Further Evidence of Intact Working Memory in Autism

Earlier investigations have found mixed evidence of working memory impairment in autism. The present study examined working memory in a high-functioning autistic sample, relative to both a clinical control group diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and a typically developing control group. No group differences were found across three tasks and five dependent measures of working memory. Performance was significantly correlated with both age and IQ. It is concluded that working memory is not one of the executive functions that is seriously impaired in autism. We also suggest that the format of administration of working memory tasks may be important in determining whether or not performance falls in the impaired range.

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