1. Bachmann CJ, Hofer J, Kamp-Becker I, Poustka L, Roessner V, Stroth S, Wolff N, Hoffmann F. {{Affiliate stigma in caregivers of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in Germany}}. {Psychiatry Res};2019 (Jul 11):112483.
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2. Bitsika V, Sharpley CF. {{Effects of Diagnostic Severity upon Sex Differences in Behavioural Profiles of Young Males and Females with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2019 (Aug 3)
To determine if diagnostic severity of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affected sex differences in the detailed ASD-related behavioural profiles of young males and female, two samples of males and females with a diagnosis of ASD, aged between 6 and 17 years, were compared across the 65 items of the Social Responsiveness Scale (2nd ed.). Results are reported for a sample of males and females matched on age and IQ (n = 51 pairs) and a smaller sample matched on age, IQ and ADOS-2 severity (n = 32 pairs). ASD-related behaviours from the SRS-2 that were significantly and meaningfully different across sexes were identified for both samples. ADOS-2 diagnostic severity was associated with different sets of sex-based differences in SRS-2 item scores.
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3. DiPietro J, Kelemen A, Liang Y, Sik-Lanyi C. {{Computer- and Robot-Assisted Therapies to Aid Social and Intellectual Functioning of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Medicina (Kaunas)};2019 (Aug 5);55(8)
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience challenges with social interactions, a core feature of the disorder. Social skills therapy has been shown to be helpful. Over the past several years, computer-assisted and robot-assisted therapies have been infiltrating the social skills teaching environment. Rapid progress in the field of technology, especially in the robotics area, offers tremendous possibilities for innovation and treatment or even education for individuals with ASD. This paper’s purpose is to drive awareness of these innovative interventions in order to support the social lives of children with ASD. The aims of the paper are identifying (1) the types of Information Technology platforms that are being evaluated in computer and robot-assisted therapies for children with ASD; (2) the various disciplines or professions studying and utilizing these computer and robot-assisted social skill therapies; (3) the outcomes being evaluated in each trial; and (4) if results demonstrate benefits to children with autism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, CINAHL, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases were searched for clinical trials published over the past five years. Search terms incorporated the subject intersection of autism, and computer or robot-assisted therapy. Results were mined for pediatric populations only and study designs establishing controlled comparisons. RESULTS: Eighteen unique international studies were identified that utilize robot interventions (11 studies) and serious computer game interventions (seven studies). Most demonstrated promising results in improving outcomes for children with ASD. Study implications reveal a rapidly evolving assistive technology for ASD social skills therapy. CONCLUSIONS: These interventions show considerable promise, but more effectiveness and cost effectiveness research of high quality should be carried out with larger numbers of children. Also, further studies are necessary to evaluate these technologies’ effectiveness amongst adults with ASD and within unique subsets of the higher functioning autism population.
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4. Gonzalez-Cortes T, Gutierrez-Contreras E, Espino-Silva PK, Haro-Santa Cruz J, Alvarez-Cruz D, Rosales-Gonzalez CC, Sida-Godoy C, Nava-Hernandez MP, Lopez-Marquez FC, Ruiz-Flores P. {{Clinical Profile of Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Pediatric Population from Northern Mexico}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2019 (Aug 5)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition classified based on needs of support, in order to address impairments in the areas of social communication and restricted and repetitive behavior. The aim of this work is to describe the main clinical features of the ASD severity levels in a group of Mexican pediatric patients. The results show firstly that this condition was more frequent in males than females. Secondly, an inverse relationship was found between the intellectual coefficient and the level of severity of the disorder. Thirdly, deficits in social reciprocity and communication were more evident in Level 3, than in Levels 1 and 2, while the difference was less evident in restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior.
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5. Jia H, Yu D. {{Attenuated long-range temporal correlations of electrocortical oscillations in patients with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Dev Cogn Neurosci};2019 (Jul 30);39:100687.
The aim of this study was to investigate the long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs) of instantaneous amplitude of electrocortical oscillations in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using the resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) of 15 patients with ASD (aged between 5 18 years, mean age = 11.6 years, SD = 4.4 years) and 18 typical developing (TD) people (aged between 5 18 years, mean age = 8.9 years, SD = 2.4 years), we estimated the LRTCs of neuronal oscillations amplitude of 84 predefined cortical regions of interest using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) after confirming the presence of scale invariance. We found that the DFA exponents of instantaneous amplitude of beta and low-gamma oscillations were significantly attenuated in patients with ASD compared to TD participants. Moreover, the regions with attenuated DFA exponent were mainly located in social functions related cortical networks, including the default mode network (DMN), the mirror neuron system (MNS) and the salience network (SN). These findings suggest that ASD is associated with highly volatile neuronal states of electrocortical oscillations, which may be related to social and cognitive dysfunction in patients with ASD.
