1. Alookaran J, Liu Y, Auchtung TA, Tahanan A, Hessabi M, Asgarisabet P, Rahbar MH, Fatheree NY, Pearson DA, Mansour R, Van Arsdall MR, Navarro F, Rhoads JM. Fungi: Friend or Foe? A Mycobiome Evaluation in Children With Autism and Gastrointestinal Symptoms. Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition. 2022; 74(3): 377-82.

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms often affect children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and GI symptoms have been associated with an abnormal fecal microbiome. There is limited evidence of Candida species being more prevalent in children with ASD. We enrolled 20 children with ASD and GI symptoms (ASD + GI), 10 children with ASD but no GI symptoms (ASD – GI), and 20 from typically developing (TD) children in this pilot study. Fecal mycobiome taxa were analyzed by Internal Transcribed Spacer sequencing. GI symptoms (GI Severity Index [GSI]), behavioral symptoms (Social Responsiveness Scale -2 [SRS-2]), inflammation and fungal immunity (fecal calprotectin and serum dectin-1 [ELISA]) were evaluated. We observed no changes in the abundance of total fungal species (alpha diversity) between groups. Samples with identifiable Candida spp. were present in 4 of 19 (21%) ASD + GI, in 5 of 9 (56%) ASD – GI, and in 4 of 16 (25%) TD children (overall P = 0.18). The presence of Candida spp. did not correlate with behavioral or GI symptoms (P = 0.38, P = 0.5, respectively). Fecal calprotectin was normal in all but one child. Finally, there was no significance in serum dectin-1 levels, suggesting no increased fungal immunity in children with ASD. Our data suggest that fungi are present at normal levels in the stool of children with ASD and are not associated with gut inflammation.

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2. Dean DD, Agarwal S, Muthuswamy S, Asim A. Brain exosomes as minuscule information hub for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Expert review of molecular diagnostics. 2021; 21(12): 1323-31.

INTRODUCTION: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder initiating in the first three years of life. Early initiation of management therapies can significantly improve the health and quality of life of ASD subjects. Thus, indicating the need for suitable biomarkers for the early identification of ASD. Various biological domains were investigated in the quest for reliable biomarkers. However, most biomarkers are in the preliminary stage, and clinical validation is yet to be defined. Exosome based research gained momentum in various Central Nervous System disorders for biomarker identification. However, the utility and prospect of exosomes in ASD is still underexplored. AREAS COVERED: In the present review, we summarized the biomarker discovery current status and the future of brain-specific exosomes in understanding pathophysiology and its potential as a biomarker. The studies reviewed herein were identified via systematic search (dated: June 2021) of PubMed using variations related to autism (ASD OR autism OR Autism spectrum disorder) AND exosomes AND/OR biomarkers. EXPERT OPINION: As exosomess are highly relevant in brain disorders like ASD, direct access to brain tissue for molecular assessment is ethically impossible. Thus investigating the brain-derived exosomes would undoubtedly answer many unsolved aspects of the pathogenesis and provide reliable biomarkers.

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3. Delage H, Eigsti IM, Stanford E, Durrleman S. A Preliminary Examination of the Impact of Working Memory Training on Syntax and Processing Speed in Children with ASD. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 2021: 1-19.

In addition to deficits in pragmatics, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have weaknesses in complex syntax and working memory (WM). These two deficits may be closely related. Previous work investigated the effects of WM training in developmental language disorders and showed significant improvement in both WM and syntax. The current study tests the impact of 12 h of WM training across 8 weeks in 30 children with ASD, aged 5 to 11. Results showed direct improvements on untrained WM tasks, as well as transfer effects to syntax and processing speed. Stronger WM led to better syntactic abilities. While they must be replicated, these exciting results provide impetus for further studies of WM interventions.

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4. Elias-Mas A, Alvarez-Mora MI, Caro-Benito C, Rodriguez-Revenga L. Neuroimaging Insight Into Fragile X-Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Literature Review. Frontiers in psychiatry. 2021; 12: 728952.

