Evidence for latent classes of IQ in young children with autism spectrum disorder
Open accessAbstract
Autism is currently viewed as a spectrum condition that includes strikingly different severity levels; IQ is consistently described as one of the primary aspects of the heterogeneity in autism. To investigate the possibility of more than one distinct subtype of autism based on IQ, both latent class analysis and taxometrics methods were used to classify Mullen IQs in a sample of 456 children with autism spectrum disorder. We found evidence for multiple IQ-based subgroups using both methods. Groups differed in level of intellectual functioning and patterns of verbal versus nonverbal ability. Results support the notion of distinct subtypes of autism that differ in severity of intellectual ability, patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and severity of autism symptoms.
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Deficits in cognitive functioning may be more common in females.
“deficits in cognitive functioning may be more common in females [43-46]”
From DSM-5 and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs): an opportunity for identifying ASD subtypes (2013) · cites this paper as [43]
The Results (Latent Class Analysis; page unavailable) report that boys and girls were equally likely to belong to each of the four IQ-defined groups. The Discussion likewise states that there were no sex differences in group classification, contrary to the claim that cognitive deficits may be more common in females. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEfforts to categorize the heterogeneity in ASDs have been largely unsuccessful because distinct, empirically defined subgroups have yet to be reliably identified.
“This effort has been largely unsuccessful because distinct, empirically defined subgroups have yet to be reliably identified.”
From DSM-5 and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs): an opportunity for identifying ASD subtypes (2013) · cites this paper as [5]
The paper’s background discussion (indexed as Abstract; page unavailable) says earlier cluster analyses often produced overlapping groups and that reliably distinguishing autism subgroups remained difficult. But its Discussion reports identifying four latent IQ-based classes in preschool children with ASD. The claim captures the difficulty of earlier efforts but overstates it by saying empirically defined subgroups had yet to be identified. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMullen Scales of Early Learning developmental quotients were calculated by dividing the subscale age-equivalent score by chronological age and multiplying by 100 to avoid floor and ceiling effects.
“For the present analyses, developmental quotients (DQs) were calculated by dividing the subscale age-equivalent score by the child’s chronological age and multiplying by 100. This procedure avoided possible floor and ceiling effects while providing a familiar IQ metric, as recommended in the literature.27,28”
From Beyond Autism: A Baby Siblings Research Consortium Study of High-Risk Children at Three Years of Age (2013) · cites this paper as [28]
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- Authors
- Munson, J., Dawson, G., Sterling, L., Beauchaine, T., Zhou, A., Koehler, E., Lord, C., Rogers, S., Sigman, M., Estes, A., & Abbott, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- University of Washington
- University of Michigan (US)
- University of California Davis Medical Center (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Venue
- American Journal on Mental Retardation
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2008-11-01
- Volume
- 113
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 439-452
- ISSN
- 0895-8017 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC2991056
- OpenAlex
- W2128110379
- Cited by
- 204
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- American Journal on Mental Retardation (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH078165, R01MH081873, U54MH066399)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U19HD035482, U19HD035468, U19HD035465)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Down syndrome and intellectual disability research
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, intellectual functioning, autism severity, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, young children
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Autistic Disorder, Cognition Disorders, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Nonverbal Communication, Severity of Illness Index, Verbal Behavior
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