Pubmed du 13/10/21
1. Bankart J, Brugha T. Social skills interventions in young adults with autism spectrum disorder: comment on Chien et al. Psychological medicine. 2021: 1-2.
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2. Cheak-Zamora N, Tait A, Coleman A. Assessing and Promoting Independence in Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP. 2021.
OBJECTIVE: Quality of life, independence, and employment outcomes are poor for young adults with autism spectrum disorder (YA-ASD). This study explored the desires and experiences of YA-ASD as they transition into adulthood. METHODS: Fifteen YA-ASD, age 18 to 25 years, were recruited from autism spectrum disorder centers, participant registries, and social media advertising. Interested individuals completed a survey and individual interview. Semistructured interview guides included questions about transition experiences, current independence, and future goals. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The desire of young adults with autism spectrum disorder for independence was shown within 4 themes. YA-ASD described their vision of adulthood along with their need for improved skills in driving, living independently, and decision-making. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate YA-ASD desire to be independent but lack the specific support services to get there.
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3. Keefer A, Vasa RA. DINOSAUR: an integrated cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety in young children with ASD. Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders. 2021; 13(1): 46.
BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and often emerge before the age of 6 years. Yet, only a few studies have examined anxiety treatment for this group. Preliminary evidence from these studies suggests that utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as strategies to target intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and parental accommodation, known mechanistic and maintaining factors of anxiety may improve anxiety and optimize outcomes in this age group. MAIN BODY: To meet this need, we developed an integrated treatment called DINO Strategies for Anxiety and intolerance of Uncertainty Reduction (DINOSAUR), a 12-week group telehealth treatment for 4- to 6-year-old children with ASD. DINOSAUR works with young children and their parents to deliver CBT along with interventions targeting IU and parental accommodation. In this paper, we first discuss the rationale for developing this treatment and then describe a pilot study of its feasibility and preliminary efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: There is a great need to develop anxiety treatments for young children with ASD. We proposed a novel integrated treatment approach that aims to alter the way young children and parents respond to fear, which could potentially improve short- and long-term mental health outcomes for this age group. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04432077 on June 03, 2020.
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4. Özaslan A, Kayhan G, İşeri E, Ergün MA, Güney E, Perçin FE. Identification of copy number variants in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a study from Turkey. Molecular biology reports. 2021; 48(11): 7371-8.
BACKGROUND: Copy number variants (CNVs) play a key role in the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, recent guidelines recommend chromosomal microarrays (CMAs) as first-tier genetic tests. This study’s first aim was to determine the clinical usefulness of CMAs in children diagnosed with ASD in a Turkish population. The second aim was to describe the CNVs and clinical phenotypes of children with ASD. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was a single-center retrospective cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from the medical records of children with ASD followed at Gazi University Hospital, (Ankara, Turkey). The sample consisted of 47 ASD cases (mean age: 60.34 ± 25.60 months; 82.9% boys). The diagnostic yield of the CMAs was 8.5%. Four pathogenic CNVs were identified: 9p24.3p24.2 deletion, 15q11-q13 duplication, 16p11.2 deletion, and 22q13.3 deletion. Also, four variants were found at 2q36.3, 10p11.21, 15q11.2, and Xp11.22, which were classified as variants of uncertain significance (VUS). CONCLUSIONS: The TRAP12 and PARD3 genes in CNVs classified as VUS may be worth investigating for autism. The initial identification of both clinical and biological markers can facilitate monitoring, early intervention, or prevention and advance our understanding of the neurobiology underlying ASD.
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5. Rashedi RN, Bonnet K, Schulte RJ, Schlundt DG, Swanson AR, Kinsman A, Bardett N, Juárez P, Warren ZE, Biswas G, Kunda M. Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Technology-Based Social Skills Interventions for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of Parent Perspectives. Journal of autism and developmental disorders. 2021: 1-16.
