Cognitive processes of high intelligence student with autism spectrum disorder in understanding mathematical problems

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to describe the cognition processes of an ASD student with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) in understanding mathematical problems. The processes of cognition being studied are the process of receiving, storing, recalling and processing information. The subject of this research is a high IQ autism spectrum disorder (ASD) student. Data was gathered from task-based interviews. The results of this research indicate that in the process of receiving information, the ASD characteristics of the subject were still very visible, such as reading with a flat expression, interspersed laughing and smiling to themselves, repeating certain words and muttering speaking an unclear sentence. In the process of storing and recalling information, the subject: (1) stored and recalled information in the problem in three visual representation forms: images, verbal language and arithmetic symbols, (2) stored and recalled important information, and (3) recalled information that has been stored in his long-term memory by linking it to the concepts in the problems. In processing information, the subject: (1) mentioned the information and the question in the problems, (3) understood the meaning of the symbol in the problems, (4) understood the adequacy of the information in the problems, and (5) was able to reduce the information in the problems.