Autism severity level affects working memory and planning but not inhibition, shifting and emotional control

Abstract

Autistic children often have difficulties in executive functions (EF). These difficulties can, in turn, affect their everyday functioning. It is less clear in what way EF are affected by the severity of autism symptoms in children. We hypothesize that autism severity level does not have the same effect across the different components of EF. In this study, we examined how EF are affected by the autism severity level in a sample of 52 autistic children aged 4-7 years (mean age- 5.4 years, SD- 0.9 years). EF were measured through teachers' reports on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions- Preschool Version. Autism severity level was measured with the Social Communication Questionnaire- Current Form. The results of this study showed that autism severity level impacted two EF, namely Planning and Working memory, and did not affect three EF components: Inhibition, Shifting, and Emotional Control. These results indicate that the cool or cognitive EF are more affected by autism severity level than hot EF. We conclude the article with suggestions for improving EF in autistic children.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder; behavior rating inventory of executive functions; preschool children; social communication questionnaire.