Intelligence may moderate the cognitive profile of patients with ASD

Abstract

Background: The intelligence of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) varies considerably. The pattern of cognitive deficits associated with ASD may differ depending on intelligence. We aimed to study the absolute and relative severity of cognitive deficits in participants with ASD in relation to IQ. Methods: A total of 274 children (M age = 12.1, 68.6% boys) participated: 30 ASD and 22 controls in the below average Intelligence Quotient (IQ) group (IQ<85), 57 ASD and 54 controls in the average IQ group (85 115). Matching for age, sex, Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), Verbal IQ (VIQ), Performance IQ (PIQ) and VIQ-PIQ difference was performed. Speed and accuracy of social cognition, executive functioning, visual pattern recognition and basic processing speed were examined per domain and as a composite score. Results: The composite score revealed a trend significant IQ by ASD interaction (significant when excluding the average IQ group). In absolute terms, participants with below average IQs performed poorest (regardless of diagnosis). However, in relative terms, above average intelligent participants with ASD showed the most substantial cognitive problems (particularly for social cognition, visual pattern recognition and verbal working memory) since this group differed significantly from the IQ-matched control group (p