The structure of intelligence in children and adults with high functioning autism.

Full Abstract

Confirmatory factor analyses of the commonly used 11 subtests of the Wechsler child and adult intelligence scales were accomplished for 137 children and 117 adults with high functioning autism (HFA) and for comparable age groups from the standardization samples contained in the Wechsler manuals. The objectives were to determine whether the structure of intelligence in HFA groups was similar to that found in the normative samples, and whether a separate "social context" factor would emerge that was unique to HFA. Four-factor models incorporating a Social Context factor provided the best fit in both the autism and normative samples, but the subtest intercorrelations were generally lower in the autism samples. Findings suggest similar organization of cognitive abilities in HFA, but with the possibility of underconnectivity or reduced communication among brain regions in autism.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Goldstein, Gerald (G); Allen, Daniel N (DN); Minshew, Nancy J (NJ); Williams, Diane L (DL); Volkmar, Fred (F); Klin, Ami (A); Schultz, Robert T (RT);

Affiliation: VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206, USA. ggold@nb.net

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: Neuropsychology (Neuropsychology), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-May; vol 22 (issue 3) : pp 301-12

Dates: Created 2008/04/30; Completed 2008/07/11;

PMID: 18444708, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Analysis of Variance
Autistic Disorder - physiopathology; psychology
Child
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female

Female
Humans
Intelligence
Intelligence Tests - statistics & numerical data
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Statistical
Neuropsychological Tests

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.