Are Executive Control Functions Related to Autism Symptoms in High-Functioning Children?

Background: Linking autism symptoms to cognitive abilities can expand phenotypic descriptions and facilitate investigations into the etiology and treatment of this multiplex disorder. Executive dysfunction is one of several potential cognitive phenotypes in autism. Method: Archival clinical data on 89 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and administered a large neuropsychological battery were evaluated for relationships between executive functioning and autism symptoms. Results: Significant relationships between both laboratory tasks and behavior rating scales of executive functions and autism symptoms were identified. Multiple regression analyses revealed that measures of semantic fluency, divided auditory attention, and behavioral regulation were significantly correlated with autism symptoms, even after accounting for the variance from correlated “nuisance variables,” such as vocabulary and age. Conclusions: Executive dysfunction is related to all three clusters of behavioral symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

[1]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[2]  Deborah P. Waber,et al.  Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment , 2020, Definitions.

[3]  G. Wallace,et al.  Understanding Executive Control in Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Lab and in the Real World , 2008, Neuropsychology Review.

[4]  John O. Willis,et al.  NEPSY: A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment , 2008 .

[5]  Ron Dumont,et al.  Delis‐Kaplan Executive Function System , 2008 .

[6]  W. McMahon,et al.  The relationship between executive functioning, central coherence, and repetitive behaviors in the high-functioning autism spectrum , 2007, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[7]  B. Pennington,et al.  Executive Function in Preschoolers with Autism: Evidence Consistent with a Secondary Deficit , 2007, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[8]  Elizabeth Pellicano,et al.  Links between theory of mind and executive function in young children with autism: clues to developmental primacy. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[9]  P. Mundy,et al.  The Modifier Model of Autism and Social Development in Higher Functioning Children. , 2007, Research and practice for persons with severe disabilities : the journal of TASH.

[10]  D. Waber,et al.  Executive Capacities from a Developmental Perspective. , 2007 .

[11]  L. Meltzer,et al.  Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice. , 2007 .

[12]  R. Müller.  The study of autism as a distributed disorder. , 2007, Mental retardation and developmental disabilities research reviews.

[13]  E. Hill,et al.  Executive processes in Asperger syndrome: Patterns of performance in a multiple case series , 2006, Neuropsychologia.

[14]  R. Dean,et al.  TEST REVIEW: Dean C. Delis, Edith Kaplan & Joel H. Kramer, Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), The Psychological Corporation, San Antonio, TX, 2001. $415.00 (complete kit) , 2006 .

[15]  Geraldine Dawson,et al.  Head circumference and height in autism: A study by the collaborative program of excellence in autism , 2006, American journal of medical genetics. Part A.

[16]  F. Happé,et al.  Time to give up on a single explanation for autism , 2006, Nature Neuroscience.

[17]  C. Corsello,et al.  Combining information from multiple sources in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders. , 2006, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[18]  Ulrich Mueller,et al.  Executive function and the promotion of social–emotional competence , 2006 .

[19]  A. Owen,et al.  Planning and problem solving: From neuropsychology to functional neuroimaging , 2006, Journal of Physiology-Paris.

[20]  J. Beitchman.  Development of Psychopathology: Nature and Nurture. , 2006 .

[21]  A. Payton.  Investigating cognitive genetics and its implications for the treatment of cognitive deficit , 2006, Genes, brain, and behavior.

[22]  U. Frith,et al.  The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders , 2006, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[23]  G. Wallace,et al.  Disorganization: The Forgotten Executive Dysfunction in High-Functioning Autism (HFA) Spectrum Disorders , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[24]  Francesca Happé,et al.  A Training Study of Theory of Mind and Executive Function in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders , 2005, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[25]  Sally Ozonoff,et al.  Examining the Relationship between Executive Functions and Restricted, Repetitive Symptoms of Autistic Disorder , 2005, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[26]  Natacha Akshoomoff,et al.  Executive Functions in Autism and Asperger's Disorder: Flexibility, Fluency, and Inhibition , 2005, Developmental neuropsychology.

[27]  H. Geurts,et al.  Executive functioning in children with autism and Tourette syndrome , 2005, Development and Psychopathology.