FMR1 premutation is defined by 55-200 CGG repeats in the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. FMR1 premutation carriers are at risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease called fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and Fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI) in adulthood. In the last years an increasingly board spectrum of clinical manifestations including psychiatric disorders have been described as occurring at a greater frequency among FMR1 premutation carriers. Herein, we reviewed the neuroimaging findings reported in relation with psychiatric symptomatology in adult FMR1 premutation carriers. A structured electronic literature search was conducted on FMR1 premutation and neuroimaging yielding a total of 3,229 articles examined. Of these, 7 articles were analyzed and are included in this review. The results showed that the main radiological findings among adult FMR1 premutation carriers presenting neuropsychiatric disorders were found on the amygdala and hippocampus, being the functional abnormalities more consistent and the volumetric changes more inconsistent among studies. From a molecular perspective, CGG repeat size, FMR1 mRNA and FMRP levels have been investigated in relation with the neuroimaging findings. Based on the published results, FMRP might play a key role in the pathophysiology of the psychiatric symptoms described among FMR1 premutation carriers. However, additional studies including further probes of brain function and a broader scope of psychiatric symptom measurement are required in order to obtain a comprehensive landscape of the neuropsychiatric phenotype associated with the FMR1 premutation.

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5. Fong HX, Cornish K, Kirk H, Ilias K, Shaikh MF, Golden KJ. Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in Malaysia: An Examination of the Psychological Well-Being of Parent-Child Dyads and Child Behavior in Families With Children on the Autism Spectrum. Frontiers in psychiatry. 2021; 12: 733905.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have adversely impacted children on the autism spectrum and their families, especially in Malaysia where this population is often marginalized. The current quantitative research aimed to investigate the impact of the Malaysian COVID-19 lockdown on the behavior and psychological distress of children formally diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition (ASC) as well as the psychological distress and well-being of their parents, in comparison with a typically developing (TD) control group. Methods: The children’s ages ranged between 5 and 17 years. The sample included 72 ASC parent-child dyads and 62 TD parent-child dyads. The primary caregiver completed an online survey including the following: demographic and diagnostic information; ASC symptoms; children’s inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, perceived stress, depression, and anxiety; parents’ perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and well-being based on their experience pre- and mid-lockdown (March 18th to June 9th 2020) in Malaysia. Results: Among the ASC group, no significant pre- and mid-lockdown change was found in ASC symptoms (p > 0.05). There were no significant gender differences (boys/girls) in all the child scales. The 2 [diagnosis (ASC, TD)] × 2 [lockdown (pre-lockdown, mid-lockdown)] mixed-model ANOVAs revealed main effects of lockdown on children’s attention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, anxiety, and parents’ perceived stress, depression, and psychological well-being (p < 0.005). There was a main effect of diagnosis in all child and parent variables, except parents' perceived stress (p >0.005). However, there was no significant interaction effect between diagnosis and lockdown (p >0.005). All child behavior (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity) and child psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and perceived stress) were significantly correlated in both the ASC and TD groups (p < 0.005). On the other hand, only some of the parent variables were significantly correlated with child variables (p < 0.0045) in the ASC group while none of the parent variables were significantly correlated with the child variables (p > 0.005) in the TD group. Conclusion: The results provide preliminary evidence indicating negative effects of the Malaysian lockdown on both children on the autism spectrum and TD children, as well as their parents. These quantitative results will be triangulated with the qualitative interview data to provide a holistic understanding of the impact of the pandemic, informing translational policy and practice recommendations.

