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Introduction: One of the prevalent developmental disorders is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some children with ASD have language impairments besides communication disorders. Although the main linguistic impairment in this group has been reported in their pragmatic ability, some other linguistic elements such as grammar might be impaired, too. The primary purpose of this narrative review was to study the grammatical characteristics of children with ASD. Materials and Methods: To find the related documents with this narrative review, we adopted 114 papers from the databases of Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and PubMed. Out of these, 48 papers were selected to be studied. Results: The studies grouped into four: group of comparing grammatical characteristics of children with ASD and typically-developing children, group of comparing grammatical characteristics of children with ASD and individuals with specific language impairments, group of investigating the relationship between grammar and the theory of mind in children with ASD, and group of processing basis of grammar in ASD children that is named developmental language disorder recently after specific language disorder. Conclusion: The studies reported conflicting results because of two main factors: differences in the types of studies and heterogeneity of the ASD group. Thus, some children with ASD show grammar impairments and need precise assessment for proper intervention and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This synthesis paper summarizes research literature addressing challenging behaviours in children and youth with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities in school settings. We conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify relevant peer-reviewed articles published between the years 2000 and 2011. The methodological quality of all studies was screened following a standard quality assessment checklist. Intervention effects were assessed quantitatively. Results of quality analysis and intervention effectiveness were integrated to identify interventions with strong support and evidence of effectiveness. We discuss results in terms of implications for intervention choice and implementation in school settings, limitations, and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Symbolic play is considered an early indicator in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its assessment. The objective of this study was to analyze the difficulties in symbolic play experienced by children with ASD and to determine the existence of differences in symbolic play among children with ASD, children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development. A scoping review was carried out in theWeb of Science (WoS), Scopus, ERIC, and PsycInfo databases, following the extension for scoping reviews of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The number of papers included in the review was 22. The results confirm that children with ASD have greater difficulties with symbolic play than children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development, even when controlling for their verbal age. Difficulties are greater in situations of free or spontaneous play. Results evidenced that the absence or deficiency in the symbolic play can serve as an early indicator of ASD between the first and second year of life, the developmental moment in which this type of play begins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population. Objectives: To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years. Methods: Behaviour measurement tools were identified as part of a larger, two stage, systematic review. First, sixteen major electronic databases, as well as grey literature and research registers were searched, and tools used listed and categorized. Second, using methodological filters, we searched for articles examining the measurement properties of the tools in use with young children with ASD in ERIC, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The quality of these papers was then evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. Results: We identified twelve tools which had been used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD, and fifteen studies which investigated the measurement properties of six of these tools. There was no evidence available for the remaining six tools. Two questionnaires were found to be the most robust in their measurement properties, the Child Behavior Checklist and the Home Situations Questionnaire—Pervasive Developmental Disorders version. Conclusions: We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity, for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD. More systematic research is required on measurement properties of tools for use in this population, in particular to establish responsiveness to change which is essential in measurement of outcomes of intervention. PROSPERO Registration Number: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Special Treatment / Különleges Bánásmód is the property of University of Debrecen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant condition, caused by mutations in either the TSC1 or TSC2 gene. It has widespread systemic manifestations and is associated with significant neurological morbidity. In addition to seizures and cerebral pathology including cortical tubers, subependymal nodules, subependymal giant cell astrocytoma and abnormal white matter, there are recognised neuropsychiatric difficulties including intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a range of learning and behaviour problems, recently conceptualised as "tuberous sclerosis-associated neuropsychiatric disorders", or "TAND". ASD in TSC is of particular importance because (1) it affects up to 50% of people with TSC and is a source of considerable difficulty for them and their families and (2) it provides a model for considering neurobiological pathways involved in ASD. Multiple factors are implicated in the development of ASD in TSC, including (1) seizures and related electrophysiological factors, (2) cerebral pathology, (3) genotype and (4) child characteristics. However, the neurobiological pathway remains unclear. We will conduct a systematic review to investigate and synthesise existing evidence about the role of these risk factors, individually and in combination, in leading to the development of ASD. Methods: Our review will report on all studies that include one or more of four predefined risk factors in the development of ASD in children with TSC. We will search five databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, The Cochrane Library and Web of Science (Conference Proceedings Citation Index). Studies will be selected for reporting after two authors independently (1) review all titles and abstracts, (2) read full text of all appropriate papers and (3) assess for bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale recommended by the Guidelines for Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews of Observational Studies (MOOSE guidelines) and the ROBINS-I. