Can Autistic People Be Smart
This is actually a question of ignorance, because the main diagnostic criteria in autism is that the child or adult clearly shows advanced intellectual skills in one area or another, possibly more than one area. People who dont know what autism is will ask this question, and isnt that they are dumb ignorant, its just that they have no knowledge in this area and assume that people with autism are mentally retarded. Autistic children and adults face their challenges, but mentally retarded they usually are not.
Autistic people happen to be very smart, almost and often gifted, in the areas they excel in. People without autism are astounded at how seemingly extremely intelligent people with autism are. Then when they encounter the difficult subjects and areas that challenge the people with autism, it almost takes them aback. Its as if two minds exist in one body; the super intelligent and gifted, and the slow and incomprehensive.
Still, its safe to say that people with autism are most definitely intelligent and smart. They show it in very different ways than the rest of us, but they are smart. They also have very different ways in approaching things, and thinking outside the box is obvious for them.
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Increasing Iqs In Autism
From 1966 to 1998, studies found that about only one-fifth of the people with ASD functioned in the “normal range” of intelligence, according to a 1999 review.14 But years later, in 2014, a U.S. study found that almost half of the children with ASD had average or above average intelligence, that is, an IQ score above 85. Less than a third of the children with autism had intellectual disability, and 23% had IQ scores in the “borderline range” from 71 to 85.15
What explains the collective increase in IQ scores among people with autism?
Many say the change reflects the expansion of the diagnosis to include people with milder forms of autism, such as Asperger’s Syndrome, in the 1990s. People with Asperger’s did not have speech or cognitive delays in early childhood. “It may be the case that historical data do not apply to children who are currently receiving an ASD diagnosis,” according to a 2011 report in Brain Research.16
Several prominent autism researchers set out to define the “cognitive phenotype” essentially the intellectual profile of autism several years ago. They found the task challenging, noting that as yet no one has found a distinct pattern that distinguishes “high vs. low IQ individuals with ASD.”16 Their study, described as preliminary, concluded with a call for more research on intellectual profiles. These profiles could help guide future interventions as well as provide “a window into the ‘autistic experience.'”16
Incredibly Successful People On The Autism Spectrum
Though autism is said to affect 1 in every 59 people in the United States, for those who have been diagnosed with autism, Aspergers Syndrome, or another developmental disorder on the Autism Spectrum, the world can sometimes feel like a lonely place. While autism remains relatively misunderstood, one thing is for certain: those with autism are just as capable as anyone else of achieving incredible success. The proof? These famous people with autism: 20 incredibly successful people on the Spectrum.
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Children Of Smart Fathers Have Higher Risk Of Autism
Kids of men with IQs of 111 or higher were one third more likely to develop the disorder, but the increased risk was “very slight
Children whose fathers are highly intelligent are at a 31 percent higher risk of autism than those whose fathers are of average intelligence, according to unpublished results presented today at the 2017 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Francisco, California.
The work supports observations that date back to the 1940s, when Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger noted in separate reports that the fathers of children with autism tended to be highly intelligent and in several cases worked in technical fields. A 2012 study also showed that children from regions in the Netherlands where high-tech jobs are prevalent are more likely to have autism than those who live in other regions.
In the new study, lead investigator Renee Gardner, assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, set out to investigate whether the historical lore has validity. She and her colleagues matched medical records for 309,803 children whose fathers were conscripted into the Swedish military with their fathers scores on the technical portion of the Swedish intelligence quotient test.
They Have Terrific Memories
How often do typical people forget directions, or fail to take note of colors, names, and other details? People on the autism spectrum are often much more tuned in to details. In many cases, they have a much better memory than their typical peers for all kind of critical details.
In fact, a surprisingly large number of people on the spectrum have photographic memories, perfect pitch, and/or an almost perfect memory for songs, poems, and stories. This skill can be a huge asset in situations ranging from direction-finding to writing a family history.
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Negative Correlation Between Iq And Internalising Symptoms
Prior studies have suggested that lower IQ relates to higher levels of internalising symptoms in young people with ASD . Similarly, a previous meta-analysis found a negative correlation between IQ and anxiety in children and adolescents with ASD .
Some explanations for this negative association have been suggested. A lower IQ could cause poorer coping strategies, so that unfamiliar tasks induce anxiety . Given this, a lower IQ may correlate with more emotional problems through adolescence, a time of unfamiliar experiences. By contrast, a higher IQ might allow for adaptive coping skills, such as seeking help when needed, shown to be associated with lower depression levels in youth with ASD .
They Are Not Tied To Social Expectations
If you’ve ever bought a car, played a game, or joined a club to fit in, you know how hard it can be to be true to yourself. But for people with autism, social expectations can be honestly unimportant.
Who cares if someone you’ve never met rolls their eyes when you mention your interest in Disney movies even when you’re a grown-up? What matters is true liking, shared interests, kindness, and the desire to spend time togethernot keeping up with or being as similar as possible to the Joneses.
