The ability to categorize is fundamental to cognitive development. Some categories emerge effortlessly and rapidly while others can take years of experience to acquire. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often able to name and sort objects, suggesting that their categorization abilities are largely intact. However, recent experimental work shows that the categories formed by individuals with ASD may diverge substantially from those that most people learn. This review considers how atypical perceptual category learning can affect cognitive development in children with ASD and how atypical categorization may contribute to many of the socially problematic symptoms associated with this disorder. Theoretical approaches to understanding perceptual processing and category learning at both the behavioral and neural levels are assessed in relation to known alterations in perceptual category learning associated with ASD. Mismatches between the ways in which children learn to organize perceived events relative to their peers and adults can accumulate over time, leading to difficulties in communication, social interactions, academic performance, and behavioral flexibility.

分类能力是认知发展的基础。有些类别毫不费力且迅速出现，而另一些类别则需要多年的经验才能获得。患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的儿童通常能够对物体进行命名和分类，这表明他们的分类能力基本上完好无损。然而，最近的实验工作表明，自闭症谱系障碍患者形成的类别可能与大多数人所了解的类别有很大不同。这篇综述探讨了非典型知觉类别学习如何影响自闭症谱系障碍儿童的认知发展，以及非典型分类如何导致与这种疾病相关的许多社会问题症状。在行为和神经层面理解知觉处理和类别学习的理论方法是根据与 ASD 相关的知觉类别学习的已知变化进行评估的。随着时间的推移，儿童学习组织感知事件的方式与同龄人和成人之间的不匹配会随着时间的推移而积累，导致沟通、社交互动、学业表现和行为灵活性方面的困难。