Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jun;22(3):215-228.
doi: 10.36131/cnfioritieditore20250305.

Autistic Children And Adolescents Without Intellectual Disability: Individual And Family Profile

Daniele de Brito Wanderley  1 , Filippo Muratori  2 , Nayara Argollo  1 , Arthur Tolentino  3 , Tatiane Miranda  4 , Fernanda Vaz  4 , Vania Campos  4 , Adriana Marques de Mattos  5 , Rita Lucena  1
Affiliations

Autistic Children And Adolescents Without Intellectual Disability: Individual And Family Profile

Daniele de Brito Wanderley et al. Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to characterize the developmental, cognitive, and behavioral profiles of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID).

Method: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted, including children and adolescents with ASD and an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 75 or higher. Parents completed the CBCL, and SNAP-IV 26 Parent Rating Scale to assess developmental milestones, cognitive abilities, and behavioral symptoms.

Results: The study included 74 participants, with a mean age of 9.8 ± 2.9 years, of whom 64 (86.5%) were male. Mothers and fathers had a mean age of 33.4 ± 5.5 and 30.2 ± 5.7 years, respectively, with 64.9% of mothers and 47.9% of fathers having completed higher education. Generalized anxiety and depression were the most frequent psychiatric histories reported by parents. Median IQ scores were: total 100 (88-113), verbal 102 (85-117), and performance 97 (90-108). While 82.5% of children spoke their first words before 24 months, only 40% were able to form phrases by age 2. Prosody, pragmatic difficulties, and echolalia were present in over 40% of cases. Moderate or severe symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and oppositional behaviors were observed in 33.8%, 16.2%, and 16.2% of participants, respectively. Internalizing symptoms were present in 27%, and externalizing symptoms in 15% of the sample. Learning challenges included difficulties with text interpretation (31%), text production (24%), reading, and math (19% each).

Conclusions: Children and adolescents with ASD without ID exhibit significant behavioral and cognitive challenges, including language delays, inattention, internalizing symptoms, and learning difficulties. These findings emphasize the need for targeted educational and therapeutic strategies to address their unique developmental and behavioral profiles.

Keywords: autism; comorbidities; school inclusion.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Participant selection process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
    1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 - DOI
    1. American psychiatric association (2023). Manual diagnóstico e estatístico de transtornos mentais: DSM-5-TR. 5. ed. rev. Porto Alegre, Artmed.
    1. Al-Zalabani, A. H., Al-Jabree, A. H., & Zeidan, Z. A. (2019). Is cesarean section delivery associated with autism spectrum disorder? Neurosciences (Riyadh), 24(1), 11–15 10.17712/nsj.2019.1.20180303 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andrews, D. S., Dakopolos, A. J., Lee, J. K., Heath, B., Cordero, D., Solomon, M., … Nordahl, C. W. (2025). Cortical thickness differences in autistic children with and without intellectual disability. Autism Research, 18(4), 486–497. 10.1002/aur.3313 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources