Uta Frith FRS FBA (born May 25, 1941) is a leading developmental psychologist working at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She has pioneered much of the current research in autism and dyslexia, and has written several books on these issues. Her book 'Autism: Explaining the Enigma' provides an introduction to the cognitive neuroscience of autism. She has been influential on the work of Simon Baron-Cohen and Tony Attwood, both of whom worked under her as PhD students.
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Uta Frith was born on 25 May 1941 in Germany. Her birth name was Uta Aurnhammer. She completed her undergraduate degree in History of Art at the Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken but then changed direction to work in Psychology. She trained in clinical psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London and went on to complete her Ph.D. on autism in 1968.[1]
Frith's work initiated the current representation of a theory of mind deficit in autism. Her paper Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'? proposes that people with autism have specific difficulties understanding other people's beliefs and desires. This study was conducted with Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen who was a PhD student with Frith at the time.
She has also suggested that individuals with autism have 'weak central coherence', and are better than typical individuals at processing details but worse at integrating information from many different sources.[2]
Frith has also commented favorably—and with a certain amount of awe—regarding the work of Temple Grandin, PhD on National Public Radio's Independent Minds: Temple Grandin, broadcast January 14, 2010. Grandin is a well-known austistic who developed the Squeeze or Hug Machine to calm autistic persons experiencing high anxiety and panic attacks.
Professor Frith is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge.
Her husband Chris Frith is also a leading neuroscientist.
Dr. Frith's published works include: