Thursday, May 20, 2010
Franklin Hall B Level 4 (Philadelphia Marriott Downtown)
2:00 PM
Background: Auditory divided attention, or the ability to simultaneously complete two independent auditory tasks, is critical for completing complex multi-step tasks, which may be social (participating in a ‘to and fro’ conversation), or non-social (getting dressed). Although multi-step tasks are particularly difficult for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), auditory divided attention has not, to our knowledge, been previously been investigated in ASD.
Objectives: To examine auditory divided attention in children with high-functioning ASD, and to ascertain its relevance to social and executive functioning.
Methods: In Study 1, a clinic-referred sample of 89 children with high-functioning ASD (diagnosed using DSM-IV criteria, ADI and ADOS) received a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation. Data collected from the Score-DT subtest of The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) was used to assess auditory divided attention. Regressions between composite ADI/ADOS domain scores, Score-DT performance, other executive tasks and nuisance variables were conducted to measure the relationship between auditory divided attention and ASD symptoms.
In Study 2, 28 children with high-functioning ASD and 18 typically developing children were matched on age, IQ, sex-ratio, and socioeconomic status. To measure auditory divided attention, a child-friendly version of the Consonant Trigrams Test (CTT) was administered to both groups. As an alternative measure of ASD symptoms, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was implemented. Total scores on the CTT and the SRS were correlated to determine the relationship between auditory divided attention and ASD symptoms. Parental reports were collected with the ADHD Rating Scale and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) to better assess the attention and working memory components of the CTT.
Results: Within the ASD sample, multiple regression revealed that performance on the Score-DT task predicted autism social domain scores (t =-2.77, p< .02), even after accounting for age and other executive abilities.
In the 2nd study, scores on the CTT were significantly higher for typically developing children than their matched ASD’s, t(44)=3.15, p≤.001. However, when ADHD symptom ratings were included as a covariate, group differences were no longer significant, F(1,37)=1.79, p=.18. Despite the elimination of group differences, the inclusion of ADHD symptoms as a covariate strengthened the relationship between CTT performance and the working memory subscale of the BRIEF, r(22)=-.43, p<.05. Finally, the correlation between total SRS score and performance on the CTT, although non-significant, was of moderate effect size, r(28)=-.27, p=.17.
Conclusions: Children with high-functioning ASD demonstrate a diminished ability to divide attention between auditory stimuli compared to matched controls. Furthermore, divided attention capacities relate to the severity of social impairment in ASD. Divided attention in ASD is moderated, however, by ADHD symptoms, an important finding that should be further explored. Taking the two studies together, the ability to divide attention during auditory tasks relates to greater social and executive impairments and may constitute an intervention target to improve academic and social functioning.
Funding: Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky Family Foundation, Singer Foundation, NIH Intramural Research Program, Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment Network, Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers
Objectives: To examine auditory divided attention in children with high-functioning ASD, and to ascertain its relevance to social and executive functioning.
Methods: In Study 1, a clinic-referred sample of 89 children with high-functioning ASD (diagnosed using DSM-IV criteria, ADI and ADOS) received a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation. Data collected from the Score-DT subtest of The Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) was used to assess auditory divided attention. Regressions between composite ADI/ADOS domain scores, Score-DT performance, other executive tasks and nuisance variables were conducted to measure the relationship between auditory divided attention and ASD symptoms.
In Study 2, 28 children with high-functioning ASD and 18 typically developing children were matched on age, IQ, sex-ratio, and socioeconomic status. To measure auditory divided attention, a child-friendly version of the Consonant Trigrams Test (CTT) was administered to both groups. As an alternative measure of ASD symptoms, the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was implemented. Total scores on the CTT and the SRS were correlated to determine the relationship between auditory divided attention and ASD symptoms. Parental reports were collected with the ADHD Rating Scale and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) to better assess the attention and working memory components of the CTT.
Results: Within the ASD sample, multiple regression revealed that performance on the Score-DT task predicted autism social domain scores (t =-2.77, p< .02), even after accounting for age and other executive abilities.
In the 2nd study, scores on the CTT were significantly higher for typically developing children than their matched ASD’s, t(44)=3.15, p≤.001. However, when ADHD symptom ratings were included as a covariate, group differences were no longer significant, F(1,37)=1.79, p=.18. Despite the elimination of group differences, the inclusion of ADHD symptoms as a covariate strengthened the relationship between CTT performance and the working memory subscale of the BRIEF, r(22)=-.43, p<.05. Finally, the correlation between total SRS score and performance on the CTT, although non-significant, was of moderate effect size, r(28)=-.27, p=.17.
Conclusions: Children with high-functioning ASD demonstrate a diminished ability to divide attention between auditory stimuli compared to matched controls. Furthermore, divided attention capacities relate to the severity of social impairment in ASD. Divided attention in ASD is moderated, however, by ADHD symptoms, an important finding that should be further explored. Taking the two studies together, the ability to divide attention during auditory tasks relates to greater social and executive impairments and may constitute an intervention target to improve academic and social functioning.
Funding: Isadore and Bertha Gudelsky Family Foundation, Singer Foundation, NIH Intramural Research Program, Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment Network, Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers