A significant between‐group difference in MSI was evident in the literature , with individuals with ASD demonstrating worse audiovisual integration on average across studies compared to TD controls .
This effect was moderated by mean participant age , such that between‐group differences were more pronounced in younger sample s. The mean correlation between MSI and autism and related symptomatology was also significant , indicating that increased audiovisual integration in individuals with ASD is associated with better language /communication abilities and /or reduced autism symptom severity in the extant literature .
This effect was moderated by whether the stimuli were linguistic versus non‐linguistic in nature , such that correlation magnitudes tended to be significantly greater when linguistic stimuli were utilized in the measure of MSI .
& NA ; An ever‐growing literature has aim ed to determine how individuals with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) differ from their typically developing ( TD ) peers on measures of multisensory integration ( MSI ) and to ascertain the degree to which differences in MSI are associated with the broad range of symptoms associated with ASD .
Findings , however , have been highly variable across the studies carried out to date .
The present work systematic ally review s and quantitatively synthesizes the large literature on audiovisual MSI  in individuals with ASD to evaluate the cumulative evidence for ( a ) group differences between individuals with ASD and TD peers , ( b ) correlations between MSI and autism symptoms in individuals with ASD and ( c ) study level factors that may moderate findings ( i.e. , explain differential effects ) observed across studies .
The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ): Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism, Malesand Females, Scientists and Mathematicians
Currently there are no brief , self-administered instruments for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum . In this paper , we report on a new instrument to assess this : the Autism-Spectrum Quotient ( AQ ) . Individuals score in the range 0–50 . Four groups of subjects were assessed : Group 1 : 58 adults with Asperger syndrome ( AS ) or high-functioning autism ( HFA ) ; Group 2 : 174 r and omly selected controls . Group 3 : 840 students in Cambridge University ; and Group 4 : 16 winners of the UK Mathematics Olympiad .  The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 35.8 ( SD = 6.5 ) , significantly higher than Group 2 controls ( M = 16.4 , SD = 6.3 ) . 80 % of the adults with AS/HFA scored 32 + , versus 2 % of controls . Among the controls , men scored slightly but significantly higher than women . No women scored extremely highly ( AQ score 34 + ) whereas 4 % of men did so . Twice as many men ( 40 % ) as women ( 21 % ) scored at intermediate levels ( AQ score 20 + ) . Among the AS/HFA group , male and female scores did not differ significantly . The students in Cambridge University did not differ from the r and omly selected control group , but scientists ( including mathematicians ) scored significantly higher than both humanities and social sciences students , confirming an earlier study that autistic conditions are associated with scientific skills . Within the sciences , mathematicians scored highest . This was replicated in Group 4 , the Mathematics Olympiad winners scoring significantly higher than the male Cambridge humanities students . 6 % of the student sample scored 327plus ; on the AQ . On interview , 11 out of 11 of these met three or more DSM-IV criteria for AS/HFA , and all were study ing sciences/mathematics , and 7 of the 11 met threshold on these criteria . Test — retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good . The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality . Its potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored
A significant between‐group difference in MSI was evident in the literature , with individuals with ASD demonstrating worse audiovisual integration on average across studies compared to TD controls .
This effect was moderated by mean participant age , such that between‐group differences were more pronounced in younger sample s. The mean correlation between MSI and autism and related symptomatology was also significant , indicating that increased audiovisual integration in individuals with ASD is associated with better language /communication abilities and /or reduced autism symptom severity in the extant literature .
This effect was moderated by whether the stimuli were linguistic versus non‐linguistic in nature , such that correlation magnitudes tended to be significantly greater when linguistic stimuli were utilized in the measure of MSI .
& NA ; An ever‐growing literature has aim ed to determine how individuals with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) differ from their typically developing ( TD ) peers on measures of multisensory integration ( MSI ) and to ascertain the degree to which differences in MSI are associated with the broad range of symptoms associated with ASD .
Findings , however , have been highly variable across the studies carried out to date .
The present work systematic ally review s and quantitatively synthesizes the large literature on audiovisual MSI  in individuals with ASD to evaluate the cumulative evidence for ( a ) group differences between individuals with ASD and TD peers , ( b ) correlations between MSI and autism symptoms in individuals with ASD and ( c ) study level factors that may moderate findings ( i.e. , explain differential effects ) observed across studies .