My third research strand is carried out in collaboration with Professor Evelyne Thommen at the Université de Franche-Comté, and centres on the understanding of physical and social causality in individuals with autism. Using stimuli derived from the work of Michotte, we have shown that children with autism are able to differentiate 'launching' from 'reaction' sequences.  Launching sequences occur when one object hits another and the second object moves away.  Reaction sequences occur when the second object begins to move away before the first object can contact it.  Launching effects are typical of inanimate, physical systems whereas reaction effects are typical of animate, living systems.  We have developed this work using a complex sequence of animations developed by Heider and Simmel.