In children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), learning disorders can be found to a greater or lesser extent, with the clinical presentation being very different and heterogeneous depending on the stage of development in which the individual is (early childhood, school age, adolescence or adulthood) and the degree of functional and intellectual involvement of the ASD.
The ASD in learning disorders
Thus, the concept of “spectrum” classically used in the clinical description of ASD to conceptualize a broad and heterogeneous dimensional diagnostic category can also be applicable and transferable to learning disorders present in this particular population.
Thus, both in “classic autism” originally described by Kanner in 1943, and in the less severe forms called “high-functioning autism” and “Asperger’s Syndrome”, a wide range of cognitive functioning profiles can be found.
For example, autistic disorder can be associated in 75% of cases with an intellectual disability, presenting in early stages of neurodevelopment a significant delay in language acquisition. Or at the other end of the spectrum, there are those children who do not present significant delays in language acquisition or who even develop a rich and formally very correct language early on, and whose intellectual level is normal or in the range of giftedness.
What does the neuropsychological functioning of these children with ASD indicate?
The neuropsychological functioning of this subpopulation of children with ASD usually translates into better performance in all those brain functions related to the left hemisphere, with higher scores in verbal scales in relation to manipulative ones (although this is not constant in all cases). Although they may have a highly developed memory and be able to retain very specific information related to their centers of interest, at the academic level their difficulties in global perception in favor of superfluous details, their low capacity for abstraction and ability to extract the main idea from a text or a conversation in the classroom, mean that these children may have difficulties in learning (especially in subjects that are not interesting to them).
As a general rule, when there is no intellectual disability, these children tend to perform well in those subjects that are interesting to them and in which they can “accumulate” information (for example, in the natural sciences). They can be very good at calculus and acquire reading mechanics correctly (even without precise instruction). However, they find it difficult to apply all those abstract concepts that are essential for solving mathematical problems or for text comprehension.
With great inter-individual variability, other areas at the school level in which children with ASD may present difficulties are in graphism (both in writing and in drawing or art), and/or in physical education. Furthermore, in children with ASD with normal intellectual levels, there may be profiles of specific difficulties in learning to read and write (dyslexia) or in learning mathematics (dyscalculia).
And last but not least, all those activities in which an adequate understanding and adaptation to the environment is essential, as well as an optimal use of social skills constitute a point of special difficulty for children with ASD. It must be taken into account that the noises and unexpected events that constantly occur at school, the games and jokes of their peers that they do not understand, and the constant changes in routine, can cause them great anxiety and interfere with their learning at a given moment in their evolution.