Average Nonverbal Intelligence Research Articles

Innovative Family-Based Genetically Informed Series of Analyses of Whole-Exome Data Supports Likely Inheritance for Grammar in Children with Specific Language Impairment.

Individuals with specific language impairment (SLI) struggle with language acquisition despite average non-verbal intelligence and otherwise typical development. One SLI account focuses on grammar acquisition delay. The current study aimed to detect novel rare genetic variants associated with performance on a grammar assessment, the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (TEGI), in English-speaking children. The TEGI was selected due to its sensitivity and specificity, consistently high heritability estimates, and its absence from all but one molecular genetic study. We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) in eight families with SLI (n = 74 total) and follow-up Sanger sequencing in additional unrelated probands (n = 146). We prioritized rare exonic variants shared by individuals with low TEGI performance (n = 34) from at least two families under two filtering workflows: (1) novel and (2) previously reported candidate genes. Candidate variants were observed on six new genes (PDHA2, PCDHB3, FURIN, NOL6, IQGAP3, and BAHCC1), and two genes previously reported for overall language ability (GLI3 and FLNB). We specifically suggest PCDHB3, a protocadherin gene, and NOL6 are critical for ribosome synthesis, as they are important targets of SLI investigation. The proposed SLI candidate genes associated with TEGI performance emphasize the utility of precise phenotyping and family-based genetic study.

DAS-II Cognitive Profiles Are Not Diagnostically Meaningful For Autism: A ROC Analysis.

Intelligence assessment is an integral part of a comprehensive autism evaluation. Many past studies have described a cognitive profile of autistic individuals characterized by higher nonverbal than verbal IQ scores. The diagnostic utility of this profile, however, remains unknown. We leveraged receiver operating characteristic methods to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of three different IQ profiles in a large sample of children who have an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (N = 1,228, Simons Simplex Collection) who completed the Differential Ability Scales-Second Edition (DAS-II), School Age compared to the normative sample provided by the DAS-II publisher (N = 2,200). The frequently discussed nonverbal > verbal IQ profile performed near chance at distinguishing ASD from normative individuals (AUC: 0.54, 95% CI [0.52-0.56]), and performed significantly worse for females than males (AUC: females: 0.46 [0.41-0.52]; males: 0.55 [0.53-0.58]). All cognitive profiles showed AUC < 0.56. We conclude that while significant differences between verbal and nonverbal IQ scores exist at the group level, these differences are small in an absolute sense and not meaningful at an individual level. We do not recommend using cognitive profiles to aid in autism diagnostic decision-making. LAY SUMMARY: Some researchers and clinicians have reported an "autistic cognitive profile" of higher nonverbal intelligence than verbal intelligence. In an analysis of over 1,000 autistic children, we found that the group's average nonverbal intelligence is usually higher than their verbal intelligence. However, this pattern should not be used by clinicians to make an individual diagnosis of autism because our results show it is not helpful nor accurate.

Spoken fictional narrative and literacy skills of children with Down syndrome

BackgroundChildren with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit below average nonverbal intelligence and impaired language skills; however, their spoken narrative production is a relative strength. AimsWe examined expressive language skills produced during fictional narrative retells and analyzed the unique contribution of expressive language skills to word-level reading and reading comprehension of children with DS. Methods and proceduresThe microstructure and macrostructure of fifteen, 8- to 18-year-old children with DS’s narrative retells were analyzed. Receptive vocabulary, word-level reading, and reading comprehension also were measured. ResultsNarrative microstructure analyses revealed restricted syntactic and semantic diversity. Further analyses of sentence complexity revealed that children with DS predominately produced prepositional phrases and produced more verbs than nouns. Narrative macrostructure analysis revealed participants use of episodic components; however, their stories did not include mental state references. Narrative microstructure contributed unique variance to word-level reading, whereas narrative macrostructure contributed unique variance to word-level reading and reading comprehension. Additionally, strong correlations were found between narrative skills and literacy skills. Conclusions and implicationsFindings from this study support the use of narrative microstructure and macrostructure analyses as a valuable clinical tool to guide assessment and intervention planning for school-aged children with DS.

