CHILD DEVELOPMENT PEDAGOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85).

Detailed explanation-2: -But years later, in 2014, a U.S. study found that almost half of the children with ASD had average or above average intelligence, that is, an IQ score above 85. Less than a third of the children with autism had intellectual disability, and 23% had IQ scores in the “borderline range” from 71 to 85.

Detailed explanation-3: -Broadening of the autism concept was associated with a significant increase in research of “high functioning autism” [a term used for ASD individuals with an IQ of ≥70, i.e., not IQ above average (17)], reflected by substantially more publications with this keyword compared to those on “low functioning autism” (18).

Detailed explanation-4: -Among children identified with ASD who had IQ scores available, about one-third (35.2%) also had intellectual disability.

Detailed explanation-5: -1 in 44 (or 2.3%) of children in the US were identified with ASD using estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.