1. Chevallier C, Molesworth C, Happe F. {{Diminished social motivation negatively impacts reputation management: autism spectrum disorders as a case in point}}. {PLoS One};2012;7(1):e31107.
Human beings are endowed with a unique motivation to be included in social interactions. This natural social motivation, in turn, is thought to encourage behaviours such as flattery or self-deprecation aimed to ease interaction and to enhance the reputation of the individual who produces them. If this is the case, diminished social interest should affect reputation management. Here, we use Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) -primarily characterised by pervasive social disinterest- as a model to investigate the effect of social motivation on reputation management. Children first rated a set of pictures and were then given the opportunity to inflate their initial ratings in front of an experimenter who declared that she had drawn the picture. Contrary to the controls, children with ASD did not enhance their ratings in the drawer’s presence. Moreover, participants’ flattery behaviour correlated with self-reports of social enjoyment. Our findings point to a link between diminished social interest and reputation management.
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2. Danesh AA, Kaf WA. {{DPOAEs and contralateral acoustic stimulation and their link to sound hypersensitivity in children with autism}}. {Int J Audiol};2012 (Feb 3)
Objective: The hypersensitivity of children with autism to sound is a relatively unexplained behavior. The goal of the current study was to investigate the DPOAE characteristics of children with autism compared to a control group. Design: DPOAEs with and without contralateral stimuli were measured in two groups in three different conditions. Study sample: The study employed 14 children with autism and a control group with 28 age-matched participants. Results: In the without-contralateral stimulus condition, the overall S/N of DPOAEs was greater for the control group compared to the autism group (p < 0.0005). For both groups, the DPOAE S/N increased as a function of frequency in both ears. In the with contralateral stimulus condition, group and ear effects were noticed, however, no age, frequency, or contralateral stimulus type (BBN vs. 1000 Hz) effect could be detected. Conclusions: Presence of reduced DPOAEs in the autism group does not support the hypothesis that sound hypersensitivity in children with autism may be related to overactive outer hair cells function; rather it may be due to early cochlear dysfunction. Also, sound hypersensitivity in the autism group may be due to abnormality of the efferent auditory pathway as shown by lack of sufficient contralateral suppression.
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3. Danial-Saad A, Tamar Weiss PL, Schreuer N. {{Assessment of computer task performance (ACTP) of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disability}}. {Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol};2012 (Feb 3)
The aims of this study were to assess the reliability and validity of the Arabic translation of the Assessment of Computer Task Performance (ACTP) when used for children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and to determine the relationship between participants’ performance when using an adapted pointing device and the teacher’s satisfaction of their performance. Thirty boys and girls, Arabic speakers, 6- 21 years old, who had moderate IDD, participated in the study. Two expert occupational therapists used the ACTP to evaluate the performance of five standardized timed computer tasks. The Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology was used to evaluate the teachers’ satisfaction with the prescribed pointing device. The sample in the current study performed slower than typically developing children and youth, and slower than participants with motor impairments, examined in previous studies. Differences were found in performance time between girls and boys, and between three diagnostic subgroups. The participants’ success scores of computer performance correlated significantly with the teacher’s satisfaction with the prescribed pointing device. Demonstration of the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the ACTP-Child enables wider use of this tool which is now available in four languages and diverse cultural settings and disability populations, including children and youth with significant IDD. [Box: see text].
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4. Hume K, Plavnick J, Odom SL. {{Promoting Task Accuracy and Independence in Students with Autism Across Educational Setting Through the Use of Individual Work Systems}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Feb 3)
Strategies that promote the independent demonstration of skills across educational settings are critical for improving the accessibility of general education settings for students with ASD. This research assessed the impact of an individual work system on the accuracy of task completion and level of adult prompting across educational setting. Student accuracy and adult prompting were measured in both special and general education settings during academic work periods. Work systems, an element of structured teaching developed by Division TEACCH, are organized sets of visual information that inform a student about participation in work areas. A multiple-probe-across-participants design was used to evaluate the effects of the individual work systems. All participants demonstrated increased accuracy yet required less adult support across special and general education settings. Results were maintained when measured during a 1-month follow-up probe.
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5. Lanter E, Watson LR, Erickson KA, Freeman D. {{Emergent Literacy in Children with Autism: An Exploration of Developmental and Contextual Dynamic Processes}}. {Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch};2012 (Feb 2)
PURPOSE: This investigation described emergent literacy skills, print motivation, and home literacy environments in a linguistically diverse group of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHOD: Emergent literacy skills were directly assessed in 41 children between the ages of 4 and 8 years. Parent report further investigated the sample’s emergent literacy skills, as well as their print motivation and home literacy environments. The achievements of children with differential language abilities were compared, and associations among the children’s language and emergent literacy abilities were explored. RESULTS: Narrowly, children with typical language achieved significantly higher scores on an emergent literacy composite than those with mild-moderate or severe language impairments; broadly, these scores were highly correlated (rho = .56) with the children’s language. Skill performance was varied but characterized by relative strengths in discrete skills, such as letter name identification, and weaknesses in more holistic skills, such as print functions. Parents generally described the children as motivated by print materials and the home environments as offering high levels of parent-child engagement in literacy activities. CONCLUSIONS: Profiles were associated with language and illustrated by heterogeneity with potentially unequal achievements between code and meaning based skills. Implications for speech-language pathologists and other educators are provided.
