title: Similarities and differences between children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and those with obsessive compulsive disorder: executive functioning and repetitive behaviour.
abstract: In order to examine hypothesized underlying neurocognitive processes in repetitive behaviour, children and adolescents (7-16 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) were compared on a range of executive function (EF) measures. Performance on neuropsychological tests assessing executive functioning showed a trend for children with ASD to perform poorly on tasks requiring generation of multiple responses, while children with OCD tended to demonstrate impairments on a task requiring inhibition. Parental ratings on a questionnaire measure of EF indicated impairments in both groups relative to controls. Relationships between questionnaire and performance measures of EF were generally weak. There was some limited support for a relationship between EF and repetitive behaviour, but effects tended to be small and variable across groups and measures.
authors.affiliation: Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zandt
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prior
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kyrios
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011340:Problem Solving; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior; D014705:Verbal Behavior