Comparison of the cognitive profiles and social adjustment between mathematically and scientifically talented students and students with Asperger's syndrome

Ching Chih Kuo, Keng Chen Liang, Christine Chifen Tseng, Susan Shur Fen Gau*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study compared the cognitive profiles and social adjustment of mathematically and scientifically talented (MST) students and students with Asperger's syndrome (AS) as compared to typically developing students. The applied instruments were the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd version, Me Scale II, Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), Adult Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and autism diagnostic interview-revised. Eighty-four male students, aged 16-26, were assigned to four groups according to a talent in mathematics and science, diagnosis of AS, and the IQ level. The results showed that the high-IQ MST group exhibited balanced development in cognitive and affective aspects, the average-IQ MST group demonstrated weakness in perceptual organization and working memory, and problems with social awareness and socialness, and the AS group had weakness in performance IQ, particularly in digit symbol-coding and symbol search and a wide-range of autistic-like social deficits (SRS) and autistic trait (AQ), and reported lower empathetic and higher emotional and creative overexcitability. Our findings support differential cognitive profiles and social adjustment between the MST and AS groups, and the influence of IQ on these manifestations in MST students. More attention should be paid to the social difficulty of average-IQ MST students in addition to AS students.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)838-850
Number of pages13
JournalResearch in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Volume8
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014 Jul

Keywords

  • Asperger's syndrome
  • Cognitive profiles
  • Mathematically and scientifically talented
  • Overexcitability traits
  • Social adjustment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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