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review investigating multiple risk factors in the development of ASD in children with TSC. Clarifying the evidence in this area will be important to researchers in the field and to clinicians providing prognostic information to families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses UI (User Interface) designing based on multi-touch collaborative gesture recognition meant for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) - affected children. The present user interfaces (in the context of behavioral interventions for Autism Spectrum disorder) are investigated in detail. Thorough comparison has been made among various groups of these UIs. Advantages and limitations of these interfaces are discussed and future directions for the design of such interfaces are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder affecting communication and behavior extensively conducted for research. The systematic literature review aims to provide insight into the latest intervention trends for children with autism between 2011 and 2021 and to identify the main topics discussed in the literature. Ten studies were chosen for analysis using the PRISMA screening method. The findings showed that the primary focus of these studies has been on evidence-based early intervention for social communication, behavior management, and the role of parents and schools in the therapy process. The current review offers significant insights into the present state of knowledge in the field of autism intervention and proposes potential areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Research in E-Learning is the property of Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Slaskiego and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts 1 in 68 children in the U.S., with tremendous individual and societal costs. Technology-aided intervention, more specifically robotic intervention, has gained momentum in recent years due to the inherent affinity of many children with ASD towards technology. In this paper we present a novel robot-mediated intervention system for imitation skill learning, which is considered a core deficit area for children with ASD. The Robot-mediated Imitation Skill Training Architecture (RISTA) is designed in such a manner that it can operate either completely autonomously or in coordination with a human therapist depending on the intervention need. Experimental results are presented from small user studies validating system functionality, assessing user tolerance, and documenting subject performance. Preliminary results show that this novel robotic system draws more attention from the children with ASD and teaches gestures more effectively as compared to a human therapist. While no broad generalized conclusions can be made about the effectiveness of RISTA based on our small user studies, initial results are encouraging and justify further exploration in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: The incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is still on the rise worldwide. Tai Chi fan is considered a non-pharmacological treatment with potential benefits for the treatment of ASD. However, there is currently insufficient evidence to support this claim. Objective: This study aims to determine the efficacy and safety of Tai Chi fan in improving ASD, and explore its possible impact on intestinal microecology. Methods: Based on a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) design and a gut microecology analysis program，this study recruited 40 children with ASD and randomly assigned them to either a Tai Chi fan group or a control group. The intervention consisted of eight weeks of Tai Chi fan exercise and rehabilitation as standard treatment, followed by a two-week follow-up. The primary outcome was autism severity, measured by the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) and the secondary outcome was the assessment of autism and its related symptoms using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). All above scales with higher scores indicating a greater degree of autism. The Test of Gross Motor Development, Third Edition (TGMD-3) was used to evaluate gross motor development, with higher scores indicating better gross motor development. The study also collected 16s rDNA intestinal microecology samples to explore the association between the structure and function of gut microecology and the effect of Tai Chi fan exercise. Overall, the study aims to fully leverage the clinical and intestinal microecology data to assess the clinical effectiveness of Tai Chi fan exercise on autism spectrum disease. Discussion: We believe that the results of this study will enhance our comprehension of how Tai Chi fan exercise influences the clinical symptomatic manifestations linked with ASD and changes in intestinal micromorphology. These insights could potentially fortify the clinical evidence supporting the use of Tai Chi fan exercise in treating patients with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Pedagogy is the property of Institute of Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children has been increasing over the years. These children, when compared to typically growing children, face challenges in leading a day-to-day life. Other than the social interactions, communication and cognitive skills, psychomotor skill deficits are also found in