Pubmed du 24/07/22
1. Adler EJ, Schiltz HK, Glad DM, Lehman SA, Pardej SK, Stanley RE, Van Hecke AV. Brief Report: A Pilot Study Examining the Effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth for Autistic Adolescents. J Autism Dev Disord;2022 (Jul 23):1-9.
The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a worldwide transition to providing online services overnight, highlighting the urgent need for empirically supported telehealth interventions. The current study examined the effects of PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth, an adaptation from the original social skills intervention developed for in-person provision, among 22 autistic adolescents and their caregivers. To evaluate the intervention, caregivers completed questionnaires assessing core autistic features and frequency of get-togethers. Adolescents completed questionnaires measuring social knowledge and frequency of get-togethers. Improvements in social skills knowledge, increased get-togethers, and decreased core autistic symptoms were evident. Preliminary results suggest PEERS® for Adolescents Telehealth improves social competence, as found for the in-person version. Further research exploring the equivalence of telehealth to in-person social skills intervention is recommended.
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2. Baribeau DA, Vigod SN, Pullenayegum E, Kerns CM, Vaillancourt T, Duku E, Smith IM, Volden J, Zwaigenbaum L, Bennett T, Elsabbagh M, Zaidman-Zait A, Richard AE, Szatmari P. Developmental cascades between insistence on sameness behaviour and anxiety symptoms in autism spectrum disorder. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry;2022 (Jul 24)
Autistic children experience high rates of anxiety. Insistence on sameness behaviour (IS) is a core feature of autism that appears correlated with anxiety severity. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal relations between anxiety and IS in autistic children using a developmental cascade model. A longitudinal cohort of 421 autistic children was followed between 4 and 11 years of age. Anxiety was quantified using items from the Anxiety Problems subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist; sameness behaviours were measured using the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised, Ritualistic/sameness subscale (both parent-report measures). Structural equation modelling was used to examine the longitudinal and directional associations between anxiety and IS at four time-points, through cross-lagged panel models (CLPM) with and without a random-intercepts component (RI-CLPM). Both the CLPM and the RI-CLPM had good fit. Significant directional associations were detected whereby elevated or increasing IS preceded elevated or increasing anxiety symptoms 1-2 years later, respectively. Stable baseline tendencies towards anxiety and IS as between-person traits (intercepts) were strongly associated (standardized estimate = 0.69, p < 0.001). The magnitude of the cross-sectional associations between anxiety and IS appeared to lessen with age. IS and anxiety symptoms in autism are closely related. They appear to be shared traits that mirror each other particularly in younger children. Increasing IS may be a sign of emerging future anxiety. Interventions that target IS to reduce or prevent anxiety amongst school-aged autistic children merit further study.
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3. Chen YS, Guo L, Han M, Zhang SM, Chen YQ, Zou J, Bai SY, Cheng GR, Zeng Y. Cerebellum Neuropathology and Motor Skill Deficits in Fragile X Syndrome. Int J Dev Neurosci;2022 (Jul 23)
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a leading form of inherited intellectual disability and single-gene cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is characterized by core deficits in cognitive flexibility, sensory sensitivity, emotion, and social interactions. Motor deficits are a shared feature of FXS and autism. The cerebellum has emerged as one of the target brain areas affected by neurodevelopmental diseases. Alterations in the cerebellar structure, circuits, and function may be the key drivers of impaired fine and gross motor skills in FXS and fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). In this review, we briefly examined recent findings in FXS and present a discussion on the literature supporting motor skill deficits in FXS. Subsequently, we focused on neuropathological alterations in the cerebellum in FXS and FXTAS. We highlight studies that have directly examined the function of fragile X mental retardation protein and related epigenetic variations in the cerebellum. Overall, we obtained considerable supporting evidence for the hypothesis that cerebellar dysfunction is evident in FXS and FXTAS; however, compared with studies on other ASD models, studies on motor skills related to fragile X disorders are particularly rare and inconclusive. Hence, future research should address FXS-related motor and behavioral trajectories and examine the underlying mechanisms at both the cell and circuit levels.
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4. Lau CSL, Tong JMK, Tang EWH, Li KKW. Ocular Features and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Retrospective Review. Indian Pediatr;2022 (Jul 15);59(7):581-582.
We reviewed the medical records of our pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus clinic of our hospitals for the period 1 January, 2009 to 31 December, 2018, to identify children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found that refractive errors (62%) and strabismus (63%) were the most common ocular manifestations in children with ASD. With timely management, amblyopia and strabismus could have favorable outcome. As amblyopia was significantly associated with intellectual disability (P=0.02), early ophthalmic monitoring via multidisciplinary approach is warranted.
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5. Piraneh H, Gholami M, Sargeran K, Shamshiri AR. Social Story Based Toothbrushing Education Versus Video-Modeling Based Toothbrushing Training on Oral Hygiene Status Among Male Students Aged 7-15 Years Old with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Tehran, Iran: A Quasi-Randomized Controlled Trial. J Autism Dev Disord;2022 (Jul 24):1-12.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are at higher risks of developing chronic oral health conditions. This trial compared the efficacy of two tooth-brushing educational interventions on the oral hygiene status {Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S)} among 7-15-year-old students with ASD in Tehran. Four schools were divided to intervention (video modeling) and comparison (social story) school groups. The OHI-S of 137 participants had been evaluated at baseline and 133 were analyzed finally after one month. Baseline characteristics were similar between both groups. OHI-S improvement was significantly higher in intervention group. We concluded that tooth-brushing educational intervention using video modeling based on modern technologies would improve oral hygiene status more than traditional social stories (standard education) in individuals with ASD. Trial registration number: IRCT20200208046413N1, Registration date: 2020-07-05.
