Verbal working memory in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis review

In recent years, research has increasingly concentrated on examining verbal working memory (VWM) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the findings on whether ASD experience impairments in VWM are inconsistent, which could be attributed to various factors, including age, IQ, task variations, and participant heterogeneity. Therefore, this study undertakes a meta-analysis to review the advancements in research on VWM deficits in ASD, exploring the potential influence of factors such as age, IQ, sample size, and test tasks on VWM performance in this population. According to the Boolean algorithm, this study combined keywords related to VWM in children and adolescents with ASD, and published them in Web of Science, PsyCINFO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, and Wanfang Database to find all research findings in ASD related VWM published before 2024, and the final meta-analysis comprised 25 studies. The research conclusion indicate that children and adolescents with ASD have deficits in VWM. In addition, age, IQ, sample size, and testing tasks may not be important factors affecting the VWM in ASD. The conclusion of this study provides theoretical basis and clinical guidance for further exploring the influencing factors and intervention methods of VWM with ASD in the future.