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They Are Less Materialistic
Of course, this is not universally truebut in general, people with autism are far less concerned with prestige and status than their neurotypical peers.
As a result, they worry less about brand names, high-end restaurants, and other expensive but unimportant externals than most people do. They are also less inclined to see salary or title as desirable for their own sake.
They Rarely Judge Others
Who’s fatter? Richer? Smarter? Prettier? Does that person have a degree from the right college or belong to the right church?
For people on the autism spectrum, these distinctions hold much less importance than for their neurotypical peers. In fact, people on the spectrum often see through such surface appearances to discover the real person.
People with autism rarely judge other people with disabilities. Where a typical peer might steer clear of a classmate with Down syndrome or a physical disability, people with autism are more likely to be accepting of differences.
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Measuring Intelligence In Autism
Intelligence is a touchy, and complicated, subject when it comes to autism. When Dr. Leo Kanner first described the condition he named autism 70 years ago, he noted that some children he examined were thought to be intellectually disabled, although he suspected otherwise. Their social, communication and behavior problems gave them the appearance of intellectual disability to a world as-yet unaware of autism’s existence.
Even today, autism itself can make it hard to test a child’s intellectual ability. Imagine a young boy with poor language skills who prefers sameness and cannot tolerate fluorescent lights, all characteristics of autism spectrum disorder . Place him in a brightly-lit office with an IQ examiner a stranger asking him to do things he doesn’t understand. Will he perform at his best, that is, assuming he can complete the test?
Almost 10 years ago, when the Interactive Autism Network began collecting research data from families, it faced a problem when it came to reporting on the intelligence of children with autism. One in 10 children in IAN had been diagnosed with intellectual disability , but more than twice that many had an intelligence quotient score of 70 or less, according to their parents.1 On most IQ tests, a score of 100 is considered standard , and a score of 70 or below suggests intellectual disability.
Many Children With Autism Get Significantly Smarter Over Time
by Katie Moisse;/;13 May 2017
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Better behavior:
Editors Note
This article was originally published 13 May 2017, based on preliminary data presented at the 2017 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Francisco, California. We have updated the article following publication of the study 27 October in Autism Research1. Updates appear below in brackets.
Between the ages of 2 and 8, intelligence increases in half of children with autism. In some of these children, intellectual disability gives way to average intelligence.
The findings suggest that intelligence quotient is not stable in young children with autism. It tends to stabilize in typical children by around age 5.
This tells us that you cant be too hasty in diagnosing intellectual disability, because you just dont know whats going to happen, says , professor at the University of California, Davis, MIND Institute. Solomon presented the unpublished results today at the 2017 International Meeting for Autism Research in San Francisco, California.
The results run counter to some previous work. In a 2013 study, researchers found that IQ remained steady among people with autism from the time they were diagnosed in childhood until their 40s.
Solomon and her colleagues analyzed data from the Autism Phenome Project, a long-term study of children diagnosed with autism. They looked at IQ scores for 102 children, 20 of them girls, when they were 2 or 3 years old and again when the children were 6 to 8.
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Autistic People May Act In A Different Way To Other People
Autistic people may:
- find it hard to communicate and interact with other people
- find it hard to understand how other people think or feel
- find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable
- get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
- take longer to understand information
- do or think the same things over and over
If you think you or your child may be autistic, get advice about the signs of autism.
Grouped Internalising Symptoms Results
Vote-counting results showed that, across the six studies, there was no overall agreement in the direction of the association between IQ and grouped internalising symptoms . These results, alongside the meta-analysis results, validate the decision to analyse anxiety and depression separately, by supporting the theory that relationships between different internalising symptoms and IQ in individuals with ASD may vary. The answer to why these relationships can differ is yet to be determined. One suggestion is that anxiety might be somewhat alleviated through communication, particularly if the source of anxiety is known. Discussing worries and fears might be easier for those with a higher IQ , causing them to report lower levels of anxiety, as found in this meta-analysis. Conversely, depressive symptoms may not be lessened by communication in the same way, especially if there is no external trigger to talk through. This, amongst other factors, may cause more intelligent youth to be at a greater risk of depression than anxiety. This is in line with the current findings of high levels of depression in the presence of a higher IQ. With the directions of the associations between IQ and the two prevalent internalising symptoms in adolescents with ASD now further established, a clearer understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationships is needed to shed light on why they may differ.
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Intellectual Ability And Disability Across The Spectrum
5.1 A brief summary of the centrality of intellectual ability as an outcome predictor for individuals with autism spectrum disorders was provided in Chapter 3. This chapter develops this theme and the wider question of the distribution of intellectual ability and disability in ASD. It also sets out the results of the research carried out for this study in terms of a systematic review and meta-analysis of this area.
