1. {{After high school, youths with autism spectrum disorders lose access to services}}. {Harv Ment Health Lett};2011 (May);27(11):7.
2. Ballan MS. {{Parental Perspectives of Communication about Sexuality in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Jun 17)
To explore the content of communication about sexuality between parents and children with autism spectrum disorders, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 parents of children ages 6-13. Content analysis and ethnographic summary were used to interpret the data. Findings suggest that parent’s perceptions of a child’s behaviors and comprehension are associated with the likelihood that communication occurs. However, parents recognize the risks their children experience, with the greatest fears being sexual victimization and misperceptions related to the intent of their child’s behaviors. This study provides information on the nature of communication about sexuality in families of children with autism spectrum disorders and can help tailor interventions aimed at assisting parents to communicate sexuality information effectively.
3. Casci T. {{Disease genetics: Converging models for autism}}. {Nat Rev Genet};2011;12(7):456-457.
4. Juraska JM. {{From environmental enrichment to Fragile X: The retirement of William Greenough introduction to a special issue}}. {Dev Psychobiol};2011 (Jul);53(5):425-427.
5. Kennedy JS, Lawrence DA. {{Coincidental associations do not provide proof for the etiology of autism}}. {J Immunotoxicol};2011 (Jun 16)
6. Korade Z, Mirnics K. {{Gene expression: The autism disconnect}}. {Nature};2011 (Jun 16);474(7351):294-295.
7. Minchella L, Preti L. {{Autism spectrum disorder: clinical considerations for the school nurse}}. {NASN Sch Nurse};2011 (May);26(3):143-145.
8. Roelfsema MT, Hoekstra RA, Allison C, Wheelwright S, Brayne C, Matthews FE, Baron-Cohen S. {{Are Autism Spectrum Conditions More Prevalent in an Information-Technology Region? A School-Based Study of Three Regions in the Netherlands}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2011 (Jun 17)
We tested for differences in the prevalence of autism spectrum conditions (ASC) in school-aged children in three geographical regions in the Netherlands. Schools were asked to provide the number of children enrolled, the number having a clinical diagnosis of ASC and/or two control neurodevelopmental conditions. Prevalence was evaluated by negative binomial regression and adjustments were made for non-response and size of the schools. The prevalence estimates of ASC in Eindhoven was 229 per 10,000, significantly higher than in Haarlem (84 per 10,000) and Utrecht (57 per 10,000), whilst the prevalence for the control conditions were similar in all regions. Phase two is planned to validate school-reported cases using standardized diagnostic methods and to explore the possible causes for these differences.
9. Vaidya CJ, Foss-Feig J, Shook D, Kaplan L, Kenworthy L, Gaillard WD. {{Controlling attention to gaze and arrows in childhood: an fMRI study of typical development and Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {Dev Sci};2011 (Jul);14(4):911-924.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to examine functional anatomy of attention to social (eye gaze) and nonsocial (arrow) communicative stimuli in late childhood and in a disorder defined by atypical processing of social stimuli, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Children responded to a target word (‘LEFT’/’RIGHT’) in the context of a distracting arrow or averted gaze pointing in a direction that was congruent, incongruent, or neutral (bar without arrowheads, central gaze) relative to the target word. Despite being irrelevant to the target task, both arrow and averted gaze facilitated responses (Congruent vs. Neutral trials) to the same extent in the two groups and led to interference (Incongruent vs. Congruent trials), which was greater from arrows in ASD than control children. In the brain, interaction between group and distracter-domain was observed in frontal-temporal regions during facilitation and frontal-striatal regions during interference. During facilitation, regions associated with attention to gaze in control children (left superior temporal sulcus, premotor) were associated with attention to arrows in ASD children; gaze was associated with medial temporal involvement in ASD children. During interference, regions associated with arrows in control children (anterior cingulate, right caudate) were activated in response to gaze in ASD children; further, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region not observed in control children, was activated during gaze-interference in ASD children. Thus, functional anatomy was atypical in ASD children during spontaneous processing of social and nonsocial communicative cues.
10. Volkmar FR. {{Understanding the social brain in autism}}. {Dev Psychobiol};2011 (Jul);53(5):428-434.
Autism is an early onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by disruption of early social interaction. Although the social disability of autism remains the central defining feature of the condition, mechanisms that might account for this disability remain poorly understood. This paper briefly reviews some aspects of the social deficit in autism focusing on new approaches to characterizing social information processing problems, potential brain mechanisms, and theoretical models of the disorder. It will touch on aspects of specific social processes that appear to develop in unusual ways in autism including facial perception, joint attention, and social information processing. The importance of adopting more ecologically valid methods and for integrating the various approaches in deriving new models for social deficits in autism will be highlighted. Future research should build on the emerging synergy of different aspects of social neuroscience. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 53:428-434, 2011.
