1. Chevalier P, Ghiglino D, Floris F, Priolo T, Wykowska A. Visual and Hearing Sensitivity Affect Robot-Based Training for Children Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in robotics and AI. 2021; 8: 748853.

In this paper, we investigate the impact of sensory sensitivity during robot-assisted training for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Indeed, user-adaptation for robot-based therapies could help users to focus on the training, and thus improve the benefits of the interactions. Children diagnosed with ASD often suffer from sensory sensitivity, and can show hyper or hypo-reactivity to sensory events, such as reacting strongly or not at all to sounds, movements, or touch. Considering it during robot therapies may improve the overall interaction. In the present study, thirty-four children diagnosed with ASD underwent a joint attention training with the robot Cozmo. The eight session training was embedded in the standard therapy. The children were screened for their sensory sensitivity with the Sensory Profile Checklist Revised. Their social skills were screened before and after the training with the Early Social Communication Scale. We recorded their performance and the amount of feedback they were receiving from the therapist through animations of happy and sad emotions played on the robot. Our results showed that visual and hearing sensitivity influenced the improvements of the skill to initiate joint attention. Also, the therapists of individuals with a high sensitivity to hearing chose to play fewer animations of the robot during the training phase of the robot activity. The animations did not include sounds, but the robot was producing motor noise. These results are supporting the idea that sensory sensitivity of children diagnosed with ASD should be screened prior to engaging the children in robot-assisted therapy.

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2. Chu Y, Wang G, Cao L, Qiao L, Liu M. Multi-Scale Graph Representation Learning for Autism Identification With Functional MRI. Frontiers in neuroinformatics. 2021; 15: 802305.

Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) has been widely used for the early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With rs-fMRI, the functional connectivity networks (FCNs) are usually constructed for representing each subject, with each element representing the pairwise relationship between brain region-of-interests (ROIs). Previous studies often first extract handcrafted network features (such as node degree and clustering coefficient) from FCNs and then construct a prediction model for ASD diagnosis, which largely requires expert knowledge. Graph convolutional networks (GCNs) have recently been employed to jointly perform FCNs feature extraction and ASD identification in a data-driven manner. However, existing studies tend to focus on the single-scale topology of FCNs by using one single atlas for ROI partition, thus ignoring potential complementary topology information of FCNs at different spatial scales. In this paper, we develop a multi-scale graph representation learning (MGRL) framework for rs-fMRI based ASD diagnosis. The MGRL consists of three major components: (1) multi-scale FCNs construction using multiple brain atlases for ROI partition, (2) FCNs representation learning via multi-scale GCNs, and (3) multi-scale feature fusion and classification for ASD diagnosis. The proposed MGRL is evaluated on 184 subjects from the public Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) database with rs-fMRI scans. Experimental results suggest the efficacy of our MGRL in FCN feature extraction and ASD identification, compared with several state-of-the-art methods.

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3. Dempsey EE, Moore C, Johnson SA, Stewart SH, Smith IM. Moral Foundations Theory Among Autistic and Neurotypical Children. Frontiers in psychology. 2021; 12: 782610.

Morality can help guide behavior and facilitate relationships. Although moral judgments by autistic people are similar to neurotypical individuals, many researchers argue that subtle differences signify deficits in autistic individuals. Moral foundation theory describes moral judgments in terms of differences rather than deficits. The current research, aimed at assessing autistic individuals’ moral inclinations using Haidt’s framework, was co-designed with autistic community members. Our aim was to describe autistic moral thinking from a strengths-based perspective while acknowledging differences that may pose interpersonal challenges among autistic youth. We assessed 25 autistic and 23 neurotypical children’s moral judgments using the Moral Foundations Questionnaire for Kids. We used semi-structured interviews and qualitative analysis with a subset of participants to describe children’s moral reasoning. Analyses suggested that autistic and neurotypical children make similar judgments about moral transgressions across all five moral foundations. General linear mixed modeling showed that the greatest predictor of recommending punishment was how bad children deemed moral transgressions to be. We also found a trend that autistic children were more likely to recommend punishment for harmless norms violations than were neurotypical children. Future research could use longitudinal methods to understand the development of moral judgments among autistic and neurotypical children.

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4. Findley JA, Ruble LA, McGrew JH. Individualized Education Program Quality for Transition Age Students with Autism. Research in autism spectrum disorders. 2022; 91.

BACKGROUND: Students with ASD have some of the worst postsecondary outcomes when compared to other students with disabilities indicating transition planning may not be working effectively. One source of support for postsecondary planning is development of the transition Individualized Education Program (IEP). However, little research is available to describe the current contents of transition IEPs for students with ASD. This study aimed to describe IEP and postsecondary planning quality for students with autism in their final year of high school. METHOD: IEPs for 20 students with autism (Mage = 18.2 years; SD = 1.1) from two mid-southern states were analyzed. Descriptive analyses were used to identify strengths and weaknesses of IEPs and postsecondary goals based on federal law requirements and best practice recommendations. RESULTS: IEPs contained an average of 3.1 IEP goals and 1.6 postsecondary goals. IEP goals were most frequently related to academic, learning/work, or communication skills. All IEPs contained an employment postsecondary goal while less than half of the IEPs included an independent living postsecondary goal. Key findings include lack of goals related to social skills and the lack of alignment between present levels of performance, IEP goals, and postsecondary goals. CONCLUSIONS: IEPs for students with ASD in their final year of school do not consistently meet standards outlined by federal law or best practice recommendations necessary for successful transition from high school.

