Visual abilities and exploration behaviors as predictors of intelligence in autistic children from preschool to school age.
Sharp visual spotting skills in autistic preschoolers predict higher IQ years later, even if the child barely talks.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tracked 3- to young learners autistic children for three years. They tested how well each child spotted hidden shapes, matched patterns, and explored pictures.
At every child took an IQ test. The team asked: do early visual scores predict later IQ, even in kids who speak few or no words?
What they found
Children who found hidden shapes fastest and looked at pictures in organized ways scored higher on later IQ tests. The link held for both chatty and minimally verbal kids.
Strong preschool visual skills forecast school-age IQ about as well as early language scores do.
How this fits with other research
Miller et al. (2014) saw autistic kids move slower on visual tasks. The new study does not deny that; it adds that, within the same group, the quickest responders become the highest-IQ teens. Speed and outcome are different variables.
Guy et al. (2016) found lower mid-frequency contrast sensitivity in 6- to young learners. Dominique’s preschoolers had not yet entered that age window, so early visual strengths may dip later. The papers mark two points on one timeline, not a clash.
Hartley et al. (2015) showed minimally verbal preschoolers can use photos as symbols. Dominique extends that work by linking such visual competence to future cognitive growth, not just single-task success.
Why it matters
Screen visual-perceptual skills at intake. A quick hidden-shape game gives you a cheap, culturally neutral snapshot of potential. Build on strengths: use clear photos, structured arrays, and visual schedules to boost learning for low-language learners. Track these skills yearly; a drop could signal the need for vision or contrast-sensitivity referral before school demands rise.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
At the time of diagnosis, parents of autistic children frequently wonder what the future holds for their children in terms of intellectual development. It remains however difficult to answer this question at such a young age. Indeed, while early precursors of intelligence are well known for children following a typical development, these precursors remain to be identified for autistic children. Some theoretical models of intelligence suggest that perceptual abilities or behaviors, as seen early in autistic cognitive development, could be early indicators of intelligence. However, research examining the relation between early perceptual predictors and autistic intelligence over time is needed. This article is the first to consider a variety of early perceptual abilities and behaviors as precursors/predictors of intelligence at school age in autistic children. We showed that better performance in perceptual tasks at preschool age predicted better intellectual abilities measured later in autistic children. Importantly, our sample of autistic children represented the whole spectrum, including children with few to no spoken words, who are an important proportion of autistic preschoolers. While early perceptual abilities and behaviors may not substitute for a formal intellectual assessment, our results support that these indices may help estimate later intellectual level in autistic children. Perceptual abilities have the advantage to be easy to observe at preschool age and seem to fit the cognitive style of autistic children. Assessment methods could probably gain from including and focusing more on the perceptual strengths of autistic children.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2023 · doi:10.1177/13623613231166189