1. Baric VB, Hemmingsson H, Hellberg K, Kjellberg A. {{The Occupational Transition Process to Upper Secondary School, Further Education and/or Work in Sweden: As Described by Young Adults with Asperger Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2016 (Dec 22)
The aim was to describe the occupational transition process to upper secondary school, further education and/or work, and to discover what support influences the process from the perspectives of young adults with Asperger syndrome or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This qualitative study was performed in Sweden and comprised interviews with 15 young adults recruited from community based day centres. Support influencing the process included: occupational transition preparation in compulsory school, practical work experience in a safe environment, and support beyond the workplace. The overall understanding shows that the occupational transition process was a longitudinal one starting as early as in middle school, and continuing until the young adults obtained and were able to remain in employment or further education.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
2. Bujnakova I, Ondrejka I, Mestanik M, Visnovcova Z, Mestanikova A, Hrtanek I, Fleskova D, Calkovska A, Tonhajzerova I. {{Autism spectrum disorder is associated with autonomic underarousal}}. {Physiol Res};2016 (Dec 22);65(Supplementum 5):S673-s682.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder, associated with autonomic dysregulation. However, the pathomechanism leading to autonomic abnormalities is still unclear. The aim of this study was to assess autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity during baseline in homogenous group of autistic children using electrodermal activity (EDA), as an index of sympathetic activity and short-term heart rate variability (HRV) reflecting predominantly cardiac vagal control. Fifteen ASD boys and 15 healthy age-matched boys at the age of 7-15 years were examined. The continuous EDA and ECG were recorded during resting phase in a supine position. Evaluated parameters: EDA amplitude (microS), RR interval, spectral power, peak frequency and power spectral density in low (LF-HRV: 0.04-0.15 Hz) and high-frequency (HF-HRV: 0.15-0.4 Hz) bands of HRV spectral analysis. In ASD group we found significantly shortened RR intervals (729+/-20 ms vs. 843+/-30 ms, p=0.005), lower mean EDA (0.66+/-0.13 microS vs. 1.66+/-0.42 microS, p=0.033), reduced spectral activity and power spectral density in HF-HRV compared to controls (2.93+/-0.12 ms(2) vs. 3.38+/-0.10 ms(2), p=0.01; 4.12+/-0.10 ms(2)/Hz vs. 4.56+/-0.11 ms(2)/Hz, p=0.008, respectively). We suggest that impairment in resting autonomic regulation associated with ASD could represent an important pathomechanism leading to potential cardiovascular complications in ASD.
3. Chin WC, Chao KY, Chang HL, Li HM, Chen SH. {{Coping Strategies of Taiwanese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders}}. {J Clin Nurs};2016 (Dec 21)
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore and describe the coping experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders in Taiwan. BACKGROUND: Children with autism spectrum disorders are faced with daily social and living challenges, which can cause stress. Chinese culture emphasizes discipline and obedience, which may influence coping strategies of children with autism spectrum disorders in Taiwan. DESIGN: This qualitative study employed an exploratory descriptive design. METHOD: Data were collected from in-depth, face-to-face structured interviews. Interviews explored coping strategies of Taiwanese school aged children (ages 6-19) with autism spectrum disorders. Children (N = 17) and their caregivers were recruited by purposive sampling. Transcribed interview data was thematically analyzed using the procedure of Miles and Huberman. RESULT: Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data, which described the coping strategies of the children: (1) problem solving, (2) acting-out, (3) avoidance, (4) seeking help and (5) self-regulation. These themes included multiple coping strategies, which employed the concepts of engagement and disengagement. CONCLUSIONS: The children with autism spectrum disorder utilized many strategies to cope with the stresses resulting from behaviors and symptoms associated with the disorder. Most of the Taiwanese children use both problem solving and emotional focused coping strategies. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding coping strategies of children with autism spectrum disorder could help caregivers (parents, teachers) and medical professionals develop interventions to reduce these challenges, which could alleviate stress and improve social functioning for these children. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
