Reduced delay-based executive function in autistic toddlers and preschoolers.
"Hot" or reward-based executive function describes the regulatory skills needed to suppress or delay actions in emotionally salient contexts. These delay-based executive function skills impact social development, mental health, and academic achievement. Accumulating evidence indicates that autistic...
| Publicado en: | Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 958 - 972 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
Apr2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=192433631&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 192433631 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 13623613 F9D jtl: Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice issn: 13623613 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Apr2026 vid: 30 iid: 4 pid: 344 pub: Sage Publications Inc. place: Thousand Oaks, California artinfo: ui: 192433631 191675083 192433631 192433631 10.1177/13623613261418541 192433631 ppf: 958 ppct: 14 formats: tig: atl: Reduced delay-based executive function in autistic toddlers and preschoolers. aug: au: Cremone-Caira, Amanda Schnur, Gina Surmacz, Madison Faja, Susan affil: Merrimack College, USA sug: subj: Autism Spectrum Disorder Psychosocial Factors Children with Disabilities Psychosocial Factors Neurodevelopment Executive Function Evaluation Motivation Evaluation Child Behavior Evaluation Mental Health Evaluation Task Performance and Analysis Human Female Male Child, Preschool Comparative Studies Reward Adaptation, Psychological Skill Acquisition DSM Food Mental Disorders Diagnosed in Childhood Psychosocial Factors Cross Sectional Studies Prospective Studies Scales Clinical Assessment Tools Descriptive Statistics Linear Regression kappa Statistic Bivariate Statistics Correlational Studies Funding Source Child, Preschool: 2-5 years Female Male ab: "Hot" or reward-based executive function describes the regulatory skills needed to suppress or delay actions in emotionally salient contexts. These delay-based executive function skills impact social development, mental health, and academic achievement. Accumulating evidence indicates that autistic children (3 years or older) show reduced delay-based executive function relative to neurotypical counterparts. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether these findings extend to younger children (younger than 3 years). Our secondary aim was to determine whether the strategies employed during delay-based executive function tasks differed between autistic and neurotypical toddlers, to understand why autistic children often experience difficulty in this domain. A behavioral battery was administered to measure delay-based executive function in autistic and neurotypical children, aged 2 and 4 years. Consistent with evidence in older children, delay-based executive function was reduced in autistic toddlers. Autistic 2-year-olds waited less during tasks that utilized food rewards, whereas autistic 4-year-olds waited less during tasks using both food- and non-food-based incentives. Autistic children also used significantly less adaptive strategies during tasks. These results are the first to indicate diagnostic differences in delay-based executive function among children as young as 2 years and may inform interventions that target these skills to improve related developmental outcomes. "Hot" executive function involves the ability to control actions when emotions are involved. For example, a situation when an individual must resist a temptation requires hot executive function. These skills are important for social growth, mental health, and doing well in school. Research shows that autistic children over 3 years of age are less likely to use these skills compared to other children. This study examined whether autistic children under 3 years of age show similar difficulties. We also examined whether autistic children use different strategies than neurotypical children. To find out, we asked both autistic and neurotypical children, ages 2 and 4 years, to complete tasks that required them to delay their responses. The study found that, like older autistic children, younger autistic children also delayed their responses less than neurotypical children. Autistic 2-year-olds waited less for rewards, like food, compared to their neurotypical peers. Similarly, autistic 4-year-olds waited less for both food and other types of rewards, compared to their neurotypical peers. Relative to their neurotypical peers, autistic children also used fewer effective strategies during these tasks. These findings suggest that even very young autistic children have differences in impulse control, which might help in creating better support and interventions for them. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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