1. Aldaqre I, Paulus M, Sodian B. {{Referential gaze and word learning in adults with autism}}. {Autism}. 2014.
While typically developing children can use referential gaze to guide their word learning, those with autism spectrum disorder are often described to have problems with that. However, some researchers assume that the ability to follow gaze to select the correct referent can develop in autism later compared to typically developing individuals. To test this assumption, we compared the performance of adults with and without autism on a word learning task while recording their gaze behavior using an eye tracker. Results showed that both groups mostly chose the correct referent, but less so for the autism spectrum disorder group when the distractor’s saliency was increased, suggesting that the ability to learn novel words by referring to gaze develops in autism spectrum disorder, but not fully, relative to their typically developing peers.
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2. McDuffie A, Oakes A, Machalicek W, Thurman A, Summers S, Stewart A, Abbeduto L. {{Play with objects in young males with fragile X syndrome: A preliminary study}}. {J Commun Disord}. 2014.
Using the Developmental Play Assessment, this preliminary study described the categories and levels of play with objects produced by 10 young boys with diagnoses of full mutation fragile X syndrome, the leading inherited cause of intellectual disability. Additionally, the study examined concurrent associations between child characteristics and three different summary level variables representing object play skills. Presentation Combinations (i.e., recreating structured configurations of objects) was the highest play level emerging or mastered for all participants. The number of toys touched during the play sample, an index of object interest, was positively related to standardized measures of receptive and expressive language while the number of different actions produced, an index of play diversity, was negatively related to autism symptom severity. Both variables were significantly related to the number of nonverbal communication acts children produced while interacting with their mothers in play. Clinical implications and future directions are discussed. Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to: (1) define a framework for categorizing developmental levels of play; (2) discuss the constructs represented by three different summary level metrics of play with objects; (3) describe the relationship between object-play skills and child characteristics for young males with FXS.
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3. Norrelgen F, Fernell E, Eriksson M, Hedvall A, Persson C, Sjolin M, Gillberg C, Kjellmer L. {{Children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech in the preschool years}}. {Autism}. 2014.
There is uncertainty about the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech during the preschool years. The main purpose of this study was to examine this ratio in a population-based community sample of children. The cohort consisted of 165 children (141 boys, 24 girls) with autism spectrum disorders aged 4-6 years followed longitudinally over 2 years during which time they had received intervention at a specialized autism center. In this study, data collected at the 2-year follow-up were used. Three categories of expressive language were defined: nonverbal, minimally verbal, and phrase speech. Data from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II were used to classify expressive language. A secondary objective of the study was to analyze factors that might be linked to verbal ability, namely, child age, cognitive level, autism subtype and severity of core autism symptoms, developmental regression, epilepsy or other medical conditions, and intensity of intervention. The proportion of children who met the criteria for nonverbal, minimally verbal, and phrase speech were 15%, 10%, and 75%, respectively. The single most important factor linked to expressive language was the child’s cognitive level, and all children classified as being nonverbal or minimally verbal had intellectual disability.
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4. Simmons D, Milne E. {{Response to Davis and Plaisted-Grant: Low or high endogenous neural noise in autism spectrum disorder?}}. {Autism}. 2014.
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5. So WC, Wong MK, Lui M, Yip V. {{The development of co-speech gesture and its semantic integration with speech in 6- to 12-year-old children with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Autism}. 2014.
Previous work leaves open the question of whether children with autism spectrum disorders aged 6-12 years have delay in producing gestures compared to their typically developing peers. This study examined gestural production among school-aged children in a naturalistic context and how their gestures are semantically related to the accompanying speech. Delay in gestural production was found in children with autism spectrum disorders through their middle to late childhood. Compared to their typically developing counterparts, children with autism spectrum disorders gestured less often and used fewer types of gestures, in particular markers, which carry culture-specific meaning. Typically developing children’s gestural production was related to language and cognitive skills, but among children with autism spectrum disorders, gestural production was more strongly related to the severity of socio-communicative impairment. Gesture impairment also included the failure to integrate speech with gesture: in particular, supplementary gestures are absent in children with autism spectrum disorders. The findings extend our understanding of gestural production in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders during spontaneous interaction. The results can help guide new therapies for gestural production for children with autism spectrum disorders in middle and late childhood.
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6. Walker CK, Krakowiak P, Baker A, Hansen RL, Ozonoff S, Hertz-Picciotto I. {{Preeclampsia, Placental Insufficiency, and Autism Spectrum Disorder or Developmental Delay}}. {JAMA Pediatr}. 2014.
Importance: Increasing evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and many forms of developmental delay (DD) originate during fetal development. Preeclampsia may trigger aberrant neurodevelopment through placental, maternal, and fetal physiologic mechanisms. Objective: To determine whether preeclampsia is associated with ASD and/or DD. Design, Setting, and Participants: The Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study is a population-based, case-control investigation of ASD and/or DD origins. Children from 20 California counties aged 24 to 60 months at the time of recruitment and living in catchment areas with a biological parent fluent in English or Spanish were enrolled from January 29, 2003, through April 7, 2011. Children with ASD (n = 517) and DD (n = 194) were recruited through the California Department of Developmental Services, the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute, and referrals. Controls with typical development (TD) (n = 350) were randomly selected from birth records and frequency matched on age, sex, and broad geographic region. Physicians diagnosing preeclampsia were masked to neurodevelopmental outcome, and those assessing neurodevelopmental function were masked to preeclampsia status. Exposures: Preeclampsia and placental insufficiency were self-reported and abstracted from medical records. Main Outcomes and Measures: The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised were used to confirm ASD, whereas children with DD and TD were confirmed by Mullen Scales of Early Learning and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and were free of autistic symptoms. Hypotheses were formulated before data collection. Results: Children with ASD were twice as likely to have been exposed in utero to preeclampsia as controls with TD after adjustment for maternal educational level, parity, and prepregnancy obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.18-4.68); risk increased with greater preeclampsia severity (test for trend, P = .02). Placental insufficiency appeared responsible for the increase in DD risk associated with severe preeclampsia (adjusted odds ratio, 5.49; 95% CI, 2.06-14.64). Conclusions and Relevance: Preeclampsia, particularly severe disease, is associated with ASD and DD. Faulty placentation manifests in the mother as preeclampsia with vascular damage, enhanced systemic inflammation, and insulin resistance; in the placenta as oxygen and nutrient transfer restriction and oxidative stress; and in the fetus as growth restriction and progressive hypoxemia. All are potential mechanisms for neurodevelopmental compromise.
