Executive function predicts the development of play skills for verbal preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders.
Stronger executive function today predicts richer play two years later in verbal preschoolers with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nittrouer et al. (2016) followed verbal preschoolers with autism for two years.
They tested early executive function and later play skills.
IQ was held constant so the link was about EF, not smarts.
What they found
Kids with stronger EF at age four showed better play at age six.
The reverse did not hold; early play did not predict later EF.
Language mattered: only verbal children showed this pattern.
How this fits with other research
Garon et al. (2018) extends this work. They added neurotypical peers and showed simple EF tasks already reveal gaps in preschool.
Falcomata et al. (2012) seems to disagree. They saw no play differences between autistic and non-autistic delayed toddlers who had almost no words. The key is verbal status: Susan’s link only appears once language is present.
Pan et al. (2024) moves the story forward. In older autistic kids, motor skills and EF still travel together, hinting that body-based EF games could help.
Why it matters
If a verbal preschool client struggles with play, check EF first. Quick games like red-light-green-light or reverse Simon Says can build shifting and inhibition while you run trials. Target EF early and play may grow on its own.
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Open session with a three-step EF warm-up: clap the opposite, carry one item at a time to build working memory, then free-play and note novel schemes.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Executive function and play skills develop in early childhood and are linked to cognitive and language ability. The present study examined these abilities longitudinally in two groups with autism spectrum disorder-a group with higher initial language (n = 30) and a group with lower initial language ability (n = 36). Among the lower language group, concurrent nonverbal cognitive ability contributed most to individual differences in executive function and play skills. For the higher language group, executive function during preschool significantly predicted play ability at age 6 over and above intelligence, but early play did not predict later executive function. These results suggested that factors related to the development of play and executive function differ for subgroups of children with different language abilities and that early executive function skills may be critical in order for verbal children with autism to develop play. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1274-1284. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2016 · doi:10.1002/aur.1608