Abstract
Speed of information processing, as measured by inspection time (IT), is a robust predictor of intellectual functioning. However, among individuals with autism and low IQ scores, IT has been reported to be discrepantly fast, and equal to that of high IQ typically developing children (Scheuffgen et al. in Dev Psychopathol 12: 83–90, 2000). The present investigation replicates and extends this study by examining IT and its relationship to IQ in a higher functioning (average range mean IQ) group of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) versus matched controls. Though IT was not significantly faster in the ASD group than in the matched control group, the relationship between IT and IQ was uniquely discrepant for the ASD group, partially corroborating and extending previous findings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV). Washington, DC: Authors.
Anderson, M. (1988). Inspection time, information processing and the development of intelligence. The British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 6, 43–57.
Anderson, M. (2001). Annotation: Conceptions of intelligence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 42, 287–298. doi:10.1017/S0021963001007016.
Anderson, M., & Miller, K. L. (1998). Modularity, mental retardation, and speed of processing. Developmental Science, 1, 239–245. doi:10.1111/1467-7687.00037.
Anderson, M., O’Connor, N., & Hermelin, B. (1998). A specific calculating ability. Intelligence, 26, 383–403. doi:10.1016/S0160-2896(99)00007-0.
Cyr, J. J., & Brooker, B. H. (1984). Use of appropriate formulas for selecting WAIS-R short forms. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 903–905. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.52.5.903.
Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Gernsbacher, M. A., & Mottron, L. (2007). The level and nature of autistic intelligence. Psychological Science, 18, 657–662. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01954.x.
Ericsson, K. A., & Charness, N. (1994). Expert performance: Its structure and acquisition. The American Psychologist, 49, 725–747. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.49.8.725.
Eysenck, H. J. (1988). The concept of “intelligence”: Useful or useless? Intelligence, 12, 1–16. doi:10.1016/0160-2896(88)90019-0.
Goldstein, G., Allen, D. N., Minshew, N. J., Williams, D. L., Volkmar, F., Klin, A., et al. (2008). The structure of intelligence in children and adults with high functioning autism. Neuropsychology, 22, 301–312.
Golombok, S., & Rust, J. (1992). The UK Revision. In D. Wechsler (Ed.), The manual of the Wechsler intelligence scale for children—3rd Revision (WISC-III UK). The Psychological Corporation: London.
Grudnik, J. L., & Kranzler, J. H. (2001). Meta-analysis of the relationship between intelligence and inspection time. Intelligence, 29, 523–535. doi:10.1016/S0160-2896(01)00078-2.
Happé, F., & Frith, U. (1996). The neuropsychology of autism. Brain, 119, 1377–1400. doi:10.1093/brain/119.4.1377.
Heaton, P., & Wallace, G. L. (2004). Annotation: The savant syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 899–911. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.t01-1-00284.x.
Jensen, A. R. (1982). Reaction time and psychometric g. In H. J. Eysenck (Ed.), A model for intelligence (pp. 93–132). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.
Kranzler, J. H., & Jensen, A. R. (1989). Inspection time and intelligence: A meta-analysis. Intelligence, 13, 329–347. doi:10.1016/S0160-2896(89)80006-6.
Minshew, N. J., Turner, C. A., & Goldstein, G. (2005). The application of short forms of the Wechsler intelligence scales in adults and children with high functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 45–52. doi:10.1007/s10803-004-1030-x.
Nettelbeck, T. (1987). Inspection time and intelligence. In P. A. Vernon (Ed.), Speed of information processing and intelligence (pp. 295–346). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Plaisted, K. C., O’Riordan, M., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1998). Enhanced discrimination of novel, highly similar stimuli by adults with autism during a perceptual learning task. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 39, 765–775. doi:10.1017/S0021963098002601.
Rumsey, J. M. (1992). Neuropsychological studies of high-level autism. In E. Schopler & G. Mesibov (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (pp. 41–64). New York: Plenum.
Sattler, J. M. (1992). Assessment of Children (3rd ed.). Jerome M Sattler Publisher, Inc: San Diego.
Scheuffgen, K., Happé, F., Anderson, M., & Frith, U. (2000). High “intelligence”, low “IQ”? Speed of processing and measured IQ in children with autism. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 83–90. doi:10.1017/S095457940000105X.
Siegel, D. J., Minshew, N. J., & Goldstein, G. (1996). Wechsler IQ profiles in diagnosis of high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 389–406. doi:10.1007/BF02172825.
Taylor, M. M., & Creelman, C. D. (1967). PEST: Efficient estimates on probability functions. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 41, 782–787. doi:10.1121/1.1910407.
Treffert, D. A., & Wallace, G. L. (2002). Islands of genius. Scientific American, 286, 76–85.
Wallace, G. L., Happé, F., & Giedd, J. N. (2009). A case study of a multiply-talented savant with an autism spectrum disorder: Neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Section B: Biological Sciences. (in press).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund for providing funding to complete this research and the schools and children who participated in this research. This work was carried out in partial fulfillment of the first author’s PhD.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wallace, G.L., Anderson, M. & Happé, F. Brief Report: Information Processing Speed is Intact in Autism but not Correlated with Measured Intelligence. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 809–814 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0684-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0684-1