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Development of autobiographical memory in children with autism spectrum disorders: Deficits, gains, and predictors of performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2013

Lorna Goddard ,
Barbara Dritschel ,
Sally Robinson  and
Patricia Howlin
Lorna Goddard*
Affiliation:
University of London, London
Barbara Dritschel
Affiliation:
University of St. Andrews, London
Sally Robinson
Affiliation:
Kings College, London
Patricia Howlin
Affiliation:
Kings College, London
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Lorna Goddard, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross Gate, London SE14 6NW, UK; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Autobiographical memory (AM) was assessed in 63 children (aged 8–17 years) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and compared with 63 typically developing children matched for age, gender, IQ, and verbal ability. A range of methodologies was employed for eliciting past experience with particular focus on the ability to recall (a) specific events, (b) the recent and remote past, and (c) semantic versus episodic memories across different lifetime periods. Results indicated that the ASD group manifested difficulties in retrieving specific memories to word cues and had poorer access to the remote past. Deficits were found in the context of intact recent memory and preserved general memory abilities, with some impairment of visual memory. Problems in retrieving episodic and semantic AMs across the life span were also evident. Qualitative analysis of memory reports suggested that the ASD group was less likely to refer to emotion in their remote memories but more likely to describe emotions in their recent memories. Important predictors of AM performance in the ASD group were central executive abilities, in particular cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 215 - 228
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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