them. This paper focuses on enhancement of psychomotor skills in children with ASD by employing a mechatronic training kit. Training using this kit aims at developing skills like 'palmar grasp', 'wrist rotation' and 'eye-hand coordination'. Trials were conducted with six children with autism aged between four and nine years. Significant improvements were seen in these children both in skills and in behaviour after the training. Thus, teaching psychomotor skills to children with autism using the newly developed mechatronic door training kit is found to be working and the results are encouraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to estimates from the Centre for Disease Control (CDC's) in 2008 and the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in 2010, about 1 in 88 children had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2008 and about 1 in 68 children had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in (2010). The eighth Scientific Conference for Autism held by the College of Education in conjunction with the Egyptian Society for Hydration Capacities of Children with Special Needs revealed that 1 out of every 80 children in Egypt are suffering from autism and this number in Egypt was expected to rise from 2.3 million in 2001 to 2.9 million in 2017. The reason for many of autistic children's symptoms is sensory integration, it is the power to understand, organize and feel sensory data from the environment and body. The issues surrounding sensory integration are presented in hyposensitive and hypersensitive reactions by children with autism to the vestibular, proprioception, tactile, audio, visual, and olfactory senses. A great deal of research has been conducted on gardens and their effect on health outcomes and how a garden may provide benefit: 1. Relief from physical symptoms or awareness of those symptoms. 2. Stress reduction. 3. Improvement in the overall sense of well-being. The aim of this paper is to establish a group of guidelines for designing a therapeutic garden for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to treat the sensory integration problems of children with ASD by designing a sensory garden which should focus on therapeutic interference. By using the elements and principles of design, the guidelines for this garden are focused on producing calming effects for hyper reactive children with ASD and stimulating effects for hypo reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a wide-ranging collection of developmental diseases with varying symptoms and degrees of disability. Currently, ASD is diagnosed mainly with psychometric tools, often unable to provide an early and reliable diagnosis. Recently, biochemical methods are being explored as a means to meet the latter need. For example, an increased predisposition to ASD has been associated with abnormalities of metabolites in folate-dependent one carbon metabolism (FOCM) and transsulfuration (TS). Multiple metabolites in the FOCM/TS pathways have been measured, and statistical analysis tools employed to identify certain metabolites that are closely related to ASD. The prime difficulty in such biochemical studies comes from (i) inefficient determination of which metabolites are most important and (ii) understanding how these metabolites are collectively related to ASD. This paper presents a new method based on scores produced in Support Vector Machine (SVM) modeling combined with High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) sensitivity analysis. The new method effectively and efficiently identifies the key causative metabolites in FOCM/TS pathways, ranks their importance, and discovers their independent and correlative action patterns upon ASD. Such information is valuable not only for providing a foundation for a pathological interpretation but also for potentially providing an early, reliable diagnosis ideally leading to a subsequent comprehensive treatment of ASD. With only tens of SVM model runs, the new method can identify the combinations of the most important metabolites in the FOCM/TS pathways that lead to ASD. Previous efforts to find these metabolites required hundreds of thousands of model runs with the same data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a subtype of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) characterized by major problems in social and nonverbal communication, together with limited and repetitive forms of behavior and interests. The linguistic and cognitive development in AS is preserved which help us to differentiate it from other subtypes of ASD. However, significant effects of AS on cognitive abilities and brain functions still need to be researched. Although a clear cut pathology for Asperger has not been identified yet, recent studies have largely focused on brain imaging techniques to investigate AS. In this regard, we carried out a systematic review on behavioral, cognitive, and neural markers (specifically using MRI and fMRI) studies on AS. In this paper, behavior, motor skills and language capabilities of individuals with Asperger are compared to those in healthy controls. In addition, common findings across MRI and fMRI based studies associated with behavior and cognitive disabilities are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin-like growth factors play a key role for neuronal growth, differentiation, the survival of neurons and synaptic formation. The action of IGF-1 is most pronounced in the developing brain. In this paper we will try to give an answer to the following questions: Why are studies in children important? What clinical studies in neonatal asphyxia, infantile spasms, progressive encephalopathy-hypsarrhythmia-optical atrophy (PEHO) syndrome, infantile ceroid lipofuscinosis (INCL), autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and subacute sclerosing encephalopathy (SSPE) have been carried out? What are IGF-based therapeutic strategies? What are the therapeutic approaches? We conclude that there are now great hopes for the therapeutic use of IGF-1 for some neurological disorders (particularly ASD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Croatian Review of Rehabilitation Research / Hrvatska Revija za Rehabilitacijska Istraživanja is the property of Croatian Review of