1. Adolfsson M, Simmeborn Fleischer A. {{Applying the ICF to identify requirements for students with Asperger syndrome in higher education}}. {Dev Neurorehabil}. 2013.
Abstract Higher education requires more than academic skills and everyday student-life can be stressful. Students with Asperger syndrome (AS) may need support to manage their education due to difficulties in social functioning. Objective: As preparation for the development of a structured tool to guide student and coordinator dialogues at Swedish universities, this study aimed to identify ICF categories that reflect requirements in everyday student-life for students with AS. Methods: Using descriptive qualitative approach, information in documents reflecting the perspectives of university students, international classifications, user/health organisations and education authorities were linked to ICF codes. Results: In total, 114 ICF categories were identified, most of which related to learning, tasks and demands, communication and interactions. Conclusion: Students with AS need varying accommodations to be successful in higher education. In the future, ICF-based code sets, including demands on student roles, can be used as checklists to describe functioning and needs for support.
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2. Gronborg TK, Schendel DE, Parner ET. {{Recurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Full- and Half-Siblings and Trends Over Time: A Population-Based Cohort Study}}. {JAMA Pediatr}. 2013.
IMPORTANCE To date, this is the first population-based study to examine the recurrence risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), including time trends, and the first study to consider the ASDs recurrence risk for full- and half-siblings. OBJECTIVES To estimate the relative recurrence risk for ASDs in a Danish population, including recurrence in full- and half-siblings, and to examine time trends in ASDs relative to the recurrence risk. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Population-based cohort study in Denmark. All children (about 1.5 million) born in Denmark between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 2004, were identified and followed up to December 31, 2010. We identified a maternal sibling subcohort derived from mothers with at least 2 children and a paternal sibling subcohort derived from fathers with at least 2 children. EXPOSURES Children having an older sibling with ASDs are compared with children not having an older sibling with ASDs. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The adjusted hazard ratio for ASDs among children having an older sibling with ASDs compared with children not having an older sibling with ASDs. RESULTS The overall relative recurrence risk for ASDs was 6.9 (95% CI, 6.1-7.8), and it did not change significantly over time; similar risks were observed in maternal and paternal full-siblings. The relative recurrence risks were 2.4 (95% CI, 1.4-4.1) for maternal half-siblings and 1.5 (95% CI, 0.7-3.4) for paternal half-siblings. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our population-based recurrence risk estimate is lower than the recently reported estimates from clinical samples. Our results demonstrate no time trend in the ASDs recurrence risk as seen in the ASDs prevalence. The difference in the recurrence risk between full- and half-siblings supports the role of genetics in ASDs, while the significant recurrence risk in maternal half-siblings may support the role of factors associated with pregnancy and the maternal intrauterine environment in ASDs.
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3. Kroger A, Bletsch A, Krick C, Siniatchkin M, Jarczok TA, Freitag CM, Bender S. {{Visual event-related potentials to biological motion stimuli in autism spectrum disorders}}. {Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci}. 2013.
Atypical visual processing of biological motion contributes to social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the exact temporal sequence of deficits of cortical biological motion processing in ASD has not been studied to date. We used 64-channel electroencephalography to study event-related potentials associated with human motion perception in 17 children and adolescents with ASD and 21 typical controls. A spatio-temporal source analysis was performed to assess the brain structures involved in these processes. We expected altered activity already during early stimulus processing and reduced activity during subsequent biological motion specific processes in ASD. In response to both, random and biological motion, the P100 amplitude was decreased suggesting unspecific deficits in visual processing, and the occipito-temporal N200 showed atypical lateralization in ASD suggesting altered hemispheric specialization. A slow positive deflection after 400 ms, reflecting top-down processes, and human motion-specific dipole activation differed slightly between groups, with reduced and more diffuse activation in the ASD-group. The latter could be an indicator of a disrupted neuronal network for biological motion processing in ADS. Furthermore, early visual processing (P100) seems to be correlated to biological motion-specific activation. This emphasizes the relevance of early sensory processing for higher order processing deficits in ASD.
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4. Latta A, Rampton T, Rosemann J, Peterson M, Mandleco B, Dyches T, Roper S. {{Snapshots reflecting the lives of siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Child Care Health Dev}. 2013.