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5. Hsiao MN, Tai YM, Wu YY, Tsai WC, Chiu YN, Gau SS. Psychopathologies mediate the link between autism spectrum disorder and bullying involvement: A follow-up study. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi. 2022.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a high risk of involvement in school bully. The study investigated whether comorbid psychopathologies mediated the link between ASD and bullying involvement. METHODS: We assessed 353 youths (mean age, 11.8 ± 3.1 years), including 121 youths with ASD and 232 typically developing (TD) controls, using semi-structured diagnostic interviews on ASD and other psychiatric conditions. Follow-up assessments took place 2-5 years (37.6 ± 15 months) later. Meanwhile, their parents reported on the Social Adjustment Inventory for Children and Adolescents about bullying involvement statuses. We identified significant mediators by simple mediation models, followed by multiple mediation models to scrutinize the mediation effects of selected mediators. RESULTS: The results showed a sevenfold increased risk of bullying involvement among youths with ASD compared with TD controls at follow-up. In general, psychopathologies mediated the link between ASD and bullying involvement, even independent of age and sex. Specifically, we found mediating effects of social problems on victimization-only and aggressive behaviors on victimization-perpetration. CONCLUSION: Our findings strongly suggest the link between ASD and later bullying involvement is mediated by pre-existing comorbid psychiatric conditions, besides the direct effect of ASD on bullying victimization. Hence, early identification and intervention of these psychopathologies are highly suggested.

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6. Kushima M, Kojima R, Shinohara R, Horiuchi S, Otawa S, Ooka T, Akiyama Y, Miyake K, Yokomichi H, Yamagata Z. Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study. JAMA pediatrics. 2022; 176(4): 384-91.

IMPORTANCE: It is unclear to what extent the duration of screen time in infancy is associated with the subsequent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between screen time in infancy and the development of autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study analyzed data from mother-child dyads in a large birth cohort in Japan. This study included children born to women recruited between January 2011 and March 2014, and data were analyzed in December 2020. The study was conducted by the Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group in collaboration with 15 regional centers across Japan. EXPOSURES: Screen time at 1 year of age. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The outcome variable, children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age, was assessed using a questionnaire administered to mothers of the participating children. RESULTS: A total of 84 030 mother-child dyads were analyzed. The prevalence of children with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age was 392 per 100 000 (0.4%), and boys were 3 times more likely to have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder than were girls. Logistic regression analysis showed that among boys, when « no screen » was the reference, the adjusted odds ratios were as follows: less than 1 hour, odds ratio, 1.38 (95 % CI, 0.71-2.69; P = .35), 1 hour to less than 2 hours, odds ratio, 2.16 (95 % CI, 1.13-4.14; P = .02), 2 hours to less than 4 hours, odds ratio, 3.48 (95% CI, 1.83-6.65; P < .001), and more than 4 hours, odds ratio, 3.02 (95% CI, 1.44-6.34; P = .04). Among girls, however, there was no association between autism spectrum disorder and screen time. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age. With the rapid increase in device usage, it is necessary to review the health effects of screen time on infants and to control excessive screen time.

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7. Makris G, Agorastos A, Chrousos GP, Pervanidou P. Stress System Activation in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in neuroscience. 2021; 15: 756628.

The mission of the human stress system is the maintenance of homeostasis in the presence of real or perceived, acute or chronic stressors. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are the stress system-related neuroendocrine pathways. There is abundant evidence that children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may exhibit atypical function within the HPA axis and the ANS both at the resting state and during the presence of social and/or non-social stressors. The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date summary of the findings regarding stress system alterations in children and adolescents with ASD. We focus on the variations of stress hormones circadian rhythms, specifically cortisol and alpha-amylase (i.e., a surrogate index of epinephrine/norepinephrine secretion), and on the alterations of stress system responsivity to different stressors. Also, we present imaging and immunological findings that have been associated with stress system dysregulation in children and adolescents with ASD. Finally, we review the pivotal role of HPA axis-ANS coordination, the developmental trajectory of the stress system in ASD, and the possible role of early life stress in the dysregulation of the stress system demonstrated in children and adolescents with ASD. This synthesis will hopefully provide researchers with a foundation for an integrated approach to future research into stress system variations in children and adolescents with ASD.

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8. Miller AL, Frye D, Green T, Mitchell C, Garcia G, Huereña J, Moore T, Turnage V. (Re)defining their place at the table: Frank discussions by adults with disabilities on contemporary self-advocacy. Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID. 2022; 35(3): 777-88.

