications from Microsoft Academic Search
- ^ Happé, F.; Frith, U. (2006). "The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 36 (1): 5–25. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0. PMID 16450045.
- ^ Kate Kellaway (2013). "Uta Frith: 'The brain is not a pudding; it is an engine'". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 April2013.
- ^ "Professor Uta Frith on BBC2 Dara O Briain's Science Club". BBC/. 2012. Unknown parameter
|ulr=ignored (help); - ^ "Professor Uta Frith on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs". bps.org.uk/. 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ^ "Honorary awards". Retrieved 2012-10-21.