1. {{Neurodevelopmental disorders: No evidence for efficiency of weighted blankets in improving sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder}}. {Nat Rev Neurol};2014 (Jul 22)
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2. Tebartz van Elst L, Maier S, Fangmeier T, Endres D, Mueller GT, Nickel K, Ebert D, Lange T, Hennig J, Biscaldi M, Riedel A, Perlov E. {{Disturbed cingulate glutamate metabolism in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: evidence in support of the excitatory/inhibitory imbalance hypothesis}}. {Mol Psychiatry};2014 (Jul 22)
Over the last few years, awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults has increased. The precise etiology of ASD is still unresolved. Animal research, genetic and postmortem studies suggest that the glutamate (Glu) system has an important role, possibly related to a cybernetic imbalance between neuronal excitation and inhibition. To clarify the possible disruption of Glu metabolism in adults with high-functioning autism, we performed a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) study investigating the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the cerebellum in adults with high-functioning ASD. Twenty-nine adult patients with high-functioning ASD and 29 carefully matched healthy volunteers underwent MRS scanning of the pregenual ACC and the left cerebellar hemisphere. Metabolic data were compared between groups and were correlated with psychometric measures of autistic features. We found a significant decrease in the cingulate N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and the combined Glu and glutamine (Glx) signals in adults with ASD, whereas we did not find other metabolic abnormalities in the ACC or the cerebellum. The Glx signal correlated significantly with psychometric measures of autism, particularly with communication deficits. Our data support the hypothesis that there is a link between disturbances of the cingulate NAA and Glx metabolism, and autism. The findings are discussed in the context of the hypothesis of excitatory/inhibitory imbalance in autism. Further research should clarify the specificity and dynamics of these findings regarding other neuropsychiatric disorders and other brain areas.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 22 July 2014; doi:10.1038/mp.2014.62.
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3. Smith JD, Rho JM, Masino SA, Mychasiuk R. {{Inchworming: A Novel Motor Stereotypy in the BTBR T+ Itpr3tf /J Mouse Model of Autism}}. {J Vis Exp};2014 (89)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by decreased reciprocal social interaction, abnormal communication, and repetitive behaviors with restricted interest. As diagnosis is based on clinical criteria, any potentially relevant rodent models of this heterogeneous disorder should ideally recapitulate these diverse behavioral traits. The BTBR T(+) Itpr3(tf)/J (BTBR) mouse is an established animal model of ASD, displaying repetitive behaviors such as increased grooming, as well as cognitive inflexibility. With respect to social interaction and interest, the juvenile play test has been employed in multiple rodent models of ASD. Here, we show that when BTBR mice are tested in a juvenile social interaction enclosure containing sawdust bedding, they display a repetitive synchronous digging motion. This repetitive motor behavior, referred to as « inchworming, » was named because of the stereotypic nature of the movements exhibited by the mice while moving horizontally across the floor. Inchworming mice must use their fore- and hind-limbs in synchrony to displace the bedding, performing a minimum of one inward and one outward motion. Although both BTBR and C56BL/6J (B6) mice exhibit this behavior, BTBR mice demonstrate a significantly higher duration and frequency of inchworming and a decreased latency to initiate inchworming when placed in a bedded enclosure. We conclude that this newly described behavior provides a measure of a repetitive motor stereotypy that can be easily measured in animal models of ASD.
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4. Hashemi J, Tepper M, Vallin Spina T, Esler A, Morellas V, Papanikolopoulos N, Egger H, Dawson G, Sapiro G. {{Computer vision tools for low-cost and noninvasive measurement of autism-related behaviors in infants}}. {Autism Res Treat};2014;2014:935686.
The early detection of developmental disorders is key to child outcome, allowing interventions to be initiated which promote development and improve prognosis. Research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests that behavioral signs can be observed late in the first year of life. Many of these studies involve extensive frame-by-frame video observation and analysis of a child’s natural behavior. Although nonintrusive, these methods are extremely time-intensive and require a high level of observer training; thus, they are burdensome for clinical and large population research purposes. This work is a first milestone in a long-term project on non-invasive early observation of children in order to aid in risk detection and research of neurodevelopmental disorders. We focus on providing low-cost computer vision tools to measure and identify ASD behavioral signs based on components of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). In particular, we develop algorithms to measure responses to general ASD risk assessment tasks and activities outlined by the AOSI which assess visual attention by tracking facial features. We show results, including comparisons with expert and nonexpert clinicians, which demonstrate that the proposed computer vision tools can capture critical behavioral observations and potentially augment the clinician’s behavioral observations obtained from real in-clinic assessments.
