[Autism and intelligence quotient: stability?] / Autismo y cociente intelectual: estabilidad?

INTRODUCTION: Autism is a heterogeneous disorder. The possibility of determining its characteristics over time will have a great impact on the prognosis and predictions that can be made. In that regard, the intelligence quotient and its possible stability throughout the life cycle can help to better define the phenotype of the disorder and its associated needs. DEVELOPMENT: Longitudinal studies show a certain level of stability in intelligence quotient scores, especially starting from the school years. Before, in the preschool stage, there is greater variability, especially in those children who have a borderline intellectual functioning or moderate intellectual disability. CONCLUSION: More research should continue to be developed to know the cognitive profile of people with autism spectrum disorder and be able to make predictions based on their intellectual functioning.

TITLE: Autismo y cociente intelectual: estabilidad?Introduccion. El autismo es un trastorno heterogeneo. La posibilidad de determinar sus caracteristicas a lo largo del tiempo tendra una gran repercusion en el pronostico y las predicciones que se puedan hacer. En ese sentido, el cociente intelectual y su posible estabilidad a lo largo del ciclo vital pueden ayudar a definir mejor el fenotipo del trastorno y sus necesidades asociadas. Desarrollo. Los estudios longitudinales muestran cierta estabilidad en las puntuaciones del cociente intelectual, sobre todo a partir de los años escolares. Antes, en la etapa preescolar, existe mayor variabilidad, especialmente en aquellos niños que tienen un funcionamiento intelectual limite o discapacidad intelectual moderada. Conclusion. Debe seguirse desarrollando mas investigacion para conocer el perfil cognitivo de las personas con trastorno del espectro autista y poder realizar predicciones a partir de su funcionamiento intelectual.

[Autism and hyperlexia]. / Autismo e hiperlexia.

INTRODUCTION: Hyperlexia is described in children who present alterations or retardation in development and is frequently characterised by their teaching themselves to read at an early age. This ability to decode words does not correlate with their intellectual level and can course with different degrees of mental retardation. It is always accompanied by difficulty in establishing social relationships. Autism is a disorder that is prototypical of the autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), which are essentially characterised by qualitative alterations in social interaction, in communication and language development, and in the presence of a limited repertory of interests, accompanied by stereotyped or peculiar responses. METHOD: The presence of hyperlexia in autistic children is more frequent than in other development disorders. This phenomenon is linked with the increased skills involving visual memory, visual discrimination and motivation/interest towards visually represented material that is to be found in people with autism. However, not all autistic individuals present hyperlexia and not all children with hyperlexia present autism, although evidence shows that hyperlexia is a phenomenon that is observed with greater frequency in autism and in ASD. CONCLUSION: Hyperlexia, understood as meaning a little island of ability in children with autism and ASD, poses a number of questions and represents an important challenge in neuropsychological research in this population.

[Early development: some data about autism and language disorders]. / Desarrollo temprano: algunos datos procedentes del autismo y los trastornos del lenguaje.

INTRODUCTION: The early development of children who have been diagnosed as suffering from autism and children with specific language disorder (SLD) is still an area of research that receives little attention. There is a need for descriptive patterns of the early stages in the development of the two groups that foster the formation of reliable early diagnoses. Aims. In this study we attempt to determine the incidence of different symptoms in the first two years in the life of children who were later diagnosed as suffering from autism or SLD and to confirm or refute the data that suggests a pattern of onset of the disorder that differs from one group to the other. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We compare the data concerning the development of a sample made up of 42 children with autism and 41 children with SLD, which was carried out by means of a retrospective analysis of the information obtained from the families in the evaluation and diagnosis processes that were conducted in our centre. More specifically, we compare information about the following variables: family history, parents' age at the time of pregnancy, parents' profession, position at birth and incidence by sex, information about prenatal, perinatal and postnatal aspects, eating and sleeping problems, the presence or absence of signs of passivity, traces of alarm during the first year, age of the child when the first suspicions appeared, symptoms or difficulties that are described, data linked to medical neurological explorations carried out and data related to motor development. RESULTS: Although there are numerous similarities in many of the variables studied in both groups, it seems that the earlier onset of symptoms, passivity and the absence of pointing behaviour are more frequent in the group with autism than in children with SLD. The latter present a specific difficulty in language, tantrums and poorer motor competencies. CONCLUSIONS: At present there is no single symptom in early development that is exclusive to any of the disorders described above, although it is possible to determine some significant differences between the two groups. There is also a need to conduct more studies in the same line as this one that take into account the patterns of early development of other the autistic spectrum disorders.

[The autistic spectrum. An epidemiological study and analysis of possible subgroups]. / Espectro autista. Estudio epidemiológico y análisis de posibles subgrupos.

INTRODUCTION: Although the concept of autistic spectrum may be useful to explain and describe the heterogeneity of the syndrome, its aetiology is still unknown. Different disorders have been reported as the biological basis of autism. Early diagnosis and a multi disciplinary approach to the condition are essential for effective psychopaedagogic treatment. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is a relationship between the severity of the syndrome of autism and the course of the disorder, as a function of the presence or absence of neurological features, and to define homogeneous subgroups by detecting etiological variables which may be common to them. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 46 children defined as being within the spectrum of autism, in whom the diagnosis was confirmed on the autistic spectrum inventory (IDEA/Rivi re 97). Parameters studied: family history, perinatal risk, age of onset, complementary investigations and neurological features. RESULTS: The diagnosis was confirmed in 18 children; of the others 14 had a specific defect of the development of language. There was an almost complete absence of underlying neurological disorders, although this may have been due to dispersion of the complementary investigations done. CONCLUSIONS: Specific disorders of the development of language are the main differential diagnoses to be considered together with the autistic spectrum. The diagnosis of autism is clinical, but the heterogeneity of the medical approach interferes with the overall assessment of the spectrum favoring behavioural and underestimating the biological aspects. This means that the problem should be reconsidered so as to obtain uniform guidelines for action.

[The influence of the social perception of emotions in the formal language of children with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism]. / Influencia de la percepción social de las emociones en el lenguaje formal en niños con síndrome de Asperger o autismo de alto funcionamiento.

INTRODUCTION: People with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism both have difficulties in the social area that become manifest in alterations affecting the development of mental skills, difficulties in self-perception and control over the emotions, and scant success when it comes to developing social interactions that last for any length of time. DEVELOPMENT: A linguistic analysis of the answers children give when asked to talk about personal events in which they made someone angry or somebody made them angry reveals the intention to generate empathy and sympathy in children who have undergone normal development. These two tasks were performed by children with Asperger's syndrome or high-functioning autism and the results were then analysed. CONCLUSIONS: Competencies of an emotional nature, which were detected through the language used, vary widely among children with Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism of the same chronological age and indicate a motivation to generate a positive representation of themselves in their interlocutor when they answer questions in which they have to talk about negative events they were involved in.