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Cognitive and symptom profiles in Asperger’s syndrome and high‐functioning autism
Author(s) -
KOYAMA TOMONORI,
TACHIMORI HISATERU,
OSADA HIROKAZU,
TAKEDA TOSHINOBU,
KURITA HIROSHI
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1819.2007.01617.x
Subject(s) - psychology , autism , asperger syndrome , wechsler adult intelligence scale , intelligence quotient , cognition , high functioning autism , childhood autism rating scale , pervasive developmental disorder , mental age , developmental disorder , comprehension , developmental psychology , nonverbal communication , clinical psychology , audiology , psychiatry , autism spectrum disorder , medicine , linguistics , philosophy
Asperger syndrome (AS) and autistic disorder are two subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), but there has been considerable debate over whether AS and autistic disorder without mental retardation (IQ ≥ 70), called high‐functioning autism (HFA), are distinct conditions or not. The aim of the present paper was to clarify this issue through a comparison of cognitive function and autistic symptom profiles. Based on the DSM‐IV and ICD‐10 definitions of language acquisition, 36 age‐ and IQ‐balanced subjects with AS (mean age, 12.8 years; mean full‐scale IQ, 98.3) were compared with 37 subjects with HFA (mean age, 12.6 years; mean full‐scale IQ, 94.6) on the Japanese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale‐Tokyo Version (CARS‐TV). Compared with the HFA subjects, the AS subjects scored significantly higher on Verbal IQ, Vocabulary, and Comprehension, but scored significantly lower on Coding. Although the total CARS‐TV score did not differ significantly between the two groups, AS subjects scored significantly lower (i.e. less abnormal) on Verbal communication and Non‐verbal communication than did the HFA subjects. A history of normal language acquisition in early childhood could predict his/her better verbal ability in mid‐childhood or later. Autistic cognitive characteristics shared by both AS and HFA subjects appear to support the validity of the current diagnostic classification of PDD.