1. Chlebowski C, Robins DL, Barton ML, Fein D. {{Large-Scale Use of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Low-Risk Toddlers}}. {Pediatrics}. 2013 Mar 25.
OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the study was to examine use of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) as an autism-specific screening instrument in a large, geographically diverse pediatrics-based sample.METHODS:The M-CHAT and the M-CHAT Follow-Up (M-CHAT/F) were used to screen 18 989 toddlers at pediatric well-child visits in 2 US geographic regions. Pediatricians directly referred children to ascertain potential missed screening cases. Screen-positive children received the M-CHAT/F; children who continued to screen positive after the M-CHAT/F received a diagnostic evaluation.RESULTS:Results indicated that 54% of children who screened positive on the M-CHAT and M-CHAT/F presented with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and 98% presented with clinically significant developmental concerns warranting intervention. An M-CHAT total score cutoff of >/=3 identifies nearly all screen-positive cases, and for ease of scoring the use of only the M-CHAT total score cutoff is recommended. An M-CHAT total score of 7 serves as an appropriate clinical cutoff, and providers can bypass the M-CHAT/F and refer immediately to evaluation and intervention if a child obtains a score of >/=7.CONCLUSIONS:This study provides empirical support for the utility of population screening for ASD with the use of the M-CHAT in a primary care setting. Results suggest that the M-CHAT continues to be an effective screening instrument for ASD when the 2-step screening process is used. The M-CHAT is widely used at pediatric offices, and this study provides updated results to facilitate use and scoring of the M-CHAT by clinical providers.
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2. Cook R, Brewer R, Shah P, Bird G. {{Alexithymia, Not Autism, Predicts Poor Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions}}. {Psychological science}. 2013 Mar 25.
Despite considerable research into whether face perception is impaired in autistic individuals, clear answers have proved elusive. In the present study, we sought to determine whether co-occurring alexithymia (characterized by difficulties interpreting emotional states) may be responsible for face-perception deficits previously attributed to autism. Two experiments were conducted using psychophysical procedures to determine the relative contributions of alexithymia and autism to identity and expression recognition. Experiment 1 showed that alexithymia correlates strongly with the precision of expression attributions, whereas autism severity was unrelated to expression-recognition ability. Experiment 2 confirmed that alexithymia is not associated with impaired ability to detect expression variation; instead, results suggested that alexithymia is associated with difficulties interpreting intact sensory descriptions. Neither alexithymia nor autism was associated with biased or imprecise identity attributions. These findings accord with the hypothesis that the emotional symptoms of autism are in fact due to co-occurring alexithymia and that existing diagnostic criteria may need to be revised.
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3. Murdoch JD, State MW. {{Recent developments in the genetics of autism spectrum disorders}}. {Current opinion in genetics & development}. 2013 Mar 25.
The last several years have marked a turning point in the genetics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to rapidly advancing genomic technologies. As the pool of bona fide risk genes and regions accumulates, several key themes have emerged: these include the important role of rare and de novo mutation, the biological overlap among so-called syndromic and ‘idiopathic’ ASD, the elusive nature of the common variant contribution to risk, and the observation that the tremendous locus heterogeneity underlying ASD appears to converge on a relatively small number of key biological processes. Perhaps most striking has been the revelation that ASD mutations show tremendous phenotypic variability ranging from social disability to schizophrenia, intellectual disability, language impairment, epilepsy and typical development.
