Top

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Gepubliceerd in:

01-04-2009 | Brief Report

Brief Report: Visuospatial Analysis and Self-Rated Autistic-Like Traits

Auteurs: Emma J. Grinter, Pia L. Van Beek, Murray T. Maybery, David R. Badcock

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders | Uitgave 4/2009

Abstract

Although there is good evidence that the behavioral traits of autism extend in lesser form to the general population, there has been limited investigation of whether cognitive features of the disorder also accompany these milder traits. This study investigated whether the superiority in visuospatial analysis established for individuals with autism also extends to individuals in the general population who self-report autistic-like traits. In an initial study, students scoring high on the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ) were faster and more accurate on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) and the Block Design subscale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale III compared to those scoring low on the AQ. A second study showed that high AQ scorers were faster to complete the EFT compared to low AQ scorers irrespective of IQ. Results are discussed with reference to weak central coherence theory and the autism spectrum.

vorige artikel Assessment of Autism in Community Settings: Discrepancies in Classification

volgende artikel Brief Report: The Level and Nature of Autistic Intelligence Revisited

Screening could not be conducted with the full-scale AQ because of time restrictions. Nevertheless, the high and low AQ groups selected for Study 2 based on the short-form AQ were comparable to the corresponding groups selected for Study 1 based on the full-scale AQ, since a 2 (Study: 1 vs. 2) × 2 (AQ group: high vs. low) ANOVA conducted on full-scale AQ scores did not show any significant effects involving Study.

It is unlikely that our results reflect Type I errors since two further studies recently conducted by our research group also show superior EFT performance for high AQ scorers compared to low AQ scores.

Austin, E. J. (2005). Personality correlates of the broader autism phenotype as assessed by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 451–456. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2004.04.022.CrossRef

Bailey, A., Palferman, S., Heavey, L., & Le Couteur, A. (1998). Autism: The phenotype in relatives. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 369–392. doi:10.1023/A:1026048320785.PubMedCrossRef

Baron-Cohen, S. (2000). Is Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism necessarily a disability? Development and Psychopathology, 12, 489–500. doi:10.1017/S0954579400003126.PubMedCrossRef

Baron-Cohen, S., & Hammer, J. (1997). Parents of children with Asperger syndrome: What is the cognitive phenotype? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 9, 548–554. doi:10.1162/jocn.1997.9.4.548.CrossRef

Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Skinner, R., Martin, J., & Clubley, E. (2001). The Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/high-functioning Autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5–17. doi:10.1023/A:1005653411471.PubMedCrossRef

Bishop, D., Maybery, M., Maley, A., Wong, D., Hill, W., & Hallmayer, J. (2004). Using self-report to identify the broad phenotype in parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders: A study using the Autism-spectrum Quotient. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1431–1436. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00325.x.PubMedCrossRef

Bölte, S., & Poustka, F. (2006). The broader cognitive phenotype of autism in parents: How specific is the tendency for local processing and executive dysfunction? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 639–645. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01603.x.PubMedCrossRef

Brian, J. A., & Bryson, S. E. (1996). Disembedding performance and recognition memory in autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 865–872. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01482.x.PubMedCrossRef

Briskman, J., Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2001). Exploring the cognitive phenotype of autism: Weak “central coherence” in parents and siblings of children with autism: II. Real life skills and preferences. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 309–316. doi:10.1017/S0021963001006904.PubMedCrossRef

Constantino, J. N., Hudziak, J. J., & Todd, R. D. (2003). Deficits in reciprocal social behaviour in male twins: Evidence for a genetically independent domain of psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 458–467.PubMed

Constantino, J. N., Lajonchere, C., Lutz, M., Gray, T., Abbacchi, A., McKenna, K., et al. (2006). Autistic social impairment in the siblings of children with pervasive developmental disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 294–296. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.163.2.294.PubMedCrossRef

Constantino, J. N., & Todd, R. D. (2003). Autistic traits in the general population: A twin study. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 524–530. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.5.524.PubMedCrossRef

Edgin, J. O., & Pennington, B. F. (2005). Spatial cognition in autism spectrum disorders: Superior, impaired, or just intact? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 729–745. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0020-y.PubMedCrossRef

Folstein, S., & Rutter, M. (1977). Infantile autism: A genetic study of 21 twin pairs. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 18, 297–321. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1977.tb00443.x.PubMedCrossRef

Frith, U. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd.

