IAES International Journal of Artificial Intelligence (IJ-AI)
Vol 15, No 4: August 2026

Exploring cognitive patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder using correlation and cluster analysis

Hana Bezzih (University Mohammed Lamine Dabaghine)
Muna Darweesh (University of Dubai)
Amjad Gawanmeh (University of Dubai)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Aug 2026

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationships between age and five cognitive abilities in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data from 210 children aged 6 to 12 years who completed measures of visual motor precision (VM), facial memory (FM), spatial vision (SV), drawing memory (DM), and orientation (OR) were analyzed. Data preparation, descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and factor analysis were conducted. The results showed that age was not significantly associated with the cognitive measures. The clearest association was a moderate positive correlation between VM and FM (0.34). Cluster analysis identified three groups. However, the low silhouette score (0.1368) indicated weak separation and substantial overlap between cognitive profiles. Factor analysis suggested three latent dimensions: factor 1 was strongly associated with VM and FM; factor 2 was negatively related to DM and moderately positively related to OR; and factor 3 was primarily driven by SV. These findings suggest that cognitive abilities in children with ASD operate relatively independently, with some shared mechanisms between certain skills. It can be concluded that individualized approaches in assessment and intervention strategies are warranted.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

IJAI

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT Engineering

Description

IAES International Journal of Artificial Intelligence (IJ-AI) publishes articles in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The scope covers all artificial intelligence area and its application in the following topics: neural networks; fuzzy logic; simulated biological evolution algorithms (like ...