A Predictive Coding Account of Psychotic Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

van Schalkwyk et al. (2017) wrote a theory paper. They asked: can one brain glitch explain both autism and odd beliefs or voices?

They used the idea of predictive coding. That means the brain is always guessing the next moment. If guesses go wrong, surprise spikes.

The team said big surprise could feel like delusions. They also said true voices or visions need a second problem beyond autism.

On paper, wrong guesses alone can breed fixed false beliefs in ASD. No extra illness is needed.

But hearing or seeing things was different. The authors said hallucinations point to a second condition, not pure ASD.

Boxum et al. (2018) tested kids with ASD on a hidden motion game. They predicted just as well as peers. This data punches a hole in the broad prediction-failure claim.

Bao et al. (2017) scanned youth during loud sounds. Weak thalamo-cortical links and strong pulvinar-amygdala ties matched sensory pain scores. Their neural read-out supports the target’s idea that filtering is off.

Ganz et al. (2009) showed autistic kids gain no help from tiny quiet gaps in noise. This small temporal hiccup gives an auditory example of the same guessing problem.

You may see rigid ideas, not voices, in ASD alone. Before chasing psychosis meds, try clarity: slow language, visual cues, and check for sensory pain. If the client reports true hallucinations, refer for full psychiatric work-up; a second condition is likely.