Rehabilitation Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Education for Life / Yaşadıkça Eğitim Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Kultur Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Lubelski Rocznik Pedagogiczny is the property of Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research aims to analyze the views of parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regarding their burnout using a meta-synthesis method. A total of 456 articles published between 2010 and 2023, using qualitative methodologies, were analyzed, examining 10 studies. Google Scholar, DergiPark, ERIC, EBSCO, EBCSCO Academic Search Ultimate, Elsevier, SCOPUS, Web of Science (WOS), and Wiley databases were used for study selection. The subject headings and keywords used in the searches were: 'autism spectrum disorder, parent, family, burnout, child, perspective, qualitative research. Content analysis was the preferred method during the data analysis. Using content analysis, the sampling methods, research purposes, data collection tools, and results obtained in the studies were examined. The identified data were interpreted based on frequency and occasionally presented using tables and graphs. The findings were categorized under identified themes based on the collected data. The studies examined within the scope of the research were evaluated as a whole, and five themes were reached: getting support, isolation, disruption of daily routine, anxiety, and emotional outbursts. The study's conclusions also provide recommendations for educators, parents, and future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) constitute a core symptom domain of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the nature of RRBs in the context of the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) is not well understood. In particular, the relationship between RRBs in ASD probands and their parents remains largely unexplored. The current study explored the link between parental RRBs, measured via Interest in Patterns and Resistance to Changes subscales of the Autism Quotient and their children's RRBs, measured via Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule RRB standardized domain score. Findings: Having both parents within the top 20% of their RRB scores was associated with an increase of RRB scores for their children; however, no parent-of-origin effects were identified. Although the trend was observed for both Interest in Patterns and Resistance to Changes subscale, it was only statistically significant for Interest in Patterns. Conclusions: This paper provides significant contribution to our understanding of association between RRBs in parents and their children with ASD. Future work should also address the BAP in distinct genetic subtypes (whole chromosome aneuploidies, single gene mutations, copy number variations) of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders that involve RRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was originally published in 1992. It arose out of a project to study how clinicians tell parents a diagnosis of a developmental disability. That specific project was part of a larger one conducted in 1985-1986 to study the delivery of bad and good news in both ordinary and medical settings (Maynard, 2003). As part of the developmental disabilities study, we also examined how testing was done as a precedent to deciding on diagnosis (Marlaire and Maynard, 1989), and the paper here about the "interactional substrate" was meant to show the orderliness of testing interactions - the basic structures that made it possible to generate valid and reliable examination scores that could lend to the official assessment. More recently (2013-2015), a research team and I returned to the same clinic with a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, to study more intensively the testing and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). In the time between the 1985 study and the recent one, the prevalence of ASD had skyrocketed in the U.S. from 1 in 5000 children to the current rate of 1 in 68. A study of the micro-interactions surrounding testing and diagnosis does not explain the increase in prevalence but it does say just how testing is done and how clinicians use results and other information to diagnose children. With regard to testing, in particular, we have come back to the paper on the interactional substrate again and again because probing this substrate and the practices by which it is constituted remains as an avenue in to understanding ASD as not just a condition of the child but as something that is manifested as a feature of social interaction. There are ways in which ASD as a child's condition is co-produced by way of (i) the orderliness of interactions between clinicians and children, and (ii) how tests constrain both the clinician and the child in terms of what is visible as "competence." Thus, in current work, we distinguish between what we call first-order, or concrete competence, which, by way of the interactional substrate, allows testing to be done, regardless of what the official results may be, and second-order displays of abstract competence (Maynard and Turowetz, 2016). Abstract competence involves the ability to produce general answers or ones that are shorn of embodied or other contextual orientations to questions or that involve what Donaldson (1978) has called "disembedded knowledge." The emphasis of clinical tests on measuring second-order, abstract competence may obscure various kinds of first-order, concrete competence and "autistic intelligence" a child displays (Maynard, 2005). By doing so, testing can potentially make the child seem more impaired than he or she is, or at least suppress information that could improve performance and/or be informative for how to design home and schooling environments that enhance a child's skills and integration into these social units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds to the growing research on moral judgment (MJ) by considering whether theory of mind (ToM) might foster children's autonomous MJ achievement. A group of 30 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was compared in MJ and ToM with 30 typically developing (TD) children. Participants were tested for MJ with a classical Piaget's task