Research into the cognitive profiles of older adults with ASD is limited. We know little about how aging affects individuals with ASD and how this influences their needs. The present study is the first to examine intelligence profiles in older adults with ASD. WAIS-III performance of 23 elderly with ASD and 23 neurotypical older persons was examined. The two groups were matched on age and level of education. Results showed highly similar intelligence profiles, with the exception of processing speed index, on which the older adults with ASD performed weaker than the neurotypical control group. This was caused by impairment on the subscale Digit symbol-coding, which was hypothesized to be due to a local information processing style and problems in set shifting.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.