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Some researchers suggest difficulties synchronising with a partner could underpin the social differences associated with Autism Spectrum Condition, potentially acting as a marker for autism. Social Motor Synchrony (SMS) is one aspect of synchrony that could augment observational diagnostic procedures. However, the full breadth of literature examining SMS in autism has not been systematically reviewed. A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines yielded 29 papers meeting inclusion criteria. Of 21 studies including a comparison group, all indicated weaker SMS between two autistic partners and in mixed-neurotype partnerships compared with two non-autistic partners. Papers involving mixed-neurotype pairs without a comparison group showed higher than chance SMS and demonstrated an increase in SMS over time following rhythm-based interventions. Although research so far demonstrates weaker SMS in pairs involving an autistic partner compared with non-autistic pairs, we identified several limitations which may have influenced SMS in autistic people and their partners. Further work is needed with autistic partnerships, more natural and preferred tasks within comfortable settings and partnerships, and more work to identify the basis of synchrony differences. We set out implications for design of further research. When two people interact, they often fall into sync with one another by moving their bodies at the same time. Some say autistic people are not as good as non-autistic people at moving at the same time as a partner. This has led some researchers to ask whether measuring synchrony might help diagnose autism. We reviewed the research so far to look at differences in Social Motor Synchrony (SMS) (the way we move together) between autistic people and people they interact with. The research suggests that interactions involving an autistic partner (either two autistic partners, or an autistic and non-autistic partner) show lower synchrony than a non-autistic pair. However, we recognised elements in the research so far that may have affected SMS in interactions involving an autistic person. One way SMS may have been affected in research so far might be the way interactions have been set up in the research studies. Few papers studied interactions between two autistic people or looked at synchrony in comfortable environments with autistic-preferred tasks. The studies also do not explain why synchrony might be different, or weaker, in pairs involving autistic partners. We use these limitations to suggest improvements for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social support has a positive impact on quality of life (QoL) in neurotypical older adults and young autistic adults, but the association for older autistic adults is unclear. Autistic adults (n = 388; mean age = 40–83 years) were recruited via Simons Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) Research Match. Participants completed questionnaires online querying demographic information, depression, and anxiety symptomatology, QoL (physical, psychological, social, environmental, and autism-specific) and social support (instrumental, subjective, and social interactions). Regression analyses examined whether different aspects of social support contributed to models explaining each domain of QoL. Models explaining QoL were significant. Subjective social support significantly contributed to the models for all aspects of QoL; social interactions contributed to the models for Physical and Psychological QoL, whereas instrumental support contributed to models for social, environmental and autism-specific QoL. Social support is an important contributor to the QoL of middle-aged and older autistic adults, after accounting for demographic factors and depression. Further studies are required to understand whether age-related changes in social support and QoL are the same for autistic as non-autistic older adults in order to identify and implement appropriate support. Social support can take many forms, such as practical help, time spent socially with others, or the satisfaction with personal relationships. Social support is known to affect quality of life (QoL) in both non-autistic older and autistic young adults. QoL reflects how satisfied an individual is with their life either overall or in a certain area. We know little about middle-aged and older autistic adults' experiences of social support or QoL. In this study, 388 adults aged 40–83 years old, completed online questionnaires asking about background such as age and sex, depression and anxiety symptoms, QoL (physical, psychological, social, environmental, and autism-specific), and different types of social support. Even after taking into account background, depression, and anxiety, social support was important for individuals' QoL. To our knowledge this is the first paper to examine the relationship between social support and QoL in middle-aged and older autistic adults. Improving social support may have a significant impact on the QoL of older autistic adults. Future studies should examine whether age-related changes in social support (size, content, and arrangement of social networks) that are common in non-autistic aging, also occur among older autistic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a review of past and current research on the diagnosis of Asperger syndrome (AS) in children. It is suggested that the widely used criteria for diagnosing AS in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV are insufficient and invalid for a reliable diagnosis of AS. In addition, when these diagnostic criteria are applied, there