Executive function profile of pre-school children with ASD

Abstract

Executive function (EF) involves various cognitive processes that are crucial in regulating goal-driven behaviors. The development of EF starts at early years. Under the integrative framework, attention, working memory, inhibition and shifting are regarded as the four main constructs of EF. Individuals with ASD have long been regarded as having deficits in EF; however, findings on their EF impairments were diverse. The present study aims at exploring the EF profile of pre-school children with ASD by adopting the integrative framework. Their EF profile was examined in the cognitive, behavioral and sensory-perceptual level respectively. Results indicated that shifting and auditory working memory are the major areas of deficit of pre-school children with ASD. No relationship was found between the cognitive level of processing and the other two levels of processing in most domains of EF. On the other hand, significant relationship was identified between the behavioral level and sensory-perceptual level.