How could language interact with visuo-spatial performance in autism?
Résumé
Language could be regarded as a “label” of our internal mental representations and an important modulator in promoting other cognitive operations. Deficiency in language is among the core symptom of autism. Despite of the current criteria “lack of clinical delay in language” for distinguishing the Asperger's Syndrome (AS) from “high functioning autism (HFA)”, individuals with AS show also deficiencies in pragmatic of language. When many individuals with HFA or AS, compared to peers with typical development, have superior visuo-spatial abilities on the Embedded Figure Test (EFT) or the Block Design subtests, their cognitive profiles have shown an opposite pattern of Verbal.IQ – Performance.IQ discrepancy. It's unclear however, how language could interact with the visuo-spatial performance in autism.