Site Home
Contact Us
å

iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

iDEA: DREXEL LIBRARIES E-REPOSITORY AND ARCHIVES

Main sections

High-functioning autism and Asperger’s Disorder: a neuropsychological comparison

Details
Title
High-functioning autism and Asperger’s Disorder: a neuropsychological comparison
Author(s)
Hayes, Kaira M.
Advisor(s)
Barakat, Lamia
Keywords
Clinical psychology; Autism; Asperger's syndrome
Date
2007-05
Publisher
Drexel University
Thesis
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 2007
Abstract
Asperger's Disorder (AspD) and High Functioning Autism (HFA) are similar in many ways, creating a controversy regarding their separate diagnostic entities. Previous researchers have reported evidence that these two disorders only differ in terms of level of severity, whereas other researchers have reported evidence suggesting that the neuropsychological profiles differ between the two. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the similarities and differences between children with AspD and HFA. Assessment included measures of adaptive functioning, verbal abilities and nonverbal abilities as well as measures of social skills, behavioral problems, and emotional issues. In contrast to previous research, the AspD group did not differ from the HFA group in nonverbal abilities. Additional similarities between the groups included below average adaptive functioning and social skills and significant behavioral problems among both groups. Differences included a tendency toward better verbal abilities among the children with AspD, which is consistent with previous research. In contrast to previous literature was a tendency for relatively weaker executive functioning among the AspD group. Furthermore, the groups differed in the patterns of associations between cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral functioning. Overall the results have implications for future research as well as clinical assessment.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/1562
In Collections
Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Search iDEA

Advanced Search