Local processing and social skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The role of anxiety and cognitive functioning

• Anxiety scores predicted social skill scores for children with ASDs.
• Anxiety moderated the relationship between local processing and social skills.
• IQ moderated the relationship between local processing and social skills.

The present study examined the relations between anxiety, cognitive functioning, local processing, and social skills in a group of 102 children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. The results indicated that children diagnosed with Asperger's Disorder had significantly higher cognitive functioning and enhanced local processing (i.e., Block Design scores) compared to those diagnosed with Autistic Disorder or PDD-NOS. Regression analyses results showed that anxiety and cognitive functioning moderated the association between local processing and social skills. For children with low cognitive functioning and high anxiety, greater local processing was associated with poorer social skills than those with high cognitive functioning, high anxiety, and greater local processing. For children with high cognitive functioning and high anxiety, enhanced local processing was associated with better social skills than those with high cognitive functioning and reduced local processing. Implications of these findings are discussed.