Musings on the puzzle piece
Following is a brief musing on Roy Grinker’s discussion of what the puzzle piece symbolizes for autism during his presentation at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research. In his words, "The puzzle piece is ubiquitous." It likely holds a different meaning for each of us, and this is how one autism researcher sees it. (Source: Autism)
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Goin-Kochel, R. P. Tags: Letters to the Editor Source Type: research
Use of early intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder across Europe
Little is known about use of early interventions for autism spectrum disorder in Europe. Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder aged 7 years or younger (N = 1680) were recruited through parent organisations in 18 European countries and completed an online survey about the interventions their child received. There was considerable variation in use of interventions, and in some countries more than 20% of children received no intervention at all. The most frequently reported interventions were speech and language therapy (64%) and behavioural, developmental and relationship-based interventions (55%). In some parts ...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Salomone, E., Beranova, S., Bonnet-Brilhault, F., Briciet Lauritsen, M., Budisteanu, M., Buitelaar, J., Canal-Bedia, R., Felhosi, G., Fletcher-Watson, S., Freitag, C., Fuentes, J., Gallagher, L., Garcia Primo, P., Gliga, F., Gomot, M., Green, J., Heimann, Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
A community-based early intervention program for toddlers with autism spectrum disorders
This study examined Pathways Early Autism Intervention, a community-based, parent-mediated, intensive behavioral and developmental intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders that could be used as a model for state-funded early intervention programs. A single-subject, multiple-baseline, across-participants design was used. Four boys with autism spectrum disorder and their mothers participated. Interventionists made weekly home visits and worked with caregivers to establish and maintain face-to-face reciprocal social interaction and eye contact. Each session included a 10-min video of parent–child...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Rollins, P. R., Campbell, M., Hoffman, R. T., Self, K. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Telehealth delivery of cognitive-behavioral intervention to youth with autism spectrum disorder and anxiety: A pilot study
This study details the pilot testing of a telehealth version of an empirically supported intervention targeting anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorders. The primary focus of this study is on feasibility, with evaluation of outcomes as a starting point for future randomized trials. In all, 33 families of youth with autism spectrum disorders and significant anxiety symptoms participated in this study (Telehealth Facing Your Fears (FYF) Intervention: n = 17; Wait-list control: n = 16). Youth of all functioning levels were included. Acceptability was strong; however, the usability of the technology was problematic for ...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Hepburn, S. L., Blakeley-Smith, A., Wolff, B., Reaven, J. A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Avoiding the "brick wall of awkward": Perspectives of youth with autism spectrum disorder on social-focused intervention practices
Many youth with autism spectrum disorder participate in school-based, peer-mediated intervention programs designed to improve their social experiences. However, there is little research discerning how these youth view intervention practices currently represented in the literature, information which could improve the social validity of intervention programming. In this mixed-methods study, we interviewed 33 youth with autism spectrum disorder about seven social-focused, peer-mediated intervention components. We asked participants to rate the favorability of each component to determine their degree of liking. Subsequently, w...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Bottema-Beutel, K., Mullins, T. S., Harvey, M. N., Gustafson, J. R., Carter, E. W. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Support for learning goes beyond academic support: Voices of students with Aspergers disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
In conclusion, academic support combined with psychosocial support at school seems to be crucial for learning among students with Asperger’s disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (Source: Autism)
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Bolic Baric, V., Hellberg, K., Kjellberg, A., Hemmingsson, H. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Efficacy of caregiver-mediated joint engagement intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorders
Joint attention intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders was focused on improving joint engagement and joint attention skills. The purpose of this study was to develop a caregiver-mediated joint engagement intervention program combined with body movement play to investigate the effects of joint engagement/joint attention skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. A quasi-experimental research design was conducted. A total of 34 young children with autism spectrum disorders aged 2–4 years were separated into an intervention and a control group. The program consisted of 20 sessions, 60 min...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Chiang, C.-H., Chu, C.-L., Lee, T.-C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder individuals: Searching for a Face-in-the-Crowd
