Associations between executive function and attention abilities and language and social communication skills in young autistic children.
Jill Howard, Brianna Herold, Samantha Major and 9 others
PMID 36802865WHAT IT FOUND
In young autistic children, weaker working memory and planning were linked to poorer social communication, and poorer inhibition and shifting were linked to more social pragmatic problems.
Stronger expressive vocabulary was linked to better sustained attention during a video.
Key findings
01Problems with working memory and planning/organizing were associated with lower receptive-expressive social communication abilities.
02Across all five executive-function domains, more reported problems were associated with more social pragmatic problems.
03Higher sustained attention to a complex social video was associated with higher expressive vocabulary, and no other significant associations were found for the eye-tracking measure.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study measured associations at one time point, so it cannot show that executive function or attention caused language or social communication differences. Executive function was measured only by caregiver report, not by direct child testing. The children were selected for a clinical trial, including medical criteria and an estimated expressive vocabulary standard score of at least 60, so they may not represent all autistic children. Sixteen participants (9%) were excluded from eye-tracking analyses because of non-compliance or calibration failure. Common co-occurring conditions, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, were not comprehensively assessed. Some associations with socialization were unexpected and were not explained by the study.
Declared interests
The article lists NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support. One author, G.D., reported advisory board or consulting relationships with Janssen Research and Development, Akili Interactive, LabCorp, Roche, Zynerba, Tris Pharma, Apple, Gerson Lehrman Group, and Guidepoint Global. G.D. also reported stock in Neuvana, two patents, and financial benefit from technology licensed to Cryocell and Duke University. G.D. and K.L.H.C. reported that early autism screening technology they helped develop was licensed and that they and Duke University benefited financially. J.H. reported personal fees from Roche. The remaining authors declared none.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving executive function or sustained attention will improve language or social communication. This study measured associations at baseline and did not test any therapy, so it cannot show that changing one ability changes another.