[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.

[International adoption of children from Ethiopia and language: a pilot study]. / Adopcion internacional de niños de Etiopia y lenguaje: un estudio piloto.

INTRODUCTION: Children who have gone through international adoption offer a great and unique learning opportunity around language development. Time elapsed since the first international adoptions took place in Spain has given a unique opportunity to research and conclude whether learning the second language follows the same developmental patterns and outcomes as compared to acquiring tongue language. AIM: To verify whether the evaluated subjects have reached the expected use and language proficiency for their chronological age. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This pilot study focuses on the evaluation of language acquired in the first years of adolescence of 7 Ethiopian children who have lived over 8 years in Spain. CELF-4 test and the verbal tests of the WISC-IV have been administered. Scores have been analyzed and compared to the control group (same age group). In order to generate qualitative information about parents' concerns an on-line questionnaire has been administered in a form of a semi-structured interview. RESULTS: Both the CELF-4 test and the WISC-IV verbal tests reflect average or low average results in language abilities. Qualitative interviews reflect deep concern about academic outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects in this study are showing an average to low average proficiency in the Spanish language. The results, nevertheless, do not explain the academic difficulties shown.

TITLE: Adopcion internacional de niños de Etiopia y lenguaje: un estudio piloto.Introduccion. Los niños que han vivido una adopcion internacional ofrecen una oportunidad unica de conocer como ocurre el desarrollo del lenguaje. El tiempo que ha transcurrido desde que en nuestro pais se iniciaran las primeras adopciones internacionales esta permitiendo investigar si el desarrollo inicial del lenguaje culmina en una equiparacion real. Objetivo. Comprobar si se ha producido en los sujetos evaluados una equiparacion real en el lenguaje de acuerdo con lo esperado con su edad cronologica. Sujetos y metodos. En este estudio piloto se realiza una valoracion del lenguaje adquirido en los primeros años de la adolescencia de siete niños etiopes que han vivido ya mas de ocho años en España. Para ello se analizan las puntuaciones obtenidas por los siete sujetos en la prueba CELF-4 y en las puntuaciones de las pruebas verbales del WISC-IV, teniendo como referencia a su grupo normativo de edad (grupo control). Para obtener informacion cualitativa sobre las preocupaciones de los padres se ha administrado un cuestionario online a traves de una entrevista semiestructurada. Resultados. Tanto el CELF-4 como las pruebas verbales del WISC-IV estan reflejando un funcionamiento promedio o promedio-bajo en las competencias verbales analizadas. Las entrevistas cualitativas reflejan elevados niveles de preocupacion acerca del rendimiento academico. Conclusiones. Los sujetos del estudio parecen mostrar un funcionamiento promedio o promedio bajo en el uso del castellano. Las puntuaciones obtenidas, sin embargo, no parecen poder explicar las dificultades que estan manifestando en el ambito escolar.

[Good practice guidelines for the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders]. / Guia de buena practica para el tratamiento de los trastornos del espectro autista.

INTRODUCTION: Due to the inexistence of an aetiology-based intervention for autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) families and professionals are exposed to diverse and sometimes conflictive recommendations when they have to decide the most adequate alternative for treatment. AIM: To elaborate treatment guidelines agreed by consensus at the ASD Study Group of the (National) Institute of Health Carlos III. DEVELOPMENT: Information about treatment of ASD was searched and gathered through available evidence based medical (EBM) databases. The data generated was complemented with practice parameters published elsewhere, reports from prestigious international institutions, focus oriented searches in PubMed and, finally, the opinion and experience of a multidisciplinary Study Group with extensive experience in treating ASD in Spain. Most popular treatment methods were reviewed as well as the common elements to be considered in successful support programs. CONCLUSION: No simple treatment algorithm can be produced at this time, and the level of available evidence based recommendations are in the weaker degrees of EBM classifications. Nevertheless, there is widespread agreement to stress that education, with special incidence in the development of communication and social competence, with the addition of community support are the main means of treatment. They can be complemented, depending on individual needs, with medication, behavioural approaches and cognitive-behavioural therapy for associated psychological problems in persons with higher cognitive level. Support to families and community empowerment are essential elements for the quality of life of persons with ASD.