and for ToM with a second order False Belief task. In the moral task, children were told two versions of a story: in one version the protagonist acted according to a moral intention but the action resulted in a harmful consequence; in the other version the protagonist acted according to an immoral intention, but the action resulted in a harmless consequence. Children were asked which of the two protagonists was the "naughtier." In line with previous studies, the results indicated that, while the majority of TD participants succeeded in the second order False Belief task, only few individuals with ASD showed intact perspective taking abilities. The analysis of the MJ in relation to ToM showed that children with ASD lacking ToM abilities judged guilty the protagonists of the two versions of the story in the moral task because both of them violated a moral rule or because they considered the consequences of the actions, ignoring any psychological information. These results indicate a heteronomous morality in individuals with ASD, based on the respect of learned moral rules and outcomes rather than others' subjective states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research with adults and older children indicates that verb biases are strong influences on listeners' interpretations when processing sentences, but they can be overruled. In this paper, we ask two questions: (i) are children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are high functioning sensitive to verb biases like their same age typically developing peers?, and (ii) do young children with ASD and young children with typical development (TD) override strong verb biases to consider alternative interpretations of ambiguous sentences? Participants were aged 5-9 years (mean age 6.65 years): children with ASD who were high functioning and children with TD. In task 1, biasing and neutral verbs were included (e.g., eat cake versus move cake). In task 2, the focus was on whether the prepositional phrase occurring with an instrument biasing verb (e.g., 'Chop the tree with the axe') was interpreted as an instrument even if the named item was an implausible instrument (e.g., candle in 'Cut the cake with the candle'). Overall, the results showed similarities between groups but the ASD group was generally slower. In task 1, both groups looked at the named object faster in the biasing than the nonbiasing condition, and in the biasing condition the ASD group looked away from the target more quickly than the TD group. In task 2, both groups identified the target in the prepositional phrase. They were more likely to override the verb instrument bias and consider the alternative (modification) interpretation in the implausible condition (e.g., looking at the picture of a cake with a candle on it'). Our findings indicate that children of age 5 years and above can use context to override verb biases. Additionally, an important component of the sentence processing mechanism is largely intact for young children with ASD who are high functioning. Like children with TD, they draw on verb semantics and plausibility in integrating information. However, they are likely to be slower in processing the language they hear. Based on previous findings of associations between processing speed and cognitive functioning, the implication is that their understanding will be negatively affected, as will their academic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetoencephalography ( MEG) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that provides a measure of cortical neural activity on a millisecond timescale with high spatial resolution. MEG has been clinically applied to various neurological diseases, including epilepsy and cognitive dysfunction. In the past decade, MEG has also emerged as an important investigatory tool in neurodevelopmental studies. It is therefore an opportune time to review how MEG is able to contribute to the study of atypical brain development. We limit this review to autism spectrum disorder ( ASD). The relevant published work for children was accessed using PubMed on 5 January 2015. Case reports, case series, and papers on epilepsy were excluded. Owing to their accurate separation of brain activity in the right and left hemispheres and the higher accuracy of source localization, MEG studies have added new information related to auditory-evoked brain responses to findings from previous electroencephalography studies of children with ASD. In addition, evidence of atypical brain connectivity in children with ASD has accumulated over the past decade. MEG is well suited for the study of neural activity with high time resolution even in young children. Although further studies are still necessary, the detailed findings provided by neuroimaging methods may aid clinical diagnosis and even contribute to the refinement of diagnostic categories for neurodevelopmental disorders in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we adapted and expanded a set of guidelines, also known as heuristics, to evaluate the usability of software to now be appropriate for software aimed at children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We started from the heuristics developed by Nielsen in 1990 and developed a modified set of 15 heuristics. The first 5 heuristics of this set are the same as those of the original Nielsen set, the next 5 heuristics are improved versions of Nielsen's, whereas the last 5 heuristics are new. We present two evaluation studies of our new heuristics. In the first, two groups compared Nielsen’s set with the modified set of heuristics, with each group evaluating two interactive systems. The Nielsen’s heuristics were assigned to the control group while the experimental group was given the modified set of heuristics, and a statistical analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the modified set, the contribution of 5 new heuristics and the impact of 5 improved heuristics. The results show that the modified set is significantly more effective than the original, and we found a significant difference between the five improved heuristics and their corresponding heuristics in the original set. The five new heuristics are effective in problem identification using the modified set. The second study was conducted using a