Intellectual and Adaptive Functioning in People with SLDs and ASD
Marinella Zingale, Santina Città, Marilena Recupero, Serafino Buono
Previous research has suggested that some neurodevelopmental disorders may be associated with specific cognitive and adaptive profiles. Both individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have heterogeneous profiles with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, in individuals with autism, the level of adaptive functioning is consistently below general cognitive abilities. This study aimed to: a) verify whether the cognitive functioning profiles of children diagnosed with SLD and ASD, as assessed using the WISC-V, maintain the same characteristics described in the literature; c) verify whether there are differences between the two groups in adaptive skills measured using the DABS scale. The two instruments were applied to a group of 22 individuals with ASD and 32 individuals with SLD. The results confirm the typical cognitive profiles highlighted in previous studies, although significant differences emerge only in the Comprehension and Illustrated Concepts subtests, which show lower average scores in the ASD group. Comparison of the DABS profiles showed differences between the two groups, with particular reference to social and practical skills, and overall.
Keywords
Functioning Profiles; WISC-V; DABS; Autism spectrum disorder; Specific learning disorder.
