Pre-conceptual aspects of self-awareness in autism spectrum disorder: the case of action-monitoring.

Saldaña et al. (2009) watched autistic adults and IQ-matched peers do a simple computer task.

Each person pressed keys that moved a square on the screen. The square sometimes moved on its own.

The job was to notice right away when the square did not match the key press. This is called action-monitoring.

The autistic group spotted mismatches just as fast and as often as the control group.

They also showed the same self-reference boost: actions they made were easier to recall later.

In short, when IQ was even, action-monitoring and self-memory worked normally in autism.

Grainger et al. (2014) ran almost the same online task and got the same null result, a clean replication.

McGarty et al. (2018) found the same intact self-bias in perception, backing the core claim.

Smith et al. (2008) looks like a clash: they saw autistic adults treat self and other knowledge the same. The gap is about task type. David checked fast motor monitoring; Nicole asked deeper “who knows what” questions. Both can be true.

Do not assume a client cannot notice their own errors or link events to themselves. These basic self-monitoring tools are intact in most autistic learners. Use them. Let the learner check their own work, track their own data, or narrate their own video. These built-in skills can drive self-management programs without extra training.