1. Bendiouis S, Bendiouis Y, Mecherbet A, Pry R. {{[Effectiveness of training imitation on communication development in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder]}}. {Encephale};2016 (Mar 23)
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2. Cianfaglione R, Hastings RP, Felce D, Clarke A, Kerr MP. {{Change over a 16-month period in the psychological well-being of mothers of girls and women with Rett syndrome}}. {Dev Neurorehabil};2016 (Mar 28):1-5.
PURPOSE: There is an emerging research literature on the experiences of family members of girls and women with Rett syndrome (RTT), but a lack of longitudinal data. METHODS: Fifty mothers whose daughters had RTT were surveyed 16-17 months after an earlier cross-sectional study. Measures completed at both time points focused on maternal positive and negative psychological well-being and their daughters’ behavioral and emotional problems and RTT behavioral phenotype severity. RESULTS: Maternal stress, anxiety, and depression demonstrated at least moderate levels of stability. Maternal positive perceptions were also moderately stable over 16-17 months. Longitudinal analyses suggested that their daughters’ behavioral and emotional problems rather than RTT behavioral phenotype severity predicted later maternal well-being. CONCLUSION: Mothers with RTT daughters experience chronic stress (persisting over time) but also ongoing positive perceptions. Practitioners should recognize positive perceptions and also consider targeted behavioral parent training to reduce behavior problems in individuals with RTT.
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3. Dean Iii DC, Travers B, Adluru N, Tromp DP, Destiche D, Samsin D, Prigge MB, Zielinski BA, Fletcher PT, Anderson JS, Froehlich AL, Bigler E, Lange N, Lainhart JE, Alexander AL. {{Investigating the Microstructural Correlation of White Matter in Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {Brain Connect};2016 (Mar 28)
White matter microstructure forms a complex and dynamical system that is critical for efficient and synchronized brain function. Neuroimaging findings in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggest this condition is associated with altered white matter microstructure, which may lead to atypical macroscale brain connectivity. In the present study, we used diffusion tensor imaging measures to examine the extent that white matter tracts are interrelated within ASD and typical development. We assessed the strength of inter-regional white matter correlations between typically developing and ASD diagnosed individuals. Using hierarchical clustering analysis, clustering patterns of the pairwise white matter correlations were constructed and revealed to be different between the two groups. Additionally, we explored the use of graph theory analysis to examine the characteristics of the patterns formed by inter-regional white matter correlations and compared these properties between ASD and typical development. We demonstrate that the ASD sample has significantly less coherence in white matter microstructure across the brain compared to that in the typical development sample. The ASD group also presented altered topological characteristics, which may implicate less efficient brain networking in ASD. These findings highlight the potential of graph theory based network characteristics to describe the underlying networks as measured by diffusion MRI and furthermore indicates that ASD may be associated with altered brain network characteristics. Our findings are consistent with those of a growing number of studies and hypotheses that have suggested disrupted brain connectivity in ASD.
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4. Heimann M, Nordqvist E, Strid K, Connant Almrot J, Tjus T. {{Children with autism respond differently to spontaneous, elicited and deferred imitation}}. {J Intellect Disabil Res};2016 (Mar 28)
BACKGROUND: Imitation, a key vehicle for both cognitive and social development, is often regarded as more difficult for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) than for children with Down syndrome (DS) or typically developing (TD) children. The current study investigates similarities and differences in observed elicited, spontaneous and deferred imitation using both actions with objects and gestures as imitation tasks in these groups. METHODS: Imitation among 19 children with autism was compared with 20 children with DS and 23 TD children matched for mental and language age. RESULTS: Elicited imitation resulted in significantly lower scores for the ASD group compared with the other two groups, an effect mainly carried by a low level of gesture imitation among ASD children. We observed no differences among the groups for spontaneous imitation. However, children with ASD or DS displayed less deferred imitation than the TD group. Proneness to imitate also differed among groups: only 10 (53%) of the children with autism responded in the elicited imitation condition compared with all children with DS and almost all TD children (87%). CONCLUSIONS: These findings add to our understanding of the kind of imitation difficulties children with ASD might have. They also point to the necessity of not equating various imitation measures because these may capture different processes and be differently motivating for children with autism.
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5. Silbaugh BC, Falcomata TS. {{Translational evaluation of a lag schedule and variability in food consumed by a boy with autism and food selectivity}}. {Dev Neurorehabil};2016 (Mar 28):1-4.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of a lag schedule of positive reinforcement on variability in food consumed by a boy with autism and food selectivity. METHODS: Using single-subject experimental design methodology, an ABAB design was employed. During lag 0 (condition A), high-preferred toys were delivered contingent on consumption of any food. During lag 1 (condition B), high-preferred toys were delivered contingent on consumption of different foods within session. RESULTS: Higher levels of variability in within-session consumption were observed during lag 1 conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The lag 1 schedule of reinforcement increased variability in food consumed. This finding adds to the literature by demonstrating a novel experimental arrangement that may be used in applied studies to evaluate the clinical utility of differentially reinforcing variability in the treatment of food selectivity associated with autism.
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6. Webster CD, Fruchter D, Dean J, Konstantareas MM, Sloman L. {{Lessons that Linger: A 40-Year Follow-Along Note About a Boy with Autism Taught to Communicate by Gestures when Aged Six}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2016 (Mar 28)
We draw on an article published in 1973 in this journal. We described how we taught « Geoff, » a 6-year old boy with autism, an elementary form of sign language during the course of 24 one-hour sessions held over a 12-week period (Webster et al. in J Autism Child Schizophr 3:337-346, 1973; Fruchter in Autism: new directions in research and education, pp 184-186, 1980). Here, we describe how it is that Geoff has maintained the vestiges of what we taught him (and indeed what he taught us) over the long span. This basic communication strategy has endured well and continues to contribute to his enjoyment of life.
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7. Willis K, Timmons L, Pruitt M, Schneider HL, Alessandri M, Ekas NV. {{The Relationship Between Optimism, Coping, and Depressive Symptoms in Hispanic Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder}}. {J Autism Dev Disord};2016 (Mar 26)
This study examined gender differences in the relationship between dispositional optimism, coping, and depressive symptoms of Hispanic mothers (n = 46) and fathers (n = 43) of children with autism spectrum disorder. Coping was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between optimism and depressive symptoms. The results revealed that mothers reported greater depressive symptoms and greater use of positive and support coping than fathers; however, both mothers and fathers reported similar levels of optimism and use of avoidant coping. In addition, positive and avoidant coping strategies mediated the association between optimism and depressive symptoms for both mothers and fathers. Clinical implications for this study include interventions for improving optimistic outlooks as well as interventions that improve parents’ coping skills and therefore reduce negative outcomes.
