Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comparing the Executive Function Ability of Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescents with a Manualised Battery of Neuropsychological Tasks

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Performance on a single executive function (EF) task (e.g., a card sorting task) is often taken to represent ability on the underlying subcomponent of EF (e.g., set shifting) without accounting for the non-specific and non-executive skills employed to complete the task. This study used a manualised battery of EF tasks to derive individual task scores and latent EF scores. Seventy-nine adolescents aged between 11 and 19 years, including 37 autistic and 42 non-autistic participants, matched on cognitive ability, completed the battery. Autistic adolescents had moderate global EF difficulties and had significantly more difficulties on some individual tasks. However, the samples did not differ on any of the specific individual subcomponents of EF (fluency, cognitive control and working memory).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In the autistic community, identity-first language, e.g., “autistic person”, is often preferred to, and considered less stigmatizing than, person-first language, e.g., “person with autism” (Gernsbacher, 2017; Kenny et al., 2016; Sinclair, 1999). We therefore use identity-first language throughout.

References

  • APA. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual, text revision. (4th ed.). American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • APA. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blakemore, S.-J., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3–4), 296–312

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bölte, S., Duketis, E., Poustka, F., & Holtmann, M. (2011). Sex differences in cognitive domains and their clinical correlates in higher-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 15(4), 497–511

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, P. W., Alderman, N., Evans, J. J., Emslie, H., & Wilson, B. A. (1998). The ecological validity of tests of executive function. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4(6), 547–558

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, P. W., Alderman, N., Forbes, C., Costello, A., Coates, L. M., Dawson, D. R., Anderson, N. D., Gilbert, S. J., Dumontheil, I., & Channon, S. (2006). The case for the development and use of “ecologically valid” measures of executive function in experimental and clinical neuropsychology. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12(2), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617706060310

  • Case, R., Kurland, D. M., & Goldberg, J. (1982). Operational efficiency and the growth of short-term memory span. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 33(3), 386–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Constantino, J. N., & Gruber, C. P. (2012). Social responsiveness scale, second edition (SRS-2). Western Psychological Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, S., & Channon, S. (2002). Dissociation between performance on abstract tests of executive function and problem solving in real-life-type situations in normal aging. Aging and Mental Health, 6(1), 12–21

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cribb, S., Kenny, L., & Pellicano, E. (2019). ‘I definitely feel more in control of my life’: The perspectives of young autistic people and their parents on emerging adulthood. Autism, 23, 1765–1781

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dang, J., King, K. M., & Inzlicht, M. (2020). Why are self-report and behavioral measures weakly correlated? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 24(4), 267–269

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Demetriou, E. A., Lampit, A., Quintana, D. S., Naismith, S. L., Song, Y. J. C., Pye, J. E., Hickie, I., & Guastella, A. J. (2018). Autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis of executive function. Molecular Psychiatry, 23(5), 1198–1204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gernsbacher, M. A. (2017). Editorial perspective: The use of person-first language in scholarly writing may accentuate stigma. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 58(7), 859–861

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geurts, H. M., van den Bergh, S. F. W. M., & Ruzzano, L. (2014). Prepotent response inhibition and interference control in autism spectrum disorders: Two meta-analyses. Autism Research, 7(4), 407–420

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, G. A., Isquith, P. K., Guy, S. C., & Kenworthy, L. E. (2015). Behavior rating inventory of executive function; Professional manual, second edition. (2nd ed.). PAR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E. L. (2004a). Evaluating the theory of executive dysfunction in autism. Developmental Review, 24(2), 189–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E. L. (2004b). Executive dysfunction in autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 8(1), 26–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E. L., & Bird, C. M. (2006). Executive processes in asperger syndrome: Patterns of performance in a multiple case series. Neuropsychologia, 44(14), 2822–2835

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, C., Russell, J., & Robbins, T. W. (1994). Evidence for executive dysfunction in autism. Neuropsychologia, 32(4), 477–492

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jurado, M. B., & Rosselli, M. (2007). The elusive nature of executive functions: A review of our current understanding. Neuropsychology Review, 17, 213–233

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kane, M. J., Conway, A. R. A., Miura, T. K., & Colflesh, G. J. H. (2007). Working memory, attention control, and the n-back task: A question of construct validity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33(3), 615–622

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, L., Hattersley, C., Molins, B., Buckley, C., Povey, C., & Pellicano, E. (2016). Which terms should be used to describe autism? Perspectives from the uk autism community. Autism, 20(4), 442–462

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, J. H., Mungas, D., Possin, K. L., Rankin, K. P., Boxer, A. L., Rosen, H. J., Bostrom, A., Sinha, L., Berhel, A., & Widmeyer, M. (2014). NIH examiner: Conceptualization and development of an executive function battery. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 20(1), 11–19

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, J. H., Mungas, D. M., Possin, K. L., Rankin, K. P., Boxer, A. L., Rosen, H. J., & Widmeyer, M. (2013). Executive abilities: Measures and instruments for neurobehavioral evaluation and research (EXAMINER), User Manual, version 3.6. NIH-EXAMINER team.

