title: High functioning children with autism spectrum disorder: a novel test of multitasking.
abstract: High functioning children with a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's syndrome (HF-ASD) often experience difficulties organising goal-directed actions in their day-to-day lives, requiring support to schedule daily activities. This study aimed to capture these everyday difficulties experimentally using multitasking, a methodology that taps into the cognitive processes necessary for successful goal-directed activities in everyday life. We investigated multitasking in children with HF-ASD using a novel multitask test, the Battersea Multitask Paradigm. Thirty boys participated in the study, 14 with HF-ASD and 16 typically developing controls, matched for age and IQ. Group differences in multitasking were observed. Participants with HF-ASD were less efficient at planning, attempted fewer tasks, switched inflexibly between tasks and broke performance rules more frequently than controls.
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK. r.mackinlay@psychologie.unizh.ch
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mackinlay
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karmiloff-Smith
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index