5.2 IQ is the most robust predictor of outcome and level of service needs in ASD, especially in terms of whether or not an individual has an intellectual disability. This has been demonstrated over a considerable period in a large number of outcome, economic and other studies . Three broad groupings may serve as a useful guide in terms of intellectual status. First, there are those with IQ below 50, that is, those with intellectual disability at moderate or more severe level; second, there are those with IQ in the range 50-70, that is, those with levels compatible with mild intellectual disability; third, there are those with IQ 70+, that is, those without an intellectual disability. The last group includes individuals who have received diagnoses both of Aspergers Syndrome and of childhood autism. The term high functioning autism requires caution as it has been used variously to mean individuals with IQ in the average range or above or more broadly, and more commonly, all who do not have an intellectual disability .
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The Rain Man Phenomenon
The mix of ability and disability in autism took extreme form in the 1988 movie Rain Man. The fictional Rain Man, played by Dustin Hoffman, has extraordinary memory and calculation skills, along with significant challenges from autism. He can memorize a phone book and instantly count scores of toothpicks, but he also believes a candy bar and a car each cost “about $100.” Moviegoers were fascinated by those rare people who have seemingly superhuman brain skills along with borderline or low IQs.
Doctors have long been aware of that rare condition, called savantism. Researchers at Yale University described one such “autistic savant;” Donny could calculate the day of the week in which someone was born in less than a second.7 Music is another area where autism may confer an advantage, at least in some people. People with autism appear to be more likely to have perfect musical pitch or some version of it than the general population, according to several studies.8-13 Some scientists wonder: Is there something about the autistic brain that allows extreme ability to flourish amid significant disability? That question remains the subject of study.
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Should Iq Tests Be Administered To Kids With Autism
Typical IQ tests are built around the assumption that test-takers can understand and use spoken language at an age-appropriate level. Children with autism, however, almost never have age-appropriate communication skills. This means that they start at a disadvantage. In addition, children with autism may react badly to a new situation and an unknown tester. Even the physical conditions under which they’re asked to take the test can create challenges.
According to James Coplan, MD, a developmental pediatrician and researcher specializing in autism, intelligence tests for children with autism should be administered by “someone who’s comfortable with and capable of working with kids who are off the map. Who understands what makes the kid tick. Some reports look like they’re written off a computer disk.”
It’s important to note that some research also suggests that children with autism are simply less motivated to take or do well on an IQ test because they are less concerned with or aware of others’ judgments and expectations.;Providing additional non-social motivators, such as small prizes for compliance, can make a big difference in test outcomes.
Autism And The Correlates Of Intelligence
The high intelligence imbalance hypothesis predicts that autism should be associated, at a phenotypic level, with substantiated correlates of intelligence. I elaborate here on the most-notable joint correlates of intelligence and autism, focusing on phenotypes that are associated with intelligence and that are over-developed or over-expressed in autism.
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Anxiety: Main Analysis And Sub
The sample size across the 13 anxiety studies was 812. As per the forest plot , the main analysis found no significant association between IQ and anxiety, under a random effects model . Person reporting anxiety was the only moderator significantly impacting the association between IQ and anxiety =9.529, p<0.01). Cohens guidelines were used to interpret the magnitude of significant correlations: r>0.50=large, 0.50-0.30=moderate, and 0.29-0.10=small. Self-reported anxiety moderately negatively correlated with IQ , while there was no significant correlation between parent-reported anxiety and IQ. Table 4 shows the anxiety analyses results.
Fig. 2
Forest plot showing a non-significant association between IQ and anxiety in adolescents with ASD, under a random effects model. The black circle for each study is proportional to the studys weight in the anxiety analysis. The black diamond indicates the overall effect
Autism Is Linked To Higher Intelligence: People With Genes Related To The Condition ‘scored Better In Mental Ability Tests’
- People carrying autism genes scored better on intelligent tests
- Genetic factors in autism associated with heightened mental ability
- But experts warn relationship between autism and intelligence is ‘not clear’
12:52 EDT, 10 March 2015 | Updated:
A new study at Edinburgh University found those carrying genetic variants linked to autism had slightly better test scores than those without
The genes linked with autism are thought to promote higher intelligence, scientists believe.;;
Genetic factors, thought to play a role in autism, are associated with heightened mental ability in people who do not have the developmental condition, a new study has revealed.
Almost 10,000 people living in Scotland had their DNA analysed, as part of the research.
They were then put through a series of intelligence tests.
Those carrying genetic variants linked to autism had slightly better test scores on average than those who did not carry the autism genes.
In addition, further evidence of the association emerged when the same tests were carried out on 921 teenagers, who were taking part in an Australian twin study.;
The nature of the relationship between autism and intelligence is not clear, said the researchers.
Although up to 70 per cent of people with autism have a mental disability, some individuals with the disorder can exhibit higher than average non-verbal intelligence.
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