Childhood Executive Function Predicts Later Autistic Features and Adaptive Behavior in Young Autistic People: a 12-Year Prospective Study

Abstract

Longitudinal studies of autistic people show that the behavioral features of autism generally endure into adulthood. Yet the prognostic indicators remain far from certain, especially for cognitively able individuals. Here, we test the predictive power of specific cognitive skills, namely theory of mind and executive function, measured in childhood, on young people's autistic features and adaptive behavior 12 years later. Twenty-eight young autistic people (2 female) were seen twice within the space of 12 years. At Time 1 (M = 5 years; 7 months, SD = 11 months), participants were assessed on components of executive function (planning, inhibition and cognitive flexibility) and theory of mind (false-belief understanding). At Time 2, 12 years later (M = 17 years 10 months, SD = 1 year; 2 months), we measured participants' autistic features and adaptive behavior. Only Time 1 executive function skills predicted significant variance in autistic adolescents' autistic features, over and above variance attributable to early age, intellectual ability and theory of mind skills. Furthermore, early EF skills, in addition to early verbal ability and nonverbal ability, predicted significant variance in young people's adaptive behavior at the 12-year follow-up. These long-term longitudinal findings clearly demonstrate that executive function measured in early childhood has prognostic significance in a sample of young autistic people approaching emerging adulthood and underscore their importance as a key target for early intervention and support.

Executive Functions and Symptom Severity in an Italian Sample of Intellectually Able Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Nevertheless, performance on card sorting distinguished a subgroup with worse social-communication functioning, above and beyond IQ. Moreover, early EF deficits may predict later ASD symptom severity, as shown by a recent longitudinal study (Kenny, Cribb & Pellicano, 2018).…”

“…The clinical implications of our results suggest that clinicians working with preschool age children with severe ASD symptoms should evaluate all three core EFs during the diagnostic process, as the inhibitory deficit might influence the prognosis, and eventually plan specific interventions focused on inhibition skills. Additionally, longitudinal research shows links between early EF deficits and later ASD symptom severity (Kenny et al, 2018).…”

‘This is what we’ve always wanted’: Perspectives on young autistic people’s transition from special school to mainstream satellite classes

“…These skills, which continue to develop until late adolescence (Diamond, 2013), play an important role in how children learn and adapt to new information. They have also been shown to make a substantial contribution to young autistic people’s broader social outcomes (Griffith, Pennington, Wehner, & Rogers, 1999; Pellicano, 2010, 2013), as well as their everyday adaptive behaviour (e.g., Kenny, Cribb, & Pellicano, 2019; Pellicano, 2013; Szatmari, Bartolucci, Bremner, Bond, & Rich, 1989) and success in school (Pellicano et al., 2017; see also Pellicano, 2012). Current theoretical (e.g., Pellicano, 2012) and empirical work (e.g., Kenworthy et al., 2014) stresses the importance of practising executive function skills throughout childhood and the teenage years but such skills may well have been less challenged in the highly structured, familiar routines of their former special school.…”

Desempenho no teste de raven: diferenças entre crianças-adolescentes com transtorno do espectro autista e com dificuldades de leitura

“…Os dados encontrados sugerem que, sempre que possível, sejam verificados indicadores de habilidades de flexibilidade cognitiva em idades precoces no TEA. Considerando alguns achados recentes que mostram o valor preditivo e prognóstico dessa habilidade para o funcionamento adaptativo em idades posteriores, o teste MPCR pode ser adequado para auferir este tipo de função executiva (Kenny, Cribb, & Pellicano, 2018;Kouklari, Tsermentseli, & Auyeung, 2018).…”