A study is reported which tests the proposition that faces capture the attention of those with autism spectrum disorders less than a typical population. A visual search task based on the Face-in-the-Crowd paradigm was used to examine the attentional allocation of autism spectrum disorder adults for faces. Participants were required to search for discrepant target images from within 9-image arrays. Both participants with autism spectrum disorder and control participants demonstrated speeded identification of faces compared to non-face objects. This indicates that when attention is under conscious control, both autism spectr...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Moore, D. J., Reidy, J., Heavey, L. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Experiences of autism diagnosis: A survey of over 1000 parents in the United Kingdom
A sample of 1047 parents completed an online survey about their experiences and opinions regarding the process of attaining a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for their children. The results revealed that parents usually waited a year from when they first had concerns about their child’s development before they sought professional help. On average, there was a delay of around 3.5 years from the point at which parents first approached a health professional with their concerns to the confirmation of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. Just over half of the parents surveyed were dissatisfied with the diagnostic ...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Crane, L., Chester, J. W., Goddard, L., Henry, L. A., Hill, E. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Sensitivity of the modified Childrens Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale to detect change: Results from two multi-site trials
Repetitive behavior is a core feature of autism spectrum disorder. We used 8-week data from two federally funded, multi-site, randomized trials with risperidone conducted by the Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network to evaluate the sensitivity of the Children’s Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for autism spectrum disorder to detect change with treatment. Study 1 included 52 subjects assigned to placebo and 49 subjects to risperidone under double-blind conditions. In Study 2, 49 subjects received risperidone only and 75 subjects received risperidone plus parent training. The...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Scahill, L., Sukhodolsky, D. G., Anderberg, E., Dimitropoulos, A., Dziura, J., Aman, M. G., McCracken, J., Tierney, E., Hallett, V., Katz, K., Vitiello, B., McDougle, C. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Mirror me: Imitative responses in adults with autism
Dysfunctions of the human mirror neuron system have been postulated to underlie some deficits in autism spectrum disorders including poor imitative performance and impaired social skills. Using three reaction time experiments addressing mirror neuron system functions under simple and complex conditions, we examined 20 adult autism spectrum disorder participants and 20 healthy controls matched for age, gender and education. Participants performed simple finger-lifting movements in response to (1) biological finger and non-biological dot movement stimuli, (2) acoustic stimuli and (3) combined visual-acoustic stimuli with dif...
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Schunke, O., Schöttle, D., Vettorazzi, E., Brandt, V., Kahl, U., Bäumer, T., Ganos, C., David, N., Peiker, I., Engel, A. K., Brass, M., Münchau, A. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
Autism spectrum disorder clinical trials: One step at a time
(Source: Autism)
Source: Autism - January 12, 2016 Category: Neurology Authors: Lecavalier, L. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
Lay abstracts
(Source: Autism)
Source: Autism - December 23, 2015 Category: Neurology Tags: Lay abstracts Source Type: research
No evidence of reaction time slowing in autism spectrum disorder
A total of 32 studies comprising 238 simple reaction time and choice reaction time conditions were examined in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (n = 964) and controls (n = 1032). A Brinley plot/multiple regression analysis was performed on mean reaction times, regressing autism spectrum disorder performance onto the control performance as a way to examine any generalized simple reaction time/choice reaction time slowing exhibited by the autism spectrum disorder group. The resulting regression equation was Y (autism spectrum disorder) = 0.99 x (control) + 87.93, which accounted for 92.3% of the variance. These resu...
Source: Autism - December 23, 2015 Category: Neurology Authors: Ferraro, F. R. Tags: Short Report Source Type: research
Quality versus quantity: The role of socioeconomic status on parent-reported service knowledge, service use, unmet service needs, and barriers to service use
This study sought to address this research gap by examining the following questions: (1) Does parents’ service knowledge mediate the relationship between parent socioeconomic status and parents’ autism spectrum disorder service use? (2) What are parents’ reported service needs and service barriers, and do these needs vary across higher and lower socioeconomic status groups? Quantitative results from 244 parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder indicate that parents’ autism spectrum disorder service knowledge partially mediates the relationship between parent socioeconomic status and parents&...
Source: Autism - December 23, 2015 Category: Neurology Authors: Pickard, K. E., Ingersoll, B. R. Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research
