THE USE OF THE NON-VERBAL INTELLIGENCE TEST (R-2) IN CHILDREN WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD): AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

Studies on intelligence in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been the subject of research whose focus is to identify the intellectual capacity of these subjects. Recent literature shows better performance in non-verbal intelligence tests, especially those that assess fluid intelligence, which justifies the use of instruments that measure analog capacity and abstract thinking, such as the R-2 non-verbal test. In this research, 7 children diagnosed with autism, 6 boys and 1 girl, were evaluated, all verbal, classified between low to medium level of support, in the age group for which this neuropsychological instrument is proposed and screened in private and in the Psychosocial Care Center for Children and Youth (Caps I) in Belém/PA. The methodology used was based on an exploratory study with descriptive statistics, through quantitative investigation in a convenience sample, for the application of the test and retest of the R-2 instrument, with a minimum interval of 1 week between the presentation of the 30 figures. The results pointed to a better cognitive performance of autistic people in the use of non-verbal tests in comparison to verbal ones, considering the visuospatial and reasoning skills observed in the responses to R-2, with cognitive performance similar to the normative sample.