How IQ Profile in Wechsler-V Changes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Specific Learning Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are three major types of neurodevelopmental disorders that cause the emergence of various impairments in the normal development of individuals. The main aim of the current research was to evaluate the IQ profile of the patients dealing with these three types of disorders and highlight the discrepancies and similarities among these categories. The information was collected from 67 individuals of which 15 were of typical development, 15 dealt with ASD-HF, 15 suffered from ADHD, and 22 were diagnosed with SLDm. The verbal comprehension, visual-spatial performance, fluid reasoning, working memory, processing speed, as well as full-scale IQ of all groups were precisely evaluated using the WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children® Fifth Edition). The collected scores for primary and ancillary tests were statistically analyzed via the non-parametric approach of Kruskal–Wallis H test and the post-hoc method of the Mann–Whitney U test. Our result indicated that all three groups have different cognitive profiles in comparison with normal children. The autistic children possessed better cognitive conditions in comparison with the other two groups of patients. However, they revealed a weak processing speed performance. On the other hand, children with SLDm obtained the least scores in all intellectual indices. Particularly, they were severely impaired in skills related to working memory (digit span and picture span) and processing speed (coding and symbol search). The cognitive attributes of ADHD children were much closer to that of SLDm patients than the ASD-HF. Our intra/inter-category analysis underlined the discrepancies and similarities among the three groups suffering from different neurodevelopmental disorders, facilitating better characterization of the intellectual, cognitive, and behavioral attributes of these children.