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Question: Do autism spectrum disorders affect one's intellectual capacity?

(Posted by: E on 2010-05-24 15:06:12)

I don't know all that much about autism, so I'm sorry if this question is offensive in its ignorance. But does autism or any of the related spectrum disorders adversely affect a person's intellectual capacity? There's a kid in my neighborhood that I see from time to time, and I know he's autistic from talking to his mom in passing. I don't want to judge or pry or anything, I'm just curious... and figured I'd ask here instead of offending someone. Anyway, the kid in my neighborhood is nonverbal, but I know being nonverbal doesn't mean that someone has a diminished intellectual capacity. He may actually be quite intelligent, I have no idea, he just doesn't like loud noises and loves the color blue, is all I know. So, generally speaking, do people with autism spectrum disorders have an unusually low or high intelligence?

Posted by: Lux on 2010-05-24, 20:30:24

I have an autism spectrum disorder (btw, they need to come up with a new name, its insulting to call somone disordered just cause they think differently) and i have above average intelligence. nothing approaching einstiens level or anything, just a freaky good reader (14 words per second). the type i have, hyperlexia means that we are born with instincts for letters and numbers instead of social instincts which they normally learn by the age of 10. i could read by the time i was two,yet didnt speak clearly until i was six. all the people with autism spectrum disorders i've known seem to be pretty smart, most of them arent amazing geniuses, but normally are in the top 10% of their classes. and i love the color blue, about half of my t-shirts are various blues :)

Posted by: Heidi N on 2010-05-24, 21:22:49

Their intelligence is not usually effected. Since each child is different, the only way to know is to ask or communicate with him, yourself. He may respond to your questions, but more likely he will totally ignore you. If you are wondering if you should talk to him like you would someone without autism, you can try. But, odds are he won't respond, but he might. Sorry, autism symptoms vary; therefore, there is no answer that applies to all of them. Some can write very well that don't talk. Sometimes they have severe symptoms and do have mental retardation, but others are considered geniuses.

Posted by: undir on 2010-05-25, 06:40:54

Intellectual capacity varies a lot between individuals on the autism spectrum. People with Asperger's syndrome (which is one of the autism spectrum disorders) have normal or above average intelligence. People are not diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome if they have mental retardation, so people with Asperger's syndrome always have at least normal intelligence. People with Asperger's syndrome also don't have speech delay, so a non-verbal child is unlikely to have Asperger's syndrome, unless there is another cause for them being non-verbal (for example being deaf-mute). People with autism can have any level of intellectual capacity. Some are extremely intelligent, some have normal/ average intelligence and some have mental retardation, ranging from mild to severe. There is not necessarily a relation between their intellectual capacity and their ability to talk or communicate. It is hard to tell how intelligent this kid in your neighborhood is. He can be a genius, he can have severe mental retardation or he can be somewhere in between. It can be hard even for family members to tell how intelligent their non-verbal autistic child is. I know about many parents who thought their non-verbal autistic child had very low intelligence and understood very little and were very surprised to later find out that their child for example understood a foreign language, knew a lot about certain subjects and were very intelligent, when they finally found a way to communicate with them. So there is no "generally speaking " answer about the intelligence of people with autism spectrum disorders. It varies a lot.

Posted by: Trixie on 2010-05-25, 10:45:43

Yes, actually, they can. A lot of people with autism may still be intelligent, but the disorder can still cause very serious intellectual impairment in all other areas (especially areas in communication, social interaction, and social awareness) because of damage done to the nervous system and brain. If people with autism can't do anything else EXCEPT solve math problems and study science, then legally they're not really intelligent. I'm autistic, and i wouldn't say that i'm anywhere near intelligent. If anything, i'd refer to myself as mentally handicapped and special needs because i'm very dependent on others, even my younger sisters.