Self and informant reports of mental health difficulties among adults with autism findings from a long-term follow-up study.

Data on psychiatric problems in adults with autism are inconsistent, with estimated rates ranging from around 25% to over 75%. We assessed difficulties related to mental health in 58 adults with autism (10 females, 48 males; mean age 44 years) whom we have followed over four decades. All were of average non-verbal intelligence quotient when diagnosed as children. Overall ratings of mental health problems were based on data from the Family History Schedule (Bolton et al., 1994). Informant reports indicated that many of the cohort (44%) had experienced no mental health problems in adulthood; 28% had experienced mild to moderate difficulties, 23% had severe and 5% very severe problems. Depression was the most commonly reported problem. Among those adults (n = 22) able to report on their own mental state, again many (45%) reported no mental health problems, although 27% reported very severe mental health problems related to anxiety, depression and/or obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Informant ratings of poor mental health were not associated with gender, severity of autism in childhood, or child or adult intelligence quotient, but there were small correlations with overall social functioning (rho = 0.34) and current autism severity (rho = 0.37). The findings highlight the difficulties of assessing mental health problems in adults with autism and the need for appropriately validated measures.

Neuropsychological performance of school-aged children after staged surgical palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

Despite advances in perioperative management during surgical treatment of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), patients are still at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental sequelae including cognitive dysfunction. This study aimed to assess a neuropsychological profile of HLHS patients at school age who underwent the Norwood operation between 1996 and 2003 with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) or antegrade selective cerebral perfusion (ASCP), respectively. Forty HLHS patients (DHCA: n = 11 and ASCP: n = 29) were compared with healthy controls (DHCA controls: n = 10 and ASCP controls: n = 24), recruited according to age, sex and socioeconomic status. Neuropsychological assessment included non-verbal intelligence (IQ norms) and raw score measures of visual and verbal short- and long-term memory as well as executive functions, processing speed and concentration. Neuropsychological data were correlated with bypass and circulatory arrest times. Compared with control subjects, both patient groups had average non-verbal intelligence scores [DHCA: 102 (72-112) and ASCP: 92 (70-127)], but showed reduced long-term memory capacities and decreased executive performance as well as reduced processing speed. DHCA patients, furthermore, had a reduced visual attention span, and ASCP patients scored less on the verbal learning task than controls. The duration of DHCA and cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was associated with visual executive functions and short-term memory. In the DHCA group, the duration of DHCA was correlated with the time to complete the Trail Making Test A measuring visual executive functions (Spearman rank correlation, rS = 0.867, P = 0.018). In patients provided with ASCP, the cumulated CPB duration was negatively correlated with the score of the block span test measuring visual short memory (rS = -0.476, P = 0.020) as well as with the copy score of the Rey Figure assessing visual executive functions (rS = -0.399, P = 0.032). School-age children with HLHS who underwent the Norwood procedure either with DHCA or ASCP show cognitive impairments compared with healthy controls. Our data indicate deficits in specific cognitive domains such as memory, executive functions and processing speed rather than basic intellectual dysfunction.

Does central coherence relate to the cognitive performance of children with autism in dynamic assessments?

Central coherence refers to an in-built propensity to form meaningful links over a wide range of stimuli and to generalize over as wide a range of contexts as possible. In children with autism this ability is diminished, and the impact of central coherence deficits in children with autism have previously been observed using static measures of learning, such as reading comprehension test performance. In this study, the relationship between central coherence and more dynamic indicators of learning are investigated. The responses of 52 children with autism (mean age 9:10 years) on a test of central coherence and a dynamic assessment task were analysed. All the children showed significant improvements in dynamic assessment test scores after mediation; however, among those with below average nonverbal intelligence scores, weak central coherence was significantly associated with smaller gains in performance after teaching. Implications for the validity of dynamic assessments for children with autism are discussed.