[Assessment of anxiety in autism spectrum disorders and in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. / Valoracion de la ansiedad en los trastornos del espectro autista y en el trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad.

INTRODUCTION: The identification of factors that influence attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism spectrum disorders (ASD) will allow the development of intervention strategies that will benefit the personal and social adjustment of these individuals. It is well known that children with developmental disorders have a higher risk of presenting symptoms of anxiety than typically developing children. AIM: To assess the perception of anxiety of a group of children and adolescents with ADHD or ASD and the anxiety their parents believe their children have, through the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Participants were 107 children and adolescents, 73 diagnosed with ADHD and 34 with ASD, with ages ranging between 8 and 17 years (91 boys and 16 girls), and their respective fathers or mothers (53 fathers and 54 mothers). All participants completed the corresponding version of the SCARED in the presence of one of the researchers. RESULTS: The results show differences in anxiety factors. Usually, these differences indicate higher levels of anxiety-both in parents and in children-in children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD versus those diagnosed with ASD. CONCLUSIONS: There are significant differences between the levels of anxiety shown both by children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD and those diagnosed with ASD, and in the levels of anxiety perceived by their parents.

TITLE: Valoracion de la ansiedad en los trastornos del espectro autista y en el trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad.Introduccion. La identificacion de factores que estan influyendo en el trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad (TDAH) o en los trastornos del espectro autista (TEA) permitira desarrollar estrategias de intervencion que repercutiran en beneficio de su ajuste personal y social. Es de sobra conocido que los niños con trastornos del desarrollo presentan mayor riesgo de manifestar sintomas de ansiedad que los que tienen desarrollo tipico. Objetivo. Valorar la percepcion que de la ansiedad tiene un grupo de niños y adolescentes con TDAH o TEA y la que creen los padres que poseen sus hijos mediante el Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorder (SCARED). Sujetos y metodos. Muestra de 107 niños y adolescentes, 73 diagnosticados de TDAH y 34 de TEA, con edades comprendidas entre 8 y 17 años (91 niños y 16 niñas), y sus respectivos padres o madres (53 padres y 54 madres). Todos cumplimentaron la correspondiente version del SCARED en presencia de alguno de los investigadores. Resultados. Los resultados muestran diferencias en los factores de ansiedad. Generalmente estas diferencias indican mayores niveles de ansiedad, tanto en los padres como en los hijos, en los niños y adolescentes diagnosticados de TDAH frente a los diagnosticados de TEA. Conclusiones. Hay diferencias significativas tanto entre los niveles de ansiedad mostrados por los niños y adolescentes diagnosticados de TDAH y los diagnosticados de TEA, como en los niveles de ansiedad percibida por sus padres.

[Best practice guidelines for the early detection of Autistic Spectrum Disorders (I)]. / Guía de buena práctica para la detección temprana de los trastornos del espectro autista (I).

INTRODUCTION: The interest in early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) lies in the accumulated evidence of the fact that an early customized intervention for children with an ASD and their families leads to an improvement of the child's prognosis in most cases. OBJECTIVE: To establish criteria and procedures for early identification of children at risk of ASD and to facilitate full diagnostic assessment and prompt referral leading to adequate support. Early detection of ASD is extremely important, since early specific individualized treatment for the child and his or her family leads to long-term improvement in many children' prognosis. DEVELOPMENT: Firstly, a critical appraisal of the situation of early detection of ASD in Spain is made after reviewing the scarce bibliography available on current screening and diagnostic practices in the country. Data generated by questionnaires received from 646 Spanish families is also taken into account. Secondly, the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III recommends the screening and early diagnosis process to be followed, describing the necessary steps, the public services involved and the available screening and diagnostic tools. CONCLUSIONS: The Study Group draws the main conclusions regarding the situation of ASD early detection in Spain, and makes a consensus proposal for the detection procedures, including routine developmental surveillance and identification of children at risk for ASD by using sensitive and specific assessment tools.

