1. Carter EJ, Williams DL, Minshew NJ, Lehman JF. {{Is He Being Bad? Social and Language Brain Networks during Social Judgment in Children with Autism}}. {PLoS One};2012;7(10):e47241.
Individuals with autism often violate social rules and have lower accuracy in identifying and explaining inappropriate social behavior. Twelve children with autism (AD) and thirteen children with typical development (TD) participated in this fMRI study of the neurofunctional basis of social judgment. Participants indicated in which of two pictures a boy was being bad (Social condition) or which of two pictures was outdoors (Physical condition). In the within-group Social-Physical comparison, TD children used components of mentalizing and language networks [bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS)], whereas AD children used a network that was primarily right IFG and bilateral pSTS, suggesting reduced use of social and language networks during this social judgment task. A direct group comparison on the Social-Physical contrast showed that the TD group had greater mPFC, bilateral IFG, and left superior temporal pole activity than the AD group. No regions were more active in the AD group than in the group with TD in this comparison. Both groups successfully performed the task, which required minimal language. The groups also performed similarly on eyetracking measures, indicating that the activation results probably reflect the use of a more basic strategy by the autism group rather than performance disparities. Even though language was unnecessary, the children with TD recruited language areas during the social task, suggesting automatic encoding of their knowledge into language; however, this was not the case for the children with autism. These findings support behavioral research indicating that, whereas children with autism may recognize socially inappropriate behavior, they have difficulty using spoken language to explain why it is inappropriate. The fMRI results indicate that AD children may not automatically use language to encode their social understanding, making expression and generalization of this knowledge more difficult.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Damiano CR, Nahmias A, Hogan-Brown AL, Stone WL. {{What Do Repetitive and Stereotyped Movements Mean for Infant Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders?}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Oct 19)
Repetitive and stereotyped movements (RSMs) in infancy are associated with later diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet this relationship has not been fully explored in high-risk populations. The current study investigated how RSMs involving object and body use are related to diagnostic outcomes in infant siblings of children with ASD (Sibs-ASD) and typically developing children (Sibs-TD). The rate and number of different types of RSMs were measured at an average of 15 months with follow-up diagnostic evaluations approximately 18 months later. While Sibs-ASD displayed higher rates of RSMs relative to Sibs-TD, rates did not differ according to diagnostic outcome in Sibs-ASD. However preliminary evidence suggests that qualitative differences in RSM type warrant further investigation as early diagnostic markers.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
3. Guthrie W, Swineford LB, Nottke C, Wetherby AM. {{Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: stability and change in clinical diagnosis and symptom presentation}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2012 (Oct 19)
Background: Although a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appears to be stable in children as young as age three, few studies have explored stability of a diagnosis in younger children. Predictive value of diagnostic tools for toddlers and patterns of symptom change are important considerations for clinicians making early diagnoses. Most findings come from high-risk samples, but reports on children screened in community settings are also needed. Methods: Stability of diagnosis and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – Toddler Module (ADOS-T) classifications and scores was examined across two time points in a sample of 82 children identified through the FIRST WORDS((R)) Project. Children received two comprehensive diagnostic evaluations at average ages of 19.39 (SD = 2.12) and 36.89 (SD = 3.85) months. Results: Stability was 100% when confirming and ruling out a diagnosis of ASD based on a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation that included clinic and home observations, although diagnosis was initially deferred for 17% of the sample. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves revealed excellent sensitivity and acceptable specificity for the ADOS-T compared to concurrent diagnosis. Logistic regressions indicated good predictive value of initial ADOS-T scores for follow-up diagnosis. Finally, both ASD and Non-ASD children demonstrated a decrease in Social Affect scores (i.e., improvement), whereas children with ASD demonstrated an increase in Restricted and Repetitive Behavior scores (i.e., worsening), changes that were accounted for by nonverbal developmental level in mixed model analyses. Conclusions: Short-term stability was documented for children diagnosed at 19 months on average, although a minority of children initially showed unclear diagnostic presentations. Findings highlight utility of the ADOS-T in making early diagnoses and predicting follow-up diagnoses. Children with ASD demonstrated improvement in social communication behaviors and unfolding of repetitive behaviors, suggesting that certain early patterns of change in symptoms may be characteristic of ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Martin Garcia MJ, Gomez Becerra I, Garro Espin MJ. {{[Theory of Mind in a child with autism: How to train her?]}}. {Psicothema};2012 (Nov);24(4):542-547.
Theory of Mind in a child with autism: How to train her? Theory of Mind is a metacognitive skill that, in many cases, is deficient in autism. In this paper, we present a clinical study conducted with a child diagnosed with autism, which verifies the effectiveness of a training protocol testing false beliefs, which has been considered to measure the Theory of Mind. Basically, the protocol incorporates a number of verbal prompts (such as emphasizing the elements of the narratives that indicate situational or temporary changes), trains many examples, extending the tests incorporating some games with more familiar objects from the child’s daily life, applies differential contingencies to discriminate right from wrong in each child’s responses and provides descriptive feedback. The results show that the training protocol achieved the highest level of correct trials and the child generalizes the ability to take the perspective of her natural context.
5. Post SG, Pomeroy J, Keirns CC, Cover VI, Dorn ML, Boroson L, Boroson F, Coulehan A, Coulehan J, Covell K, Kubasek K, Luchsinger E, Nichols S, Parles J, Schreiber L, Tetenbaum SP, Walsh RA. {{Brief Report: Stony Brook Guidelines on the Ethics of the Care of People with Autism and Their Families}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Oct 20)
The increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with associated societal and clinical impacts, calls for a broad community-based dialogue on treatment related ethical and social issues. The Stony Brook Guidelines, based on a community dialogue process with affected individuals, families and professionals, identify and discuss the following topics: treatment goals and happiness, distributive justice, managing the hopes for a cure, sibling responsibilities, intimacy and sex, diagnostic ethics, and research ethics. Our guidelines, based not on « top-down » imposition of professional expertise but rather on « bottom-up » grass roots attention to the voices of affected individuals and families speaking from experience, can inform clinical practice and are also meaningful for the wider social conversation emerging over the treatment of individuals with ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. The Lancet N. {{High demands of the Autism Centers of Excellence programme}}. {Lancet Neurol};2012 (Nov);11(11):929.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. Yakubova G, Taber-Doughty T. {{Brief Report: Learning Via the Electronic Interactive Whiteboard for Two Students with Autism and a Student with Moderate Intellectual Disability}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2012 (Oct 19)
The effects of a multicomponent intervention (a self-operated video modeling and self-monitoring delivered via an electronic interactive whiteboard (IWB) and a system of least prompts) on skill acquisition and interaction behavior of two students with autism and one student with moderate intellectual disability were examined using a multi-probe across students design. Students were taught to operate and view video modeling clips, perform a chain of novel tasks and self-monitor task performance using a SMART Board IWB. Results support the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention in improving students’ skill acquisition. Results also highlight the use of this technology as a self-operated and interactive device rather than a traditional teacher-operated device to enhance students’ active participation in learning.