BACKGROUND: Past research focused on the effects of raising a child with autism spectrum disorder on families. However, most research examined parents’ perspectives rather than siblings’ perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative descriptive design was to use photo elicitation to capture perspectives of siblings living with a child with autism spectrum disorder. METHODS: Fourteen siblings (nine male) of 13 children with autism spectrum disorder received disposable cameras with 24-27 colour exposures, and were asked to photograph what was important to them within 2 weeks. After developing snapshots, investigators interviewed siblings about their photographs, and used open, axial and selective coding to determine photograph categories and subcategories. RESULTS: Two major categories were found: people (family members, non-family members) and non-people (personal items/objects, animals, buildings, scenery). Interviews about photographs reflected experiences siblings had with people/non-people in the snapshots and their normal everyday activities. Most photographs revealed family life and activities any sibling would experience whether or not they lived in a family raising a child with autism spectrum disorder. CONCLUSIONS: Photo elicitation facilitates communication between children and health-care professionals, and provides information about living with a child with autism spectrum disorder from the sibling’s perspective. This information contributes to our knowledge base and allows development of specific intervention plans for siblings of these children.
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5. Lyall K, Baker A, Hertz-Picciotto I, Walker CK. {{Infertility and Its Treatments in Association with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review and Results from the CHARGE Study}}. {Int J Environ Res Public Health}. 2013; 10(8): 3715-34.
Previous findings on relationships between infertility, infertility therapies, and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been inconsistent. The goals of this study are first, to briefly review this evidence and second, to examine infertility and its treatments in association with having a child with ASD in newly analyzed data. In review, we identified 14 studies published as of May 2013 investigating infertility and/or its treatments and ASD. Overall, prior results showed little support for a strong association, though some increases in risk with specific treatments were found; many limitations were noted. In new analyses of the CHildhood Autism Risk from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) population-based study, cases with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 513) and controls confirmed to have typical development (n = 388) were compared with regard to frequencies of infertility diagnoses and treatments overall and by type. Infertility diagnoses and treatments were also grouped to explore potential underlying pathways. Logistic regression was used to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios overall and, in secondary analyses, stratified by maternal age (>/=35 years) and diagnostic subgroups. No differences in infertility, infertility treatments, or hypothesized underlying pathways were found between cases and controls in crude or adjusted analyses. Numbers were small for rarer therapies and in subgroup analyses; thus the potential for modest associations in specific subsets cannot be ruled out. However, converging evidence from this and other studies suggests that assisted reproductive technology is not a strong independent risk factor for ASD. Recommendations for future studies of this topic are provided.
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6. Masri AT, Al Suluh N, Nasir R. {{Diagnostic delay of autism in Jordan: review of 84 cases}}. {Libyan J Med}. 2013; 8: 21725.
7. Zuckerman KE, Mattox K, Donelan K, Batbayar O, Baghaee A, Bethell C. {{Pediatrician Identification of Latino Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Pediatrics}. 2013.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Latino-white disparities in age at autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis may be modified by primary care pediatrician (PCP) practices and beliefs. The objectives of this study were to assess ASD and developmental screening practices, attitudes toward ASD identification in Latino children, and barriers to ASD identification for Latino children, in a sample of 267 California PCPs.METHODS:In mail-based PCP survey, we assessed rates of bilingual general developmental and ASD screening, perceptions of parent ASD knowledge in Latino and white families, reports of difficulty assessing for ASDs in Latino and white children, and perceptions of barriers to early ASD identification for Latinos.RESULTS:Although 81% of PCPs offered some form of developmental screening, 29% of PCPs offered Spanish ASD screening per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, and only 10% offered both Spanish general developmental and Spanish ASD screening per American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Most PCPs thought that Latino (English and Spanish primary family language) parents were less knowledgeable about ASDs than white parents. PCPs had more difficulty assessing ASD risk for Latino children with Spanish primary family language than for white children, even when the PCP conducted recommended ASD screening or had >25% Latino patients. The most frequent barrier to ASD identification in Latinos was access to developmental specialists.CONCLUSIONS:Multiple factors in the primary care setting may contribute to delayed ASD identification for Latinos. Promoting language-appropriate screening, disseminating culturally appropriate ASD materials to Latino families, improving the specialist workforce, and providing PCP support in screening and referral of Latino children may be important ways to reduce racial and ethnic differences in care.
