Verbal problem‐solving in autism spectrum disorders: A problem of plan construction?

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) adopt less efficient strategies than typically developing controls (TD) on verbal problem-solving tests such as the Twenty Questions Task. This study examined the hypotheses that this can be explained by differences in (i) planning processes or (ii) selective attention. Twenty-two children with ASD and 21 TD controls matched for age (M(age) = 13:7) and cognitive ability (M(FSIQ) = 96.42) were tested on an adapted version of Twenty Questions and two planning tasks. ASD participants could recognize effective questions as well as TD participants on a forced-choice question discrimination task, but were observed to construct plans that were significantly less efficient. ASD performance was also specifically reduced when items could not be physically removed from the testing array, although this effect could be ameliorated by keeping a written record of participant questions during search. These findings indicate that ASD participants are sensitive to the within-task executive demands of Twenty Questions, but that their inefficiency in strategy relates to planning processes and question selection pretask. The implications for understanding ASD problem-solving skills and their impact on everyday functioning are discussed.

Inner speech: Development, cognitive functions, phenomenology, and neurobiology.

“…However, it is important to recognise that the use of differing cognitive strategies in this group is a mark of variation, not deficiency: the adult participants with ASD in Williams et al’s (2012) study could complete tower tasks apparently without recourse to verbal strategies, so intervention in this case would be inappropriate. Where training with verbal protocols may be more warranted is in situations that demand specific use of verbal strategies: for instance, use of written cues improves problem-solving efficiency on the Twenty Questions task in children with ASD ( Alderson-Day, 2011 ). In the cases of SLI and ADHD, instructional training in private speech at earlier ages may serve to counteract apparent delays in verbal strategy use.…”

Verbal Problem‐Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development

“…First, efficient problem solving relies on executive functions (EFs); that is, the set of skills required to retain and manipulate information “on-line” during goal-directed tasks, such as planning, flexibility, selective attention, inhibition and working memory [Hill, 2004]. Two studies by Alderson-Day and colleagues studied the effects of these factors on TQT performance [Alderson-Day, 2011; Alderson-Day & McGonigle-Chalmers, 2011]. The typical TQT includes an array of pictures that do not change throughout the task, meaning that participants have to remember their questions “on-line” as they play [Mosher & Hornsby, 1966].…”

“…When items cannot be removed, participants not only have to remember questions, but they also have to selectively attend to relevant information in the visual array. To parse out these demands, a second study by Alderson-Day [2011] provided participants with a written reminder of their questions when knocking down items was prohibited. This eliminated the need for additional questions in the ASD group—even though the visual demands of the task had not changed—implying a problem with memory for questions rather than attention.…”

Planning Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder Across the Lifespan: A Meta-analysis and Meta-regression

“…In addition, tasks were not included if they did not assess the cognitive ability of thinking ahead, such as motor planning tasks, or tasks that were not commonly known in the planning literature and of which we, therefore, did not know whether they validly assessed planning. For example, one of the tasks that we did not include was the Question Discrimination and Plan Construction task used in Alderson-Day (2011), as this task was not used in any other ASD planning study and is not widespread in the planning literature.…”