Executive Function in Preschoolers with Autism: Evidence Consistent with a Secondary Deficit

Yerys, Benjamin E.; Hepburn, Susan; Pennington, Bruce F.; Rogers, Sally J.

doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0250-7

Cited by 106 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Dawson, Meltzoff, Osterling, & Rinaldi, 1998; G. Dawson et al, 2002; Griffith, Pennington, Wehner, & Rogers, 1999; Stahl & Pry, 2002; Yerys, Hepburn, Pennington, & Rogers, 2007); however executive function deficits are reported in childhood (McEvoy, Rogers, & Pennington, 1993; Pellicano, 2010; Yerys, Wolff, Moody, Pennington, & Hepburn, 2012) and persist or increase into adolescence and adulthood in visual spatial working memory (Luna et al, 2007; O’Hearn et al, 2008), response inhibition (Luna et al, 2007; O’Hearn et al, 2008), planning (Pellicano, 2010; Wallace, Silvers, Martin, & Kenworthy, 2009), and set shifting (Ozonoff et al, 2004; Rosenthal et al, 2013), the present study’s preliminary observation of a more complete “catch up” to TDCs is therefore potentially interesting. As discussed above, effortful analogical reasoning may provide a cognitive ability to leverage in teaching new skills to adolescents and young adults with ASD to help them cope with the increasing complexity of their social and academic environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstract Analogical Reasoning in High‐Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

et al. 2014

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Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit a deficit in spontaneously recognizing abstract similarities that are crucial for generalizing learning to new situations. This may contribute to deficits in the development of appropriate schemas for navigating novel situations, including social interactions. Analogical reasoning is the central cognitive mechanism that enables typically developing children to understand abstract similarities between different situations. Intriguingly, studies of high-functioning children with ASD point to a relative cognitive strength in basic, non-abstract forms of analogical reasoning. If this analogical reasoning ability extends to abstract analogical reasoning (i.e., between superficially dissimilar situations) it may provide a bridge between a cognitive capability and core ASD deficits in areas such as generalization and categorization. This study tested whether preserved analogical reasoning abilities in ASD can be extended to abstract analogical reasoning, using photographs of real-world items and situations. Abstractness of the analogies was determined via a quantitative measure of semantic distance derived from latent semantic analysis. Children with ASD performed as well as typically developing children at identifying abstract analogical similarities when explicitly instructed to apply analogical reasoning. Individual differences in abstract analogical reasoning ability predicted individual differences in a measure of social function in the ASD group. Preliminary analyses indicated that children with ASD, but not typically developing children, showed an effect of age on abstract analogical reasoning. These results provide new evidence that children with ASD are capable of identifying abstract similarities through analogical reasoning, pointing to abstract analogical reasoning as a potential lever for improving generalization skills and social function in ASD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstract Analogical Reasoning in High‐Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

et al. 2014

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“…Interestingly, some prior studies on very young, low cognitively functioning preschoolers with ASD (mean age of 33 months and up) showed no deficits on EF measures of inhibition, cognitive shifting, and working memory (Griffith et al 1999;Rutherford and Rogers 2003;Yerys et al 2007); yet, by 6 years of age, the majority of studies concerning EF in ASD reported deficits, in both high and low intellectually functioning samples (Corbett et al 2009;Shu et al 2001;Pellicano 2007;Yerys et al 2009). In the current study of cognitively able preschoolers, we did find significant differences from 36 months onwards, both on planning and cognitive shifting tasks, thus underscoring the need to examine the age when children with ASD actually ''grow into'' an EF deficit (Pellicano 2007).…”

Section: Group Differences and Similarities In Ef And Tom Abilitiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Interestingly, the few existing studies concerning EF in very young preschool-age children with ASD (age 33 months and up), which examined mostly preschoolers with lower intellectual functioning, generally yielded no significant differences between the ASD group and peers with typical development or peers with developmental delay (Griffith et al 1999;Rutherford and Rogers 2003;Yerys et al 2007). One study of older preschoolers with ASD [chronological age (CA) = 64.6 months] who had low cognitive functioning [receptive language mental age (MA) = 30.4 months] found a significant delay on EF tasks (rule learning ability, working memory, and inhibition) in comparison to peers with down syndrome (CA = 65.3; receptive language MA = 27.3 months) and to typical peers (CA = 30.9; receptive language MA = 32.4 months) (Dawson et al 1998).…”

