Influence of Autism Traits and Executive Functioning on Quality of Life in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) often experience a low Quality of Life (QoL). We studied if IQ, early language development, current autism traits, and daily Executive Functions (EFs) are related to QoL in children (aged 8–12 years) with ASD (N = 120) and typically developing (TD) children (N = 76). Children with ASD showed a lower QoL than TD children. This lower QoL was related to higher levels of autism traits and EF deficits. Moreover, specific autism traits and EFs were related to specific QoL subdomains. The low QoL and the aggravating effects of autism traits and EF deficits indicate a potential to identify and target such factors in treatment to improve QoL.

Bayesian benefits with JASP

“…Throughout this article we use data from de Vries and Geurts (2015) to illustrate several Bayesian analyses implemented in JASP. De Vries and Geurts studied the relation between Quality of Life (QoL) and Executive Functioning (EF) in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).…”

“…We focus on a subset of their data and analyze the correlation between QoL and EF in n = 119 children with ASD. Both QoL and EF were assessed using standardized questionnaires (see Bastiaansen, Koot, Bongers, Varni, & Verhulst, 2004;de Vries & Geurts, 2015;Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000;Smidts & Huizinga, 2009;Varni, Seid, & Kurtin, 2001, for further details). Figure 2 shows a scatterplot of the QoL and EF scores for the children with ASD.…”

Factors Associated with Subjective Quality of Life of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Self-Report Versus Maternal Reports

“…There is a growing body of research on the relationship between the subjective QoL of individuals with ASD and their behavioral profiles, including autism symptoms, behavior problems, and adaptive behavior. In general, autism symptoms and behavior problems have been found to be negatively associated with subjective QoL in children with ASD as rated by their parents, indicating that greater behavioral impairment is associated with poorer subjective QoL (de Vries and Geurts 2015; Gerber et al 2008; Ikeda et al 2014; Kuhlthau et al 2010). Further, specific subdomains of subjective QoL have been associated with relevant subscales of autism traits.…”

Stimulation of Executive Functions as Part of the Language Intervention Process in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Numerous studies have focused on understanding the association between EFs and ASD [6-14]. These abilities enable the individual to define a goal, plan necessary actions, execute and monitor goals, adjusting actions as necessary, and assess the outcome of the actions [15, 16].…”