Objective: Cognitive flexibility or attentional set-shifting capacity has long been considered a core area of executive dysfunction for individuals with autism. Whether these difficulties are due to higher-level attentional difficulties associated with comorbid ADHD remains unclear. Method: The current study compared the performance of 48 participants with autism, ADHD, autism-ADHD, and a comparison group (N = 12 per group) on a set-shifting task, which included a local–global paradigm. Results: Results of this study revealed that participants with attentional difficulties (autism + ADHD and ADHD alone) exhibited a significant shifting cost (difference between maintaining and shifting attention). Conclusion: Attentional difficulties associated with ADHD may be associated with an enhanced attentional shifting cost. Implications of these results were discussed in relation to screening for ADHD symptoms in studies of individuals with autism which seek to determine the neuropsychological profile of this condition.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
3.
BeaumontR.NewcombeP. (2006). Theory of mind and central coherence in adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome. Autism, 10, 365-382.
4.
BoothR.CharltonR.HughesC.HappéF. (2003). Disentangling weak coherence and executive dysfunction: Planning drawing in autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 358, 387-392.
5.
BoothR.HappéF. (2010). “Hunting with a knife and . . . fork”: Examining central coherence in autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and typical development with a linguistic task. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 107, 377-393.
6.
ClarkT.FeehanC.TinlineC.VostanisP. (1999). Autistic symptoms in children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 8, 50-55.
7.
CorbettB. A.ConstantineL. J.HendrenR.RockeD.OzonoffS. (2009). Examining executive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and typical development. Psychiatry Research, 166, 210-222.
FrithU. (1989). Autism: Explaining the enigma. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
10.
GargaroB.MayT.TongeB.SheppardD.BradshawJ.RinehartN. (2014). Using the DBC-P hyperactivity index to screen for ADHD in young people with autism and ADHD: A pilot study. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8, 1008-1015.
11.
GioiaG. A.IsquithP. K.KenworthyL.BartonR. M. (2002). Profiles of everyday executive function in acquired and developmental disorders. Child Neuropsychology, 8, 121-137.
12.
GrzadzinskiR.Di MartinoA.BradyE.MairenaM. A.O’NealeM.PetkovaE.. . . CastellanosF. X. (2011). Examining autistic traits in children with ADHD: Does the autism spectrum extend to ADHD?Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1178-1191.
13.
KoganC.BoutetI.CornishK.GrahamG.Berry-KravisE.DrouinA.MilgramN. (2009). A comparative neuropsychological test battery differentiates cognitive signatures of Fragile X and Down syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 53, 125-142.
14.
KramerA. F.CepedaN. J.CepedaM. L. (2001). Methylphenidate effects on task-switching performance in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1277-1284.
15.
LichtensteinP.CarlströmE.RåstamM.GillbergC.AnckarsäterH. (2010). The genetics of autism spectrum disorders and related neuropsychiatric disorders in childhood. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(11), 1357-1363.
16.
LordC.RutterM.Le CouteurA. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659-685.
17.
MottronL.PeretzI.MenardE. (2000). Local and global processing of music in high-functioning persons with autism: Beyond central coherence?Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 1057-1065.
18.
MulliganA.AnneyR. J.O’ReganM.ChenW.ButlerL.FitzgeraldM.. . . MinderaaR. (2009). Autism symptoms in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A familial trait which correlates with conduct, oppositional defiant, language and motor disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 197-209.
19.
OzonoffS.JensenJ. (1999). Brief report: Specific executive function profiles in three neurodevelopmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 171-177.
20.
PenningtonB. F.OzonoffS. (1996). Executive functions and developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 51-87. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1996.tb01380.x
21.
PoljacE.SimonS.RingleverL.KalcikD.GroenW. B.BuitelaarJ. K.BekkeringH. (2010). Impaired task switching performance in children with dyslexia but not in children with autism. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 63, 401-416.
22.
ReiersenA. M.ConstantinoJ. N.GrimmerM.MartinN. G.ToddR. D. (2008). Evidence for shared genetic influences on self-reported ADHD and autistic symptoms in young adult Australian twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 11(6), 579-585.
23.
RinehartN. J.BradshawJ. L.MossS. A.BreretonA. V.TongeB. J. (2000). Atypical interference of local detail on global processing in high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 769-778.
24.
RinehartN. J.BradshawJ. L.MossS. A.BreretonA. V.TongeB. J. (2001). A deficit in shifting attention present in high-functioning autism but not Asperger’s disorder. Autism, 5, 67-80.
25.
RobinsonS.GoddardL.DritschelB.WisleyM.HowlinP. (2009). Executive functions in children with autism spectrum disorders. Brain and Cognition, 71, 362-368.
26.
Rodriguez-JiménezR.CubilloA.Jiménez-ArrieroM.PonceG.Aragüés-FigueroM.PalomoT. (2005). [Executive dysfunctions in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. Revista de Neurologia, 43(11), 678-684.
27.
RommelseN. N.AltinkM. E.de SonnevilleL. M.BuschgensC. J.BuitelaarJ.OosterlaanJ.SergeantJ. A. (2007). Are motor inhibition and cognitive flexibility dead ends in ADHD?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35, 957-967.
28.
RommelseN. N.FrankeB.GeurtsH. M.HartmanC. A.BuitelaarJ. K. (2010). Shared heritability of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(3), 281-295.
29.
RonaldA.SimonoffE.KuntsiJ.AshersonP.PlominR. (2008). Evidence for overlapping genetic influences on autistic and ADHD behaviours in a community twin sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(5), 535-542.
30.
SimonoffE.PicklesA.CharmanT.ChandlerS.LoucasT.BairdG. (2008). Psychiatric disorders in children with autism spectrum disorders: Prevalence, comorbidity, and associated factors in a population-derived sample [Article]. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 921-929. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e318179964f
31.
SinzigJ.BruningN.MorschD.LehmkuhlG. (2008). Attention profiles in autistic children with and without comorbid hyperactivity and attention problems. Acta Neuropsychiatrica, 20, 207-215.
32.
SinzigJ.WalterD.DoepfnerM. (2009). Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Symptom or syndrome?Journal of Attention Disorders, 13, 117-126. doi:10.1177/1087054708326261
33.
StahlL.PryR. (2002). Joint attention and set-shifting in young children with autism. Autism, 6, 383-396.
34.
WhiteH. A.ShahP. (2006). Training attention-switching ability in adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 10, 44-53.
