Autism severity level affects working memory and planning but not inhibition, shifting and emotional control.

Researchers studied 52 autistic children aged 4-7 to see how autism severity affects thinking skills. They found that children with more severe autism had greater difficulties with planning and remembering information, but their ability to control emotions, stop inappropriate behaviors, and switch between tasks was not affected by autism severity.

This study examined how autism severity affects different executive function components in 52 autistic children aged 4-7 years. Using teacher reports and standardized measures, researchers found that autism severity specifically impacted 'cool' cognitive executive functions (planning and working memory) but did not affect 'hot' executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and emotional control). This selective pattern suggests that cognitive executive functions requiring deliberate mental effort are more vulnerable to autism severity than those involving emotional regulation and behavioral control. The findings provide important insights into the relationship between autism characteristics and executive functioning profiles in young children.

Results suggest interventions should prioritize planning and working memory skills for children with more severe autism symptoms. Emotional regulation and behavioral control skills may require different intervention approaches as they appear less affected by autism severity level.

Small sample size of 52 children limits generalizability. Study relied solely on teacher reports rather than direct assessment. Cross-sectional design prevents understanding of developmental changes. Age range was narrow (4-7 years), limiting applicability to other age groups.

Autistic children often have difficulties in executive functions (EF). These difficulties can, in turn, affect their everyday functioning. It is less clear in what way EF are affected by the severity of autism symptoms in children. We hypothesize that autism severity level does not have the same effect across the different components of EF.

In this study, we examined how EF are affected by the autism severity level in a sample of 52 autistic children aged 4-7 years (mean age- 5.4 years, SD- 0.9 years). EF were measured through teachers' reports on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions- Preschool Version. Autism severity level was measured with the Social Communication Questionnaire- Current Form. The results of this study showed that autism severity level impacted two EF, namely Planning and Working memory, and did not affect three EF components: Inhibition, Shifting, and Emotional Control.

These results indicate that the cool or cognitive EF are more affected by autism severity level than hot EF. We conclude the article with suggestions for improving EF in autistic children.