Enhanced olfactory sensitivity in autism spectrum conditions.

Background: People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) report heightened olfaction. Previous sensory experiments in people with ASC have reported hypersensitivity across visual, tactile, and auditory domains, but not olfaction. The aims of the present study were to investigate olfactory sensitivity in ASC, and to test the association of sensitivity to autistic traits.

Anti-stigma training for medical students: the Education Not Discrimination project.

Background: Education Not Discrimination (END) is the component of the Time to Change programme intended to reduce mental health stigma among professionals and professional trainees.

Aims: To investigate the impact of the END anti-stigma programme on medical students immediately and after 6 months with regard to knowledge, attitudes, behaviour and empathy.

Method: A total of 1452 medical students participated in the study (intervention group n = 1066, control group n = 386).

Newspaper coverage of mental illness in England 2008-2011.

Background: Better newspaper coverage of mental health-related issues is a target for the Time to Change (TTC) anti-stigma programme in England, whose population impact may be influenced by how far concurrent media coverage perpetuates stigma and discrimination.

Aims: To compare English newspaper coverage of mental health-related topics each year of the TTC social marketing campaign (2009-2011) with baseline coverage in 2008.

Method: Content analysis was performed on articles in 27 local and national newspapers on two randomly chosen days each month.

Development and psychometric properties of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule.

Objective: Stigma has been conceptualized as comprised of 3 constructs: knowledge (ignorance), attitudes (prejudice), and behaviour (discrimination). We are not aware of a psychometrically tested instrument to assess knowledge about mental health problems among the general public. Our paper presents the results of the development stage and the psychometric properties of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), an instrument to assess stigma-related mental health knowledge among the general public.

Eagle-eyed visual acuity: an experimental investigation of enhanced perception in autism.

Background: Anecdotal accounts of sensory hypersensitivity in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have been noted since the first reports of the condition. Over time, empirical evidence has supported the notion that those with ASC have superior visual abilities compared with control subjects. However, it remains unclear whether these abilities are specifically the result of differences in sensory thresholds (low-level processing), rather than higher-level cognitive processes.