Working memory in early-school-age children with Asperger's syndrome.

Koh et al. (2010) looked at working memory in early-school-age children with Asperger syndrome.

They compared kids with AS to matched peers on three kinds of memory tasks: repeating sounds, remembering pictures, and juggling rules while holding information.

The team used standard span tests and executive-load games to see which parts of memory were strong or weak.

Children with AS outperformed peers on phonological recall— they could repeat longer strings of sounds.

Yet the same kids scored lower on visuospatial and executive working-memory tasks that asked them to hold and move pictures or rules in mind.

The mixed pattern means verbal storage is a strength, but visual and dual-demand memory need support.

Kaufmann et al. (2013) extends this picture: they linked slower spatial working-memory responses to smaller fronto-parietal brain volumes and higher ADOS scores in AS youth.

Li et al. (2021) adds eye-tracking detail— kids with ASD use less chunking and more outside cues while storing spatial info, explaining the visuospatial gap Jifang first flagged.

Cardillo et al. (2022) clarifies strategy: on a complex drawing task, ASD youth lean on sequential working memory while typical peers use simultaneous memory, so the same visual task taxes different systems.

Together these papers show the visuospatial weakness is real, brain-based, and tied to how kids encode and organize space.

When you test a child with Asperger’s, expect strong verbal repetition but plan extra visual scaffolds. Break spatial directions into short, numbered steps and provide external reference points like color cues or anchor pictures. Target executive-loaded goals separately—practice holding a rule while manipulating materials, then fade support. These small tweaks turn a hidden weakness into a teachable skill.