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6. Gata-Garcia A, Porat A, Brimberg L, Volpe BT, Huerta PT, Diamond B. Contributions of Sex Chromosomes and Gonadal Hormones to the Male Bias in a Maternal Antibody-Induced Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in neurology. 2021; 12: 721108.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions that is four times more commonly diagnosed in males than females. While susceptibility genes located in the sex chromosomes have been identified in ASD, it is unclear whether they are sufficient to explain the male bias or whether gonadal hormones also play a key role. We evaluated the sex chromosomal and hormonal influences on the male bias in a murine model of ASD, in which mice are exposed in utero to a maternal antibody reactive to contactin-associated protein-like 2 (Caspr2), which was originally cloned from a mother of a child with ASD (termed C6 mice henceforth). In this model, only male mice are affected. We used the four-core-genotypes (FCG) model in which the Sry gene is deleted from the Y chromosome (Y(-)) and inserted into autosome 3 (TgSry). Thus, by combining the C6 and FCG models, we were able to differentiate the contributions of sex chromosomes and gonadal hormones to the development of fetal brain and adult behavioral phenotypes. We show that the presence of the Y chromosome, or lack of two X chromosomes, irrespective of gonadal sex, increased the susceptibility to C6-induced phenotypes including the abnormal growth of the developing fetal cerebral cortex, as well as a behavioral pattern of decreased open-field exploration in adult mice. Our results indicate that sex chromosomes are the main determinant of the male bias in the maternal C6-induced model of ASD. The less dominant hormonal effect may be due to modulation by sex chromosome genes of factors involved in gonadal hormone pathways in the brain.

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7. George CM, Perin J, Kuhl J, Williams C, Coglianese N, Thomas ED, Bauler S, François R, Ng A, Kang Y, Presence AS, Jean Claude BR, Tofail F, Mirindi P, Cirhuza LB. Linear Growth Faltering Is Associated with Subsequent Adverse Child Cognitive Developmental Outcomes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (REDUCE Program). The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2021; 106(1): 356-60.

Globally, 140 million children under 5 years of age are estimated to be stunted. Previous studies have found an association between stunting and poor cognitive outcomes. However, there is limited evidence of this association in sub-Saharan African settings, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This prospective cohort study of 286 children under 5 years was conducted in rural DRC to investigate the association between diarrhea prevalence, child growth, and child cognitive developmental outcomes. Developmental outcomes were assessed by communication, fine motor, gross motor, personal social, problem-solving, and combined developmental scores measured by the Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire (EASQ) at a 6-month follow-up visit. Height and weight were measured at baseline and a 6-month follow-up. Diarrhea prevalence was assessed through surveillance visits. Diarrhea prevalence was not associated with follow-up combined EASQ Z-scores at the 6-month follow-up (coefficient: -0.06 [95% CI: -0.29, 0.17]). Each additional standard deviation (SD) increase in height-for-age Z-scores from baseline to the 6-month follow-up increased combined EASQ Z-scores by 0.22 (95%: 0.14, -0.31) SDs. Each additional SD increase in weight-for-age Z-scores from baseline to the 6-month follow-up increased combined EASQ Z-scores by 0.21 (95%: 0.10, -0.32) SDs. Linear growth faltering and reduced weight gain were associated with reduced cognitive developmental outcomes among children residing in rural DRC. Interventions are urgently needed for this susceptible pediatric population to improve child growth and cognitive developmental outcomes.

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8. George CM, Perin J, Parvin T, Bhuyian MSI, Thomas ED, Monira S, Zohura F, Hasan MT, Alam M, Tofail F. Diarrhea Prevalence and Child Growth Faltering Are Associated with Subsequent Adverse Child Developmental Outcomes in Bangladesh (CHoBI7 Program). The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene. 2021; 106(1): 233-8.