system which was developed to ascertain if the modified set was effective at identifying usability problems that could be fixed before the release of software. The post-study analysis revealed that the majority of the usability problems identified by the experts were fixed in the updated version of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects developmental areas early in life and on families exert significant burden both emotionally and economically. This paper is a non-controlled, multicenter study to train caregivers of ASD individuals displaying disruptive behavior and deficit of communication, based on Applied Behavior Analysis. Results showed a reduction in the disruptive behavior measured by the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) and also the caregivers' depression and anxiety symptoms assessed by the Hamilton Scale. Group interventions may be an alternative for reaching a higher share of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with language, cognition, and social interaction. The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder, fifth edition used "spectrum" to show the variability in etiology and phenotypic levels. This study aims to compare nonverbal communication skills in normally developing and autistic children in Karbala City, Iraq. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Two sets of children (ASD and normal) were matched in terms of age and socioeconomic state. A total of 50 individuals were recruited with 25 ASD and 25 normally developing children without any history of psychological abnormalities. The child's parent/caregiver provided all the demographic information and medical history. The information was gathered from 10-min videos separately recorded for each child, regular contact with them, and continuous interviews with their parents and caregivers. The researchers developed a pre-designed data collection questionnaire according to the non-verbal skills of 3-5-year-olds, including body language, eye contact, and facial expressions. The questionnaire was filled out by the first author. Finally, the gathered data were analyzed by the SPSS software, version 25 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). Results: Comparing the total scores revealed a significant difference between the ASD and normal group in gestures (P=0.001), phonetics (P=0.001), body language (P=0.001), and artifacts (P=0.001). Normally developed children scored significantly higher than ASD children in all 4 variables. However, in the maladaptive behavior (P=0.001), the significant scores were for ASD children compared to normal children. Conclusion: The results showed that ASD children experience difficulty in nonverbal communication skills. They also have maladaptive behaviors. The main reason for this behavior is their inability to communicate non-verbally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder with a lifelong impact on multiple domains of functioning. Often, a diagnosis is possible by 3 years of age. Given the benefits of early intervention, it is advisable to start treatment as soon as possible after the diagnosis has been made. Among other factors, early intervention should focus on social‐communicative abilities such as imitation, joint attention, and play. In this review, the typical developmental course and functions of these social‐communicative abilities are described, and the problems young children with ASD experience in this domain. In addition, different approaches to promoting these abilities are explained. The authors recommend the inclusion of imitation, joint attention, and play as treatment goals in community settings for children with ASD. What this paper adds: Imitation, joint attention, and play are pivotal abilities in early development.In young children with autism spectrum disorder, social‐communicative abilities should be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key area of concern in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are self-injurious behaviors (SIBs). These are behaviors that an individual engages in that may cause physical harm, such as head banging, or self-biting. SIBs are more common in children with ASD than those who are typically developing or have other neurodevelopmental disabilities. Therefore, it is important that clinicians who work with children with ASD have a solid understanding of SIB. The purpose of this paper is to review the research on the epidemiology of SIB in children with ASD, factors that predict the presence of SIB in this population, and the empirically supported behavioral treatments available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence about relevant outcomes is required in the evaluation of clinical interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, to date, the variety of outcome measurement tools being used, and lack of knowledge about the measurement properties of some, compromise conclusions regarding the most effective interventions. Objectives: This two-stage systematic review aimed to identify the tools used in studies evaluating interventions for anxiety for high-functioning children with ASD in middle childhood, and then to evaluate the tools for their appropriateness and measurement properties. Methods: Electronic databases including Medline, PsychInfo, Embase, and the Cochrane database and registers were searched for anxiety intervention studies for children with ASD in middle childhood. Articles examining the measurement properties of the tools used were then searched for using a methodological filter in PubMed, and the quality of the papers evaluated using the COSMIN checklist. Results: Ten intervention studies were identified in which six tools measuring anxiety and one of overall symptom change were used as primary outcomes. One further tool was included as it is recommended for standard use in UK children's mental health services. Sixty three articles on the properties of the tools were evaluated for the quality of evidence, and the quality of the measurement properties of each tool was summarised. Conclusions: Overall three questionnaires were found robust in their measurement properties, the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale, its revised version – the Revised Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale, and also the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders. Crucially the articles on measurement properties provided almost no evidence on responsiveness to change, nor on the validity of use of the tools for evaluation of interventions for children with ASD. PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42012002684. