1. Crossman MK, Kazdin AE. {{Additional Evidence is Needed to Recommend Acquiring a Dog to Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Response to Wright and Colleagues}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Aug 1)
Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder are vulnerable to overstated benefits of interventions, and such overstatements are common with interventions involving animals. This response to Wright, Hall, Hames, Hardmin, Mills, the Paws Team, and Mills’ (2015) article, « Acquiring a Pet Dog Significantly Reduces Stress of Primary Careers for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Prospective Case Control Study, » details why that study’s conclusions are premature. Specific limitations of the study are detailed, including overstatements of the supportive literature, problems with the design, and mismatch between the findings and conclusions. The purpose is not to challenge the benefits of pet ownership, but to point out that those benefits have not yet been established.
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2. Foster NE, Doyle-Thomas KA, Tryfon A, Ouimet T, Anagnostou E, Evans AC, Zwaigenbaum L, Lerch JP, Lewis JD, Hyde KL. {{Structural Gray Matter Differences During Childhood Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multimetric Approach}}. {Pediatr Neurol};2015 (Jun 25)
BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, repetitive behaviors, and restricted interests. Gray matter differences linked to autism spectrum disorder have been studied using a variety of structural imaging methods, but yielded little consensus; the extent to which disparate results reflect differences in methodology or heterogeneity within autism spectrum disorder is not yet clear. Moreover, very few studies have examined gray matter changes as a function of age in autism spectrum disorder. METHOD: A detailed investigation of gray matter structural development was performed via voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness, and cortical surface area analyses in 38 autism spectrum disorder versus 46 typically developing children. RESULTS: Relative to typically developing children, the autism spectrum disorder group showed gray matter increases most prominently in the frontal and temporal lobes (including regions such as medial frontal gyrus, Broca’s area and posterior temporal cortex), as well as certain parietal and occipital subcortical regions. Gray matter decreases were found only near the temporoparietal junction. Subcortical gray matter increases were found in the putamen and caudate nucleus, while decreases were found in cerebellum. There were age-dependent GM differences in distributed regions including prefrontal cortex, primary sensorimotor cortex, and temporoparietal junction. CONCLUSION: The results underline the distributed nature of gray matter structural differences in autism spectrum disorder and provide a more comprehensive characterization of autism spectrum disorder-related cortical and subcortical gray matter structural differences during childhood and adolescent development.
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3. Lane R, Kessler R, Buckley AW, Rodriguez A, Farmer C, Thurm A, Swedo S, Felt B. {{Evaluation of Periodic Limb Movements in Sleep and Iron Status in Children With Autism}}. {Pediatr Neurol};2015 (Jun 26)
OBJECTIVE: Recent data suggest that both disordered sleep and low serum iron occur more frequently in children with autism compared with children with typical development. Iron deficiency has been linked to specific sleep disorders. The goal of the current study was to evaluate periodic limb movements in sleep and iron status in a group of children with autism compared with typically developing children and children with nonautism developmental delay to determine if iron status correlated with polysomnographic measures of latency and continuity and periodic limb movements in sleep. METHODS: A total of 102 children (68 with autism, 18 typically developing, 16 with developmental delay) aged 2 to 7 years underwent a one-night modified polysomnography study and phlebotomy at the National Institutes of Health to measure serum markers of iron status (ferritin, iron, transferrin, percent transferrin saturation). RESULTS: No serum iron marker was associated with periodic limb movements of sleep or any other sleep parameter; this did not differ among the diagnostic groups. No significant differences among groups were observed on serum iron markers or most polysomnogram parameters: periodic limb movements in sleep, periodic limb movements index, wake after sleep onset, or sleep efficiency. Children in the autism group had significantly less total sleep time. Serum ferritin was uniformly low across groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no evidence that serum ferritin is associated with polysomnogram measures of latency or sleep continuity or that young children with autism are at increased risk for higher periodic limb movements index compared with typically developing and developmental delay peers.
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4. Olmsted D, Blaxill M. {{Leo Kanner’s Mention of 1938 in His Report on Autism Refers to His First Patient}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Aug 1)
Leo Kanner begins his landmark 1943 case series on autistic children by stating the condition was first brought to his attention in 1938. Recent letters to JADD have described this reference as « mysterious » and speculated it refers to papers published that year by Despert or Asperger. In fact, as Kanner goes on to state, 1938 is when he examined the first child in his case series. An exchange of letters with Despert and later writing by Kanner also point to the originality of his observations.
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5. Simms MD, Jin XM. {{Autism, Language Disorder, and Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder: DSM-V and Differential Diagnoses}}. {Pediatr Rev};2015 (Aug);36(8):355-363.
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6. South M, Stephenson KG, Nielson CA, Maisel M, Top DN, Kirwan CB. {{Overactive Pattern Separation Memory Associated with Negative Emotionality in Adults Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Aug 1)
Bowler et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44(9):2355-2362. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2105-y, 2014) have suggested that a specific memory impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) arises from hippocampal failure to consolidate multiple related pieces of information. Twenty-four adults diagnosed with ASD and matched healthy controls completed a pattern separation memory task that is known to critically depend on hippocampal involvement. They additionally completed questionnaires regarding anxiety, depression, and behavioral motivation. Specific deficits in pattern separation were significantly correlated with negative emotionality; the best predictor of memory deficit was from a measure of achievement motivation that has also been associated with hyperactivity and impulsivity. In the context of impaired emotion regulation in ASD, there is a need for integrated cognitive, affective, and neural systems approaches to build targeted interventions.
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7. Yang S, Paynter JM, Gilmore L. {{Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: II Profile of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Aug 1)
Adaptive behaviour is a crucial area of assessment for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study examined the adaptive behaviour profile of 77 young children with ASD using the Vineland-II, and analysed factors associated with adaptive functioning. Consistent with previous research with the original Vineland a distinct autism profile of Vineland-II age equivalent scores, but not standard scores, was found. Highe st scores were in motor skills and lowest scores were in socialisation. The addition of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule calibrated severity score did not contribute significant variance to Vineland-II scores beyond that accounted for by age and nonverbal ability. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed.