Millions of young children annually are not meeting their developmental potential in low- and middle-income countries. Previous studies have shown that diarrheal diseases during early life are associated with subsequent malnutrition. This prospective cohort study of 576 children under 5 years was conducted in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh, to investigate the association between diarrhea prevalence, child growth, and child cognitive developmental outcomes. Height and weight were measured at baseline and a 12-month follow-up. Diarrhea prevalence was assessed through monthly surveillance visits. Developmental outcomes were assessed by communication, fine motor, gross motor, personal social, problem-solving, and combined developmental scores measured by the Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire (EASQ) at the 12-month follow-up visit. To assess the association between diarrhea prevalence, child growth, and child cognitive developmental outcomes, linear regression models were fit using generalized estimating equations to account for clustering at the household level and to approximate 95% CIs. Diarrhea prevalence was negatively associated with change in height-for-age (HAZ) Z-scores from baseline to the 12-month follow-up (coefficient -0.85 [95% CI: -1.42, -0.28]). Diarrhea prevalence was a significant predictor of combined EASQ Z-scores with and without baseline stunting included in the model (-0.89 [95% CI: -1.67, -0.09] [baseline stunting included]) and (-0.88 [95% CI: -1.69, -0.07]). Change in HAZ from baseline to the 12-month follow-up was positively associated with follow-up combined EASQ Z-scores (0.28 [95% CI: 0.15, 0.42]). High diarrhea prevalence and linear growth faltering were associated with negative cognitive developmental outcomes among children residing in urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. Furthermore, high diarrhea prevalence was associated with negative child cognitive developmental outcomes with stunting included in the model, suggesting an effect of diarrhea on cognition independent of stunting.

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9. González-Teshima LY, Payán-Gómez C, Saldarriaga W. Fragile X Syndrome Secondary to in Vitro Fertilization With a Family Egg Donor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Journal of family & reproductive health. 2021; 15(2): 130-5.

Objective: To evidence the need for screening fragile X syndrome (FXS) in egg donors in assisted reproduction protocols. Case report : This is the report of a boy with FXS who inherited the mutated allele from an ovule donated by the mother´s sister through an assisted reproduction protocol. Identifying premutation (PM) carriers of FXS amongst gamete donors isn’t part of the obligatory genetic analysis for donors and is only considered by most of the in vitro fertility societies and guidelines as part of the extension screening tests. Conclusion: It is cost-effective to do pre-conceptional screening for the PM or full mutation (FM) of the FMR1 gene affected in FXS in every woman undergoing assisted reproductive methods, including gamete donors even without a positive family history of intellectual disabilities. This case supports the need of rethinking the guidelines on the necessary gamete donor screening tests in assisted reproduction protocols.

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10. Kind PC, Bird A. CDKL5 deficiency disorder: a pathophysiology of neural maintenance. The Journal of clinical investigation. 2021; 131(21).

Critical periods are developmental time windows in which functional properties of the brain are particularly susceptible to the organism’s experience. It was thought that therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) required early life intervention for successful treatment, but previous studies in a mouse model of Rett syndrome indicated that this may not be the case, as some genetic disorders result from disruptions of neuromaintenance. In this issue of the JCI, Terzic et al. provide evidence that defective neuromaintenance also underlies CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD). The authors used genetic mouse models to examine the role of CDKL5 protein. Notably, when CDKL5 protein was restored in late adolescent Cdkl5-deficient animals, CDD behavioral defects were reversed. These results suggest that genetically or pharmacologically restoring CDKL5 may treat CDD after symptom onset.

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11. Lennartsson O, Lodefalk M, Wehtje H, Stattin EL, Sävendahl L, Nilsson O. Case Report: Bilateral Epiphysiodesis Due to Extreme Tall Stature in a Girl With a De Novo DNMT3A Variant Associated With Tatton-Brown-Rahman Syndrome. Frontiers in endocrinology. 2021; 12: 752756.

OBJECTIVE: To present a rare clinical case of a patient with Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome and the outcome of tall stature management with bilateral epiphysiodesis surgery at the distal femur and proximal ends of tibia and fibula. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical case report. RESULTS: This is a 20-year-old female with a history of proportional tall stature, developmental psychomotor and language delay with autism spectrum behavior and distinctive facial features. At 12 years and 2 months of age she was in early puberty and 172.5 cm tall (+ 2.8 SDS) and growing approximately 2 SDS above midparental target height of 173 cm (+ 0.9 SDS). A bone age assessment predicted an adult height of 187.1 cm (+3.4 SDS). To prevent extreme tall stature, bilateral epiphysiodesis surgery was performed at the distal femur and proximal ends of tibia and fibula at the age of 12 years and 9 months. After the surgery her height increased by 12.6 cm to 187.4 cm of which approximately 10.9 cm occurred in the spine whereas leg length increased by only 1.7 cm resulting in a modest increase of sitting height index from 50% (-1 SDS) to 53% (+ 0.5 SDS). Genetic evaluation for tall stature and intellectual disability identified a de novo nonsense variant in the DNMT3A gene previously associated with Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome. CONCLUSION: Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome should be considered in children with extreme tall stature and intellectual disability. Percutaneous epiphysiodesis surgery to mitigate extreme tall stature may be considered.

