Verbal Problem-Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development

Alderson-Day, B.

doi:10.1002/aur.1424

Verbal Problem-Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development

Alderson-Day, B.

Authors

Dr Benjamin Alderson-Day benjamin.alderson-day@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) adopt less efficient strategies than typically developing (TD) peers on the Twenty Questions Task (TQT), a measure of verbal problem-solving skills. Although problems with the TQT are typically associated with executive dysfunction, they have also been reported in children who are deaf, suggesting a role for atypical language development. To test the contribution of language history to ASD problem solving, TQT performance was compared in children with high-functioning autism (HFA), children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and TD children. The HFA group used significantly less efficient strategies than both AS and TD children. No group differences were evident on tests of question understanding, planning or verbal fluency. Potential explanations for differences in verbal problem-solving skill are discussed with reference to the development of inner speech and use of visual strategies in ASD.

Citation

Alderson-Day, B. (2014). Verbal Problem-Solving Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Atypical Language Development. Autism Research, 7(6), 720-730. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1424

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 15, 2014
Online Publication Date	Oct 23, 2014
Publication Date	Dec 1, 2014
Deposit Date	Sep 1, 2015
Publicly Available Date	Feb 12, 2016
Journal	Autism Research
Print ISSN	1939-3792
Electronic ISSN	1939-3806
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	7
Issue	6
Pages	720-730
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1424
Keywords	Developmental psychology, Language development, Executive function, Problem solving, Inner speech.

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Copyright Statement
© 2014 The Authors. Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.