title: Cognitive and symptom profiles in Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism.
abstract: Asperger syndrome (AS) and autistic disorder are two subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), but there has been considerable debate over whether AS and autistic disorder without mental retardation (IQ > or = 70), called high-functioning autism (HFA), are distinct conditions or not. The aim of the present paper was to clarify this issue through a comparison of cognitive function and autistic symptom profiles. Based on the DSM-IV and ICD-10 definitions of language acquisition, 36 age- and IQ-balanced subjects with AS (mean age, 12.8 years; mean full-scale IQ, 98.3) were compared with 37 subjects with HFA (mean age, 12.6 years; mean full-scale IQ, 94.6) on the Japanese version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Tokyo Version (CARS-TV). Compared with the HFA subjects, the AS subjects scored significantly higher on Verbal IQ, Vocabulary, and Comprehension, but scored significantly lower on Coding. Although the total CARS-TV score did not differ significantly between the two groups, AS subjects scored significantly lower (i.e. less abnormal) on Verbal communication and Non-verbal communication than did the HFA subjects. A history of normal language acquisition in early childhood could predict his/her better verbal ability in mid-childhood or later. Autistic cognitive characteristics shared by both AS and HFA subjects appear to support the validity of the current diagnostic classification of PDD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health Administration, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan. tomok@ncnp.go.jp
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Hisateru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tachimori
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Toshinobu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kurita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D001519:Behavior; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014888:Wechsler Scales