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12. Li R, Liang X, Zhou Y, Ren Z. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Levels in Children and Adolescents With and Without ASD in Inclusive Schools. Frontiers in pediatrics. 2021; 9: 726942.

Background: The health benefits of physical activity (PA) participation are well-documented. Little was known about the PA levels of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their typically developing (TD) peers in inclusive schools. This study aimed to synthesize available studies examining PA levels of children and adolescents with and without ASD and its associated factors that affected their PA participation during inclusive schools applying the social-relational model of disability (SRMD). Methods: Eight databases were searched including CINAHL Complete, SPORTDiscus with Full Text, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Eric, APA PsycINFO, and Scopus from inception through May 2021 to identify related studies. Two researchers independently screened studies, assessed methodological quality, and summarized relevant data. The McMaster Critical Reviewer Form for quantitative studies was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included articles. Results: A total of seven articles were included in this systematic review. Overall, meta-analysis results indicated that children and adolescents with ASD had a moderately decreased PA levels compared with their TD peers [SMD = -0.585, 95% CI (-0.774, -0.425), p < 0.01]. Individual-, social-, and environmental-level factors that influence PA levels in children and adolescents with ASD were identified from the perspective of SRMD. Conclusion: This review indicates that children and adolescents with ASD have lower PA levels than their TD peers in inclusive schools and multilevel factors affect their PA.

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13. Llewelyn H, Kiddie J. Can a facial action coding system (CatFACS) be used to determine the welfare state of cats with cerebellar hypoplasia?. The Veterinary record. 2022; 190(8): e1079.

BACKGROUND: The impaired motor skills of cats living with cerebellar hypoplasia (CH) suggests they would be unable to practice normal behaviour, one of the five welfare needs. This study aimed to explore the use of facial action coding system (CatFACS) as a welfare assessment tool for cats with CH. METHODS: Facial expressions (action units [AUs]) were defined as neutral/positive or negative by recording healthy cats (n = 89) during presumed aversive or relaxed scenarios. CH cats (n = 33) were then filmed and their facial expressions compared to those of the presumed positively- and negatively-valenced healthy cats. RESULTS: Sixteen negative AUs were defined. CH cats performed more of these than healthy cats (p = 0.023) in the relaxed scenario. There was no difference in AU expression between three levels of CH severity (mild, moderate or severe) (p = 0.461). CONCLUSION: Cats perform distinct AUs when experiencing negatively-valenced arousal, the presence or absence of these AUs could be used to infer the welfare of healthy and CH cats. As there was no difference in AU expression between the three levels of CH severity, the behavioural restrictions CH imposes on cats does not necessarily indicate lower welfare and the reasons why CH cats perform more negatively associated AUs warrant further research.

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14. Manders E, Goodill S, Koch SC, Giarelli E, Polansky M, Fisher K, Fuchs T. The Mirroring Dance: Synchrony and Interaction Quality of Five Adolescents and Adults on the Autism Spectrum in Dance/Movement Therapy. Frontiers in psychology. 2021; 12: 717389.

