Executive function predicts the visuospatial working memory in autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Autistic kids’ visuospatial memory gaps link to overall EF slips, while ADHD kids’ link to set-maintenance fails—so tailor cognitive training to the error pattern you see.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Wang et al. (2018) compared visuospatial working memory in kids with autism, ADHD, and typical peers.
They also asked which executive-function errors predicted the memory scores in each group.
The study used standard lab tasks, not parent reports.
What they found
Children with autism scored lowest on visuospatial working memory.
ADHD kids landed in the middle; typical kids scored highest.
Different EF errors predicted memory trouble: overall EF errors for autism, set-maintenance failures for ADHD.
How this fits with other research
Hatton et al. (2005) saw the same memory ranking a decade earlier, so the deficit is stable.
Kouklari et al. (2018) also found EF predicting a cognitive skill in autism, but they tested theory-of-mind instead of memory.
Klein et al. (2024) turned the memory weakness into a treatment: eye-tracking games improved visuospatial working memory in the same groups.
Why it matters
When you see poor visual memory on the table, check which EF errors show up. For ASD kids, plan broad EF drills. For ADHD kids, target set-maintenance with self-monitoring cues. Pick tools like eye-tracking games or color-coded checklists that match the profile you found.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) always show working memory deficits. However, research findings on the factors that affected the working memory in ASD and ADHD were inconsistent. Thus, we developed the present study to investigate the association of executive function (EF) with the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in ASD and ADHD. Three groups of participants were examined: 21 children with ASD, 28 children with ADHD and 28 typically developing (TD) children as the controls. All participants completed two tests: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Corsi Block Tapping Test for measuring EF and VSWM, respectively. The WCST included four domains: categories achieved (CA), perseverative errors (PE), failures to maintain set (FMS), and total errors (TE). The findings indicated that (1) the ASD group showed poorer performance in VSWM than the ADHD and TD groups; (2) for the ASD group, VSWM was positively correlated with CA, and was negatively correlated with PE and TE; (3) for the ADHD group, FMS showed a negative relationship with VSWM; and (4) TE predicted the performance of VSWM in ASD group, while FMS predicted VSWM in ADHD group. The study results suggested that VSWM was impaired in ASD but not in ADHD. Also, the EF domains were differently correlated with the VSWM performance in ASD and ADHD. Our study suggests that we should consider different intervention targets of working memory and EF contributions in improving the cognitive capacity of ASD and ADHD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1148-1156. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The present study compared the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in three groups of children: autism (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developed children (TD). The ASD group showed poorer VSWM than the ADHD and TD groups. The total error of executive function predicted the performance of VSWM in ASD, while failures to maintain set predicted VSWM in ADHD . These findings suggested that we should consider the different working memory and executive function training targets to increase cognitive capacity of ASD and ADHD.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2018 · doi:10.1002/aur.1967