Association between attention, nonverbal intelligence and school performance of school-age children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from a public health context in Brazil

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social interaction, restricted and repetitive behaviour, interests or activities. Difficulties in a broad spectrum of cognitive skills is often present, including attentional processes and nonverbal intelligence, which might be related to academic difficulties.

Aims: In this study, the association between attentional skills and nonverbal intelligence to school performance of children with ASD was assessed.

Methods and procedures: 32 children/adolescents between 8–14 years old, who attended a treatment unit linked to the public health system of São Paulo-Brazil participated in the study. The following instruments were utilized: Cancellation Attention Test; Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices; and School Performance Test.

Outcomes and results: After correlation analysis, statistically significant associations were found between attention and nonverbal intelligence with school performance. Regression analysis showed that attention drives school performance irrespective of nonverbal intelligence.

Conclusions and implications: Results evidence the link between attention and school performance in ASD, suggesting that attentional mechanisms may be a promising route to follow in the design of interventions for school improvement of children and adolescents with ASD.