Relations between Everyday Executive Functioning and Language in Youth with Down Syndrome and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT

Language and executive functioning are major impairments in many neurodevelopmental disorders, but little is known about the relations between these constructs, particularly using parent-report. Thus, the current research sought to examine relations between executive function and language in two groups – Down syndrome (DS; n=41; M_age = 11.2) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n=91; M_age = 7.7). Results were as follows: in DS, executive function predicted pragmatic, but not structural language after covarying for age, sex, and social functioning; in ASD, executive function predicted both. Findings highlight the interrelatedness of language and executive functioning and may have implications for intervention development.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental material for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation (1447) and the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health (1 ZIA MH002794-13; Protocol ID 89-M-0006).

Data used in the preparation of this manuscript were obtained from the NIH-supported National Database for Autism Research (NDAR). NDAR is a collaborative informatics system created by the National Institutes of Health to provide a national resource to support and accelerate research in autism. Dataset identifier: 10.15154/1510482. This manuscript reflects the views of the authors and may not reflect the opinions or views of the NIH or of the Submitters submitting original data to NDAR.

The authors report no conflict of interest. We are grateful to the families who made this research possible.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fondation Jérôme Lejeune (1447); National Institute of Mental Health [1 ZIA MH002794-13; Protocol ID 89-M-0006].