Being aware of own performance: how accurately do children with autism spectrum disorder judge own memory performance?

Abstract

Self-awareness was investigated by assessing accuracy of judging own memory performance in a group of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with a group of typically developing (TD) children. Effects of stimulus type (social vs. nonsocial), and availability of feedback information as the task progressed, were examined. Results overall showed comparable levels and patterns of accuracy in the ASD and TD groups. A trend level effect (p = 061, d = 0.60) was found, with ASD participants being more accurate in judging own memory for nonsocial than social stimuli and the opposite pattern for TD participants. These findings suggest that awareness of own memory can be good in children with ASD. It is discussed how this finding may be interpreted, and it is suggested that further investigation into the relation between content, frequency, and quality of self-awareness, and the context of self-awareness, is needed.