Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism Spectrum Condition, WISC-IV, Wechsler, Cognitive Profiles
Aim: The current study investigated the WISC-IVUK scores of children with ASD to explore the profile of their cognitive abilities. The research aimed to establish whether cognitive profiles among the children in the sample were consistent with previous research.
Method: An archival study of WISC-IVUK scores of 134 children with ASD attending a specialist autism service was conducted. Comparisons were made between group mean scores in each of the WISC-IVUK indices of both current sample and the WISC-IVUK standardisation sample. Additionally, scores were analysed using the multiple single case study approach which calculated individual profiles for each individual child in the sample.
Findings: Deficits in the Processing Speed and Working Memory indices were identified for a significant number in the sample. No difference between Verbal Comprehension Index and Perceptual Reasoning indices where apparent in analyses of group mean scores.
Limitations This research only included a sample of children whose IQ scores were greater than 70, therefore it is unknown if these findings could be generalised to individuals with ASD whose scores are lower than 70.
Conclusion The findings identified an uneven pattern of scoring in the WISC-IV for children with ASD. Since large individual differences in scoring were concealed in analyses of group mean comparisons, this highlighted the importance of considering each individual child’s unique profile.