Background: Individuals on the autism spectrum are often described as having atypical social interactions. Ideally, interactional synchrony helps any interaction flow smoothly with each individual responding verbally, non-verbally, and/or emotionally within a short timeframe. Differences in interactional synchrony may impact how individuals on the autism spectrum experience social encounters. Method: This mixed methods pilot study examined interactional synchrony in five cases of adolescents and adults on the autism spectrum through secondary analysis of video of the participants in movement-based mirroring tasks during dance/movement therapy. Raters described the movement and interactions of the participants while they were leading and following mirroring and engaged in open-ended free dances with a partner. Videos were also scored on measures of affective engagement, flow of the interaction, and synchrony. Results: One of the most striking findings of this study was the difference between engagement in the instructions of the task and engagement with the partner: participants often followed the instructions for the mirroring tasks with little further social engagement with their partner. When participants did engage in moments of social initiation, attunement to the partner, and interactive behaviors, these did not develop into longer interactions. A paired t-test of the correlation coefficients for each participant showed that scores on synchrony and affective engagement were more strongly positively correlated in the less structured open-ended dance and in video clips of interactive behaviors, than in the videos of simply leading or following mirroring. Synchrony was also significantly more strongly positively correlated with the observed flow of the interaction than with observed affective engagement. With the small sample size, however, most of the correlation coefficients were not significant and should be tested on a larger sample. Discussion: Interpersonal synchrony may not be sufficient to effectively support social engagement when individuals on the autism spectrum simply follow instructions to synchronize their movements. Synchrony-based interventions may therefore need to include more complex open-ended social scenarios as interactional synchrony may then be more correlated with perceived interaction quality. Therapists may also need to partner with participants to model using non-verbal social behaviors to develop interactions within mirroring tasks.

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15. McCarthy J, Liu D, Kaskel F. The Need to Study Developmental Outcomes of Children Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic-Reply. JAMA pediatrics. 2022; 176(1): 103-4.

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16. Orm S, Øie MG, Fossum IN, Andersen PN, Skogli EW. Declining Trajectories of Co-occurring Psychopathology Symptoms in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Longitudinal Study. Frontiers in psychiatry. 2021; 12: 724759.

Objective: Our objective was to examine developmental trajectories of co-occurring psychopathology symptoms from childhood to young adulthood in individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and typically developing (TD) individuals. Method: We assessed co-occurring psychopathology symptoms in 61 individuals with ADHD, 26 with ASD, and 40 TD individuals at baseline (T1; M(age) = 11.72, 64% boys), 2-year follow up (T2; M(age) = 13.77), and 10-year follow up (T3; M(age) = 21.35). We analyzed trajectories of internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and total problems with linear mixed models. Results: From T1 to T3, the ADHD group displayed a small decline in internalizing behaviors (d = -0.49) and large declines in externalizing behaviors (d = -0.78) and total problems (d = -0.71). The ASD group displayed large declines in internalizing behaviors (d = -0.79), externalizing behaviors (d = -0.80), and total problems (d = -0.89). From T1 to T2, the decline in externalizing behaviors and total problems were significantly smaller in the ADHD group compared with the ASD group. The ADHD and the ASD group displayed more co-occurring symptoms compared with the TD group at T3. Conclusion: Individuals with ADHD and ASD, respectively, displayed declines in co-occurring symptoms from childhood to young adulthood. Individuals with ASD displayed an earlier decline compared with individuals with ADHD. Compared with TD individuals, individuals with ADHD and ASD, respectively, continued to display elevated levels of co-occurring symptoms in young adulthood.

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17. Park WJ, Schauder KB, Kwon OS, Bennetto L, Tadin D. Atypical visual motion prediction abilities in autism spectrum disorder. Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. 2021; 9(5): 944-60.

A recent theory posits that prediction deficits may underlie the core symptoms in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, empirical evidence for this hypothesis is minimal. Using a visual extrapolation task, we tested motion prediction abilities in children and adolescents with and without ASD. We examined the factors known to be important for motion prediction: the central-tendency response bias and smooth pursuit eye movements. In ASD, response biases followed an atypical trajectory that was dominated by early responses. This differed from controls who exhibited response biases that reflected a gradual accumulation of knowledge about stimulus statistics. Moreover, while better smooth pursuit eye movements for the moving object were linked to more accurate motion prediction in controls, in ASD, better smooth pursuit was counterintuitively linked to a more pronounced early response bias. Together, these results demonstrate atypical visual prediction abilities in ASD and offer insights into possible mechanisms underlying the observed differences.

