Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder. Children with ASD often have difficulties
- Communicating and interacting with others
- Restricted interests in specific things or activities
- Repetitive behaviors.
These call all impact how well a child functions at home, school, or other areas in life. Autism is often associate with low intelligence.
However, some wonder if autism is really a disorder of high intelligence. Recent studies have shown that the genetic components that are associated with autism, overlap significantly and substantially with the same components associated with high intelligence.
Before digging in, we must first define what is intelligence. Intelligence is defined as general cognitive problem-solving skills. It is a mental ability involved in reasoning, perception, calculation, learning quickly, etc. Intelligence is often studied from psychometric, genetic, neurological, and psychological points of view.
How does a researcher test this?
This is a challenging topic to study. How does someone on the autism spectrum who may have difficulties communicating or interacting with others take an IQ test? Are we able to give someone with ASD the same test we would someone without ASD? Tests today are becoming more accurate at testing intelligence without being thrown off by symptoms of autism. One such test is the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI). This test allows researchers or psychologists to test and assess individuals who may have difficulties with speaking or motor tasks.
So, what is the correlation between ASD and intelligence?
One correlation is brain size. Large brain size and large head circumference are a typical phenotypic correlate of ASD. Studies have shown that increases in brain size in ASD involve a higher number of neurons, thicker cortex, and an increased volume of the hippocampus. This increase in cortical thickness has been shown to be accelerated during development followed by accelerated thinning later in adolescence.
In 2015, Cambridge University conducted a study with over half a million participants. They discovered that people with autistic traits are more likely to be involved in the sciences, technology, engineering, or math fields. Though this does not prove that autism is correlated with intelligence, it is still an interesting discovery.
References:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4927579/
http://www.brainmetrix.com/intelligence-definition/
https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/is-autism-associated-with-higher-intelligence/
Image Sources:
https://www.appliedbehavioranalysisedu.org/is-autism-associated-with-higher-intelligence/
