ERIC Number: EJ984974
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-3257
EISSN: N/A
Is Talent in Autism Spectrum Disorders Associated with a Specific Cognitive and Behavioural Phenotype?
Bennett, Emily; Heaton, Pamela
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, v42 n12 p2739-2753 Dec 2012
Parents of 125 children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders completed a newly developed questionnaire aimed at identifying cognitive and behavioural characteristics associated with savant skills in this group. Factors distinguishing skilled individuals were then further investigated in case studies of three individuals with exceptional skills for music, art and mathematics. The findings from the case studies largely confirmed the results from the questionnaire study in showing that special skills are associated with superior working memory and highly focused attention that is not associated with increased obsessesionality. Although intellectual impairment and a local bias have been widely associated with special skills in the savant literature, neither the screening nor case studies provided strong evidence for such associations. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Autism, Case Studies, Young Adults, Short Term Memory, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Cognitive Ability, Behavior Problems, Children, Adolescents, Individual Characteristics, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Questionnaires, Talent, Gifted, Art Education, Music Education, Mathematics Education, Attention
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A