1. Baron-Cohen S, Cassidy S, Auyeung B, Allison C, Achoukhi M, Robertson S, Pohl A, Lai MC. {{Attenuation of Typical Sex Differences in 800 Adults with Autism vs. 3,900 Controls}}. {PLoS One};2014;9(7):e102251.
Sex differences have been reported in autistic traits and systemizing (male advantage), and empathizing (female advantage) among typically developing individuals. In individuals with autism, these cognitive-behavioural profiles correspond to predictions from the « extreme male brain » (EMB) theory of autism (extreme scores on autistic traits and systemizing, below average on empathizing). Sex differences within autism, however, have been under-investigated. Here we show in 811 adults (454 females) with autism and 3,906 age-matched typical control adults (2,562 females) who completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R), and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), that typical females on average scored higher on the EQ, typical males scored higher on the SQ-R and AQ, and both males and females with autism showed a shift toward the extreme of the « male profile » on these measures and in the distribution of « brain types » (the discrepancy between standardized EQ and SQ-R scores). Further, normative sex differences are attenuated but not abolished in adults with autism. The findings provide strong support for the EMB theory of autism, and highlight differences between males and females with autism.
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2. Johnels JA, Gillberg C, Falck-Ytter T, Miniscalco C. {{Face viewing patterns in young children with autism spectrum disorders: Speaking up for a role of language comprehension}}. {J Speech Lang Hear Res};2014 (Jul 16)
Purpose: The aim was to examine whether viewing patterns towards the mouth, eyes, and non-mouth/non-eyes areas differed between young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typical development (TD) when viewing a person speaking. Also, we examined the role of language comprehension in such viewing patterns. Method: Eleven children with ASD (approx. 4.5 years) and 29 TD toddlers (approx. 2.5 years) participated. The groups were matched on language comprehension raw scores from the Reynell Developmental Language Scales-III. All children viewed short films of a woman speaking while their eye-movements were recorded with eye-tracking equipment. Results: Children with ASD spent proportionally less time viewing the mouth, and more time viewing non-mouth/non-eyes areas. Time viewing the eyes did not differ between groups. Increased mouth viewing was associated with lower language comprehension in the ASD group. Conclusions: We argue that variability in language comprehension is an important factor to monitor when interpreting face-viewing patterns in young children with ASD, particularly with regard to mouth viewing. Our result may help explain divergent findings in this field of research.
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3. Parker-McGowan Q, Chen M, Reichle J, Pandit S, Johnson L, Kreibich S. {{Describing Treatment Intensity in Milieu Teaching Interventions for Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Review}}. {Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch};2014 (Jul 16)
Purpose: This investigation aimed to apply the dosage framework proposed by Warren, Fey and Yoder (2007) to variations of milieu language teaching intervention strategies to explore how each of the dosage parameters (i.e., dose, dose form, dose frequency, total duration, and cumulative intervention intensity) was reported in the located empirically based applications with learners between birth and 23 years of age. Method: A systematic search located existing studies that implemented a milieu teaching intervention for children with developmental disabilities. Dosage data were then extracted from 42 studies along with study characteristics and participant characteristics. Results: Only 37.8% of empirical investigations provided a clear definition of treatment intensity and reported the full range of dosage parameters, thus making it difficult to compare the results across investigations. Of the investigations that reported on all dosage parameters, the majority were single case design as opposed to group design studies. Conclusions: Given the limited reporting of dosage parameters in existing studies, there is a need for closer attention to reporting this information in early communication intervention protocols. Replication and customization of interventions for learners experiencing developmental disabilities will only be possible with additional empirical examination of dosage parameters.
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4. Shimamoto C, Ohnishi T, Maekawa M, Watanabe A, Ohba H, Arai R, Iwayama Y, Hisano Y, Toyota T, Toyoshima M, Suzuki K, Nakamura K, Mori N, Shirayama Y, Owada Y, Kobayashi T, Yoshikawa T. {{Functional characterization of FABP3, 5 and 7 gene variants identified in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder and mouse behavioral studies}}. {Hum Mol Genet};2014 (Jul 15)
Disturbances of lipid metabolism have been implicated in psychiatric illnesses. We previously reported an association between the gene for fatty acid binding protein 7 (FABP7) and schizophrenia. Furthermore, we identified and reported several rare nonsynonymous polymorphisms of the brain-expressed genes FABP3, FABP5 and FABP7 from schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), diseases known to part share genetic architecture. Here, we conducted further studies to better understand the contribution these genes make to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and ASD. In postmortem brains, we detected altered mRNA expression levels of FABP5 in schizophrenia, and of FABP7 in ASD, and altered FABP5 in peripheral lymphocytes. Using a patient cohort, comprehensive mutation screening identified six missense and two frameshift variants from the three FABP genes. The two frameshift proteins, FABP3 E132fs and FABP7 N89fs, formed cellular aggregates and were unstable when expressed in cultured cells. The four missense mutants with predicted possible damaging outcomes showed no changes in intracellular localization. Examining ligand binding properties, FABP7 S86G and FABP7 V126 L lost their preference for docosahexaenoic acid to linoleic acid. Finally, mice deficient in Fabp3, Fabp5 and Fabp7 were evaluated in a systematic behavioral test battery. The Fabp3 knockout (KO) mice showed decreased social memory and novelty seeking, and Fabp7 KO mice displayed hyperactive and anxiety-related phenotypes, while Fabp5 KO mice showed no apparent phenotypes. In conclusion, disturbances in brain-expressed FABPs could represent an underlying disease mechanism in a proportion of schizophrenia and ASD sufferers.