Interest continues to be high in technology-based interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Understanding the preferences and challenges of technology use among individuals with ASD can inform the design of such interventions. Through 18 interviews with parents, we used an iterative inductive-deductive approach to qualitative analysis and explored uses of technology for social skills development among adolescents with ASD. Our findings include parents’ observations about their adolescent’s preferences in types of technology devices and digital content, as well as both positive and negative effects of technology use on mood and behavior. Parents highlighted several avenues of technological preferences and risks that may inform intervention design, enhance user engagement, and capitalize on users’ strengths while buttressing areas for growth.
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6. Shu C, Green Snyder L, Shen Y, Chung WK. Imputing cognitive impairment in SPARK, a large autism cohort. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research. 2022; 15(1): 156-70.
Diverse large cohorts are necessary for dissecting subtypes of autism, and intellectual disability is one of the most robust endophenotypes for analysis. However, current cognitive assessment methods are not feasible at scale. We developed five commonly used machine learning models to predict cognitive impairment (FSIQ<80 and FSIQ<70) and FSIQ scores among 521 children with autism using parent-reported online surveys in SPARK, and evaluated them in an independent set (n = 1346) with a missing data rate up to 70%. We assessed accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity by comparing predicted cognitive levels against clinical IQ data. The elastic-net model has good performance (AUC = 0.876, sensitivity = 0.772, specificity = 0.803) using 129 predictive features to impute cognitive impairment (FSIQ<80). Top-ranked predictive features included parent-reported language and cognitive levels, age at autism diagnosis, and history of services. Prediction of FSIQ<70 and FSIQ scores also showed good performance. We show cognitive levels can be imputed with high accuracy for children with autism, using commonly collected parent-reported data and standardized surveys. The current model offers a method for large-scale autism studies seeking estimates of cognitive ability when standardized psychometric testing is not feasible. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism who have more severe learning challenges or cognitive impairment have different needs that are important to consider in research studies. When children in our study were missing standardized cognitive testing scores, we were able to use machine learning with other information to correctly "guess" when they have cognitive impairment about 80% of the time. We can use this information in research in the future to develop more appropriate treatments for children with autism and cognitive impairment.
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7. Wicks R, Westerveld M, Stainer M, Paynter J. Prompting visual attention to print versus pictures during shared book reading with digital storybooks for preschoolers with ASD compared to TD peers. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research. 2022; 15(2): 254-69.
Prompting children to look at print and picture content during shared book reading (SBR) facilitates joint attention and early language and literacy learning opportunities for typically developing (TD) children. Whether preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) respond similarly to bids for joint attention during SBR and how autism characteristics impact upon their responsiveness is currently unclear. This is important given these children are at risk of persistent language and literacy challenges. To address this, we examined the effects of prompts that were solely verbal versus verbal with pointing on visual attention to print and picture targets during SBR with digital storybooks for 34 children with ASD and 27 TD peers. Children with ASD looked as frequently at print targets, but less frequently at picture targets, when prompted compared to TD peers. Both prompt types showed similar effects in shifting children’s visual attention to print and picture targets at group level. When groups were combined, autism characteristics influenced children’s responsiveness to verbal versus verbal with pointing prompts to print targets, but not to picture targets; children looked more frequently at print targets as autism characteristics increased when verbal prompts were used, with a large effect shown (d = 0.91). Overall, findings suggest that prompting children with ASD to look at print and pictures during SBR with digital storybooks may be helpful in facilitating joint attention to storybook content. Implications for the development of effective early interventions aimed at providing emergent literacy support for children with ASD are discussed. LAY SUMMARY: We looked at how prompting impacted upon where children with autism look during shared book reading with digital storybooks compared to children without autism using eye-tracking. We found the target (pictures or print) was what mattered and number of autism characteristics impacted how responsive children were to different types of prompts. This helps us to understand how prompting may help children with autism to look at print or pictures during shared book reading which could support language or reading interventions.
