Asperger's Syndrome and Autism: Neurocognitive Aspects

Caudate Nucleus Volume and Cognitive Performance: Are They Related in Childhood Psychopathology?

“…Parallel results were observed when only those ASD participants with an ADI-R confirmation of diagnosis were analyzed. The present results are thus generally consistent with previous findings of reduced verbal fluency and mental flexibility in individuals with ASD (e.g., Minshew et al 2002;Ozonoff et al 1991a;Prior and Hoffmann 1990;Szatmari et al 1990). The diagnostic groups did not differ on any of the four measures of attention, with or without stimulant medication included as a covariate.…”

“…Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), such as autism or Asperger's syndrome, frequently show deficits on neuropsychological tests that measure executive function (Hughes et al 1994;Minshew et al 2002;Ozonoff et al 1991b;Prior and Hoffmann 1990;Szatmari et al 1990). In addition, children with ASD frequently evidence attentional difficulties consistent with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Ghaziuddin et al 1998;Schatz et al 2002;Yoshida and Uchiyama 2004).…”

Executive Functioning in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Can We Differentiate Within the Spectrum?

“…Most studies that compared the EF profiles of children with HFA and AS concluded that both groups show relatively equivalent EF profiles. Like children with HFA, many children with AS have problems in planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory (e.g., Klin, Volkmar, Sparrow, Cicchetti, & Rourke, 1995;Manjiviona & Prior, 1999;Ozonoff et al, 1991Ozonoff et al, , 2000Szatmari, Tuff, Finlayson, & Bartolucci, 1990). In contrast, Rinehart, Bradshaw, Moss, Brereton, and Tonge (2001) showed 352 Verte´, Geurts, Roeyers, Oosterlaan, and Sergeant that children with HFA have more problems than children with AS in shifting attention.…”

Neurocognitive stability in Asperger syndrome, ADHD, and reading and writing disorder: a pilot study

“…Different cognitive profiles on the WISC are found for children with AS (Wolf and Barlow 1979, Pomeroy and Friedman 1987, Szatmari et al 1990, Ehlers et al 1997, ADHD (Kaufman 1979), and RDWD (Wechsler 1992). Children with AS tend to score higher for VIQ than PIQ and lower for fluid than crystallized abilities (Szatmari et al 1990, Ehlers et al 1997).…”

“…Children with AS tend to score higher for VIQ than PIQ and lower for fluid than crystallized abilities (Szatmari et al 1990, Ehlers et al 1997). …”