1. Akers JS, Higbee TS, Pollard JS, Reinert KS. {{Sibling-Implemented Script Fading to Promote Play-Based Statements of Children with Autism}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 395-9.
We trained three typically developing children to implement a script-fading procedure with their younger siblings with autism. The number of contextually appropriate statements made by the children with autism increased once treatment was initiated. Participants continued to emit higher levels of contextually appropriate statements after the scripts were completely faded and at a 4- or 11-week follow-up. The typically developing siblings were able to implement the script-fading procedure with high levels of fidelity.
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2. Bassette L, Kulwicki J, Dieringer ST, Zoder-Martell KA, Heneisen R. {{The Use of a Multicomponent Behavioral Intervention to Promote Physical Activity in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders across Inclusive Community Settings}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 358-69.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are generally less physically active than individuals without disability due to factors such as lack of motor coordination and inadequate transportation resources that can result in various barriers to participation. This affects their independence and may interfere with expectations (e.g., employment) during adulthood. It is essential to explore ways to teach physical activity so people with ASD can generalize skills in community settings. This study examined the effect of a multicomponent behavioral intervention that included (a) the Exercise Buddy application, (b) a system of least prompts, (c) an incremental increase of criteria, and (d) reinforcement to teach three adolescents with ASD functional movement exercises (e.g., squat). All participants increased their mastery of performing these exercises compared to baseline and generalized these skills across two community settings.
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3. Beier C. {{Letter to the Editor: An Autism Parent’s Response to Papatola and Lustig’s Paper on Navigating a Managed Care Peer Review in Behavior Analysis in Practice}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 517-8.
An autism parent disputes the authors’ premise that the role of the BCBA is to « transition treatment to parents. » Parents cannot simply « take over » all the advanced degrees, thousands of hours of coursework practicum and exams, or depth and breadth of scientific knowledge required to earn a BCBA any more than we can (or should) « take over » our kids’ pediatric care or prescribe their meds. Papatola and Lustig’s employer, Cigna Behavioral Health, recently made « transition treatment to parents » a criterion of medical necessity for ABA.
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4. Bremer E, Cairney J. {{The Interrelationship Between Motor Coordination and Adaptive Behavior in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Frontiers in psychology}. 2018; 9: 2350.
Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience significant challenges with their motor coordination. It is not, however, well understood how motor coordination may impact the behavioral functioning of children with ASD. Therefore the purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between motor coordination and adaptive behavior in 7-12-year-old children with ASD. Methods: Motor coordination was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd Edition (MABC-2) and adaptive behavior was assessed by parental report using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 2nd Edition (VABS-2) as part of a larger cross-sectional study. Descriptive characteristics were calculated for MABC-2 and VABS-2 scores and Spearman’s rank order correlation analyses were used to examine the relationship between motor coordination and adaptive behavior. Results: On average, the participants (n = 26) exhibited significant challenges in regard to their motor coordination with all but two participants classified as having significant motor impairments by scoring at or below the 16th percentile on the MABC-2. Results from the correlation analyses indicated that manual dexterity was positively related to daily living skills (rho = 0.58, p < 0.003), and overall motor coordination was positively related to daily living skills (rho = 0.60, p < 0.003) and overall adaptive behavior (rho = 0.57, p < 0.003). In all instances, better motor coordination was related to more adaptive behaviors. Conclusion: These results highlight the profound motor coordination challenges that children with ASD experience and also suggest that these challenges, particularly with manual dexterity, are related to the daily behavior of children with ASD. The interrelatedness of motor and adaptive behavior suggests the need to further explore the impact of motor-based interventions for this population, as well as conduct longitudinal studies to disentangle these relationships. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
5. Chahil G, Yelam A, Bollu PC. {{Rett Syndrome in Males: A Case Report and Review of Literature}}. {Cureus}. 2018; 10(10): e3414.
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which a period of normal development is followed by regression of previously acquired skills. RTT was originally thought to be present exclusively in females. However, advances in genetic testing and phenotypic identification revealed that it is not a female-only disorder as cases of males with similar phenotype were reported. RTT was considered lethal in males as it has an X-linked dominant inheritance. The purpose of this review is to report a case of RTT in young male and elaborate genetics and phenomenology of this disorder in males.
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6. Doherty A, Bracken M, Gormley L. {{Teaching Children with Autism to Initiate and Respond to Peer Mands Using Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 279-88.
We evaluated the effects of systematic prompting plus reinforcement on listeners’ independent responses to peer mands and on speakers’ peer-directed mands using the picture exchange communication system (PECS) in two studies. In Study 1, three PECS users with a diagnosis of autism were trained to direct PECS exchanges toward peers, whereas in Study 2, three peers with autism were taught to accept a PECS card, select the requested item from an array of three items, and place it in front of their peer. Study 1 showed an increase in peer PECS mands that generalized to novel trained peers for all participants. Results of Study 2 demonstrated an increase in correct independent responses to PECS exchange for all participants, a response that readily generalized across peers and settings for two out of three participants. These results suggest that this intervention protocol may be an effective way to increase interactions between peers with autism.
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7. Kumazaki H, Muramatsu T, Yoshikawa Y, Yoshimura Y, Ikeda T, Hasegawa C, Saito DN, Shimaya J, Ishiguro H, Mimura M, Kikuchi M. {{Brief Report: A Novel System to Evaluate Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Two Humanoid Robots}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2018.
We investigated the feasibility of our novel evaluation system for use with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We prepared the experimental setting with two humanoid robots in reference to the birthday party scene in the Autism Diagnostic Observational Schedule (ADOS). We assessed the relationship between social communication ability measured in the ADOS condition (i.e., with a human clinician) and in a robotic condition for children with ASD. There were significant correlations between the social communication scores in the gold-standard ADOS condition and the robotic condition for children with ASD. The current work provides support for a unique application of a robotic system (i.e., two robot-mediated interaction) to evaluate the severity of autistic traits for children with ASD.
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8. Peters LC, Thompson RH. {{How Teaching Perspective Taking to Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders Affects Social Skills: Findings from Research and Suggestions for Practitioners}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 467-78.
Behavior-analytic practitioners working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may be approached to incorporate perspective taking into a client’s programming. Teaching perspective taking to individuals with ASDs has received attention in both the developmental psychology and, more recently, the behavior-analytic literature. The results of our review of the current evidence suggest that although perspective-taking repertoires believed to be related to social skills can be taught (false belief task performance, deictic frames), only directly teaching the social skills of interest (or applied perspective-taking skills) results in improvements in socially important behavior. The aim of this article is to provide practitioners with the current state of research on how teaching perspective taking affects social skills and to provide suggestions on how these findings might be incorporated into their practice.
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9. Quigley J, Griffith AK, Kates-McElrath K. {{A Comparison of Modeling, Prompting, and a Multi-component Intervention for Teaching Play Skills to Children with Developmental Disabilities}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 315-26.
Play skills are an essential component of a learner’s repertoire, allowing access to social interactions with peers and adults. Children with developmental disabilities frequently require explicit teaching to acquire play skills rather than acquiring them through natural learning opportunities. Without targeted practice, these deficits could continue to expand, separating the children from their typically developing peers. This study aimed to teach three children with developmental disabilities independent play skills in the form of building blocks with a diagram. We evaluated three methods of teaching play skills, prompting, modeling, and a multi-component approach, within an alternating treatment design to determine which, if any, is most effective. Each teaching strategy included a three-step prompting hierarchy and was paired with an edible reinforcer delivered following independence. Successful responses at the targeted prompt level resulted in verbal praise. Following intervention, the rate of successful responses and independent responses increased across all three participants.
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10. Romani PW, Alcorn AS, Linares J. {{Improving Accuracy of Data Collection on a Psychiatric Unit for Children Diagnosed With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 307-14.
Data collection is a hallmark of effective behavior-analytic therapy. Collecting accurate data permits a behavior analyst to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral treatment. The current study evaluated the use of a clicker, simplified observation, and a timer to improve accuracy of data collection on a psychiatric unit for children diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Experiment 1, conducted within a combined multiple-baseline across-participants and reversal design, was an evaluation to identify an intervention package for four participants employed by the psychiatric unit. Interventions yielding the highest interobserver agreement (IOA) were highly individualized. Thus, we selected the most comprehensive intervention and exposed four additional participants to this intervention during Experiment 2. Results showed that this intervention improved IOA for these additional participants as evaluated within a multiple-baseline across-participants design. Results of the current study will be discussed to assist other behavior analysts in improving data-collection practices in hospital or school settings.
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11. Schmick AM, Stanley CR, Dixon MR. {{Teaching Children with Autism to Identify Private Events of Others in Context}}. {Behavior analysis in practice}. 2018; 11(4): 400-5.
Many children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties identifying and labeling emotions of others. Three adolescent males all diagnosed with ASD participated in the study. In a multi-element design, the participants were trained to tact private events of others in context using novel video-based scenarios. Two of the three participants were able to increase and maintain their responding for all trained, derived, and transformation of stimulus function relations. The third participant required multiple-exemplar training of novel stimuli to increase his responding for all the video-based scenarios. The results of the study support the utility of relational training for teaching children with autism to identify private events of others in context.