Frith, U. (1991). Asperger and his syndrome. In U. Frith (Ed.), Autism and Asperger syndrome (pp. 1–36). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Gray, J. R., Chabris, C. F., & Braver, T. S. (2003). Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence. Nature Neuroscience, 6, 316–322. doi:10.1038/nn1014.PubMedCrossRef

Grinter, E., Maybery, M., Badcock, D. R., Badcock, J. C., & Pellicano, E. (2007, March). An atypical visual profile in autism and the broader autism phenotype. Peer Reviewed Paper Presented at the Biennial Australian Conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders. http://www.autismqld.com.au/resources/downloads.html.

Grinter, E., Maybery, M., Van Beek, P., Pellicano, E., Badcock, J. C., & Badcock, D. R. (2008). Global visual processing in the broader autism phenotype. Manuscript under review.

Happé, F. (1999). Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2.PubMedCrossRef

Happé, F., & Booth, R. D. L. (2007). The power of the positive: Revisiting weak coherence in autism spectrum disorders. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 61, 50–63. doi:10.1080/17470210701508731.

Happé, F., Briskman, J., & Frith, U. (2001). Exploring the cognitive phenotype of autism: Weak “central coherence” in parents and siblings of children with autism: I. Experimental tests. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 299–307. doi:10.1017/S0021963001006916.PubMedCrossRef

Happé, F., & Frith, U. (2006). The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 5–25. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0.PubMedCrossRef

Hill, E. L. (2004). Executive dysfunction in autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8, 26–32. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2003.11.003.PubMedCrossRef

Hughes, C., Leboyer, M., & Bouvard, M. (1997). Executive function in parents of children with autism. Psychological Medicine, 27, 209–220. doi:10.1017/S0033291796004308.PubMedCrossRef

Hurley, R. S. E., Losh, M., Parlier, M., Reznick, J. S., & Piven, J. (2007). The broad autism phenotype questionnaire. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1679–1690. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0299-3.PubMedCrossRef

Jarrold, C., Gilchrist, I. D., & Bender, A. (2005). Embedded figures detection in autism and typical development: Preliminary evidence of a double dissociation in relationships with visual search. Developmental Science, 8, 344–351. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00422.x.PubMedCrossRef

Jolliffe, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1997). Are people with autism and Asperger syndrome faster than normal on the Embedded Figures Test? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 527–534. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01539.x.PubMedCrossRef

Kaland, N., Mortensen, E. L., & Smith, L. (2007). Disembedding performance in children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. Autism, 11, 81–92. doi:10.1177/1362361307070988.PubMedCrossRef

Kunihira, Y., Senju, A., Dairoku, H., Wakabayashi, A., & Hasegawa, T. (2006). ‘Autistic’ traits in non-autistic Japanese populations: Relationships with personality traits and cognitive ability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 553–566. doi:10.1007/s10803-006-0094-1.PubMedCrossRef

Morgan, B., Maybery, M., & Durkin, K. (2003). Weak central coherence, poor joint attention, and low verbal IQ: Independent deficits in early autism. Developmental Psychology, 39, 646–656. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.4.646.PubMedCrossRef

Morton, J. (2004). Understanding developmental disorders: A causal modelling approach. Oxford: Blackwell.CrossRef

Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Souliéres, I., Hubert, B., & Burack, J. A. (2006). Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An update, and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 27–43. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0040-7.PubMedCrossRef

