The role of executive functions in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: A short narrative review.

The authors read 42 studies on three- to five-year-olds with autism. They pulled out every paper that tested executive functions like working memory, stopping a move, or switching tasks.

They asked: do early EF scores link to social skills, play, or problem behavior?

Kids who scored low on EF tasks also scored low on sharing, turn-taking, and staying calm. The link showed up in 36 of the 42 studies.

Poor EF also predicted more hitting, yelling, and running away.

Spriggs et al. (2016) looked at adults over 65 with autism. Those adults felt forgetful and slow, but test scores were only slightly lower. Petrolo et al. (2025) shows the trouble starts much earlier, so catch it in preschool.

Rojahn et al. (2012) found that receptive language, not grammar, drove daily living skills. The new review adds EF as a second big lever. Target both language and EF in your lesson plans.

Cunningham (2012) warned that social tests for tiny kids often miss the mark. Emanuela agrees and says to pick EF games that look like play, not like school quizzes.

If a four-year-old with autism cannot hold two rules in mind, he will also struggle to share toys or wait in line. Add quick EF games—red light/green light, matching by color then shape—into your ABA sessions. Five extra minutes of play-based EF work may save thirty minutes of problem behavior later.