The Gap Between Adaptive Behavior and Intelligence in Autism Persists into Young Adulthood and is Linked to Psychiatric Co-morbidities.
Smart adults with autism still struggle with daily living skills, and anxiety or depression makes it worse.
01Research in Context
What this study did
K et al. tracked the adults with autism who had average or above-average IQ scores.
They measured daily living skills with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.
They also checked for anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues.
What they found
Even smart adults with autism scored far lower on daily living skills than their IQ predicted.
The biggest gap showed up in social skills like making friends or keeping a job.
People with more anxiety or or depression had even larger gaps between IQ and real-world skills.
How this fits with other research
Pathak et al. (2019) saw the same IQ-adaptive gap in children, proving the problem starts early.
Schertz et al. (2016) found a similar pattern in Williams syndrome, showing IQ can stay steady while daily skills drop.
Schiltz et al. (2017) showed anxiety stays stable in autistic teens, which helps explain why mental health keeps widening the gap into adulthood.
Why it matters
If you work with bright teens or adults with autism, do not trust IQ alone. Run the Vineland every year. Watch for anxiety or depression red flags like sleep trouble or social withdrawal. Treating mental health early may stop the gap from growing and help clients keep jobs and live on their own.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), long-term outcomes have been troubling, and intact IQ has not been shown to be protective. Nevertheless, relatively little research into adaptive functioning among adults with ASD has been completed to date. Therefore, both adaptive functioning and comorbid psychopathology were assessed among 52 adults with ASD without intellectual disability (ID). Adaptive functioning was found to substantially lag behind IQ, and socialization was a particular weakness. Comorbid psychopathology was significantly correlated with the size of IQ-adaptive functioning discrepancy. These findings emphasize key intervention targets of both adaptive skill and psychopathology for transition-age youth and young adults with ASD, as well as the need for ongoing monitoring of anxiety and depression symptoms during this developmental window.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2017 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3213-2