[28]  D. Bishop,et al.  Executive functions in children with communication impairments, in relation to autistic symptomatology , 2005, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[29]  E. Hill.  Evaluating the theory of executive dysfunction in autism , 2004 .

[30]  Herbert Roeyers,et al.  How specific are executive functioning deficits in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism? , 2004, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[31]  G. Dawson,et al.  Performance on Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery Subtests Sensitive to Frontal Lobe Function in People with Autistic Disorder: Evidence from the Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism Network , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[32]  Helen Tager-Flusberg,et al.  The relationship of theory of mind and executive functions to symptom type and severity in children with autism , 2004, Development and Psychopathology.

[33]  P. Tremblay,et al.  Practice Effect and Test-Retest Reliability of Attentional and Executive Tests in Middle-Aged to Elderly Subjects , 2004, The Clinical neuropsychologist.

[34]  I. Gottesman,et al.  The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: etymology and strategic intentions. , 2003, The American journal of psychiatry.

[35]  F. Volkmar,et al.  The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: lessons from autism. , 2003, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[36]  L. Kenworthy,et al.  Adaptive Skills and Executive Function in Autism Spectrum Disorders , 2002, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[37]  G. Gioia,et al.  Profiles of Everyday Executive Function in Acquired and Developmental Disorders , 2002, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[38]  Jaap Oosterlaan,et al.  How specific is a deficit of executive functioning for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder? , 2002, Behavioural Brain Research.

[39]  G. Dawson,et al.  Neurocognitive function and joint attention ability in young children with autism spectrum disorder versus developmental delay. , 2002, Child development.

[40]  U. Frith.  Mind Blindness and the Brain in Autism , 2001, Neuron.

[41]  Diane Vizine-Goetz,et al.  Spectrum , 2001 .

[42]  S. Folstein,et al.  Genetics of austim: complex aetiology for a heterogeneous disorder , 2001, Nature Reviews Genetics.

[43]  I. Baron.  Test of Everyday Attention for Children; The Thames Valley Test Company, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, UK , 2001 .

[44]  D. Skuse,et al.  Individual differences in cognitive planning on the Tower of Hanoi task: neuropsychological maturity or measurement error? , 2001, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[45]  H. Tager-Flusberg,et al.  An investigation of language impairment in autism: Implications for genetic subgroups , 2001, Language and cognitive processes.

[46]  I. Rapin,et al.  Executive functioning in high-functioning children with autism. , 2001, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[47]  I. Baron,et al.  Test of Everyday Attention for Children; The Thames Valley Test Company, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, UK , 2001, Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence.

[48]  C. Woolger,et al.  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (wisc-iii) , 2001 .

[49]  G. Gioia,et al.  TEST REVIEW Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function , 2000 .

[50]  M. Leboyer,et al.  Towards a cognitive phenotype for autism: increased prevalence of executive dysfunction and superior spatial span amongst siblings of children with autism. , 1999, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[51]  B. Pennington,et al.  Executive functions in young children with autism. , 1999, Child development.

[52]  P. Burgess,et al.  The ecological validity of tests of executive function , 1998, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

[53]  A. Meltzoff,et al.  Neuropsychological correlates of early symptoms of autism. , 1998, Child development.

[54]  M. Turner,et al.  Towards an executive dysfunction account of repetitive behaviour in autism. , 1997 .

[55]  J. Russell.  Autism as an executive disorder , 1997 .

[56]  D. Povinelli,et al.  Mindblindness. An Essay on Autism and Theory of Mind Simon Baron-Cohen 1995 , 1996, Trends in Neurosciences.

[57]  B. Pennington,et al.  Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. , 1996, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[58]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[59]  J. Russell,et al.  Evidence for executive dysfunction in autism , 1994, Neuropsychologia.

[60]  B. Pennington,et al.  Executive function deficits in high-functioning autistic individuals: relationship to theory of mind. , 1991, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[61]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism diagnostic interview: A standardized investigator-based instrument , 1989, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[62]  J. Rumsey,et al.  Neuropsychological findings in high-functioning men with infantile autism, residual state. , 1988, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology.

[63]  A. B. Hollingshead.  Four Factor Index of Social Status [1975] , 1975 .

[64]  A. B. Hollingshead,et al.  Four factor index of social status , 1975 .