Prospective memory in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: exploring effects of implementation intentions and retrospective memory load.

Kretschmer et al. (2014) asked adults with high-functioning autism to remember future tasks.

Half learned to say if-then plans like “If I see the red folder, then I will hand in the form.”

The team tested memory under low and high extra load to see if the trick helped.

The if-then plans gave a small boost when the extra load was light.

When load was heavy, scores stayed flat.

Benefits were modest and shaky, not strong.

Greenlee et al. (2024) ran a newer RCT with the same adults. They swapped if-then plans for enactment encoding: clients rehearsed moves and saw bigger gains.

Peisley et al. (2020) moved the idea downward. They used prizes to help young kids with ASD remember future game steps. All four kids improved and three kept the skill after prizes stopped.

Grainger et al. (2017) looked at basic memory effects and found no ASD deficit, so the weak lift from if-then plans is not due to a broken memory system.

For high-functioning adults, if-then self-talk is safe but the payoff is slim. You may get better results by adding enactment rehearsal or external rewards. Try pairing the two: have the client say the plan and act it out twice.