title: Does WISC-IV Underestimate the Intelligence of Autistic Children?
abstract: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is widely used to estimate autistic intelligence (Joseph in The neuropsychology of autism. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011; Goldstein et al. in Assessment of autism spectrum disorders. Guilford Press, New York, 2008; Mottron in J Autism Dev Disord 34(1):19-27, 2004). However, previous studies suggest that while WISC-III and Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) provide similar estimates of non-autistic intelligence, autistic children perform significantly better on RPM (Dawson et al. in Psychol Sci 18(8):657-662, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01954.x , 2007). The latest WISC version introduces substantial changes in subtests and index scores; thus, we asked whether WISC-IV still underestimates autistic intelligence. Twenty-five autistic and 22 typical children completed WISC-IV and RPM. Autistic children's RPM scores were significantly higher than their WISC-IV FSIQ, but there was no significant difference in typical children. Further, autistic children showed a distinctively uneven WISC-IV index profile, with a "peak" in the new Perceptual Reasoning Index. In spite of major changes, WISC-IV FSIQ continues to underestimate autistic intelligence.
authors.affiliation: Rivière-des-prairies Hospital, Centre d'Excellence en Troubles Envahissants du Développement de l'Université de Montréal (CETEDUM), 7070 Blvd Perras, Montreal, QC, H1E 1A4, Canada.|Psychology Department, University of Quebec at Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, H3C 3P8, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nader
authors.affiliation: Rivière-des-prairies Hospital, Centre d'Excellence en Troubles Envahissants du Développement de l'Université de Montréal (CETEDUM), 7070 Blvd Perras, Montreal, QC, H1E 1A4, Canada.|Psychology Department, University of Quebec at Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, H3C 3P8, Canada.|Psychology Department, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, H3C 3J7, Canada.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Courchesne
authors.affiliation: Rivière-des-prairies Hospital, Centre d'Excellence en Troubles Envahissants du Développement de l'Université de Montréal (CETEDUM), 7070 Blvd Perras, Montreal, QC, H1E 1A4, Canada.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Rivière-des-prairies Hospital, Centre d'Excellence en Troubles Envahissants du Développement de l'Université de Montréal (CETEDUM), 7070 Blvd Perras, Montreal, QC, H1E 1A4, Canada. soulieres.isabelle@uqam.ca.|Psychology Department, University of Quebec at Montreal, C.P. 8888, succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, H3C 3P8, Canada. soulieres.isabelle@uqam.ca.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Soulières
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology*; D007361:Intelligence Tests / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Abstract reasoning; Autism; Children; Intelligence; Raven’s progressive matrices; Wechsler scales