Brief report: information processing speed is intact in autism but not correlated with measured intelligence.

Matson et al. (2009) tested how fast kids with high-functioning autism take in simple visual information. They used a task called inspection time. Kids looked at two lines that flashed on a screen for a tiny moment. They just had to say which line was longer.

The team also gave everyone a short IQ test. They wanted to see if processing speed and IQ scores rise together in autism the same way they do in typical kids.

Both groups—autism and typical—needed the same brief flash to judge the lines. Processing speed was intact in autism.

But the link between speed and IQ broke apart in the autism group. Fast visual snap did not predict higher IQ scores for them, while it did for controls.

Roane et al. (2001) saw the same null result earlier for working memory: high-functioning kids with autism kept pace with peers. Together these studies show core speed and memory clocks run on time in ASD.

Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) later tracked eye movements during reading and again found equal on-line processing speed, backing up the 2009 visual result.

Siegel et al. (2014) looks like a clash—they report grammar processing that is faster in ASD boys. The gap is about domain: general visual timing stays normal, while rule-based language steps can speed ahead. Different circuits, different story.

Gonzalez et al. (2013) push the idea further. Adults with autism got quicker than controls at airport-luggage search. In some visual niches, ASD brains can even outrace typical ones.

Do not use quick visual tests as stand-ins for IQ in kids with ASD. A child who seems slow on a flash task may still score high on intelligence measures, and vice versa. Always pair speed checks with direct IQ tools. When you see fast performance on grammar or search tasks, celebrate the skill instead of flagging it as odd—it may be a real strength to build on in therapy or job training.