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial body of evidence links differences in brain size to differences in brain organization. We have hypothesized that the developmental aspect of this relation plays a role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder which involves abnormalities in brain growth. Children with ASD have abnormally large brains by the second year of life, and for several years thereafter their brain size can be multiple standard deviations above the norm. The greater conduction delays and cellular costs presumably associated with the longer long-distance connections in these larger brains is thought to influence developmental processes, giving rise to an altered brain organization with less communication between spatially distant regions. This has been supported by computational models and by findings linking greater intra-cranial volume, an index of maximum brain-size during development, to reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity in individuals with ASD. In this paper, we further assess this hypothesis via a whole-brain analysis of network efficiency. We utilize diffusion tractography to estimate the strength and length of the connections between all pairs of cortical regions. We compute the efficiency of communication between each network node and all others, and within local neighborhoods; we then assess the relation of these measures to intra-cranial volume, and the differences in these measures between adults with autism and typical controls. Intra-cranial volume is shown to be inversely related to efficiency for wide-spread regions of cortex. Moreover, the spatial patterns of reductions in efficiency in autism bear a striking resemblance to the regional relationships between efficiency and intra-cranial volume, particularly for local efficiency. The results thus provide further support for the hypothesized link between brain overgrowth in children with autism and the efficiency of the organization of the brain in adults with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognition arises from the transient integration and segregation of activity across functionally distinct brain areas. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which encompass a wide range of developmental disabilities, have been presumed to be associated with a problem in cortical and sub-cortical dynamics of coordinated activity, often involving enhanced local but decreased long range coordination over areas of integration. In this paper we challenge this idea by presenting results from a relatively large population of ASD children and age-matched controls during a face-processing task. Over most of the explored domain, children with ASD exhibited enhanced synchronization, although finer detail reveals specific enhancement/reduction of synchrony depending on time, frequency and brain site. Our results are derived from the use of the imaginary part of coherency, a measure which is not susceptible to volume conduction artifacts and therefore presents a credible picture of coordinated brain activity. We also present evidence that this measure is a good candidate to provide features in building a classifier to be used as a potential biomarker for autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes an intervention framed under a single-subject research design where robotics and a 3D virtual environment are used jointly to improve the development of Theory of Mind in children with ASD. The project aims at verifying if the use of a humanoid robot, with high interactive abilities and responses, along with a virtual robot in a social virtual world can enable an improved comprehension of emotions and perspective taking. Specifically the planned activities are designed to gradually support the subjects with ASD in interactional settings in order to make them acquire the needed selfconfidence to finally interact with a classmate in the virtual environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, there is an increased prevalence of preschool and school-age children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Current reports show that about one in every 110 children fall within this category of disorders. Consequently, the successful inclusion of these children in both regular and special education classes is becoming a critical issue to address. Aims and methods: In this paper, attention is placed on the children' speech, language and communication skills which are the primary deficits associated with this category of disorders. Approaching it from the perspective of speech and language therapy, this paper will offer insights and suggestions to educators in regular schools and special education programs on how to teach speech, language and communication skills to young children with severe Autism Spectrum Disorders. A case study is illustrated to provide the objective exemplar of how a child with severe ASD could learn and improve once being given the appropriate, evident-based and individualized teaching management and intervention. Conclusion: The teaching of speech, language and communication skills to children with severe ASD requires a prior understanding of their behavioral patterns and learning styles. The teaching could be targeted to help them to develop the deficient skills and to use compensatory strategies to facilitate communication. A better understanding of how to teach children with severe ASD in schools will lead to a better teaching and learning experience to both the teachers and the children, with important implications on promoting sustainable inclusive education for these children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe a case study of an empathic design approach for designing a technology-assisted teaching in a special needs school setting with involvement of teachers and their students. An advanced design platform with a large-scale spatial augmented and mixed reality system was installed