Impaired Consonant Trigrams Test (CTT) performance relates to everyday working memory difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorders

摘要

BackgroundIndividuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often struggle with complex tasks, such as those requiring divided attention (simultaneously completing two independent tasks) which also place high demands on working memory. Prior research shows that divided attention is impaired in adults and children with ASD, and is related to ASD and co-morbid attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD symptoms, but the impact on everyday functioning is unclear. Because ADHD symptoms are associated with poor divided attention and working memory performance in children with ASD, we also examined ADHD symptoms as moderators of divided attention performance.