is the potential bias of receiving a diagnosis towards the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. Through a critical review of 69 research studies carried out between 1981 and 2010, this paper shows that six possible criteria for diagnosing AS (specifically, the age at which signs and symptoms related to autism become apparent, language and social communication abilities, intellectual abilities, motor or movement skills, repetitive patterns of behaviour and the nature of social interaction) overlap with the criteria for diagnosing autism. However, there is a possibility that some finer differences exist in the nature of social interaction, motor skills and speech patterns between groups with a diagnosis of AS and autism. These findings are proposed to be of relevance for designing intervention studies aimed at the treatment of specific symptoms in people with an autism spectrum disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The proportion of children diagnosed with Autism varies greatly around the world. To date most studies have been done in more affluent countries. Iran is unique in that it has a national screening programme for all children prior to starting school. To date over 1.3 million five year olds have been screened for Autism using the Persian translation of a tool called the Social Communication Questionnaire. Those who score above a particular level on this questionnaire are then referred for a formal assessment using a detailed clinical interview called the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). Over a three year period, 6.25 children per 10,000 were diagnosed with an autistic disorder. More boys received a diagnosis, as did those living in more developed areas of Iran. This rate of occurrence is similar to that found in other countries but is much less than recently reported in England, Sweden and the USA. This could be due to the younger age of the children assessed in Iran. In addition, the tools used to diagnose autism in Iran may not be sufficiently sensitive to detect all cases of autism. However family and societal factors may also play a part. For example, some families may be less likely to refer their children to get a diagnosis. This paper suggests that international research is needed to examine cultural influences on how parents perceive their children’s difficulties. In addition, it is important for researchers to adapt tools used for screening and assessing autism, to ensure that similar methods are used across different countries.Autism is often a stressful disability for families, requiring major adjustments in order to accommodate the specific needs of the person with the disorder. Rather than focusing on the demands of caregiving, attention is increasingly being paid to how caregivers successfully cope with the challenges they face. One way to investigate how parents make sense of their son or daughter’s disability is to explore their explanations of autism. In this study, we investigated older parents’ perceptions of their adult sons and daughters with autism, to gain insights into how parents’ beliefs about autism may influence their coping. Analysis of in-depth interviews held with 16 parents (aged 60 years and older, all of whom had adult children with autism) revealed that these parents perceived that their son or daughter’s intelligence, sense of humour and social personality were blocked by autism. Adherence to these beliefs appeared to comprise important coping strategies that supported these parents in their caregiving roles by assisting them to maintain positive perceptions of their son or daughter with autism. Yet, such beliefs also had costs for the parents, including reinforcing the belief that they need to regulate their own behaviour in order to realize the true son or daughter buried by autism.Early social-communication and play are critical skills that need to be addressed in young children with autism. Since many of these children are served in public preschools, it is important to develop school-based interventions that target these two skill sets. The Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) intervention was specifically designed to target social-communication and play skills in both individual and group intervention sessions. This study looked at three preschoolers in three different public school classrooms as their teachers and speech-language pathologists used the ASAP intervention. The researchers collected data on how many times the children used social-communication and play skills in their classroom setting. These data were collected over a school semester and included data (1) before the start of intervention, (2) during the ASAP intervention, when the children were receiving only group intervention sessions, and (3) during the ASAP intervention, when the children were receiving group and individual intervention sessions. All three ... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My aim in this paper is to present reasons for adopting a focus on the development of self/other-awareness when characterizing the developmental psychopathology of autism. The strengths of such a position include an emphasis on children’s emotional relations with embodied persons as foundational for their growing understanding of minds. I give special attention to the process of identifying with the attitudes of others, and experience of other-person-centred emotions, for the development of communication and thinking. The study of limitations in these aspects of self-other relatedness among individuals with autism is pivotal for understanding the pathogenesis of the syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]