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18. Provenzi L, Grumi S. The Need to Study Developmental Outcomes of Children Born During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA pediatrics. 2022; 176(1): 103.

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19. Rodgers J. Re: Caron et al., 2021, sociocultural context and autistics quality of life: A comparison between Quebec and France. Autism : the international journal of research and practice. 2022; 26(2): 560-1.

This letter to the editors discusses the use of the ASQoL for research with autistic adults. The autism quality of life measure was developed for use alongside two existing measures of quality of life developed by the World Health Organization. It was not developed as a questionnaire to be used in its own. The letter raises some concerns about the use of the autism quality of life measure as a standalone measure in a recent study by Caron et al., published in Autism.

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20. Souza PVC, Guimaraes AJ, Araujo VS, Lughofer E. An intelligent Bayesian hybrid approach to help autism diagnosis. Soft computing. 2021; 25(14): 9163-83.

This paper proposes a Bayesian hybrid approach based on neural networks and fuzzy systems to construct fuzzy rules to assist experts in detecting features and relations regarding the presence of autism in human beings. The model proposed in this paper works with a database generated through mobile devices that deals with diagnoses of autistic characteristics in human beings who answer a series of questions in a mobile application. The Bayesian model works with the construction of Gaussian fuzzy neurons in the first and logical neurons in the second layer of the model to form a fuzzy inference system connected to an artificial neural network that activates a robust output neuron. The new fuzzy neural network model was compared with traditional state-of-the-art machine learning models based on high-dimensional based on real-world data sets comprising the autism occurrence in children, adults, and adolescents. The results (97.73- Children/94.32-Adolescent/97.28-Adult) demonstrate the efficiency of our new method in determining children, adolescents, and adults with autistic traits (being among the top performers among all ML models tested), can generate knowledge about the dataset through fuzzy rules.

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21. Ten Hoopen LW, de Nijs PFA, Duvekot J, Greaves-Lord K, Hillegers MHJ, Brouwer WBF, Hakkaart-van Roijen L. Caring for Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder: Factors Associating with Health- and Care-Related Quality of Life of the Caregivers. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 2021.

This study investigated the association of child, caregiver, and caregiving measurements with the quality of life (QoL) in 81 caregivers (mostly parents) of clinically referred children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used the EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire and the care-related QoL questionnaire (CarerQol) to respectively assess health-related QoL and care-related QoL. Health-related QoL was associated with the caregiver’s internalizing problems and adaptive coping, explaining 38% of the variance. Parenting stress and adaptive coping were associated with the care-related QoL and explained 60% of the variance. Child variables were not associated with the caregiver’s health- and care-related QoL if caregiver and caregiving variables were taken into account. Findings indicate the importance of the caregiver’s mental health, coping, and parenting stress in caring for children with ASD.

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22. Wood LJ, Zaraki A, Robins B, Dautenhahn K. Developing Kaspar: A Humanoid Robot for Children with Autism. International journal of social robotics. 2021; 13(3): 491-508.

In the late 1990s using robotic technology to assist children with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASD) emerged as a potentially useful area of research. Since then the field of assistive robotics for children with ASD has grown considerably with many academics trialling different robots and approaches. One such robot is the humanoid robot Kaspar that was originally developed in 2005 and has continually been built upon since, taking advantage of technological developments along the way. A key principle in the development of Kaspar since its creation has been to ensure that all of the advances to the platform are driven by the requirements of the users. In this paper we discuss the development of Kaspar’s design and explain the rationale behind each change to the platform. Designing and building a humanoid robot to interact with and help children with ASD is a multidisciplinary challenge that requires knowledge of the mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Child-Robot Interaction (CRI) and knowledge of ASD. The Kaspar robot has benefited from the wealth of knowledge accrued over years of experience in robot-assisted therapy for children with ASD. By showing the journey of how the Kaspar robot has developed we aim to assist others in the field develop such technologies further.

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