Asperger's disorder profile in the WISC-III

This study sought a common WISC-III pattern among children diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder (AsD), the only DSM-IV-TR diagnosis for higher functioning children in the autism spectrum. A lack of distinction between AsD (normal VIQ, compromised PIQ) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA) (compromised VIQ, normal PIQ) may have effected a bell-curve in the AsD sample; obscuring an AsD WISC-IIII profile. However, a significant (p > .01) correlation absent in the WISC-III norming population but present in the AsD sample between Comprehension (Com) and Symbol Search (SS) (visuo-processing speed) may suggest support for adaptive functioning (Com). Increased information (Com) via increased visuo-processing speed (SS) may compensate somewhat for nonverbal weaknesses. This has implications for neuro-training to improve SS strengths, in addition to (receptive auditory, motor) weaknesses, in individuals with AsD.