4. Hamilton K, Hoogenhout M, Malcolm-Smith S. {{Neurocognitive considerations when assessing Theory of Mind in Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Child Adolesc Ment Health};2016 (Oct);28(3):233-241.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterised by poor social competence; and since Theory of Mind (ToM) is a building block for social-communicative skills and successful social integration, these skills are important to assess when preparing and monitoring educational and therapeutic plans. ToM is a complex skill requiring the ability to form mental concepts, to represent complex constructs verbally, to inhibit some mental states in favour of others, and to consider and compare multiple perspectives. It is critical to consider cognitive influences on the ability to develop and convey ToM skills to ensure that deficits in other cognitive domains do not falsely present as ToM deficits. This consideration is particularly vital in ASD populations with known difficulties not only in ToM, but also in intellectual functioning, language, and executive functioning. This article reviews the influence of intellectual ability, language, working memory, and inhibition skills on the presentation of ToM; with particular focus on ToM in ASD. We discuss practical suggestions based on clinical experience in neuropsychological practice and research in South Africa for the successful assessment of ToM ability.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
5. Hochhauser M, Weiss PL, Gal E. {{Enhancing conflict negotiation strategies of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder using video-modeling}}. {Assist Technol};2016 (Dec 21)
Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have particular difficulty in negotiating conflict. A randomized control trial (RCT) was carried out to determine whether the negotiation strategies of adolescents with ASD would be enhanced via a 6 week intervention based on a video modeling application. Adolescents with ASD, aged 12-18 years, were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 36) and a non-treatment control group (n = 25). Participants’ negotiating strategies prior to, and following the intervention were measured using the Five Factor Negotiation Scale (Nakkula & Nikitopoulos, 1999) and the ConflicTalk questionnaire (Kimsey & Fuller, 2003). The results suggest that video modeling is an effective intervention for improving and maintaining conflict negotiation strategies of adolescents with ASD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
6. Kleberg JL, Hogstrom J, Nord M, Bolte S, Serlachius E, Falck-Ytter T. {{Autistic Traits and Symptoms of Social Anxiety are Differentially Related to Attention to Others’ Eyes in Social Anxiety Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2016 (Dec 20)
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) have partly overlapping symptoms. Gaze avoidance has been linked to both SAD and ASD, but little is known about differences in social attention between the two conditions. We studied eye movements in a group of treatment-seeking adolescents with SAD (N = 25), assessing SAD and ASD dimensionally. The results indicated a double dissociation between two measures of social attention and the two symptom dimensions. Controlling for social anxiety, elevated autistic traits were associated with delayed orienting to eyes presented among distractors. In contrast, elevated social anxiety levels were associated with faster orienting away from the eyes, when controlling for autistic traits. This distinction deepens our understanding of ASD and SAD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
7. LaLiberte T, Piescher K, Mickelson N, Lee MH. {{Child protection services and parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities}}. {J Appl Res Intellect Disabil};2016 (Dec 21)
BACKGROUND: Information about parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the child protection system (CPS) continues to evolve. This study examined characteristics, experiences and representation of parents with IDD across three CPS decision points, as compared to parents with other disabilities and parents without disabilities in the United States. METHODS: The sample consisted of 303,039 individuals: 2,081 were individuals identified as parents in a CPS investigation; 1,101 had children in out-of-home care (OHC); and 308 experienced termination of parental rights (TPR). Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, disparity indices and logistic regression were employed. RESULTS: Parents with IDD were significantly more likely than parents without disabilities (but not significantly more likely than parents with other types of disabilities) to experience disproportionately representation. CONCLUSIONS: Parents with IDD are generally over-represented within CPS; however, this representation is dependent upon the comparison group utilized and other risk factors. CPS system-level changes are necessary.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
8. Maenner MJ, Yeargin-Allsopp M, Van Naarden Braun K, Christensen DL, Schieve LA. {{Development of a Machine Learning Algorithm for the Surveillance of Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {PLoS One};2016;11(12):e0168224.
