The Embedded Figures Test (EFT) is an experimental task on which autistic people show consistently superior performance in accuracy and/or speed compared to typical people, indicating differences in perception and cognition between the autistic and typical brains. (1, 2)
On the EFT, the subject detects a small picture embedded within a big picture, such as a triangle within a baby carriage, as quickly and accurately as possible.
Here is my version of the task, EFT the EFT:
On EFT the EFT, *E* is obvious, and *F* kinda sorta, and *t* too, as long as you don’t take the instructions literally (or is that pictorially?) to look for *T* instead of *t*.
In other words, you’ve gotta read between the lines, literally, pictorially, and figuratively, to EFT the EFT!
References
1. Shah, A. & Frith, U. (1983). An islet of ability in autistic children: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24, 613-620.
2. Joliffe, T. & Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Are people with autism and Asperger Syndrome faster than normal on the Embedded Figures Test? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 527-534.
