Autistics are presumed to be characterized by cognitive impairment, and their cognitive strengths (e.g., in Block Design performance) are frequently interpreted as low-level by-products of high-level deficits, not as direct manifestations of intelligence. Recent attempts to identify the neuroanatomical and neurofunctional signature of autism have been positioned on this universal, but untested,...

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between the PASS model of intelligence and writing achievement in junior high students (aged 11-15 years) with and without written expression disabilities (as determined by school records and achievement testing). The PASS model of intelligence was operationalized as the Das-Naglieri: Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; 1997). Ninety-six ...

Changes in the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-IV (WISC-IV) may affect the IQ profile characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Moreover, the association of particular component cognitive abilities (unlike overall IQ) with symptomatology and adaptive functioning in ASD remains unclear. This archival study characterizes the WISC-IV IQ profile among 56 high-functioning (IQ > 70...

Following the publication of the third edition Wechsler scales (i.e., WAIS-III and WMS-III), demographically corrected norms were made available in the form of a computerized scoring program (i.e., WAIS-III/WMS-III/WIAT-II Scoring Assistant). These norms correct for age, gender, ethnicity, and education. Since then, four new indexes have been developed: the WAIS-III General Ability Index, the W...

Owing to higher performance on the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) than on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WIS), it has recently been argued that intelligence is underestimated in autism. This study examined RPM and WIS IQs in 48 individuals with autism, a mixed clinical (n = 28) and a neurotypical (n = 25) control group. Average RPM IQ was higher than WIS IQ only in the autism group, albe...

A sample of 704 cognitively intact individuals (M age = 63.7 years) performed a battery of cognitive tests on as many as three occasions, at approximately 3-year intervals. The authors used random effects models to analyze cross-sectional relationships between cognitive performance and state anxiety and longitudinal relationships between cognitive change and neuroticism, after controlling for g...

Clinical interpretation of subtest score profiles on intelligence tests is a common practice. The ACID profile found on Wechsler’s scales has been widely accepted as a clinical indicator which has both diagnostic and treatment implications. However, this practice has been based on clinical rather than empirical evidence. This study examines the discriminant and predictive validity of the Wechsl...

Sir, Anderson et al. (2009) refuted the Kennard Principle, which states that the immature brain is more plastic and less vulnerable to insult than a mature brain (Montour-Proulx et al., 2004); however, there are important errors in Table 5 of their paper. The IQ data for their six age subgroups do not tally with the total group figures in the last column of Table 5. In each of these six subgrou...

There is debate regarding the appropriate use of Western cognitive measures with individuals from very diverse backgrounds to that of the norm population. Given the dated research in this area and the considerable socio-economic changes that South Africa has witnessed over the past 20 years, this paper reports on the use of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III), the mos...

This study examined the performance of black and white learning disabled South African children on the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children Revised and Third Edition (WISCRAA/ISC-III). The K-ABC and WISC-RAA/ISC-III were administered to 34 white children and 21 black children aged 6 to 11 years (mean 7-9 years) at private remedial sch...