1. Bouck EC, Joshi GS. {{Does Curriculum Matter for Secondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Analyzing the NLTS2}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 19)
A common presumption of secondary education is that what occurs in-school impacts students after they exit school. Previous researchers found transition-services received in school by students with autism spectrum disorder predicted their post-school success with regards to employment and independent living. This secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 sought to understand the relationship between curriculum-functional versus non-functional-and seven measures of post-school outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder. The main results of the study include low rates of receipt of a functional curriculum, poor post-school outcomes, and the lack of relationship between curriculum and post-school outcomes for students with autism spectrum disorder.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Crutchfield SA, Mason RA, Chambers A, Wills HP, Mason BA. {{Use of a Self-monitoring Application to Reduce Stereotypic Behavior in Adolescents with Autism: A Preliminary Investigation of I-Connect}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 18)
Many students with autism engage in a variety of complex stereotypic behaviors, impacting task completion and interfering with social opportunities. Self-monitoring is an intervention with empirical support for individuals with ASD to increase behavioral repertoires and decrease behaviors that are incompatible with successful outcomes. However, there is limited evidence for its utility for decreasing stereotypy, particularly for adolescents in school settings. This study evaluated the functional relationship between I-Connect, a technology-delivered self-monitoring program, and decreases in the level of stereotypy for two students with ASD in the school setting utilizing a withdrawal design with an embedded multiple baseline across participants. Both students demonstrated a marked decrease in stereotypy with the introduction of the self-monitoring application. Results and implications for practice and future research will be discussed.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Feldman MA, Hendry AM, Ward RA, Hudson M, Liu X. {{Behavioral Development and Sociodemographics of Infants and Young Children at Higher and Lower Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 18)
Identification of early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could lead to earlier diagnosis and intervention. This cross-sectional study used the Parent Observation of Early Markers Scale (POEMS, Feldman et al. in J Autism Dev Disord 42:13-12, 2012) to identify early signs of ASD in 69 ASD high-risk (older sibling diagnosed with ASD) and 69 sex and aged-matched ASD low-risk second-born or later infants (no family history of ASD) between 6 and 36 months of age. Family sociodemographic comparisons were also made between the risk groups. The high-risk children had significantly more elevated POEMS items than the low-risk children at 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months of age, even when the children subsequently diagnosed with ASD were removed from the analyses. Families of the high-risk group had older parents, lower family income and fewer mothers working out of the home than the low-risk group. These sociodemographic variables were not significantly correlated with POEMS scores. The results suggest that high-risk infants may show signs of the broader ASD phenotype as early as 12 months of age that may be unrelated to observed sociodemographic family differences.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Glazebrook JF, Wallace R. {{Pathologies in functional connectivity, feedback control and robustness: a global workspace perspective on autism spectrum disorders}}. {Cogn Process};2014 (Oct 18)
We study the background to problems of functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorders within the neurocognitive framework of the global workspace model. This we proceed to do by observing network irregularities detracting from that of a well-formed small world network architecture. This is discussed in terms of pathologies in functional connectivity and lack of central coherence disrupting inter-network communication thus impairing effective cognitive action. A typical coherence-connectivity measure as a by-product of various neuroimaging results is considered. This is related to a model of feedback control in which a coherence function in the frequency domain is modified by an environmentally determined interaction parameter. With respect to the latter, we discuss the stability question that in theory may counterbalance inessential metabolic costs and incoherence of processing. We suggest that factors such as local overconnectivity and global underconnectivity, along with acute over-expenditure of metabolic costs give rise to instability within the connective core of the workspace.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
5. Haigh SM, Heeger DJ, Dinstein I, Minshew N, Behrmann M. {{Cortical Variability in the Sensory-Evoked Response in Autism}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 19)
Previous findings have shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) evince greater intra-individual variability (IIV) in their sensory-evoked fMRI responses compared to typical control participants. We explore the robustness of this finding with a new sample of high-functioning adults with autism. Participants were presented with visual, somatosensory and auditory stimuli in the scanner whilst they completed a one-back task. While ASD and control participants were statistically indistinguishable with respect to behavioral responses, the new ASD group exhibited greater IIV relative to controls. We also show that the IIV was equivalent across hemispheres and remained stable over the duration of the experiment. This suggests that greater cortical IIV may be a replicable characteristic of sensory systems in autism.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. Hesselmark E, Eriksson JM, Westerlund J, Bejerot S. {{Autism Spectrum Disorders and Self-reports: Testing Validity and Reliability Using the NEO-PI-R}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 18)
Although self-reported measures are frequently used to assess adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the validity of self-reports is under-researched in ASD. The core symptoms of ASD may negatively affect the psychometric properties of self-reported measures. The aim of the present study was to test the validity and reliability of self-reported data using the NEO personality inventory-revised (NEO-PI-R). Forty-eight adults with ASD and 53 controls completed the NEO-PI-R and a psychiatric interview. Results indicate satisfactory internal consistency of the NEO-PI-R, a satisfactory factor structure, predicted correlations with clinician ratings in the ASD group, and predicted differences in personality between the ASD group and controls. In conclusion, the present results support the use of self-reported measures when assessing adults with ASD .
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. van Asselt-Goverts AE, Embregts PJ, Hendriks AH, Wegman KM, Teunisse JP. {{Do Social Networks Differ? Comparison of the Social Networks of People with Intellectual Disabilities, People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Other People Living in the Community}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2014 (Oct 18)
The aim of this study was to determine the similarities and differences in social network characteristics, satisfaction and wishes with respect to the social network between people with mild or borderline intellectual disabilities (ID), people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a reference group. Data were gathered from 105 young adults living independently in the community. The social networks of people with ID and ASD are more restricted than those of the reference group. Compared with the other groups, people with ASD are less often satisfied with their networks. Each group has its own characteristics, issues and wishes with respect to their social network. Practical measures to enable professionals to adapt to these issues are discussed.