“Footprints in the Bathroom”: The Role of Spirituality in Patient Diagnosis

CASE Lucy is a 12-year-old Latina whose mother brought her to the pediatric clinic for help with her anxiety symptoms, hearing voices, and episodes of spacing out. Lucy did not cry at birth secondary to vocal cord paralysis and still has the tracheostomy performed at a few days of life. In addition to her neonatal intensive care unit stay, she has been hospitalized for pneumonia. Her mother says she is sickly and has a weak immune system due to her asthma symptoms. Lucy also experiences somatic complaints related to gastroesophageal reflux and constipation.Lucy is described as being another world and must be called several times before she responds. Lucy states she is nervous all the time and often experiences a fast heartbeat, chest pain, and headache. Her attention and internalizing problems began at age 4 years and have worsened since she entered adolescence. When she is alone in the dark, she sees an unknown person and becomes frightened. She hears the voice of her paternal uncle telling her something will harm her mother and runs crying to check on her. Lucy also says she hears voices of paternal family members fighting. She has dreamed that her paternal uncle stabbed her in an alley. Lucy reports experiencing sadness and feelings of wanting to die. She has not tried to harm herself and has no plan to do this. She states that she does not know when she is awake or asleep and hate people talking in my head. She does not report drug use.Lucy's family is bilingual, English and Spanish. Her mother works part-time as a nutritionist, and her father is a machinist. Her father receives counseling for anger management, and there have been previous unsub- stantiated child abuse reports involving Lucy and her younger brother. The maternal uncle has been involved in a gang and attempts to phone Lucy's mother, who does not wish to have contact with him. Lucy's mother expresses strong Christian religious and spiritual beliefs, including demons and spirits that may enter her home and can be cast off with prayer. Recently, the family purchased a cuadro (picture) at a yard sale, and Lucy's mother said this resulted in footprints in the bathroom that are disappearing with prayer, guidance from the church minister, and discarding of the cuadro.The primary pediatrician ordered a home school program, given Lucy's frequent illnesses. She is progressing well with a special education teacher. Her recent psychological evaluation at school showed a below average nonverbal intelligence quotient, with strengths in the areas of perceptual, logical, and abstract relationships. Lucy's mother in the past has been hesitant to follow through with psychiatric evaluation because it is up to God.In the clinic, she is pale and slender with an ethereal look. She is awake and alert with appropriate affect and mentation. Her tracheostomy is intact without any respiratory distress noted. There are no signs of drug use or active hallucinations. You are left wondering whether these voices need psychiatric management.

Veränderungsmessung der Fähigkeit zur lautsprachlichen Analogiebildung schallempfindungsgestörter Kinder

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the lexical outcomes in auditory closure of children with aided residual hearing. Patients and Methods: A total of 37 children (from 4;7 to 8;2 years old) with bilateral (n = 23) or unilateral (n = 14) sensorineural hearing loss (average at frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz >20 to >90 dB in the better ear) of unknown onset (n = 31) were recruited out of the 1994 implemented Göttinger Hör-Sprachregister (Gö HSR). Mean age at diagnosis: 72.0 months (SD 9.8; min. 48; max. 88), mean age at hearing aid implementation: 73.0 months (SD 9.4). All children demonstrated an average nonverbal intelligence, and none suffered from major comorbidities. The subtest ‘Auditory Closure’ of the standardized (compared to normally developing hearing children) German version of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities was carried out at 3 time points (t1–t3). Mean time interval t1–t3: 20.3 months (SD 4.7). The test raw scores were converted to T scores (mean = 50, SD = 10). The first psychometric examination took place after the ascertainment of the hearing loss (t1). Two follow-ups (t2, t3) were performed at 6- to 9-month time intervals. Results: On average, the study group exhibited age-appropriate performances at t1 and significantly improved over time. The average performance of bilaterally impaired children increased most notably (t1–t3; p = 0.008). Subgrouped by age at diagnosis ≤73 months (cut-off for split-half comparison), the performances at t3 were statistically significantly different from those of t1 (t1–t3; p = 0.002). A multiple regression analysis demonstrated the effect of the ability of auditory closure at t1 (p < 0.001) and of nonverbal intelligence (p = 0.002) on the outcome measure at t3. Conclusion: Auditory closure is less determined by degree of hearing loss than by the size of the individual vocabulary and the nonverbal intelligence potential.