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network conducts population-based surveillance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among 8-year old children in multiple US sites. To classify ASD, trained clinicians review developmental evaluations collected from multiple health and education sources to determine whether the child meets the ASD surveillance case criteria. The number of evaluations collected has dramatically increased since the year 2000, challenging the resources and timeliness of the surveillance system. We developed and evaluated a machine learning approach to classify case status in ADDM using words and phrases contained in children’s developmental evaluations. We trained a random forest classifier using data from the 2008 Georgia ADDM site which included 1,162 children with 5,396 evaluations (601 children met ADDM ASD criteria using standard ADDM methods). The classifier used the words and phrases from the evaluations to predict ASD case status. We evaluated its performance on the 2010 Georgia ADDM surveillance data (1,450 children with 9,811 evaluations; 754 children met ADDM ASD criteria). We also estimated ASD prevalence using predictions from the classification algorithm. Overall, the machine learning approach predicted ASD case statuses that were 86.5% concordant with the clinician-determined case statuses (84.0% sensitivity, 89.4% predictive value positive). The area under the resulting receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0.932. Algorithm-derived ASD « prevalence » was 1.46% compared to the published (clinician-determined) estimate of 1.55%. Using only the text contained in developmental evaluations, a machine learning algorithm was able to discriminate between children that do and do not meet ASD surveillance criteria at one surveillance site.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
9. Nath D. {{Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the School-Age Child With Autism}}. {J Pediatr Health Care};2016 (Dec 22)
This case study examines some common complementary and alternative treatments used in the management of behavioral and gastrointestinal symptoms associated with autism including food selectivity, abdominal pain, nausea, gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, and diarrhea. The current literature on the safety and efficacy of these treatments for pediatric patients is reviewed. This study examines therapies including gluten-free and casein-free diet, probiotics, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, chelation therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic manipulations used in treating these core symptoms of autism.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
10. Rommelse N, Buitelaar JK, Hartman CA. {{Structural brain imaging correlates of ASD and ADHD across the lifespan: a hypothesis-generating review on developmental ASD-ADHD subtypes}}. {J Neural Transm (Vienna)};2016 (Dec 21)
We hypothesize that it is plausible that biologically distinct developmental ASD-ADHD subtypes are present, each characterized by a distinct time of onset of symptoms, progression and combination of symptoms. The aim of the present narrative review was to explore if structural brain imaging studies may shed light on key brain areas that are linked to both ASD and ADHD symptoms and undergo significant changes during development. These findings may possibly pinpoint to brain mechanisms underlying differential developmental ASD-ADHD subtypes. To this end we brought together the literature on ASD and ADHD structural brain imaging symptoms and particularly highlight the adolescent years and beyond. Findings indicate that the vast majority of existing MRI studies has been cross-sectional and conducted in children, and sometimes did include adolescents as well, but without explicitly documenting on this age group. MRI studies documenting on age effects in adults with ASD and/or ADHD are rare, and if age is taken into account, only linear effects are examined. Data from various studies suggest that a crucial distinctive feature underlying different developmental ASD-ADHD subtypes may be the differential developmental thinning patterns of the anterior cingulate cortex and related connections towards other prefrontal regions. These regions are crucial for the development of cognitive/effortful control and socio-emotional functioning, with impairments in these features as key to both ASD and ADHD.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
11. Shen L, Lin Y, Sun Z, Yuan X, Chen L, Shen B. {{Knowledge-Guided Bioinformatics Model for Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic MicroRNA Biomarkers}}. {Sci Rep};2016 (Dec 21);6:39663.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neurodevelopmental disease with a high incidence and effective biomarkers are urgently needed for its diagnosis. A few previous studies have reported the detection of miRNA biomarkers for autism diagnosis, especially those based on bioinformatics approaches. In this study, we developed a knowledge-guided bioinformatics model for identifying autism miRNA biomarkers. We downloaded gene expression microarray data from the GEO Database and extracted genes with expression levels that differed in ASD and the controls. We then constructed an autism-specific miRNA-mRNA network and inferred candidate autism biomarker miRNAs based on their regulatory modes and functions. We defined a novel parameter called the autism gene percentage as autism-specific knowledge to further facilitate the identification of autism-specific biomarker miRNAs. Finally, 11 miRNAs were screened as putative autism biomarkers, where eight miRNAs (72.7%) were significantly dysregulated in ASD samples according to previous reports. Functional enrichment results indicated that the targets of the identified miRNAs were enriched in autism-associated pathways, such as Wnt signaling (in KEGG and IPA), cell cycle (in KEGG), and glioblastoma multiforme signaling (in IPA), thereby supporting the predictive power of our model.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
12. Spain D, Rumball F, O’Neill L, Sin J, Prunty J, Happe F. {{Conceptualizing and Treating Social Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Focus Group Study with Multidisciplinary Professionals}}. {J Appl Res Intellect Disabil};2016 (Dec 21)
BACKGROUND: Individuals who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly experience social anxiety (SA). Disentangling SA symptoms from core ASD characteristics is complex, partly due to diagnostic overshadowing and co-occurring alexithymia. Causal and maintaining mechanisms for SA in ASD are underexplored, but it is feasible that there is an ASD specificity to the clinical presentation, with implications for the development of targeted treatments. METHODS: Five focus groups were conducted with multidisciplinary professionals to investigate their perspectives about, and approaches to, working with individuals with ASD and SA. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Data analysis revealed two overarching themes: conceptualizing SA in ASD and service provision. Our results suggest that adaptations to service provision are pertinent, so as to accommodate inherent impairments that can mediate assessment and intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Future studies should establish how aspects of the care pathway can be improved for individuals with ASD and SA.
Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
13. Stokes MA, Kornienko L, Scheeren AM, Koot HM, Begeer S. {{A comparison of children and adolescent’s self-report and parental report of the PedsQL among those with and without autism spectrum disorder}}. {Qual Life Res};2016 (Dec 22)
PURPOSE: Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are understood to experience a reduced quality of life compared to typically developing (TD) peers. The evidence to support this has largely been derived from proxy reports, in turn which have been evaluated by Cronbach’s alpha and interrater reliability, neither of which demonstrate unidimensionality of scales, or that raters use the instruments consistently. To redress this, we undertook an evaluation of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), a widely used measure of children’s quality of life. Three questions were explored: (1). do TD children or adolescents and their parents use the PedsQL differently; (2). do children or adolescents with ASD and their parents use the PedsQL differently, and (3). do children or adolescents with ASD and TD children or adolescents use the PedsQL differently? By using the scales differently, we mean whether respondents endorse items differently contingent by group. METHODS: We recruited 229 children and adolescents with ASD who had an IQ greater than 70, and one of their parents, as well as 74 TD children or adolescents and one of their parents. Children and adolescents with ASD (aged 6-20 years) were recruited from special primary and secondary schools in the Amsterdam region. Children and adolescents were included based on an independent clinical diagnosis established prior to recruitment according to DSM-IV-TR criteria by psychiatrists and/or psychologists, qualified to make the diagnosis. Children or adolescents and parents completed their respective version of the PedsQL. RESULTS: Data were analysed for unidimensionality and for differential item functioning (DIF) across respondent for TD children and adolescents and their parents, for children and adolescents with ASD and their parents, and then last, children and adolescents with ASD were compared to TD children and adolescents for DIF. Following recoding the data, the unidimensional model was found to fit all groups. We found that parents of and TD children and adolescents do not use the PedsQL differently ([Formula: see text] = 64.86, p = ns), consistent with the literature that children and adolescents with ASD and TD children and adolescents use the PedsQL similarly ([Formula: see text] = 92.22, p = ns), though their score levels may differ. However, children and adolescents with ASD and their parents respond to the PedsQL differently ([Formula: see text] = 190.22, p < 0.001) and contingently upon features of the child or adolescent. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest this is due to children or adolescents with ASD being less forthcoming with their parents about their lives. This, however, will require additional research to confirm. Consequently, we conclude that parents of high-functioning children with ASD are unable to act as reliable proxies for their children with ASD. Lien vers le texte intégral (Open Access ou abonnement)
14. Suzuki K, Kita Y, Sakihara K, Hirata S, Sakuma R, Okuzumi H, Inagaki M. {{Uniqueness of action monitoring in children with autism spectrum disorder: Response types and temporal aspects}}. {J Clin Exp Neuropsychol};2016 (Dec 20):1-14.
BACKGROUND: Action monitoring, the process for evaluating the appropriateness of one’s own actions, is reported to be atypical in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHOD: We examined the characteristics of action monitoring in 11 children with ASD and 12 children with typical development (TD), analyzing stimulus-locked and response-locked event-related potential components (i.e., N2; error-related negativity, ERN; and error positivity, Pe) related to execution of a flanker task. RESULTS: We found a smaller N2 amplitude in children with ASD than in those with TD. Children with ASD also had a larger amplitude of ERN for partial error responses (electromyographic activity corresponding to the inappropriate hand side before response execution) than did children with TD. Additionally, the ERN amplitude for the partial error response was correlated with the Autistic Mannerisms of the Social Responsiveness Scale. There were no significant differences in Pe amplitudes between children with ASD and those with TD. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that action monitoring in children with ASD is significantly different both before and after response execution. We hypothesized that the detail-focused processing style of ASD reduces the demands of action monitoring before response execution; however, autistic mannerisms evoke excessive concern regarding trivial mistakes after response execution.
