Visual working memory performance is intact across development in autism spectrum disorder.
Visual working memory grows on a typical path in autism, so keep your teaching pace and visuals the same.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Schlink et al. (2022) tracked visual working memory across the lifespan. They tested people with autism and typical development from age 3 to 65. Everyone tried to remember colors, shapes, and patterns in a simple computer game.
What they found
Both groups gained memory capacity as they grew. There was no autism gap at any age. Color, shape, and pattern memory all improved together.
How this fits with other research
Cardillo et al. (2020) and Fahmie et al. (2013) found the same null result. Their data say visuospatial memory stays intact in autism.
Dudley et al. (2019) and Johnson et al. (2009) seem to disagree. They report slower brain growth or weaker change-detection in autism. The clash is only on the surface. The 2019 study looked at brain scans, not day-to-day memory scores. The 2009 study tested spotting picture changes, not holding items in mind.
Sasson et al. (2018) found better visual memory in kids with more autistic traits. That sounds opposite, but their kids had no autism diagnosis. Traits and diagnosis are not the same thing.
Why it matters
You can stop lowering the bar for visual memory in your learners with autism. Use the same visuals, the same wait time, and the same teaching load you use for anyone else. If a child struggles, look at retrieval cues first, not at the memory itself.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical visual processing and deficits in working memory (WM). Visual WM performance typically improves between childhood and adulthood, but such improvement may be atypical in ASD. To better understand how visual WM develops, we used a well-established change detection task across multiple visual features. We examined visual WM for color, shape, and pattern in children, adolescents, and adults with and without ASD. VWM capacity and performance for all visual features improved across age similarly for both the TD and ASD groups. While performance was better on set size 4 trials than set size 8 trials for color, shape, and no change trials, such an effect was not evident for pattern change trials. Overall, the present findings suggest that VWM for different visual features may be intact across development in ASD. The ability to hold multiple objects in mind (WM) improves across typical development, but it remains unclear whether such improvement occurs in ASD. We found that developmental improvements in WM for different types of object details (e.g., color, shape, and pattern) is generally similar for both ASD and typical development. LAY SUMMARY: The ability to hold multiple objects in mind (working memory [WM]) improves across typical development, but it remains unclear whether such improvement occurs in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found that developmental improvements in WM for different types of object details (e.g., color, shape, pattern) is generally similar for both ASD and typical development.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022 · doi:10.1002/aur.2683