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5. Angell AM, Solomon O. {{The social life of health records: Understanding families’ experiences of autism}}. {Soc Sci Med};2014 (Jul 8);117C:50-57.
Outside of the epidemiological surveillance studies of autism prevalence, health records of children diagnosed with autism have not been sufficiently examined, yet they provide an important lens for showing how autism diagnosis, services and interventions are negotiated, coordinated and choreographed by families and practitioners across multiple settings. This article provides a multifaceted understanding of these processes from an ethnographic and discourse analytic perspective that reveals structural and interactional phenomena contributing to disparities in autism diagnosis and services. We consider health records as dualistic, material-discursive artifacts that are socio-interactionally co-constructed and variably interpreted, contested and utilized across home, school and clinic contexts. We chronicle several families’ experiences of their children’s autism diagnoses and interventions and describe ways in which health records are socially constructed, curated and placed in the middle of clinical encounters. We show how the parents in our study draw upon health records’ material-discursive properties to display epistemic authority, expertise and knowledge in interactions with healthcare and school professionals involved in authorizing and planning their children’s care. We describe how the parents experience the health records’ clinical portrayals of their children and themselves, and how the parents’ portrayals of their children are tacitly ratified or negated in the health records. The data include health record reviews, narrative interviews with parents and practitioners, and clinical observations. These data were collected between October 2009 and August 2012 as part of a larger study on disparities in autism diagnosis, interventions and services experienced by African American children with autism and their families living in Los Angeles County, California. Our analysis reveals the central role of health records in maintaining continuity of an autism diagnosis, interventions and services. This article contributes to enhanced professional awareness, parent-professional partnerships, and equity in the provision of healthcare and human services related to autism.
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6. Pickles A, Harris V, Green J, Aldred C, McConachie H, Slonims V, Le Couteur A, Hudry K, Charman T. {{Treatment mechanism in the MRC preschool autism communication trial: implications for study design and parent-focussed therapy for children}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2014 (Jul 8)
BACKGROUND: The PACT randomised-controlled trial evaluated a parent-mediated communication-focused treatment for children with autism, intended to reduce symptom severity as measured by a modified Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (ADOS-G) algorithm score. The therapy targeted parental behaviour, with no direct interaction between therapist and child. While nonsignificant group differences were found on ADOS-G score, significant group differences were found for both parent and child intermediate outcomes. This study aimed to better understand the mechanism by which the PACT treatment influenced changes in child behaviour though the targeted parent behaviour. METHODS: Mediation analysis was used to assess the direct and indirect effects of treatment via parent behaviour on child behaviour and via child behaviour on ADOS-G score. Alternative mediation was explored to study whether the treatment effect acted as hypothesised or via another plausible pathway. Mediation models typically assume no unobserved confounding between mediator and outcome and no measurement error in the mediator. We show how to better exploit the information often available within a trial to begin to address these issues, examining scope for instrumental variable and measurement error models. RESULTS: Estimates of mediation changed substantially when account was taken of the confounder effects of the baseline value of the mediator and of measurement error. Our best estimates that accounted for both suggested that the treatment effect on the ADOS-G score was very substantially mediated by parent synchrony and child initiations. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlighted the value of repeated measurement of mediators during trials. The theoretical model underlying the PACT treatment was supported. However, the substantial fall-off in treatment effect highlighted both the need for additional data and for additional target behaviours for therapy.
