Investigation of neurocognitive characteristics of parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

People with Autism Spectrum Disorder differ from people without this diagnosis in terms of neurocognitive characteristics. The purpose of our study is to evaluate whether there is a difference in neurocognitive aspects such as attention span, memory, executive functions, and decision making in the parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. For this purpose, both parents of 31 children diagnosed with ASD according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria as the case group and both parents of 31 children who did not meet any psychiatric disorder as the control group, who applied to Eskişehir Osmangazi University Department of Child Psychiatry between June 2022 and November 2023, were included in the study. A total of 62 cases and 62 control groups were formed. Firstly, Sociodemographic Data Form and Autism Behavior Checklist were completed by the participants and Childhood Autism Rating Scale was administered by the clinician. In the second stage, 3 cognitive tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery were administered to measure cognitive functions. In our study, it was found that parents with children diagnosed with ASD showed lower performance than the control group in terms of executive functions such as attention, reaction speed, reaction time, working memory, memory, and decision making. Inconclusion, the fact that the cognitive differences seen in people with ASD are also seen in their parents supports the concept of a broad autism phenotype. It is thought that it may explain the relationship between the psychopathology of children diagnosed with ASD and their parents and contribute to endophenotypes. Key Words : autism spectrum disorder, neurocognitive, broad autism phenotype Supporting Institutions : Individual Research Project Unit