Memory strategies in autistic and older adults.
Autistic adults’ memory strategies and age-related declines mirror those of non-autistic adults, so don’t expect ‘protective aging’ benefits.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked autistic and non-autistic adults to learn word lists. Some words had clear meaning links. Others did not.
People also told the researchers which memory tricks they used. The study compared younger and older adults in both groups.
What they found
Everyone remembered better when words had strong meanings. Older adults in both groups made more errors.
Autistic adults said they used more tricks, yet still felt their memory was worse. Their aging pattern looked just like the non-autistic pattern.
How this fits with other research
McIntyre et al. (2017) saw steeper executive-function drops in autistic adults. The new study shows memory strategy aging is parallel, not steeper. Different brain skills age at different speeds.
Ploog et al. (2007) found autistic children encode semantic cues fine. Cruz-Montecinos et al. (2024) now shows the benefit stays flat across life, but subjective memory still feels poor. The gap is in metacognition, not basic encoding.
Toichi et al. (2003) first noticed autistic adults lack typical word-link advantages. Twenty years later, Cruz-Montecinos et al. (2024) confirms the boost is still smaller, even when people try extra strategies.
Why it matters
Do not assume autistic clients will keep sharp memory longer. Plan for normal age-related slips. Teach semantic hooks, but add external aids like notes or alarms. Check how clients think their memory is working; feeling unsure may mask real ability.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Memory strategies in autistic adults seem to mimic strategies at older age, as both younger autistic and older non-autistic individuals use fewer semantic features in visual memory tasks. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate whether early differences in memory strategies lead to altered age-related effects in autism, particularly whether initial difficulties in strategy use become advantageous at older age (i.e., "protective aging"). A total of 147 participants across four groups (autistic younger/older, non-autistic younger/older) completed an online assessment. This assessment included a recognition version of the Visual Patterns Test (VPT) to evaluate semantic strategy use in visual memory, the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) size task for assessing visual processing, and the Multifactorial Memory Questionnaire to evaluate subjective memory functioning and strategy use (MMQ). Unexpectedly, all groups benefited from semantic features on the VPT, although the older groups performed less accurately and slower than the younger groups. The JND Size task showed no group differences. Autistic adults rated their MMQ memory as worse than non-autistic adults, despite reporting greater strategy use. These results indicate that cognitive strategies might be more similar between younger/older and autistic/non-autistic people than previously expected, although notable discrepancies between objective and subjective measures were present. They also substantiate previously reported parallel (i.e., similar) age-related effects between autistic and non-autistic people.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2024 · doi:10.1002/aur.3195