Executive Dysfunction and Its Relation to Language Ability in Verbal School-Age Children With Autism

This study examined executive dysfunction and its relation to language ability in verbal school-age children with autism. Participants were 37 children with autism and 31 nonautistic comparison participants who were matched on age and on verbal and nonverbal IQ but not on language ability, which was...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Developmental neuropsychology 2005-01, Vol.27 (3), p.361-378
Main Authors:	Joseph, Robert M., McGrath, Lauren M., Tager-Flusberg, Helen
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Autism Autistic Disorder - complications Child Children & youth Cognition Disorders - diagnosis Cognition Disorders - epidemiology Cognition Disorders - etiology Female Humans Intelligence Language acquisition Language Disorders - diagnosis Language Disorders - epidemiology Language Disorders - etiology Male Neuropsychological Tests Severity of Illness Index Verbal Behavior Verbal communication
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Summary:	This study examined executive dysfunction and its relation to language ability in verbal school-age children with autism. Participants were 37 children with autism and 31 nonautistic comparison participants who were matched on age and on verbal and nonverbal IQ but not on language ability, which was lower in the autism group. Children with autism exhibited deficits compared to the comparison group across all 3 domains of executive function that were assessed including working memory (Block Span Backward; Isaacs & Vargha-Khadem, 1989), working memory and inhibitory control (NEPSY Knock-Tap; Korkman, Kirk, & Kemp, 1998), and planning (NEPSY Tower; Korkman et al., 1998). Children with autism were less developed than the comparison group in their language skills, but correlational analyses revealed no specific association between language ability and executive performance in the autism group. In contrast, executive performance was positively correlated with language ability in the comparison group. This pattern of findings suggest that executive dysfunction in autism is not directly related to language impairment per se but rather involves an executive failure to use of language for self-regulation.
ISSN:	8756-5641 1532-6942