The Use of Computerized Cognitive Assessment with Children with Autism

Open Access
- Author:
- Perlman, Emily Hannah
- Graduate Program:
- School Psychology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- November 16, 2015
- Committee Members:
- Barbara Schaefer, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Barbara Schaefer, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Pamela S Wolfe, Committee Member
Shirley Andrea Woika, Committee Member
Krista M Wilkinson, Outside Member - Keywords:
- cognitive assessment
computerized assessment
autism spectrum disorder - Abstract:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a rapidly increasing category of diagnosis in the United States today; however, little is definitively known about the cognitive abilities of individuals with ASD despite frequent study of this area. Results of the most recent studies have suggested that previously accepted idea about cognitive abilities for individuals with autism may be inaccurate. One reason for these mixed finding may be that the levels of communication and social skills vary greatly for individuals with ASD, and these variations can have powerful effects on the scores obtained on measures of intellectual abilities. One method of controlling for these specific variables may be through computerized testing, which research findings have demonstrated to be associated with higher scores on tests of executive functioning and working memory for individuals with autism but not for neurotypical individuals. Computer-based testing controls for the social and verbal aspects of the testing process, which are factors that may be affecting scores for individuals with autism, but not for others. The current study used three measures to discriminate the causes of score discrepancies: a verbal measure, a nonverbal measure that incorporates a social component, and a computerized test that has no social component and only a minimal verbal component. The scores were analyzed to find which one best predicts academic achievement and is the optimal measure of cognitive ability. The results indicated that no significant difference exists between scores obtained from each IQ test or in each test’s ability to predict either math or reading achievement; however, qualitative analysis indicated that differences may exists between scores of students with IQ scores below 70, but not for those with IQ scores above this level. The results also suggested that the level of a student’s communication skills is a significant component of what is measured by the IQ scores obtained from a verbal test, but not for those scores obtained from nonverbal or computerized measures. Future research needs to be done with a larger sample size to determine if differences in scores and the constructs they measure exist for individuals with autism who earn scores below 70 on common intelligence measures, as these students may be the most likely to have cognitive abilities underestimated.