Journal Article

Executive Functions and Symptom Severity in an Italian Sample of Intellectually Able Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Napoli Eleonora, Casula, Laura, Vicari Stefano, Stievano Paolo, Trimarco, Barbara, Scalisi, Teresa Gloria, Valeri Giovanni

2020

Overview

A novel battery (BAFE; Valeri et al. 2015) was used in order to assess three executive function (EF) abilities (working memory, inhibition and shifting) in a sample of 27 intellectually able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with 27 typically developing children matched on age and nonverbal IQ. Differences in EF skills were analyzed in participants with distinct ASD symptom severity. Children with ASD performed worse than typical controls on both set-shifting and inhibition, but not on visuo-spatial working memory. Additionally, children with more severe ASD symptoms showed a worse performance on inhibition than children with milder symptoms. These results confirm the presence of EF deficits and highlight a link between ASD symptoms and EF impairments in preschool age.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Age differences / Autism / Autism Spectrum Disorders / Autistic children / Children / Cognition / Cognitive Measurement / Communication (Thought Transfer) / Developmental Delays / Developmental Psychology / Executive function / Factor Structure / Individualized Instruction / Inhibition / Intelligence Quotient / Intelligence tests / Interpersonal Relationship / Memory / Mental Age / Meta Analysis / Preschool children / Rating Scales / Severity / Short term memory / Social Problems / Spatial memory / Symptoms / Symptoms (Individual Disorders)