Asperger's Syndrome and Autism: Differences in Behavior, Cognition, and Adaptive Functioning

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether subtypes of children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) differed on variables that were relatively independent of distinguishing criteria. METHOD: Higher-functioning children with PDD, 4 through 6 years of age, were differentiated into those with autism (n = 47) and those with Asperger's syndrome (n = 21) on the basis of delayed and deviant language development. The groups were then compared on a wide …