Toward more context-sensitive clinical measures for assessing executive attention in autistic children

Executive functions (EFs) are higher-order cognitive skills that enable individuals to control impulses, manage and update information, ignore distractions, and shift attention as needed, supporting effective adaptation to new or complex situations. EF challenges are frequently reported in neurodivergent children, particularly in autistic children, although existing research yields mixed and contradictory findings. These inconsistencies arise not only from differences in participant samples and assessment tools but also from the dominant reliance on reductionist evaluation methods. Given that multiple EFs and broader cognitive abilities are inherently interrelated, single-task paradigms that attempt to isolate specific EF components fail to fully reflect their complexity. This thesis aimed to identify context-sensitive tools for assessing EFs in neurodivergent children, particularly those with autism, that account for individual cognitive profiles and real-world functioning. Neuropsychological tasks from the Measures of Executive Attention, designed within the Executive Attention theoretical framework, were administered to neurodiverse children aged 5-16, including autistic children, those with specific learning disorders, and neurotypical peers. The multidimensional battery of tasks demonstrated good ecological validity and usability across neurodivergent populations. Moreover, in-depth analyses of group performance, task successes and failures, latent factors, and cluster patterns provided valuable insights into executive functioning, shedding light on developmental trajectories, intergroup similarities and differences, and the interplay between executive attention and broader cognitive abilities, such as linguistic, fine-motor skills and fluid intelligence. Finally, considerable variability in performance further underscored the individuality of cognitive profiles, emphasizing that diagnostic labels alone offer an overly simplistic representation of a person. Overall, adopting a multidimensional and contextually grounded approach to assessing executive functioning enables a deeper understanding of neurodivergent children’s cognitive profiles and supports the implementation of personalized intervention and educational strategies.