Relationship Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Age and IQ in Preschool and School-Age Children and Adolescents with Autism and with ADHD.
Sluggish cognitive tempo becomes more common as kids with autism or ADHD get older—screen for it at every age.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team looked at 2- to young learners with autism or ADHD.
They asked parents and teachers to rate sluggish cognitive tempo.
They checked how SCT scores changed with age and IQ.
What they found
SCT doubled from preschool to teens.
Only 22 % of little kids showed SCT.
By adolescence, half the sample had it.
Lower IQ linked to slightly higher SCT scores.
How this fits with other research
Girard et al. (2023) showed early visual skills predict later IQ in autism.
Kremkow et al. (2022) adds that SCT also climbs with age, so screen for both.
Duerden et al. (2012) found brain changes only in young people with autism.
This fits: SCT rises while the brain is still maturing.
Miller et al. (2014) saw slower perceptual speed in autistic kids.
The new data say the slow-down may be SCT, not just perception.
Why it matters
If you work with kids who have autism or ADHD, add a quick SCT checklist every year.
Catch the slow, day-dreamy style early and adjust prompts, breaks, and task length before it blocks learning.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Relationships between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and age and IQ were investigated in children with autism and/or ADHD covering broader age and IQ ranges than in previous studies. Mothers rated 1436 children with autism and 1,056 with ADHD (2-17 years, IQs 9-149) on Pediatric Behavior Scale SCT items. Increasing age correlated with SCT in the autism, ADHD-Combined, and ADHD-Inattentive samples. SCT prevalence rates were 22% preschool, 29% early childhood, 41% late childhood, and 50% adolescence. Correlations between IQ and SCT were small and negative. SCT was lowest in children with above average intelligence. Children referred for autism and ADHD should be assessed for SCT, irrespective of IQ and age, given SCT's high prevalence and association with social and academic impairment.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9800-6