Middle-childhood executive functioning mediates associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent mental health, academic and functional outcomes in autistic children.

Among children with an ASD diagnosis, middle-childhood EF may be one pathway through which early-childhood autism symptoms influence a variety of outcomes in early-adolescence. An experimental study targeting middle-childhood EF to improve adolescent academic, emotional/behavioral, and adaptive functioning is needed to evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of these findings.