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Journal of Education & Social Sciences - Volume 6, Issue 1 2018
By Aftab Khan, Michel Ferrari
10.20547/jess0611806101
Keywords: Wisdom, autism, well-being, personal narratives.
This cross-cultural study investigates wisdom in people with high functioning autism (HFA). The diagnostic characteristics of autism are universal, as manifest in particular outward behaviours (DSM-4). One of the aims of this study is to explore how wisdom is understood in people with HFA. In a mixed methods study, interview questions asked participants how they understand wisdom; self-report measures of well-being (Life Satisfaction Scale) and wisdom (the 3D Wisdom Scale and the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory) were also administered. Forty-six males participated from Karachi, Pakistan, and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada; the half diagnosed with high functioning autism were matched with nonautistics of equivalent age. Results showed that mean scores on the 3-D Wisdom Scale differed significantly between the HFA and nonautistic groups, but were equivalent for the two HFA groups. There were no differences between the two HFA groups on the scales of well-being. All groups were equally satisfied with their lives. Understanding of wisdom centered on the theme of cognition for both HFA groups. Both HFA groups considered family members to be the wisest among their acquaintances. However, the Pakistani HFA group mainly nominated religious figures as the wisest in history, whereas the Canadian HFA group primarily nominated scientists.