Compared to their neurotypically developing peers, children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders tend to have attenuated neural responses in the parietal lobe when attending sensory input, as reflected by a reduced P3b amplitude measured with electroencephalography. However, it is unknown whether a reduced P3b amplitude in autistic…

Objective: We leveraged common genetic variation underlying ADHD, educational attainment (EA) and cognition (COG) to understand the nature of the Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Functions (BRIEF) and its relationship to academic functioning. Method: Participants were 991 youth, ages 7 to 17, consecutively referred for neuropsychiatric…

Interpersonal Skills (ISs) and Executive Functions (EFs) are two groups of skills which are extremely relevant for children's cognitive, social and psychological development. As well as being interrelated, both can be modulated by other variables such as intelligence or sex. Many studies have tried to establish the relationship between them, but…

Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, little research delineates the temporal and mechanistic associations between potential risk factors and suicidality in autistic individuals. We assessed 129 autistic and 121 age-matched and sex-assigned-at-birth-matched…

Dysexecutive syndrome has been consistently reported in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Particularly, impairments have been documented in working memory, inhibition, and mental flexibility. However, the relationship between executive impairments and intellectual functioning is far from clear in this population. This…

This study examined whether domain-general cognitive weaknesses in processing speed (PS) or executive functioning (EF) moderate the relation between word reading scores and anxiety such that lower word reading scores in combination with lower cognitive scores are associated with higher anxiety symptoms. The sample consisted of 755 youth ages 8-16…

This study examined the factor structure of executive control throughout elementary school, as well as associations between executive control abilities in preschool and elementary school. Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of executive control development in a community sample of children (N = 294; 53% female, 47% male) oversampled for low…

Executive functions are related to key outcomes. Studies of autistic youth self-report of other nonsocial traits indicate that their insights into their own functioning and internal experiences provide important information that is not captured by their parents' report, but youth self-report of executive function has not been researched in autism.…

Objective: We investigated the right Superior Frontal Gyrus (right-SFG) and Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) in children with ADHD and their clinical relevance with Executive Function (EF) and ADHD symptom severity. Methods: About 26 children with ADHD and 24 typically developing children (TDC; 7--16 years) underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging…

Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD) has been the focus of four decades of neuropsychological research. However, it has yet to be included as a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., currently in its fifth edition, DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many of the characteristics associated…

Purpose: This study determines the effect of movement games on executive function among overweight children. Methods: Forty-four overweight children received an intervention of movement games, and 40 overweight children participated in original physical education lessons. An intervention of movement games was conducted three times a week for 8…

Purpose: This article reviews research on executive function (EF) skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the relation between EF and language abilities. The current study assessed EF using nonverbal tasks of inhibition, shifting, and updating of working memory (WM) in school-age children with ASD. It also evaluated the…

The mediators of real-world executive functions in autism during the transition into adulthood are mainly unknown. This study aimed to identify the mediators for the behavioral and cognitive domains of real-world executive functions in late adolescent and young adult autistic populations. We followed up 289 autistic children (aged 11.6 ± 3.8, male…

This pilot study explored the impact of an eight-session attentional skills training (AST) program for elementary-age school children. Twenty-four students, 3rd through 6th grade, participated in guidance sessions involving exposure to mindfulness exercises and video gaming activities designed to challenge visual attention, memory, and…

This study examines the extent to which iron deficiency in infancy contributes to adverse neurocognitive and educational outcomes in young adulthood directly and indirectly, through its influence on verbal cognition and attention problems in childhood. Young adults (N = 1,000, M age = 21.3 years, 52% female; of Spanish or indigenous descent) from…