Association between attention, nonverbal intelligence and school performance of school-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from a public health context in Brazil.
Attention, not IQ, drives school grades in autistic students—train focus and you can lift real class work.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Spaniol et al. (2021) looked at 32 autistic students aged 8-14 in Brazil public schools. They tested attention, nonverbal IQ, and real school grades in math and reading.
The team used simple paper tests and teacher grade books. They wanted to know which skill—attention or IQ—better predicts school success.
What they found
Both attention and IQ linked to better grades, but attention still predicted performance after IQ was counted out. In plain words, a child with good focus but average IQ often outscored a child with high IQ but poor focus.
The link stayed strong for both math and reading.
How this fits with other research
Klein et al. (2024) extends this idea by showing attention can be trained. Their eye-tracking game, given after school for nine months, raised working-memory scores in 40 kids with ASD and ADHD.
Chiang et al. (2018) adds a warning: when ASD is paired with ADHD, school problems grow larger. Muller’s data now say strong attention skills can push back against that risk.
Older work like Amore et al. (2011) showed IQ explains only half of adaptive living skills. Muller finds the same pattern in class work: IQ is helpful, yet attention adds its own lift.
Why it matters
If you write IEP goals, weight attention skills as high as IQ. Embed short focus drills, timers, or self-monitoring cards into academic tasks. The payoff can be real report-card gains even for students whose IQ scores stay flat.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add a 2-minute sustained-attention warm-up right before math or reading instruction.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction, restricted and repetitive behaviour, interests or activities. Difficulties in a broad spectrum of cognitive skills is often present, including attentional processes and nonverbal intelligence, which might be related to academic difficulties. AIMS: In this study, the association between attentional skills and nonverbal intelligence to school performance of children with ASD was assessed. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: 32 children/adolescents between 8-14 years old, who attended a treatment unit linked to the public health system of São Paulo-Brazil participated in the study. The following instruments were utilized: Cancellation Attention Test; Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices; and School Performance Test. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: After correlation analysis, statistically significant associations were found between attention and nonverbal intelligence with school performance. Regression analysis showed that attention drives school performance irrespective of nonverbal intelligence. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results evidence the link between attention and school performance in ASD, suggesting that attentional mechanisms may be a promising route to follow in the design of interventions for school improvement of children and adolescents with ASD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104041