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Managing Complexity: Impact of Organization and Processing Style on Nonverbal Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

The contributions of cognitive style and organization to processing and recalling a complex novel stimulus were examined by comparing the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF) test performance of children, adolescents, and adults with ASD to clinical controls (CC) and non-impaired controls (NC) using the Developmental Scoring System. The ROCF task involves a complex structure with strong organizational or integrative processing demands. The individuals with ASD relied on a predominantly part-oriented strategy to cope with the complexity of the task and did not make the typical developmental shift to a configurational approach. Both processing style and organization (whether pieces of information were perceived as connected to one another in a meaningful way) contributed to structural recall in the ASD group.

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Acknowledgments

IN was supported by a postdoctoral grant from Leiden University, Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, where she was appointed in the initial phase of the study. This research was supported by funding from NICHD (Neurobiology and Genetics of Autism and Related Disorders, U19HD35482) and NINDS (Family Genetic Study of Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Related Disorders, NS16648, and Genetics of Childhood Psychopathology, MH000508). We gratefully acknowledge the support of all the participants who took part in this study and the research assistants who helped to score the ROCF drawings, with particular gratitude to Stephanie Huckins and Thuy Luong.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Katherine D. Tsatsanis, Fred R. Volkmar & Ami Klin

  2. Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, 185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Ilse L. J. Noens, Cornelia L. Illmann & David L. Pauls

  3. Parenting and Special Education Research Group and Leuven Autism Research Organization, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Andreas Vesaliusstraat 2 box 3765, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Ilse L. J. Noens

  4. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Robert T. Schultz

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  1. Katherine D. Tsatsanis
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  2. Ilse L. J. Noens
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  3. Cornelia L. Illmann
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Correspondence to Katherine D. Tsatsanis.

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The authors Katherine D. Tsatsanis and Ilse L. J. Noens contributed equally to this article.

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Tsatsanis, K.D., Noens, I.L.J., Illmann, C.L. et al. Managing Complexity: Impact of Organization and Processing Style on Nonverbal Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 135–147 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1139-z

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