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7. Charman T, Ricketts J, Dockrell JE, Lindsay G, Palikara O. {{Emotional and behavioural problems in children with language impairments and children with autism spectrum disorders}}. {Int J Lang Commun Disord};2014 (Jul 17)
BACKGROUND: Although it is well-established that children with language impairment (LI) and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) both show elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems, the level and types of difficulties across the two groups have not previously been directly compared. AIMS: To compare levels of emotional and behavioural problems in children with LI and children with ASD recruited from the same mainstream schools. METHODS & PROCEDURES: We measured teacher-reported emotional and behavioural problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a sample of 5-13-year-old children with LI (N = 62) and children with ASD (N = 42) attending mainstream school but with identified special educational needs. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Both groups showed similarly elevated levels of emotional, conduct and hyperactivity problems. The only differences between the LI and ASD groups were on subscales assessing peer problems (which were higher in the ASD group) and prosocial behaviours (which were higher in the LI group). Overall, there were few associations between emotional and behavioural problems and child characteristics, reflecting the pervasive nature of these difficulties in children with LI and children with ASD, although levels of problems were higher in children with ASD with lower language ability. However, in the ASD group only, a measure of family social economic status was associated with language ability and attenuated the association between language ability and emotional and behavioural problems. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: Children with LI and children with ASD in mainstream school show similarly elevated levels of emotional and behavioural problems, which require monitoring and may benefit from intervention. Further work is required to identify the child, family and situational factors that place children with LI and children with ASD at risk of emotional and behavioural problems, and whether these differ between the two groups. This work can then guide the application of evidence-based interventions to these children.
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8. Dean M, Kasari C, Shih W, Frankel F, Whitney R, Landa R, Lord C, Orlich F, King B, Harwood R. {{The peer relationships of girls with ASD at school: comparison to boys and girls with and without ASD}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2014 (Jul 16)
BACKGROUND: This study examines the social relationships of elementary school children with high-functioning autism, focusing on how gender relates to social preferences and acceptance, social connections, reciprocal friendships, and rejection. METHOD: Peer nomination data were analyzed for girls with and without ASD (n = 50) and boys with and without ASD (n = 50). Girls and boys with ASD were matched by age, gender, and IQ. Each child with ASD was matched by age and gender to a typically developing classmate. RESULTS: Consistent with typically developing populations, children with ASD preferred, were accepted by, and primarily socialized with same-gender friends. With fewer nominations and social relationships, girls and boys with ASD appear more socially similar to each other than to the same-gender control group. Additionally, girls and boys with ASD showed higher rates of social exclusion than their typically developing peers. However, boys with ASD were more overtly socially excluded compared to girls with ASD, who seemed to be overlooked, rather than rejected. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest a number of interesting findings in the social relationships of children with ASD in schools. Like typically developing populations, children with ASD identify with their own gender when socializing and choosing friends. But given the social differences between genders, it is likely that girls with ASD are experiencing social challenges that are different from boys with ASD. Therefore, gender is an important environmental factor to consider when planning social skills interventions at school.
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9. Ausderau KK, Furlong M, Sideris J, Bulluck J, Little LM, Watson LR, Boyd BA, Belger A, Dickie VA, Baranek GT. {{Sensory subtypes in children with autism spectrum disorder: latent profile transition analysis using a national survey of sensory features}}. {J Child Psychol Psychiatry};2014 (Aug);55(8):935-944.
BACKGROUND: Sensory features are highly prevalent and heterogeneous among children with ASD. There is a need to identify homogenous groups of children with ASD based on sensory features (i.e. sensory subtypes) to inform research and treatment. METHODS: Sensory subtypes and their stability over 1 year were identified through latent profile transition analysis (LPTA) among a national sample of children with ASD. Data were collected from caregivers of children with ASD ages 2-12 years at two time points (Time 1 N = 1294; Time 2 N = 884). RESULTS: Four sensory subtypes (Mild; Sensitive-Distressed; Attenuated-Preoccupied; Extreme-Mixed) were identified, which were supported by fit indices from the LPTA as well as current theoretical models that inform clinical practice. The Mild and Extreme-Mixed subtypes reflected quantitatively different sensory profiles, while the Sensitive-Distressed and Attenuated-Preoccupied subtypes reflected qualitatively different profiles. Further, subtypes reflected differential child (i.e. gender, developmental age, chronological age, autism severity) and family (i.e. income, mother’s education) characteristics. Ninety-one percent of participants remained stable in their subtypes over 1 year. CONCLUSIONS: Characterizing the nature of homogenous sensory subtypes may facilitate assessment and intervention, as well as potentially inform biological mechanisms.