Section: Ef Capabilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theory of Mind and Executive Function in Preschoolers with Typical Development Versus Intellectually Able Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Kimhi

Shoam-Kugelmas

Ben-Artzi

et al. 2014

J Autism Dev Disord

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF), which may be linked because one domain (EF) affects the other (ToM). Group differences (ASD vs. typical development) were examined in both cognitive domains, as well as EF's associations and regressions with ToM. Participants included 29 intellectually able preschoolers with ASD and 30 typical preschoolers, aged 3-6 years. EF tasks included planning and cognitive shifting measures. ToM tasks included predicting and explaining affective and location false-belief tasks. The novelty of this study lies in its in-depth examination of ToM explanation abilities in ASD alongside the role of verbal abilities (VIQ). Significant group differences emerged on most EF and ToM measures, in favor of typically developing children. Overall in the study group, EF-planning skills, EF-cognitive shifting and VIQ significantly contributed to the explained variance of ToM measures. Implications are discussed regarding the social-cognitive deficit in ASD.

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“…Outras investigações também têm sugerido comprometimento destas habilidades nos quadros de transtorno de aprendizagem, especificamente, a dislexia (Beneventi et al, 2010;Reiter et al, 2005;Salgado et al, 2008) e a discalculia (Argollo, 2008;Balbi, 2008;McLean & Hitch, 1999 (Yerys et al, 2007).…”

Section: Algumas Evidências De Alterações Executivas Em Crianças Com unclassified

Alterações das funções executivas em crianças e adolescentes

Dias

Menezes

Seabra

2010

Estud. Interdiscip. Psicol.

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ResumoFunções executivas constituem um conjunto de processos cognitivos que permitem a regulação da cognição e do comportamento, possibilitando o engajamento do indivíduo em ações complexas. Essas habilidades estão comprometidas em uma diversidade de condições clínicas e este artigo teórico teve como objetivo oferecer uma revisão não-sistemática de alguns quadros nos quais estas habilidades apresentam-se prejudicadas, sobretudo em crianças e adolescentes. Verificou-se que condições como transtorno do déficit de atenção e hiperatividade, transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo, síndrome de Tourette, transtornos globais do desenvolvimento, transtornos de aprendizagem como a dislexia e a discalculia, além de alterações cromossômicas, como a síndrome de Down e de Prader-Willi, cursam com algum grau de comprometimento do funcionamento executivo. Este conhecimento tem implicações à prática e à pesquisa psicológica e pode ser útil a profissionais que atuam com crianças e adolescentes com alguma destas condições, contribuindo a um maior conhecimento acerca das funções executivas e suas alterações. Palavras-chave: funcionamento executivo, neuropsicologia, desenvolvimento. EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS DAMAGE IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AbstractExecutive functions are a set of cognitive skills that allows the cognition and the behavior regulation, enabling an individual to take part in complex actions. Those abilities are committed in a diversity of clinical conditions and this theoretical article aimed offer an unsystematic revision of some conditions in which these abilities are injured, especially in children and adolescents. It was verified that conditions as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder, Tourette Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Learning Disabilities, like as Dyslexia and Dyscalulia, beyond cromossomic alterations, as Down's and Prader-Willi Syndromes, follow with some degree of executive functioning compromise. This knowledge has implications to the psychological practice and research, and can be useful to professionals who act with children and adolescents with some of these conditions, contributing to a greater knowledge about executive functions and its damages.

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Executive Function in Preschoolers with Autism: Evidence Consistent with a Secondary Deficit

Cited by 106 publications

References 33 publications

Abstract Analogical Reasoning in High‐Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Analogical Reasoning in High‐Functioning Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Theory of Mind and Executive Function in Preschoolers with Typical Development Versus Intellectually Able Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Alterações das funções executivas em crianças e adolescentes

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