Executive Functions in Asperger's Syndrome: An Empirical Investigation of Verbal and Nonverbal Skills

Autor/inn/en	McCrimmon, Adam W.; Schwean, Vicki L.; Saklofske, Donald H.; Montgomery, Janine M.; Brady, Danielle I.
Titel	Executive Functions in Asperger's Syndrome: An Empirical Investigation of Verbal and Nonverbal Skills
Quelle	In: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6 (2012) 1, S.224-233 (10 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1750-9467
DOI	10.1016/j.rasd.2011.05.003
Schlagwörter	Autism; Asperger Syndrome; Multivariate Analysis; Literature Reviews; Nonverbal Communication; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Adolescents; Clinical Diagnosis; Comparative Analysis; Symptoms (Individual Disorders) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Autismus; Asperger-Syndrom; Multivariate Analyse; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Psychiatrische Symptomatik
Abstract	Deficits in executive functioning (EF) have been proposed to underlie the behavioural patterns of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. Researchers have shown that the Asperger's syndrome (AS) population performs more poorly than typically developing controls on many EF tasks. However, the research literature is inconsistent in identifying the specific features or aspects of EF that are affected in this population. This study investigated EF in AS using a bottom-up empirical method. Four visually mediated and three verbally mediated EF tasks from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System were administered to 33 adolescents with AS and 33 age- and gender-matched controls. Two-step cluster analysis was then used to derive subgroups. Diagnostic composition of these subgroups (AS versus control) was examined to provide empirical evidence of a performance bias towards verbal EF for the AS group. A two cluster solution best fits the data with 73% of the AS participants being classified into one cluster and 64% of the control participants classified into another. Assignment into cluster A was based primarily upon low performance on the four visual EF tasks whereas assignment into cluster B was based primarily upon good performance on the four visual EF tasks and one verbal EF task. (Contains 4 tables.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Elsevier. 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL 32887-4800. Tel: 877-839-7126; Tel: 407-345-4020; Fax: 407-363-1354; e-mail: usjcs@elsevier.com; Web site: http://www.elsevier.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10