Relationship Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Age and IQ in Preschool and School-Age Children and Adolescents with Autism and with ADHD

Susan D Mayes; Jyssica Seebeck; Daniel A Waschbusch

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-05222-2

Relationship Between Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Age and IQ in Preschool and School-Age Children and Adolescents with Autism and with ADHD

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Aug;52(8):3746-3754. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05222-2. Epub 2021 Aug 4.

Authors

Susan D Mayes¹, Jyssica Seebeck², Daniel A Waschbusch²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA, 17033, USA. smayes@psu.edu.
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Dr., Hershey, PA, 17033, USA.

PMID: 34347230
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05222-2

Abstract

Relationships between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and age and IQ were investigated in children with autism and/or ADHD covering broader age and IQ ranges than in previous studies. Mothers rated 1436 children with autism and 1,056 with ADHD (2-17 years, IQs 9-149) on Pediatric Behavior Scale SCT items. Increasing age correlated with SCT in the autism, ADHD-Combined, and ADHD-Inattentive samples. SCT prevalence rates were 22% preschool, 29% early childhood, 41% late childhood, and 50% adolescence. Correlations between IQ and SCT were small and negative. SCT was lowest in children with above average intelligence. Children referred for autism and ADHD should be assessed for SCT, irrespective of IQ and age, given SCT's high prevalence and association with social and academic impairment.

Keywords: ADHD; Age; Autism; IQ; Sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT).

Publication types

Letter

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity* / psychology
Autism Spectrum Disorder* / complications
Autistic Disorder* / complications
Child
Child, Preschool
Cognition
Female
Humans
Sluggish Cognitive Tempo