[Best practice guidelines for the diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders]. / Guía de buena práctica para el diagnóstico de los trastornos del espectro autista.

INTRODUCTION: The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic process requires expertise both in the knowledge of autism as in teamwork strategies with different professionals, often working in different clinic services, and with parents. AIM: To recommend a consensus diagnostic procedure for ASD, that has been designed by the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. DEVELOPMENT: The reports emphasize the need to obtain a complete clinical history, covering personal, family and psychosocial antecedents; detailing the basic areas affected in ASD--social interaction, communication and restricted patterns of behaviour, activities and interests. Diagnostic tests to be used as a routine in all cases are described and analysed--including both psychoeducational and biomedical tests. Also, tests indicated in cases with suspected identifiable physical disorders are covered, as well as those medical tests to be used for research purposes only. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic procedure requires the implementation of a coordinated interdisciplinary assessment strategy, that needs to ensure the participation of professionals from very different fields in active collaboration with the family. Their role culminates in the preparation and delivery of a personalized report. Every diagnostic procedure needs to be accompanied by an action plan that includes immediate support to the person with ASD, as well as information to the family on resources and community initiatives in their living area.

[Best practice guidelines for research in autistic spectrum disorders]. / Guía de buena práctica para la investigación de los trastornos del espectro autista.

INTRODUCTION: Achieving a better knowledge of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders known as autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), poses a major scientific challenge. These disorders are some of the earliest and most severe psychopathological disorders in infancy; they include an heterogeneous group of conditions; its prevalence rate seems to be continually increasing and they generate a significant social impact. AIMS AND DEVELOPMENT: Nowadays, there is a current international agreement on the general requirements to be fulfilled by research projects and the priority areas to be considered when developing ASD high quality research. In Spain, although there are some established research groups with broad experience and expertise in these disorders, public funding opportunities and research development are still scarce. For this reason, the Study Group of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III has generated by consensus some Good Practice Guidelines for Research in ASD. CONCLUSIONS: After comparing priorities and recommendations from international reference documents with the results obtained after having carried out an exhaustive bibliographic revision of articles published in autism in the last 30 years by Spanish authors, methodological and ethical recommendations are established. Finally, structural deficiencies to be corrected and emerging research initiatives to be supported are identified.

Psychological assessment of adolescents and adults with autism.

This paper reports the results of a small follow-up study on 17 autistic adolescents and young adults who are also intellectually retarded. The aim is to examine how far scores on the Psychoeducational Profile (PEP) predicts scores on the Adolescent and Adult Psychoeducational Profile (AAPEP) 5 years later. One subscale eye-hand coordination significantly predicts the scores on three subscales of the AAPEP: Vocational Skills, Independent Functioning, and Vocational Behavior. Imitation predicts Interpersonal Behavior. Fine Motor predicts Leisure Skills and Cognitive Performance predicts Functional Communication. Results are interpreted in terms of the implications for educational intervention programs with autistic adolescents and adults.

[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.

[Alexithymia and Asperger syndrome]. / Alexitimia y síndrome de Asperger.

INTRODUCTION: The study starts with the hypothesis that the difficulty to identify and describe emotions and feelings, and to differentiate the feelings of bodily sensations that accompany them, are a common denominator of the construct of alexithymia and Asperger syndrome (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study evaluates the levels of alexithymia in nine adult male subjects with AS. RESULTS: The results are classified according to whether the source of information is the subject itself with SA (significant alexithymia level in 2/3 parts of the subjects surveyed) or if the source is a relative (the final score in relation to the presence of the alexithymia is the double than in neurotypical population). CONCLUSION: It's confirmed a significant comorbidity between alexithymia and SA leading to the question of whether alexithymia is a idiosyncratic trait of individuals with SA.

[Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism: comorbidity with anxiety and mood disorders]. / Síndrome de Asperger y autismo de alto funcionamiento: comorbilidad con trastornos de ansiedad y del estado de ánimo.

INTRODUCTION: The comorbidity between Asperger's syndrome and affective and anxiety disorders seems to be meaningful. Therefore, it is presented a revision of the most recent scientific literature to provide empiric data with the aim to set out a research prospective. DEVELOPMENT: Assessment and diagnosis of the psychosocial performance confirm a meaningful proportion of cases with affective and anxious symptomatology, being converted into disorders some of them. CONCLUSION: It is necessary a better diagnosis because the affective and behavioural disturbances can be hidden as Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism associated symptomatology. Identify and recognize this comorbidity will improve the psychosocial capacity of these persons.

[Attention processes in autism]. / Procesos de atención en el autismo.

INTRODUCTION: This article briefly explains and defines what attention is, as well as its implications for the development of complex cognitive functions. DEVELOPMENT: The different attentional processes are described, with special emphasis on those that have been addressed in research conducted in the field of autistic spectrum disorders, and the experimental findings that have been obtained so far are also reported. CONCLUSIONS: Some attentional processes, such as selective or sustained attention, are not altered in autism or not enough evidence has been found to support such a hypothesis. Nevertheless, difficulties do exist in divided attention processes, although very little research has been carried out to study them, and even more problems are seen in joint attention skills.

[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.

[Autism, neurodevelopment and early detection]. / Autismo, neurodesarrollo y detección temprana.

INTRODUCTION: Autistic disorder is briefly explained and defined in the light of recent research. DEVELOPMENT: From the perspective offered by ontogenesis and the acquisitions that take place during normal development, we present an updated vision of the genesis of autistic disorder and also review the most significant data provided by the different studies that have been conducted on the subject. Detection of the disorder is clearly a difficult task before the age of one year and, in any case, the earliest symptoms are clearly linked to the social and communicative interaction that characteristically takes place at the end of the infant's first year of life. CONCLUSION: Early detection of the disorder is made possible precisely because of alterations in social and communicative development and, in general, the appearance of psychological functions that play a significant role in the process of humanisation. The article concludes by pointing out the need for further studies that focus on the possible alteration of earlier socio-emotional and affective manifestations.

[Educational intervention in autism from a psychological point of view]. / Intervención educativa en autismo desde una perspectiva psicológica.

INTRODUCTION: Autism is the prototypical condition in autism spectrum disorders. It is a developmental disorder of biological origin that becomes apparent by the age of 3 and which is characterised by qualitative alterations affecting the development of social relations and interaction, communication and language, and the development of symbolic and imaginative activity. DEVELOPMENT: The first manifestations of the disorder take place, in most cases and according to the two sources of information currently available (retrospective information provided by the families and the analysis of family videos), around the end of the first year (the age of 18 months is one of the ages most frequently mentioned by the families when asked about the matter). From an ontogenetic point of view, the coincidence between the times of the first manifestations of the disorder and the development of qualitatively human psychological functions is significant. Autism can, therefore, be understood to be a disorder that affects the genesis of psychological factors that are extremely relevant to human development and, thus, educational intervention must necessarily include the construction of these psychological functions as far as this is possible. CONCLUSIONS: Educational treatment in autism and in autism spectrum disorders have to be based on two essential areas of knowledge that must guide the implementation of any intervention programme, i.e. developmental and ontogenetic knowledge of typical development and knowledge of the autistic way of 'being'. The essential part of the treatment carried out in autism lies in the flexible and creative integration of our knowledge in these two areas.

