The Functional Application of Episodic Foresight in Autistic Children

Challenges in daily living skills are well documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), even for those with preserved intellectual function. Since episodic foresight is critical to act with the future in mind, this study provides the first test of whether autistic children exhibit differences on a behavioral test of this capacity, and if so, whether these variations might be related to broader cognitive abilities involving executive control and/or retrospective memory.

Forty autistic children with no intellectual impairment (IQ > 80) aged 8-12 years and 55-age and IQmatched non-autistic controls completed a measure that met strict criteria for demonstrating episodic foresight, the child variant of Virtual-Week Episodic Foresight. This measure requires children to identify a problem, self-generate a resolution, and execute the appropriate future-directed intention. They also completed standardized tests of executive control (Trail Making Test and Color-Word Interference Test) and retrospective memory (delayed recall).

The two groups did not differ in their capacity to take appropriate steps in the present in anticipation of potential future problems. However, autistic children were poorer than non-autistic controls at subsequently implementing actions at specific future points that allowed successful problem resolution. These difficulties could not be attributed to broader problems with retrospective memory or executive functioning.

This study provides behavioral evidence that autistic children experience specific challenges with the functional application of episodic foresight. These findings are discussed in relation to their implications for important daily living skills.