Matthew Belmonte

British researcher

Matthew Belmonte

Born|

Matthew Belmonte

Nationality| British
Known for| The Com DEALL Trust
Scientific career
Fields| Neuroscience
Institutions| Nottingham Trent University
Website| Official website
Neurodiversity paradigm

Philosophy

* Bodily autonomy
* Disability rights movement
* Independent living movement
* Self-advocacy

Organizations

* Aspies For Freedom
* Autism Network International
* Autistic Self Advocacy Network
* National Autistic Society

Events

* Autism Acceptance Day & Month
* Autism History Month
* Autistic Pride Day
* Autscape
* Disability Day of Mourning
* Neurodiversity Celebration Week
* Weird Pride Day

Issues

* Ableism
* Anti-autism
* All in a Row
* Applied behavior analysis
* Augmentative and alternative communication
* Autism-friendly
* Autism Speaks
* Communication Shutdown
* Community integration
* Controversies in autism
* Deinstitutionalisation
* Disability-selective abortion
* Double empathy problem
* Ethical challenges to autism treatment
* Eugenics
* Facilitated communication
* Filicide
* Inclusion in education
* Inclusion as a right
* Judge Rotenberg Center
* Neurodiversity and labor rights
* Ole Ivar Lovaas
* Social model of disability
* Societal and cultural aspects of autism
* Universal Design for Learning

People

* Alex Plank
* Ari Ne'eman
* Damian Milton
* Daniel Lightwing
* Devon Price
* Donna Williams
* govy
* Greta Thunberg
* Jim Sinclair
* John Elder Robison
* Josef Schovanec
* Judy Singer
* Julia Bascom
* Lydia Brown
* Mel Baggs
* Michelle Dawson
* Morénike Giwa Onaiwu
* Morton Ann Gernsbacher
* Nick Walker
* Robert Chapman
* Roy Richard Grinker
* Shain Neumeier
* Stephen Shore
* Steve Silberman
* Temple Grandin
* William Davenport

Films

* Citizen Autistic
* Deej
* Loving Lampposts
* Neurotypical

Criticism

* Pro-cure perspective
* National Council on Severe Autism
* Matthew Belmonte
* Manuel Casanova
* Jill Escher
* Michael Fitzpatrick
* Bruce Hall
* David Miedzianik
* Jonathan Mitchell
* Alysson Muotri
* Jonathan Shestack
* Alison Singer

* v
* t
* e

Matthew Belmonte is a reader in psychology at Nottingham Trent University who researches the behavior and neurophysiology of autistic individuals.[1] He has studied the behavioral aspects of autism by providing subjects with videogames that measure several perceptual properties.[2] Belmonte has received a $700,000 National Science Foundation grant to study this aspect, and uses MRI and EEG technology to measure brain activity of autistic and non-autistic individuals. He has an older brother with autism, and both have a fascination with order and regularity.[3] In his essay 'Life Without Order: Literature, Psychology, and Autism', Belmonte stated that he was inspired to pursue a career in science because of his need for a single right answer.[4]

Belmonte stated that repetitive behaviors of autistic people are usually associated with nonsocial phenomena as a protection against chaos, claiming that weakened neural connectivity interferes with narrative linkage.[5] Specifically, weakened connections are in the areas of perception, attention, and memory.[6][7] He has claimed that being a scientist and being autistic are both "compulsions to order", but the thought processes of a scientist are more abstract than thought processes of an autistic.[8] He has written that the autistic mind is more at ease with an orderly environment, where the expectations are known in advance.[9]

Dr. James T. Todd, a professor of psychology, has criticized Belmonte for believing that Tito Mukhopadhyay, a non-verbal autistic individual, can independently write as Belmonte did not explain why the lack of someone touching Tito while writing guarantees authorship, and that simply using a keyboard at a basic level is not difficult.[10]

Belmonte has criticized the neurodiversity movement; Alissa Quart mentions his concerns when she summarizes the view of many parents that the neurodiversity movement is a "dangerous distraction" that could interfere with parents' search for help.[11]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Matthew Belmonte Nottingham Trent University". www.ntu.ac.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
2. ^ Gold, Lauren. "Belmonte uses video games to explore facets of autism | Cornell Chronicle". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
3. ^ Kernis, Jay. "Intriguing people for January 29, 2010 - CNN.com". CNN. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
4. ^ Jacobs, Barbara (2003). Loving Mr. Spock : understanding an aloof lover. Arlington, Tex.: Future Horizons. ISBN 9781932565201.
5. ^ Quayson, Ato (2007). Aesthetic nervousness disability and the crisis of representation. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 156\. ISBN 978-0231511179.
6. ^ Wexler, Alice (29 January 2016). Autism in a Decentered World. Psychology Press. p. 37\. ISBN 9781317594338. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
7. ^ Osteen, Mark (26 April 2010). Autism and Representation. Routledge. ISBN 9781135911485. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
8. ^ Cowen, Tyler (2010). The age of the infovore succeeding in the information economy. New York: Plume. ISBN 978-1101432990. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
9. ^ Cumberland, Debra; Mills, Bruce (2010). Siblings and Autism Stories Spanning Generations and Cultures. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 9780857002952. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
10. ^ Todd, James T. (2015). Controversial Therapies for Autism and Intellectual Disabilities: Fad, Fashion, and Science in Professional Practice. Routledge. p. 375\. ISBN 9781317623830. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
11. ^ Quart, Alissa (2013). Republic of outsiders the power of amateurs, dreamers, and rebels. New York: New Press, The. ISBN 978-1595588944. Retrieved 19 October 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* University profile
* Laboratory website
* Personal website

Scholia has a profile for Matthew Belmonte (Q27663256).

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

Academics|

* ORCID
* ResearcherID
* Scopus
* Publons

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