title: Conceptual problem-solving in highly verbal, nonretarded autistic men.
abstract: Nine highly verbal, nonretarded men, ages 18 to 39, with clearly documented childhood diagnoses of infantile autism were studied with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, a measure of conceptual problem solving sensitive to frontal system dysfunction, and with a measure of social-adaptive functioning. Their performances were compared with 10 controls matched for age, sex, education, and IQ, as well as with published norms for various groups of brain-damaged patients. Significant deficits in the formulation of rules and significant perseverative tendencies were documented in the autistic sample. No significant correlation between these deficits and social-adaptive deficits was seen. These findings were discussed with respect to the heterogeneity of the autistic disorder and Damasio's hypothesis concerning frontal-subcortical dysfunction in autism.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000523:psychology; D003210:Concept Formation; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D012917:Social Adjustment