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Brief Report: Executive Function as a Predictor of Academic Achievement in School-Aged Children with ASD

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Abstract

The contributions of Executive Function (EF) to academic achievement in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are not well understood. Academic achievement and its association with EF is described in 32, 9-year-old children with ASD. EF at age 6 and 9, and academic achievement at age 9 were assessed as part of a larger longitudinal study. Better performance on a Spatial Reversal task but not A-not-B with Invisible Displacement at age 6 was associated with better math achievement at age 9. No relationship was found between these EF measures at age 6 and reading or spelling achievement at age 9. Future studies are needed to explore whether improving early EF skills can increase math achievement in children with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the children and parents who participated in this study. Thank you to Phil Cali who also contributed to this work.

Funding

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U19HD34565, P50HD066782, and R01HD-55741) and the National Institute of Mental Health (U54MH066399).

Author Contributions

TSJ had a lead role in drafting the manuscript and conducted the data analysis; GD participated in study design and coordination, and reviewed early drafts of the manuscript; AE conceived of the study, participated in study design and coordination, interpretation of the data, and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington Autism Center, University of Washington, CHDD, Box 357920, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Tanya St. John & Annette Estes

  2. Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Pediatrics Duke University, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA

    Geraldine Dawson

  3. Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, 2608 Erwin Road, Suite 300, Durham, NC, 27705, USA

    Geraldine Dawson

  4. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Annette Estes

Authors
  1. Tanya St. John
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  2. Geraldine Dawson
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  3. Annette Estes
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Correspondence to Annette Estes.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in the study.

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St. John, T., Dawson, G. & Estes, A. Brief Report: Executive Function as a Predictor of Academic Achievement in School-Aged Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 276–283 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3296-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3296-9

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