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6. McGuinty E, Armstrong D, Nelson J, Sheeler S. {{Externalizing metaphors: anxiety and high-functioning autism}}. {J Child Adolesc Psychiatr Nurs};2012 (Feb);25(1):9-16.
TOPIC: The intent of this article is to explore the efficacy of both the literal and concrete externalization aspects within narrative therapy, and the implementation of interactive metaphors as a combined psychotherapeutic approach for decreasing anxiety with people who present with high-functioning autism. PURPOSE: The purpose of this exploratory article is to propose the use of externalizing metaphors as a treatment modality as a potentially useful way to engage clients. Specifically, a three-step process of change is described, which allows for concretizing affective states and experiences, and makes use of visual strengths of people presenting with an autism spectrum disorder. SOURCE: A selective review was conducted of significant works regarding the process of change in narrative therapy, with particular emphasis on metaphors. Works were selected based on their relevance to the current paper and included both published works (searched via Psyc-INFO) and materials from narrative training sessions. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is needed to address the testable hypotheses resulting from the current model. This line of research would not only establish best practices in a population for which there is no broadly accepted treatment paradigm, but would also contribute to the larger fields of abnormal psychology, emotion regulation, and cognitive psychology by further elucidating the complex ways these systems interact.
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7. Oberman LM, McCleery JP, Hubbard EM, Bernier R, Wiersema JR, Raymaekers R, Pineda JA. {{Developmental changes in mu suppression to observed and executed actions in autism spectrum disorders}}. {Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci};2012 (Feb 1)
There has been debate over whether disruptions in the mirror neuron system (MNS) play a key role in the core social deficits observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). EEG mu suppression during the observation of biological actions is believed to reflect MNS functioning, but understanding of the developmental progression of the MNS and EEG mu rhythm in both typical and atypical development is lacking. To provide a more thorough and direct exploration of the development of mu suppression in individuals with ASD, a sample of 66 individuals with ASD and 51 typically developing individuals of 6-17 years old were pooled from four previously published studies employing similar EEG methodology. We found a significant correlation between age and mu suppression in response to the observation of actions, both for individuals with ASD and typical individuals. This relationship was not seen during the execution of actions. Additionally, the strength of the correlation during the observation of actions did not significantly differ between groups. The results provide evidence against the argument that mirror neuron dysfunction improves with age in individuals with ASD and suggest, instead, that a diagnosis-independent developmental change may be at the root of the correlation of age and mu suppression.
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8. Schmid DA, Yang T, Ogier M, Adams I, Mirakhur Y, Wang Q, Massa SM, Longo FM, Katz DM. {{A TrkB Small Molecule Partial Agonist Rescues TrkB Phosphorylation Deficits and Improves Respiratory Function in a Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome}}. {J Neurosci};2012 (Feb 1);32(5):1803-1810.
Rett syndrome (RTT) results from loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) and is characterized by abnormal motor, respiratory and autonomic control, cognitive impairment, autistic-like behaviors and increased risk of seizures. RTT patients and Mecp2-null mice exhibit reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which has been linked in mice to increased respiratory frequency, a hallmark of RTT. The present study was undertaken to test the hypotheses that BDNF deficits in Mecp2 mutants are associated with reduced activation of the BDNF receptor, TrkB, and that pharmacologic activation of TrkB would improve respiratory function. We characterized BDNF protein expression, TrkB activation and respiration in heterozygous female Mecp2 mutant mice (Het), a model that recapitulates the somatic mosaicism for mutant MECP2 found in typical RTT patients, and evaluated the ability of a small molecule TrkB agonist, LM22A-4, to ameliorate biochemical and functional abnormalities in these animals. We found that Het mice exhibit (1) reduced BDNF expression and TrkB activation in the medulla and pons and (2) breathing dysfunction, characterized by increased frequency due to periods of tachypnea, and increased apneas, as in RTT patients. Treatment of Het mice with LM22A-4 for 4 weeks rescued wild-type levels of TrkB phosphorylation in the medulla and pons and restored wild-type breathing frequency. These data provide new insight into the role of BDNF signaling deficits in the pathophysiology of RTT and highlight TrkB as a possible therapeutic target in this disease.