Síndrome de Asperger y autismo de alto funcionamiento: comorbilidad con trastornos de ansiedad y del estado de ánimo / Asperger´s syndorme and high functioning autism: Comorbidity with anxiety and mood disorders

Introducción. La comorbilidad entre el síndrome de Asperger (SA) y los trastornos del estado de ánimo y de ansiedad parece ser altamente significativa. Por ello, se presenta una revisión de la bibliografía científica más actual que aporte evidencias empíricas a tal hipótesis con el objetivo de plantear una prospectiva de investigación. Desarrollo. La valoración y el diagnóstico del funcionamiento psicosocial analizado en personas con SA o autismo de alto funcionamiento (AAF) confirman una proporción significativa de casos con sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa, y en muchos de ellos se eleva a la categoría de trastornos comórbidos. Conclusión. Es necesaria una mejor formulación diagnóstica ya que las perturbaciones afectivoemocionales y conductuales pueden aparecer enmascaradas como sintomatología asociada al SA/AAF. Identificar y reconocer dicha comorbilidad psiquiátrica mejorará el funcionamiento psicosocial de estas personas (AU)

Introduction. The comorbidity between Asperger's syndrome and affective and anxiety disorders seems to be meaningful. Therefore, it is presented a revision of the most recent scientific literature to provide empiric data with the aim to set out a research prospective. Development. Assessment and diagnosis of the psychosocial performance confirm a meaningful proportion of cases with affective and anxious symptomatology, being converted into disorders some of them. Conclusion. It is necessary a better diagnosis because the affective and behavioural disturbances can be hidden as Asperger’s syndrome and high-functioning autism associated symptomatology. Identify and recognize this comorbidity will improve the psychosocial capacity of these persons (AU)

Procesos de atención en el autismo / Attention processes in autism

Introducción. Se explica y define brevemente en qué consiste la atención y su implicación para el desarrollo de funciones cognitivas complejas. Desarrollo. Se describen los distintos procesos atencionales, en especial aquellos que se han abordado en la investigación en el campo de los trastornos de espectro autista, y se refieren los hechos experimentales que se han obtenido al respecto. Conclusión. Algunos procesos de atención, como la atención selectiva o sostenida, no están alterados en el autismo o no se encuentran evidencias suficientes para respaldar dicha hipótesis. Sin embargo, existen dificultades en los procesos de atención dividida, aunque aún están poco estudiados, y, especialmente, alteraciones en las habilidades de atención conjunta (AU)

Introduction. This article briefly explains and defines what attention is, as well as its implications for the development of complex cognitive functions. Development. The different attentional processes are described, with special emphasis on those that have been addressed in research conducted in the field of autistic spectrum disorders, and the experimental findings that have been obtained so far are also reported. Conclusions. Some attentional processes, such as selective or sustained attention, are not altered in autism or not enough evidence has been found to support such a hypothesis. Nevertheless, difficulties do exist in divided attention processes, although very little research has been carried out to study them, and even more problems are seen in joint attention skills (AU)

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

Introducción. Las personas con síndrome de Asperger o autismo de alto funcionamiento comparten dificultades en el área social que se manifiestan en alteraciones en el desarrollo de habilidades mentales, dificultad en la autopercepción y control de las emociones, y escaso éxito en el desarrollo de interacciones sociales que se mantengan a lo largo del tiempo. Desarrollo. En niños con desarrollo normal puede observarse la intención de generar empatía y simpatía a través del análisis lingüístico de las respuestas que dan los niños ante la petición de narrar acontecimientos personales en los que ellos hicieron enfadar a alguien o en los que alguien les causó enfado. Hemos planteado estas dos tareas a niños con síndrome de Asperger o autismo de alto funcionamiento y se han analizado los resultados. Conclusión. Las competencias de carácter emocional, detectadas a través del lenguaje, varían enormemente entre niños con síndrome de Asperger y autismo de alto funcionamiento de la misma edad cronológica e indican motivación por generar en el interlocutor una representación positiva de ellos mismos cuando responden a preguntas en las deben narrar acontecimientos negativos que protagonizaron

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