Ozonoff, S., Pennington, B. F., & Rogers, S. J. (1991). Executive function deficits in high-functioning autistic individuals: Relationship to theory of mind. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32, 1081–1105. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1991.tb00351.x.PubMedCrossRef

Pellicano, E., Gibson, L., Maybery, M., Durkin, K., & Badcock, D. R. (2005). Abnormal global processing along the dorsal visual pathway in autism: A possible mechanise for weak visuospatial coherence? Neuropsychologia, 43, 1044–1053. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2004.10.003.PubMedCrossRef

Pellicano, E., Maybery, M., Durkin, K., & Maley, A. (2006). Multiple cognitive capabilities/deficits in children with an autism spectrum disorder: “Weak” central coherence and its relationship to theory of mind and executive control. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 77–98. doi:10.1017/S0954579406060056.PubMedCrossRef

Pickles, A., et al. (2000). Variable expression of the autism broader phenotype: Findings from extended pedigrees. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 491–502. doi:10.1017/S0021963099005557.PubMedCrossRef

Plaisted, K., Saksida, L., Alcántara, J., & Weisblatt, E. (2003). Towards an understanding of the mechanisms of weak central coherence effects: Experiments in visual configural learning and auditory perception. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, 358, 375–386. doi:10.1098/rstb.2002.1211.CrossRef

Rajendran, G., & Mitchell, P. (2007). Cognitive theories of autism. Developmental Review, 27, 224–260. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2007.02.001.CrossRef

Ropar, D., & Mitchell, P. (2001). Susceptibility to illusions and performance on visuospatial tasks in individuals with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 42, 539–549. doi:10.1017/S002196300100717X.PubMedCrossRef

Scott, F., Baron-Cohen, S., Bolton, P., & Brayne, S. (2002). The CAST (Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test): Preliminary development of a UK screen for mainstream primary-school-aged children. Autism, 6, 9–31. doi:10.1177/1362361302006001003.PubMedCrossRef

Shah, A., & Frith, U. (1983). An islet of ability in autistic children: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24, 613–620. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1983.tb00137.x. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119540786/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.

Shah, A., & Frith, U. (1993). Why do autistic individuals show superior performance on the Block Design task? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34, 1351–1364. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1993.tb02095.x. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119292961/abstract.

Szatmari, P., Paterson, A. D., Zwaigenbaum, L., Roberts, W., Brian, J., Liu, X., et al. (2007). Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements. Nature Genetics, 39, 318–328. doi:10.1038/ng1985.CrossRef

Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler adult intelligence scale (3rd ed.). San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.

Witkin, H. A., Oltman, P. K., Raskin, E., & Karp, S. S. (1971). A manual for the Embedded Figures Tests. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Woodbury-Smith, M. R., Robinson, J., Wheelwright, S., & Baron-Cohen, (2005). Screening adults for Asperger’s syndrome using the AQ: A preliminary study of its diagnostic validity in clinical practice. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 331–335. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-3300-7.PubMedCrossRef

Titel: Brief Report: Visuospatial Analysis and Self-Rated Autistic-Like Traits
Auteurs: Emma J. Grinter
Pia L. Van Beek
Murray T. Maybery
David R. Badcock
Publicatiedatum: 01-04-2009
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders / Uitgave 4/2009
Print ISSN: 0162-3257
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-3432
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0658-3

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 4/2009

Katarzyna Chawarska, Ami Klin, and Fred R. Volkmar (eds): Autism Spectrum Disorders in Infants and Toddlers. Guilford Press, New York, 2008, 348 pp. ISBN 978-1-59385-649-6. $42.00 (hardback)

Assessment of Autism in Community Settings: Discrepancies in Classification

Free Recall Learning of Hierarchically Organised Lists by Adults with Asperger’s Syndrome: Additional Evidence for Diminished Relational Processing

Brief Report: The Level and Nature of Autistic Intelligence Revisited

Pragmatic Inferences in High-Functioning Adults with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

Parent-Assisted Social Skills Training to Improve Friendships in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders