Abstract

This study intended to investigate if differences exist in the neurocognition in children with Autistic or Asperger’s Disorder with abnormal or normal electroencephalogram (EEG) readings. The researcher hypothesized that a difference did exist between the two groups. A retrospective study was initiated by identifying patients seen in 2011 at a local pediatric neurology office based on the use of the ICD medical billing code 783.40, which in this office was used for “Developmental Delay, Unspecified”. Of over 3,900 potential patient files, 359 of those were not excluded based on the exclusion criteria of the study. Patient records were then cross-referenced with records from a local neuropsychologist’s office where the neurocognitive test battery, the NEPSY-II, was administered along with an IQ test. Out of the 359 files, only three patients met the inclusion criteria for the study and had taken the NEPSY-II. All of these patients were diagnosed with Autism or Asperger’s Disorder and had normal EEG activity. Due to a lack of data in the abnormal EEG group, no comparisons could be made between the neurocognitive function of the two groups. Currently, there are few studies that determine whether subsets of the ASD population exist and whether these subsets have different cognitive profiles. As a sizable proportion of autistic and/or Asperger’s patients exhibit abnormal EEG activity without clinical seizure activity, this study hoped to investigate whether EEG activity could be used as a means to stratify the heterogenous ASD population. Further research must be conducted to answer this question.