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6. Kahanovitch U, Patterson KC, Hernandez R, Olsen ML. {{Glial Dysfunction in MeCP2 Deficiency Models: Implications for Rett Syndrome}}. {Int J Mol Sci};2019 (Aug 5);20(15)
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare, X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder typically affecting females, resulting in a range of symptoms including autistic features, intellectual impairment, motor deterioration, and autonomic abnormalities. RTT is primarily caused by the genetic mutation of the Mecp2 gene. Initially considered a neuronal disease, recent research shows that glial dysfunction contributes to the RTT disease phenotype. In the following manuscript, we review the evidence regarding glial dysfunction and its effects on disease etiology.
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7. Krishnaraj R, Haase F, Coorey B, Luca EJ, Wong I, Boyling A, Ellaway C, Christodoulou J, Gold WA. {{Genome-wide transcriptomic and proteomic studies of Rett syndrome mouse models identify common signalling pathways and cellular functions as potential therapeutic targets}}. {Hum Mutat};2019 (Aug 5)
The discovery that Rett syndrome is caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene has provided a major breakthrough in our understanding of the disorder. However, despite this, there is still limited understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of the disorder hampering the development of curative treatments. Over the years, a number of animal models have been developed contributing to our knowledge on the role of MECP2 in development and improving our understanding of how subtle expression levels affect brain morphology and function. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies of animal models are useful in identifying perturbations in functional pathways and providing avenues for novel areas of research into disease. This review focuses on published transcriptomic and proteomic studies of mouse models of Rett syndrome with the aim of providing a summary of all the studies, the reported dysregulated genes and functional pathways that are found to be perturbed. The 36 articles identified highlighted a number of dysfunctional pathways as well as perturbed biological networks and cellular functions including synaptic dysfunction and neuronal transmission, inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. These data reveal biological insights that contribute to the disease process which may be targeted to investigate curative treatments. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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8. Lugo-Marin J, Diez-Villoria E, Magan-Maganto M, Perez-Mendez L, Alviani M, de la Fuente-Portero JA, Canal-Bedia R. {{Spanish Validation of the Autism Quotient Short Form Questionnaire for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2019 (Aug 5)
The objective of this study was to adapt and validate the abbreviated version of the « Autism-Spectrum Quotient » (AQ-Short) in a sample of Spanish native adults. A total of 46 individuals with ASD, 41 ASD-relatives, 17 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 190 non-clinical adults were administered the Spanish version of the AQ-Short. The results of the confirmatory factorial analysis found two high-order factors (Social Behaviour and Numbers/Patterns) and four subscales (Social Skills, Routines, Switching and Imagination). The reliability analysis showed very good internal structure and test-retest reliability. The AQ-Short also showed moderate convergent validity with ADOS-2. Differences by group were found in the ASD group when compared to other groups. Gender differences were only found in the non-clinical group.
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9. Maddox BB, Crabbe SR, Fishman JM, Beidas RS, Brookman-Frazee L, Miller JS, Nicolaidis C, Mandell DS. {{Factors Influencing the Use of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy with Autistic Adults: A Survey of Community Mental Health Clinicians}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2019 (Aug 5)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can improve anxiety and depression in autistic adults, but few autistic adults receive this treatment. We examined factors that may influence clinicians’ use of CBT with autistic adults. One hundred clinicians completed an online survey. Clinicians reported stronger intentions (p = .001), more favorable attitudes (p < .001), greater normative pressure (p < .001), and higher self-efficacy (p < .001) to start CBT with non-autistic adults than with autistic adults. The only significant predictor of intentions to begin CBT with clients with anxiety or depression was clinicians' attitudes (p < .001), with more favorable attitudes predicting stronger intentions. These findings are valuable for designing effective, tailored implementation strategies to increase clinicians' adoption of CBT for autistic adults. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
10. Rankin JA, Tomeny TS. {{Screening of Broader Autism Phenotype Symptoms in Siblings: Support for a Distinct Model of Symptomatology}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2019 (Aug 5)
Research on siblings of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests that some phenotypic presentation, known as the broader autism phenotype (BAP), is common among siblings without an ASD diagnosis (e.g., Ruzich et al. in Autism Res 9(6):658-665, 2016). Whereas the symptoms that underlie both ASD and the BAP share commonality, the structure of these symptoms in youth with ASD and their siblings may differ. The current study assessed whether differences arise in the factor structure of the Children’s Social Behavior Questionnaire (CSBQ) between youth with ASD and their siblings in a sample of 221 sibling dyads. Results suggest similar factor structures for ASD and BAP; however, number of symptoms endorsed, as opposed to the degree of severity, may better differentiate BAP.
