Executive functioning and Social Skill in children with autism: A case series

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a “developmental disorder” because symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Autism affecting almost 2% of children in World. Autism is characterized by severe and pervasive impairments in several important areas of development: reciprocal social interaction and communication as well as behavior. Executive function (EF) has been of interest and has a role in contributing to specific impairments, described as poor regional coordination and integration of prefrontal executive processes that integrate with other emotion and social circuits. Understanding how autism affects social functioning development at both behavioral and neuropsychological level is important for the conception of effective and early interventions to improve social and communicative skills in individuals suffering from this pathology. Methods: The aim of the present study is to understand the executive functioning and social skills by a case series of 5 children diagnosed with Autism. In the present study 5 male children with IQ=70 or above within the age range of 6-12 were undertaken to assess Executive Functioning and Social skills. Color Trail Test, Animal Cancellation Test, Design Fluency Test and Maze Test were administered to executive functioning and Autism social skills profile was administered to assess the social functioning of Autism. Results: Findings indicated significant impairment in Executive functioning and social skills which require early psychosocial interventions.