Failure is not an option: Risk-taking is moderated by anxiety and also by cognitive ability in children and adolescents diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

South et al. (2011) watched kids and teens with autism play a computer game that let them choose safe or risky gambles. The team also gave quick tests for IQ, anxiety, and behavioral inhibition.

They wanted to know if autism alone changes how much risk kids take, or if anxiety and smarts matter more.

Kids with autism took the same amount of risk as typical kids overall.

But inside the autism group only, high anxiety plus low IQ made kids pick the safe choice more often. Behavioral inhibition strengthened this link.

Sasson et al. (2018) later ran the same gamble game with autistic adults and saw more risk-aversion. The adult study extends the 2011 work: the overall group difference shows up only after adolescence.

Faja et al. (2015) and Leezenbaum et al. (2019) found younger children with autism struggle to wait for a bigger reward. These delay tasks tap the same self-control muscle that anxiety weakens in the 2011 risk task.

Ingadottir et al. (2025) showed anxiety can both hurt and help cognitive scores in school-age youth with autism. Their mixed pattern helps explain why anxiety cut risk-taking only when IQ was also low in Mikle’s sample.

Before you call a child overly cautious, check two numbers: anxiety level and IQ. When both are low, the child may avoid the gamble not from rigidity but from fear plus limited problem-solving. Ease anxiety first, then teach the task rules. This two-step view keeps you from mislabeling a smart but worried kid as indecisive, or a slow learner as defiant.