Testing the Predictive Power of Cognitive Atypicalities in Autistic Children: Evidence from a 3‐Year Follow‐Up Study

This follow‐up study investigated the predictive power of early cognitive atypicalities. Specifically, it examined whether early individual differences in specific cognitive skills, including theory of mind, executive function, and central coherence, could uniquely account for variation in autistic children's behaviors—social communication, repetitive behaviors, and interests and insistence on sameness—at follow‐up. Thirty‐seven cognitively able children with an autism spectrum condition were assessed on tests tapping verbal and nonverbal ability, theory of mind (false‐belief prediction), executive function (planning ability, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control), and central coherence (local processing) at intake and their behavioral functioning (social communication,...

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