The Level and Nature of Autistic Intelligence - Michelle Dawson, Isabelle Soulie`res, Morton Ann Gernsbacher, and Laurent Mottron

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4287210/

Autistics are presumed to be characterized by cognitive impairment, and their cognitive strengths (e.g., in Block Design performance) are frequently interpreted as low-level by-products of high-level deficits, not as direct manifestations of intelligence. Recent attempts to identify the neuroanatomical and neurofunctional signature of autism have been positioned on this universal, but untested, assumption.

Infant and toddler oral- and manual-motor skills predict later speech fluency in autism - by Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Eve A. Sauer, Heather M. Geye, Emily K. Schweigert, and H. Hill Goldsmith

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4123528/

The prominent associations among early oral- and manual-motor skills and later speech fluency bear implications for understanding communication in autism. For instance, these associations challenge the common assumption (made even in diagnostic criteria) that manual modes of communication are available to autistic individuals – if simply they choose to use them. These associations also highlight a potential confound from manual-motor skills when assessing autistic cognition, receptive language, and ‘nonverbal’ social communication.

Language is More than Speech: A Case Study - by Morton Ann Gernsbacher

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266410/

Some individuals face severe challenges with producing oral language (i.e., speech). In this article a case study of a child who experienced severe challenges with speech development is presented. Medical records, historical home videos, audio recordings, and photographs, in conjunction with an extensive journal maintained by the child’s mother provide the basis for this report, which profiles the child’s development from birth to age 8