Adults with disabilities have long been at the forefront of disability advocacy in the United States. Grounded in the tenets of radical disability studies and principles of disability justice, this study explored the lived experiences of 12 adults with disabilities, including intellectual disability and developmental disabilities, with a particular focus on self-advocacy. Two focus groups were primary data sources. Three participants and one university-based researcher analyzed the data collaboratively. Iterative data collection and analysis yielded 8 primary codes and 22 subcodes. We discuss a subset of our findings, focusing on three major themes. The findings illuminated how adults with disabilities conceptualised self-advocacy expansively, including self, other, and the collective. Participants also described problems they faced advocating. Finally, adults with disabilities shared solutions to inequities at individual, group, and societal levels. This project illustrates the importance of centering adults with disabilities in research and policy with implications for future thought.

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9. Paukovich N, Henen MA, Hussain A, Issaian A, Sikela JM, Hansen KC, Vögeli B. Solution NMR backbone assignments of disordered Olduvai protein domain CON1 employing Hα-detected experiments. Biomolecular NMR assignments. 2022; 16(1): 113-9.

Olduvai protein domains, encoded by the NBPF gene family, are responsible for the largest increase in copy number of any protein-coding region in the human genome. This has spawned various genetics studies which have linked these domains to human brain development and divergence from our primate ancestors, as well as currently relevant cognitive diseases such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are six separate Olduvai domains which together form the majority of the various protein products of the NBPF genes. The six domains include three conserved domains (CON1-3), and three human-lineage-specific domains (HLS1-3) which occur in triplet. Here, we present the solution nuclear magnetic resonance backbone assignments for the CON1 domain, which has been linked to the severity of ASD. The data confirm that CON1 is an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP). Additionally, we use innovative H(α)-detected experiments which allow us to not only assign the H(α) atoms and N atoms of proline residues, but also to assign residues where H(N)-experiments suffered from peak overlap or broadening.

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10. Pickles A, Wright N, Bedford R, Steiman M, Duku E, Bennett T, Georgiades S, Kerns CM, Mirenda P, Smith IM, Ungar WJ, Vaillancourt T, Waddell C, Zaidman-Zait A, Zwaigenbaum L, Szatmari P, Elsabbagh M. Predictors of language regression and its association with subsequent communication development in children with autism. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2022.

BACKGROUND: Language regression, broadly defined as the loss of acquired language skills in early childhood, is a distinctive feature of autism. Little is known about the factors underlying regression or the prognosis of children who exhibit regression. We examine potential predictors of language regression and test its association with language development in a prospective longitudinal sample of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from diagnosis to age 10 years. METHODS: We analysed data from Pathways in ASD, a prospective longitudinal study of 421 children enrolled around the time of an autism diagnosis between 2 and 5 years. Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised data were available for 408 children, of whom 90 (22%) were classified as having language regression. RESULTS: Demographic and other health factors including caregiver education, family income, child sex, reported seizures, and age of enrolment did not differ between children with and without language regression. Children with language regression walked earlier and attained first words sooner than those without regression. However, both groups attained phrase speech at comparable ages. Those with regression exhibited greater delays in expressive and receptive communication over the follow-up period, although this effect was attenuated when accounting for baseline differences in motor and cognitive ability. Overall, those with language regression continued to exhibit expressive but not receptive communication delay compared to those without regression. Communication trajectories were heterogeneous to age 10 years, irrespective of regression status. CONCLUSIONS: Although language regression can be alarming, our findings confirm that its occurrence does not necessarily foreshadow worse developmental outcomes relative to those without regression. Although a discrepancy in age-equivalent communication skills may persist, this can be expected to be of less practical importance with rising average levels of skills. Future studies need to account for the significant variability in language trajectories by considering factors beyond developmental regression.

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11. Shan L, Dong H, Wang T, Feng J, Jia F. Screen Time, Age and Sunshine Duration Rather Than Outdoor Activity Time Are Related to Nutritional Vitamin D Status in Children With ASD. Frontiers in pediatrics. 2021; 9: 806981.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the possible association among vitamin D, screen time and other factors that might affect the concentration of vitamin D in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: In total, 306 children with ASD were recruited, and data, including their age, sex, height, weight, screen time, time of outdoor activity, ASD symptoms [including Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2)] and vitamin D concentrations, were collected. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the factors related to the vitamin D concentration. Results: A multiple linear regression analysis showed that screen time (β = -0.122, P = 0.032), age (β = -0.233, P < 0.001), and blood collection month (reflecting sunshine duration) (β = 0.177, P = 0.004) were statistically significant. The vitamin D concentration in the children with ASD was negatively correlated with screen time and age and positively correlated with sunshine duration. Conclusion: The vitamin D levels in children with ASD are related to electronic screen time, age and sunshine duration. Since age and season are uncontrollable, identifying the length of screen time in children with ASD could provide a basis for the clinical management of their vitamin D nutritional status.

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