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The purpose of the present study was to assess which types of neuropsychological deficits appear to be most commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. The effect of the combination of ASD with ADHD (ASD/ADHD) was also studied. One hundred and sixty-one adult individuals (greater than or equal to 18 years of age) were included in the study. None had full scale IQ less than 71. The neuropsychological investigations included measures of intellectual ability, learning and memory, attention/executive function and theory of mind. The three diagnostic groups showed reduced performance in most cognitive domains. However, within these domains differentiating distinct features could be seen. The dysfunctions of the ASD/ADHD group cannot be seen as a summary of the dysfunctions found in the ASD and ADHD groups. The ADHD seemed to have the most severe neuropsychological impairments of the three groups. No domain-specific deficit typical of any of the diagnostic groups was found. (Contains 2 tables.)

Asperger syndrome (AS) and non-verbal learning disability (NLD) are both characterized by impairments in motor coordination, visuo-perceptual abilities, pragmatics and comprehension of language and social understanding. NLD is also defined as a learning disorder affecting functions in the right cerebral hemisphere. The present study investigates if individuals with AS and a cognitive profile consistent with NLD (i.e. verbal IQ greater than performance IQ) would also have other problems inherent in NLD, visual memory and attention, reading/writing ability and arithmetic in the presence of preserved verbal memory and attention. Forty-four individuals with AS were assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests. Reading/writing and arithmetic abilities were investigated. Education and global social adaptive levels were studied. Very few AS participants, even though with NLD cognitive profile showed problems with any of the neurocognitive abilities or academic achievements. However, all had poor global social adaptive functioning and few had paid employment, regardless of their cognitive profile. The present study suggests that AS and NLD are two different conditions even though some individuals in both groups have the verbal IQ greater than performance IQ profile that has been proposed to be typical of both AS and NLD. (Contains 2 tables.)

To evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Swedish version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J--TCI), it was sent to parents of 9-and 12-yr.-old twins in Sweden. The final number of responders was 196 parents who rated 92 female and 104 male twin pairs. The inventory of one twin, randomly chosen from each pair, was included in the analyses. Reward Dependence, Persistence, and Cooperativeness were scored higher in girls; Novelty Seeking was higher in the 9-yr.-olds and Persistence in the 12-yr.-olds. Pearson's correlations showed that some dimensions were not statistically independent from each other, even if the covariance was moderate. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was satisfactory for Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, Self-Directedness, and Cooperativeness (.68-.81), while it was lower in those dimensions that had fewer items. The Swedish parent version of the J--TC1 shared about the same psychometric characteristics as found in international samples. DOI 10.2466/02.09.10.PRO.107.6.715-725