  • Lai, C. L. E., Lau, Z., Lui, S. S., Lok, E., Tam, V., Chan, Q., Cheng, K. M., Lam, S. M., & Cheung, E. F. (2017). Meta-analysis of neuropsychological measures of executive functioning in children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 10(5), 911–939

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landry, O., & Al-Taie, S. (2016). A meta-analysis of the wisconsin card sort task in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1220–1235

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liberatos, P., Link, B. G., & Kelsey, J. L. (1987). The measurement of social class in epidemiology. Epidemiologic Reviews, 10(1), 87–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingston, L. A., & Happé, F. G. E. (2017). Conceptualising compensation in neurodevelopmental disorders: Reflections from autism spectrum disorder. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Biobehavioral Reviews., 80, 729–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P., Risi, S., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S. (2012). Autism diagnostic observation schedule-2nd edition (ADOS-2). Western Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackinlay, R., Charman, T., & Karmiloff-Smith, A. (2006). High functioning children with autism spectrum disorder: A novel test of multitasking. Brain and Cognition, 61(1), 14–24

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mangiafico, S. (2016). Summary and analysis of extension program evaluation in R. (Vol. 442)Rutgers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozonoff, S. J., & Jensen, J. (1999). Brief report: Specific executive function profiles in three neurodevelopmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29(2), 171–177

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, J. W. (2007). PsychoPy - psychophysics software in python. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 162(1–2), 8–13

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pellicano, E. (2010). Individual differences in executive function and central coherence predict developmental changes in theory of mind in autism. Developmental Psychology, 46(2), 530–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poldrack, R. A., & Yarkoni, T. (2016). From brain maps to cognitive ontologies: informatics and the search for mental structure. Annual Review of Psychology, 67(1), 587–612

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. (2017). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria. Retrieved from https://www.r-project.org/

  • Rabbitt, P. (2004). Do “frontal tests” measure executive function? issues of assessment and evidence from fluency tests. In P. Rabbitt (Ed.), Methodology of frontal and executive function. (pp. 193–215). Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rizopoulos, D. (2006). Ltm: An r package for latent variable modeling and item response theory analyses. Journal of Statistical Software., 17, 1–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, H., Calamia, M., Gläscher, J., Bruss, J., & Tranel, D. (2014). Neuroanatomical correlates of executive functions: A neuropsychological approach using the examiner battery. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 20(01), 52–63

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • RStudio Team. (2015). RStudio: integrated development for r. RStudio Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. (1997). Autism as an executive disorder. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruxton, G. D., & Neuha, M. (2010). When should we use one-tailed hypothesis testing? Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1, 114–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schatz, J., Stancil, M., Katz, T., & Sanchez, C. E. (2014). EXAMINER executive function battery and neurologic morbidity in pediatric sickle cell disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 20(1), 29–40

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitz, N., Rubia, K., Daly, E. M., Smith, A., Williams, S. C. R., & Murphy, D. G. M. (2006). Neural correlates of executive function in autistic spectrum disorders. Biological Psychiatry, 59(1), 7–16

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schreiber, J. E., Possin, K. L., Girard, J. M., & Rey-Casserly, C. (2014). Executive function in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The NIH examiner battery. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 20(1), 41–51

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sinclair, J. (1999). Why i dislike ‘person-first’ language. Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://web.archive.org/web/20090210190652/http://web.syr.edu/~jisincla/person_first.htm

  • Snyder, H. R., Miyake, A., & Hankin, B. L. (2015). Advancing understanding of executive function impairments and psychopathology: Bridging the gap between clinical and cognitive approaches. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 328

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Swets, J. A., Tanner, W. P., & Birdsall, T. G. (1988). Decision processes in perception. Adolescent Gynecology, 84(1967), 1932–1935

    Google Scholar 

  • Toplak, M. E., West, R. F., & Stanovich, K. E. (2013). Practitioner review: Do performance-based measures and ratings of executive function assess the same construct? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 54(2), 131–143

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin, L. Q. (2021). Brain mechanisms supporting flexible cognition and behavior in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 89(2), 172–183

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Liu, L., Cui, J., Wang, J., Shum, D. H. K., & Chan, R. C. K. (2017). A meta-analysis of working memory impairments in autism spectrum disorders. Neuropsychology Review, 27(1), 46–61

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, D. (2011). WASI-II: Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence. Psychological Corporation.

  • White, S. J. (2013). The triple i hypothesis: Taking another('s) perspective on executive dysfunction in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(1), 114–121

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, S. J., Burgess, P. W., & Hill, E. L. (2009). Impairments on “open-ended” executive function tests in autism. Autism Research, 2(3), 138–147

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. (Vol. 1)World Health Organization.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge all the young people and their families who volunteered their time and efforts to take part in this research, without whom this research would not be possible, including those who participated at UCL Institute of Education Brain Detectives public engagement and research participation initiative. This research was supported by an Economic and Social Research (ESRC) PhD studentship (ref: 1660616) awarded to Lorcan Kenny.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Lorcan Kenny

    Present address: Autistica, London, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), UCL Institute of Education, University College London, 55–59 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0NU, UK

    Lorcan Kenny, Anna Remington & Elizabeth Pellicano

  2. Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, 29 Wally’s Walk, Sydney, Australia

    Elizabeth Pellicano

Authors
  1. Lorcan Kenny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anna Remington
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elizabeth Pellicano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

LK, AR and EP devised the study. LK recruited and assessed the participants, and analysed the data. LK and EP drafted the manuscript. All authors commented on and edited the manuscript prior to the submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lorcan Kenny.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 544 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kenny, L., Remington, A. & Pellicano, E. Comparing the Executive Function Ability of Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescents with a Manualised Battery of Neuropsychological Tasks. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 3169–3181 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05034-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05034-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation