1. Freeman SF, Gulsrud A, Kasari C. {{Brief Report: Linking Early Joint Attention and Play Abilities to Later Reports of Friendships for Children with ASD}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Feb 13)
This study examined the influence of early joint attention and play in children with autism on child- and parent-reported friendship quality 5 years later. Initially, children participated in developmental, joint attention, and play measures. At follow-up (age 8-9), parents and children completed the Friendship Qualities Scale (Bukowski et al. in J Soc Personal Relatsh 11:471-484, 1994) rating the child’s friendship on companionship, help, security, closeness, and conflict. Parents and children described their children’s friendships similarly except children’s ratings were significantly higher than their parents on companionship. Children with better joint attention at age three reported their friendships to have higher closeness and lower conflict. Children with better initial play reported greater helpfulness. This study provides preliminary evidence linking early core abilities to later friendship qualities.
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2. Gordon RG, Watson LR. {{Brief Report: Gestures in Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2015 (Feb 13)
Retrospective video analyses indicate that disruptions in gesture use occur as early as 9-12 months of age in infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We report a prospective study of gesture use in 42 children identified as at-risk for ASD using a general population screening. At age 13-15 months, gesture were more disrupted in infants who, at 20-24 months, met cutoffs for « autism » on the ADOS than for those who met cutoffs for « autism spectrum » or those who did not meet cutoffs for either, whereas these latter two groups displayed similar patterns of gesture use. Total gestures predicted later receptive and expressive language outcomes; therefore, gesture use may help identify infants who can benefit from early communication interventions.
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3. Guevara-Campos J, Gonzalez-Guevara L, Cauli O. {{Autism and Intellectual Disability Associated with Mitochondrial Disease and Hyperlactacidemia}}. {Int J Mol Sci};2015;16(2):3870-3884.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with intellectual disability (ID) is a life-long debilitating condition, which is characterized by cognitive function impairment and other neurological signs. Children with ASD-ID typically attain motor skills with a significant delay. A sub-group of ASD-IDs has been linked to hyperlactacidemia and alterations in mitochondrial respiratory chain activity. The objective of this report is to describe the clinical features of patients with these comorbidities in order to shed light on difficult diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in such patients. We reported the different clinical features of children with ID associated with hyperlactacidemia and deficiencies in mitochondrial respiratory chain complex II-IV activity whose clinical presentations are commonly associated with the classic spectrum of mitochondrial diseases. We concluded that patients with ASD and ID presenting with persistent hyperlactacidemia should be evaluated for mitochondrial disorders. Administration of carnitine, coenzyme Q10, and folic acid is partially beneficial, although more studies are needed to assess the efficacy of this vitamin/cofactor treatment combination.
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4. Mogensen L, Mason J. {{The meaning of a label for teenagers negotiating identity: experiences with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Sociol Health Illn};2015 (Feb 12)
There is a lack of consideration for the effects that labels such as autism, and the associated diagnostic processes, have on the children to whom they are applied. In this article we present research conducted with five teenagers diagnosed with autism. Through a collaborative, participatory research approach, these teenagers shared their experiences of their diagnosis using communication methods of their choice. The young people’s accounts illustrate the understandings they had of autism. Important findings from the research illustrate how the participants integrated this knowledge with their sense of self, how they negotiated issues of identity and the meanings that feeling ‘different’ had for them. Whether the diagnosis was experienced as advantage or disadvantage by the young people depended on the extent to which it facilitated knowledge and control. The article concludes with a discussion of the significance a diagnosis may have for the ways in which children and young people construct their personal identity and their social relations, and in terms of negotiating control in their lives. We suggest that ways of minimising stigma and marginalisation associated with a diagnosis of autism need to be considered at a policy level.
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5. Reetzke R, Zou X, Sheng L, Katsos N. {{Communicative Development in Bilingually Exposed Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Speech Lang Hear Res};2015 (Feb 12)
Purpose: We examined the association of bilingual exposure with structural and pragmatic language development in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Method: The parents of 54 children with ASD exposed to one (n = 31) or two (n = 23) Chinese languages completed: (a) a questionnaire to evaluate their child’s competence in structural language and pragmatic ability in their dominant language (Children’s Communication Checklist-2; Bishop, 2006), and (b) a questionnaire to assess their child’s social functioning (Social Responsiveness Scale; Constantino & Gruber, 2005; Wang, Lee, Chen, & Hsu, 2012). Parents additionally completed thorough interviews regarding the linguistic environment of their children (Language Environment Interview; Hambly & Fombonne, 2011). Results: Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that bilingually exposed children with ASD did not demonstrate significantly different performance on any standard measure, relative to their monolingual peers. Conclusion: The findings suggest that bilingual language exposure is not associated with additional challenges for the development of the dominant language in children with ASD. The lack of negative associations in our sample is not likely to be due to the comparatively early diagnosis and/or intervention that is available in other countries. We discuss implications for decisions regarding the linguistic environment of children with ASD.
