Does Ongoing Task Load Influence Prospective Remembering in Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Daniela Nürnberg, Mareike Altgassen
Autistic adults scored the same as non-autistic adults on a prospective memory task, and making the background task harder did not change their scores.
Autistic participants did say the tasks felt more demanding, but their actual performance was comparable.
Key findings
1There was no significant difference in event-based prospective memory accuracy or response time between autistic and non-autistic adults, and the cognitive load of the ongoing task (2-back vs 3-back) did not significantly affect PM performance in either group.
2Autistic participants rated their subjective cognitive load significantly higher than non-autistic participants in both the 2-back and 3-back dual-task conditions, despite producing comparable performance scores.
3No significant group differences were found in working memory accuracy or in inhibition (Go-NoGo) performance between autistic and non-autistic adults.
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What it does not show
The study was delivered entirely online, so the researchers could not verify whether participants were giving full effort, and people without reliable computer access or digital literacy were excluded. Autistic status was confirmed with a self-report questionnaire (CATI) rather than a clinician-administered diagnostic interview, which the authors acknowledge cannot replace a formal assessment. 52% of the autistic participants were diagnosed in adulthood, and 56% had a co-occurring psychological disorder (most commonly affective or anxiety), compared with 5.9% in the comparison group, so the sample is not representative of all autistic adults. Only event-based prospective memory was tested. The paper itself notes that prior studies found autistic adults more consistently struggle with time-based PM (remembering to act at a specific clock time), which was not examined here. The cognitive-load manipulation used only two levels (2-back and 3-back). The authors suggest that a non-linear relationship is possible and that at least three levels would be needed to map it.
Declared interests
Funded by Stiftung Irene. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that autistic adults have no prospective memory difficulties. This tested only event-based PM (remembering to act when you see a specific cue), and the paper itself notes that prior studies found autistic adults more consistently struggle with time-based PM (remembering to act at a specific time). One online study with 101 participants does not settle the question.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →