Issues related to obtaining intelligence quotient-matched controls in autism research
Vanitha S Rao1, Vijaya Raman1, Ashok V Mysore1
1St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Background:
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is considered to be an index of global cognitive functioning and has traditionally been used as a fulcral measure in case-control studies in neuro-developmental disorders such as autism.
Aim:
The aim is to highlight the issues of "matching for IQ" with controls in autism research.
Materials And Methods:
Percentile scores on the Coloured Progressive Matrices of 20 children with autism in the age range of 5 to 12 years have been graphically compared with 21 age matched typically developing children.
Results And Conclusions:
The percentile scores of the so-called high functioning children with autism from special schools were well below that of typically developing children. There are many challenges when using IQ in case-control studies of autism. Alternative approaches need to be considered.
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