TY - JOUR
T1 - Executive functioning in preschool children affected by autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study
AU - Parisi, Lucia
AU - Salerno, Margherita
AU - Roccella, Michele
AU - Maltese, Agata
AU - Messina, Giovanni
AU - Filippo, Teresa Di
AU - Ruberto, Maria
AU - Precenzano, Francesco
AU - Vagliano, Clara
AU - Di Folco, Annabella
AU - Messina, Giovanni
AU - Di Filippo, Teresa
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of neurological dysfunction and development characterized by deficits in social and non-verbal interaction. Few studies have explored the executive functioning in ASD preschoolers. The aim of this pilot study is the assessment of executive functioning in preschool children with ASD. Material and methods: 8 ASD children (7 males, 1 female) mean age 3.09 (SD ± 0.83 years) were enrolled in the study and compared with a control group of 15 typically developing children (12 males, 3 females) (mean age 24.3 ± 0.61). All subjects underwent assessment of executive functioning with the BRIEF-P test. Results: The two groups were matched for age (p = 0.625) and gender (p = 0.900). Table 1 shows the comparison between the two groups at the BRIEF-P, with significantly higher scores on all subscales of ASD children compared with controls. Conclusions: Despite the small sample examined the results of this study agree with what is already known in the literature confirm the presence of a significant deficit in executive functions of subjects with ASD emphasizing for the first time the emergence of such problems at an early stage of development, but demanding further studies to confirm this.
AB - Introduction: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a complex set of neurological dysfunction and development characterized by deficits in social and non-verbal interaction. Few studies have explored the executive functioning in ASD preschoolers. The aim of this pilot study is the assessment of executive functioning in preschool children with ASD. Material and methods: 8 ASD children (7 males, 1 female) mean age 3.09 (SD ± 0.83 years) were enrolled in the study and compared with a control group of 15 typically developing children (12 males, 3 females) (mean age 24.3 ± 0.61). All subjects underwent assessment of executive functioning with the BRIEF-P test. Results: The two groups were matched for age (p = 0.625) and gender (p = 0.900). Table 1 shows the comparison between the two groups at the BRIEF-P, with significantly higher scores on all subscales of ASD children compared with controls. Conclusions: Despite the small sample examined the results of this study agree with what is already known in the literature confirm the presence of a significant deficit in executive functions of subjects with ASD emphasizing for the first time the emergence of such problems at an early stage of development, but demanding further studies to confirm this.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10447/225516
UR - http://www.actamedicamediterranea.com/index.php
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 35
EP - 39
JO - Acta Medica Mediterranea
JF - Acta Medica Mediterranea
SN - 0393-6384
ER -