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. 2008 Nov;113(6):439-52.
doi: 10.1352/2008.113:439-452.

Evidence for latent classes of IQ in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Jeffrey Munson  1 , Geraldine Dawson, Lindsey Sterling, Theodore Beauchaine, Andrew Zhou, Koehler Elizabeth, Catherine Lord, Sally Rogers, Marian Sigman, Annette Estes, Robert Abbott
Affiliations

Evidence for latent classes of IQ in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Jeffrey Munson et al. Am J Ment Retard. 2008 Nov.

Abstract

Autism is currently viewed as a spectrum condition that includes strikingly different severity levels; IQ is consistently described as one of the primary aspects of the heterogeneity in autism. To investigate the possibility of more than one distinct subtype of autism based on IQ both latent class analysis and taxometrics methods were used to classify Mullen IQs in a sample of 456 children with autism spectrum disorder. We found evidence for multiple IQbased subgroups using both methods. Groups differed in level of intellectual functioning and patterns of verbal versus nonverbal ability. Results support the notion of distinct subtypes of autism that differ in severity of intellectual ability, patterns of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and severity of autism symptoms.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mean Mullen IQ scores of latent groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean Mullen scores of latent groups by combining classification methods.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Convex Hull Plots and Histograms of Mullen Verbal and Nonverbal scores by LCA groups. a. Marginal distributions reflect relative density plots for each group. Each cross reflects the bivariate group mean +/− 1 SD. The diagonal line depicts equivalent verbal and nonverbal IQ.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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