Lateralized brain dysfunction in autism: Evidence from the Halstead-Reitan neuropsychological battery

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Abstract
Selected tests from the Halstead Reitan neuropsychological battery were administered to 10 male individuals who had been diagnosed as autistic in early childhood. Results from the battery obtained from the autistic group were compared with a group of retarded persons matched for IQ and with a group of patients with demonstrable diffuse brain damage. As a group, the autistic subjects showed a pattern of deficits indicative of a significantly greater degree of left hemisphere dysfunction than either comparison group. Furthermore, within-subject comparisons revealed that the autistic group had a significantly greater left than right hemisphere dysfunction, while neither comparison group showed this lateralized pattern.