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11. Rezae M, McMeekin D, Tan T, Krishna A, Lee H, Falkmer T. {{Public transport planning tool for users on the autism spectrum: from concept to prototype}}. {Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol};2019 (Aug 5):1-11.
Purpose: This research explored the challenges of public transport use for individuals on the autism spectrum. It, subsequently, proposed a mobile application solution, coproduced by individuals on the autism spectrum, to facilitate public transport use. Methods: We, first, conducted a review of the literature to highlight the challenges people on the autism spectrum face when utilizing public transport. We, then, designed a list of mobile application functionalities that address the identified problems. To validate these functionalities, 27 young autistic adults and 19 families of autistic individuals were employed. Finally, based on the findings, we designed a mobile application that helps facilitate public transport use for those on the autism spectrum. Results: We found that the most prevalent concerns, in public transport use, amongst autistic individuals and their families are safety and spatial awareness. Specific problems include finding one’s way to the bus stop, boarding the correct service and disembarking at the correct stop. Interestingly, anxiety about unexpected events was also a barrier. Sensory sensitivity, similarly, was found to be an obstacle. Conclusions: This study defined the challenges of public transport use for autistic individuals and proposed a technological solution. The findings can also inform innovators, public transport providers and policymakers to improve public transport accessibility. Implications for rehabilitation People on the autism spectrum heavily rely on other individuals, namely family and friends, for their transportation needs. This dependence results in immobility for the autistic individuals and significant time and economical sacrifice for the person responsible for the transportation. Public transport, a cheap and widely available form of transportation, has not yet been clearly studied with individuals on the autism spectrum. We clearly define the challenges of using public transport and put forward a trip planner mobile application, coproduced by autistic individuals, that facilitate it. In the long term, this enhanced travel independence can lead to greater education and employment opportunities and an overall improved quality of life.
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12. Wang M, Zhang D, Huang J, Yap PT, Shen D, Liu M. {{Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder with Multi-Site fMRI via Low-Rank Domain Adaptation}}. {IEEE Trans Med Imaging};2019 (Aug 5)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by a wide range of symptoms. Identifying biomarkers for accurate diagnosis is crucial for early intervention of ASD. While multi-site data increase sample size and statistical power, they suffer from inter-site heterogeneity. To address this issue, we propose a multi-site adaption framework via low-rank representation decomposition (maLRR) for ASD identification based on functional MRI (fMRI). The main idea is to determine a common low-rank representation for data from the multiple sites, aiming to reduce differences in data distributions. Treating one site as a target domain and the remaining sites as source domains, data from these domains are transformed (i.e., adapted) to a common space using low-rank representation. To reduce data heterogeneity between the target and source domains, data from the source domains are linearly represented in the common space by those from the target domain. We evaluated the proposed method on both synthetic and real multi-site fMRI data for ASD identification. The results suggest that our method yields superior performance over several state-of-the-art domain adaptation methods.
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13. Yingling ME, Bell BA, Hock RM. {{Comparing Neighborhoods of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in a Medicaid Waiver Program and a State Population, 2007-2015}}. {Psychiatr Serv};2019 (Aug 5):appips201800479.
OBJECTIVE: This study investigated equity in enrollment in a Medicaid waiver program for early intensive behavioral intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: State administrative, Medicaid, and U.S. Census data for children enrolled in the waiver program between 2007 and 2015 (N=2,111) were integrated. Multivariate and bivariate analyses were used to compare enrollees’ neighborhood demographic characteristics with those of the state’s general population, with controls for enrollees’ age, sex, and race-ethnicity. RESULTS: Findings indicate that in general, enrollment was equitable. During the years in which there were inequities, children who lived in neighborhoods of privilege were favored. These neighborhoods had higher median incomes, lower poverty levels, and fewer female-headed households and were located in urban areas. CONCLUSIONS: As states work to provide equitable treatment to children with ASD and their families, it is important to track potential inequities between children who do and do not enroll in services and to use this information to inform outreach efforts. States may turn to South Carolina for insight on how to ensure equity.