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12. Stack A, Lucyshyn J. {{Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Experience of Traumatic Events: Review of the Current Literature to Inform Modifications to a Treatment Model for Children with Autism}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2018.
Children with autism incur trauma and have increased vulnerabilities for experiencing trauma. This paper summarizes the current literature in the study of trauma in typically developing children and those with autism. A treatment model for children with autism, drawing on components from cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), trauma-focused CBT, and CBT to teach emotion regulation and treat anxiety in children with autism is suggested. Components include: (a) Functional Behavior Assessment; (b) behavior plans and behavioral skills training; (c) teaching emotion regulation; (d) exposure therapy; (e) cognitive restructuring; (f) parent and child support between sessions; (g) safety plan; and (h) programming for generalization and maintenance. Future research should establish evidence-based treatment of trauma in this population by evaluating the modified treatment package.
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13. Stuger J. {{Autism and Religious Beliefs: Clues from Kafka Research}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2018.
Religious beliefs and faith in high-functioning autistic persons are analyzed by discussing the work and biography of Franz Kafka. It enables researchers to differentiate between how autistic and non-autistic persons experience and express religious beliefs and spiritual issues because Kafka as an autistic person also wrote about these topics in his philosophical-religious writings. This Franz Kafka case study provides additional inner (cognitive) state input to better understand high-functioning autism. This contribution with new and different perspectives to the field of autism and religious beliefs could help to explore the varieties of religious experience and cognition, and to improve our insights in high-functioning autism.
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14. Tan VJ, Lian M, Faradz SMH, Winarni TI, Chong SS. {{A Single Common Assay for Robust and Rapid Fragile X Mental Retardation Syndrome Screening From Dried Blood Spots}}. {Frontiers in genetics}. 2018; 9: 582.
Background: FMR1 CGG trinucleotide repeat hyper-expansions are observed in 99% of individuals with fragile X mental retardation syndrome (FXS). We evaluated the reliability of a rapid single-step gender-neutral molecular screen for FXS when performed on DNA isolated from dried blood spots. Methods: DNA was extracted from dried blood spots of 151 individuals with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder, whose FMR1 repeat genotypes are known. Dried blood spots were blinded prior to DNA extraction and analysis by triplet primed PCR (TP-PCR) and melt curve analysis (MCA). All expansion-positive and representative expansion-negative samples were also genotyped by fluorescent TP-PCR and capillary electrophoresis (CE) to confirm repeat expansion status. Results: Three males and 12 females were classified as expanded by TP-PCR MCA, and were subsequently sized by fluorescent TP-PCR CE. Two males and four females carried premutations, while one male and eight females carried full mutations. All 19 non-expanded samples that were sized were confirmed as carrying only normal alleles. Replicate analysis of representative expansion-positive samples yielded reproducible melt peak profiles. TP-PCR MCA classifications were completely concordant with FMR1 CGG repeat genotypes. Conclusion: TP-PCR MCA of dried blood spot DNA accurately and reliably identifies presence/absence of FMR1 CGG repeat expansions in both genders simultaneously. This strategy may be suitable for rapid high-throughput first-tier screening for fragile X syndrome.
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15. Wang S, Tan N, Zhu X, Yao M, Wang Y, Zhang X, Xu Z. {{Sh3rf2 Haploinsufficiency Leads to Unilateral Neuronal Development Deficits and Autistic-Like Behaviors in Mice}}. {Cell reports}. 2018; 25(11): 2963-71.e6.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include a variety of developmental brain disorders with clinical findings implicating the dysfunction of the left hemisphere. Here, we generate mice lacking one copy of Sh3rf2, which was detected in ASD patients, to determine whether Sh3rf2 is involved in brain development and whether mutation of SH3RF2 is causative for ASD and the mechanisms linking it to ASD traits. We find that mice with Sh3rf2 haploinsufficiency display significant deficits in social interaction and communication, as well as stereotyped or repetitive behaviors and hyperactivity and seizures. Disturbances in hippocampal dendritic spine development, aberrant composition of glutamatergic receptor subunits, and abnormal excitatory synaptic transmission were detected in heterozygous mutants. Remarkably, these defects are selectively unilateral. Our results support a notion that Sh3rf2 haploinsufficiency is a highly penetrant risk factor for ASD, with disease pathogenesis most likely resulting from deficits in synaptic function in the left hemisphere of the brain.
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16. Yu L, Zhu X. {{Correction to: Effectiveness of a SCERTS Model-Based Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Hong Kong: A Pilot Study}}. {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}. 2018.
The article Effectiveness of a SCERTS Model-Based Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Hong Kong: A Pilot Study, written by Lu Yu and Xiaoqin Zhu was originally published electronically on the publisher’s internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on June 15, 2018 without open access.
