Verbal working memory in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis review.

This study combined results from 25 research papers to better understand memory problems in autistic children and teens. It focused on 'verbal working memory' - the ability to temporarily hold and use spoken information in your mind. The researchers found that autistic children and teens do have more difficulty with this type of memory compared to other children. These memory challenges appeared consistent regardless of the child's age, IQ level, or the specific memory tests used.

This meta-analysis examined verbal working memory (VWM) in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders by synthesizing findings from 25 studies published before 2024. The research aimed to clarify inconsistent findings regarding VWM deficits in autism and explore potential moderating factors including age, IQ, sample size, and task variations. Results indicated that children and adolescents with ASD demonstrate deficits in verbal working memory compared to typically developing peers. Importantly, the analysis found that age, IQ, sample size, and testing tasks did not significantly influence VWM performance in the autism population, suggesting these deficits are relatively consistent across different subgroups and methodological approaches.

These findings suggest verbal working memory deficits are a consistent feature of ASD across developmental stages and ability levels. Clinicians should consider VWM challenges when developing educational and therapeutic interventions. The consistency of deficits across moderating factors indicates that VWM support may benefit most autistic children and adolescents regardless of their individual characteristics.

The abstract does not specify the total sample size across included studies, effect sizes, or methodological quality assessments. Details about participant characteristics, study heterogeneity, and potential publication bias are not provided, limiting interpretation of the meta-analytic findings.

In recent years, research has increasingly concentrated on examining verbal working memory (VWM) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the findings on whether ASD experience impairments in VWM are inconsistent, which could be attributed to various factors, including age, IQ, task variations, and participant heterogeneity. Therefore, this study undertakes a meta-analysis to review the advancements in research on VWM deficits in ASD, exploring the potential influence of factors such as age, IQ, sample size, and test tasks on VWM performance in this population. According to the Boolean algorithm, this study combined keywords related to VWM in children and adolescents with ASD, and published them in Web of Science, PsyCINFO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang Database to find all research findings in ASD related VWM published before 2024, and the final meta-analysis comprised 25 studies.

The research conclusion indicate that children and adolescents with ASD have deficits in VWM. In addition, age, IQ, sample size, and testing tasks may not be important factors affecting the VWM in ASD. The conclusion of this study provides theoretical basis and clinical guidance for further exploring the influencing factors and intervention methods of VWM with ASD in the future.