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5. Simmons ES, Paul R, Volkmar F. {{Assessing Pramatic Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Yale in vivo Pragmatic Protocol}}. {J Speech Lang Hear Res};2014 (Jul 16)
Purpose: This study compared pragmatic language in youth (9 -17 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with typical development (TD) on the Yale in vivo Pragmatic Protocol (YiPP), a semi-structured, dynamic conversational assessment. Method: Participants (n = 118) were divided into groups based on age and diagnosis. Each completed the YiPP, which included four pragmatic domains (Discourse Management, Communicative Functions, Conversational Repair, Presupposition). The participant’s response to each probe was scored correct or incorrect; incorrect scores elicited cues from the examiner, and level of cue required for a correction was also scored. Results: The YiPP showed high reliability and internal consistency, with moderate concurrent validity, sensitivity, and specificity. The group with ASD performed worse overall on YiPP probes compared to their TD counterparts on both error (d = 0.96) and cue (d = 0.91) scores. Item analyses revealed greater gaps between older students with ASD and their TD peers than between the two younger groups. Conclusions: These data suggests that a probe measure designed to assess pragmatic abilities in children with ASD within a conversational context has some validity for contributing to diagnostic classification and can identify specific areas of pragmatic vulnerabilities as part of a clinical assessment.
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6. Steinberg MA. {{Physiotherapy aspects of overseas developments for children with developmental disabilities}}. {Aust J Physiother};1979 (Apr);25(2):75-78.
This paper describes the findings of a study tour investigating the provision of physiotherapy services for children with developmental disabilities. It was found that early intervention programmes were paramount, particularly in the U.S.A. Major trends, such as the use of transdisciplinary approaches, as well as the specific techniques evolving from them, including task analysis and the use of written behavioural objectives, should be noted and utilised by physiotherapists. Efforts to improve the lifestyle of the children and of their families were studied, including successful family support services in Norway. Finally, several recommendations relating to early intervention and to preschool and school services have been suggested.
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7. Troyb E, Orinstein A, Tyson K, Eigsti IM, Naigles L, Fein D. {{Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Individuals with a History of ASDs Who Have Achieved Optimal Outcomes}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Jul 17)
Studies of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) suggest that restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are particularly difficult to remediate. We examined present and past RRBs in 34 individuals who achieved optimal outcomes (OOs; lost their ASD diagnosis), 45 high-functioning individuals with ASD (HFA) and 34 typically developing (TD) peers. The OO group exhibited minimal residual RRBs at the time of the study. All OO participants were reported to have at least one RRB in early childhood and almost 90 % met the RRB cutoff for ASD in early childhood, but RRBs were not more present in the OO than the TD group at the time of the study. History of RRBs in the HFA and OO groups differed only in oversensitivity to noise and insistence on sameness. Reports of current behavior indicated that RRB’s had almost totally disappeared in the OO group. Thus, although RRB’s were present in the OO group in childhood, they resolved along with social and communication deficits.
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8. Van der Paelt S, Warreyn P, Roeyers H. {{Effect of community interventions on social-communicative abilities of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Dev Neurorehabil};2014 (Jul 16):1-13.
Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the effect that different intervention methods have on the social-communicative abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in community settings. Methods: Intervention based on applied behaviour analysis was compared with a more specific intervention programme targeting imitation and joint attention (JA) and with treatment as usual in a sample of 85 children with ASD. Objective measures for imitation, JA, pretend play, language, autism severity and parent report measures were used to assess the effect of six months of intervention. Results: Results revealed no differences between the intervention methods. There was, however, great individual variability in outcome within each treatment method. Conclusion: These results suggest that it is important to focus on « What works for whom » instead of trying to find a one-size-fits-all-treatment for children with ASD.