in the gymnasium of the school to enhance the teachers' insights toward a solution. Through careful design consultations with the teachers in the platform, we designed a full-body interactive learning game for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which intends to keep their attention focused on the content provided for learning. A total of 5 researchers, 21 teachers, and 64 students were involved in the study. Three observations, three workshops, six meetings, and two feasibility studies were conducted with the participants in the case study. The game was evaluated in a viability testing in cooperation with 23 children (20 males and 3 females, mild/moderate ASD, 6-12 years-old). The result verified that 95.7 % of the children succeeded in implementing the task provided in the game, which indicated that the game has the potential to help them focus their attention on learning by introducing an element of fun. The case study strengthened the importance of an empathic design approach that relocates a design platform from researchers' environment to a special needs school setting for designing a technology-assisted teaching for children with ASD. The design approach helped the study participants learn more about the problems, needs, and strengths of the children, and provided an appropriate solution together with technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a series of results from a pilot study with ten participants to evaluate if children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit more social interaction interests when engaging with the parrot-inspired therapeutic robot, KiliRo, compared to with another human. Three sessions, each with different activities such as talking and singing that either the robot and a human encouraged the children to engage in, were conducted to monitor 12 types of social engagement behaviours in participants to compare the effects of engagement with a human and a parrot robot. The behaviours were recorded and analyzed using real-time video data of the interactions. The results indicate a positive influence of introducing the parrot robot to children on their social interaction. Also, the analyses revealed a significant difference in each of the session conducted based on the assessed 12 attributes, providing some indications for the potential benefits of human-robot interaction in therapeutic settings for children with autism spectrum disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a set of complex neurodevelopment disorders that is prevalent in children and is increasing at a steady rate in recent years. However, the etiology of autism is still poorly understood. Humans are at higher risk of chemical exposure than in the past as a result of the increasing usage of chemicals in various fields, including food preservation, agriculture, industrial production, etc. A number of environmental agents have been suggested as contributing factors to ASD pathogenesis, which includes heavy metals (Hg and Pb), persistent organic pollutants (DDT, PBDEs and PCBs) and emerging chemicals of concern (phthalates and BPA). These three main categories of toxicants could be the cause of ASD in children. Recent research into the causes of ASD that have been linked to environment factors are reviewed in this paper. There are evidence supporting the etiological link between exposure to environmental toxicants and the development of ASD. Children exposed to these toxicants in the environment exhibit signature traits of ASD and have been reported with high body burdens of these chemicals and/or their metabolites, which may provide an explanation for the observed relation, yet comprehensive evidence in humans is limited, highlighting the need for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant portion of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is affected by the loss of language skills. This study's objective was to systematically review papers addressing this phenomenon characterizing the loss of skills in ASD. Bibliographic references were systematically searched in five databases: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Lilacs and Scielo. Two independent judges selected and extracted data. The search resulted in 30 studies. Language regression tended to occur around 24 months of age and was generally accompanied by the loss of other skills. Beginning in 2000, studies in the field became more frequent, with a refined operational definition of the phenomenon. Important gaps were identified and can motivate the development of future studies, such as a lack of prospective studies and the need to discuss the conceptual definition of developmental regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the disturbing increase of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Malaysia, a lot of efforts and studies are put forward towards understanding and managing matters related to ASD. One way is to find means of easing the social communications among these children and their caretakers, particularly during intervention. If the caretaker is able to comprehend the children emotional state of mind prior to therapy, some sort of trust and attachment will be developed. However, regulating emotions is a challenge to these children. Nonverbal communication such as facial expression is difficult for ASD children. Therefore, we proposed the use of walking patterns (i.e. gait) to detect the type of emotions of ASD children. Even though using gait for emotion recognition is common among normal individuals, none can be found done on children with ASD. Thus, the aim of this paper is to conduct a preliminary review on the possibilities of carrying out gait-based emotion detection among ASD children with regards to the emotional types, gait parameters and methods of gait data acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emerging line of research attempts to reveal underlying mechanisms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by studying differences in sensory processing in individuals with ASD. One sense that has not been studied well yet in this context is proprioception, a sensory system that processes information from muscles and joints about body position and force, and is hypothesized to feed into a body schema that is the foundation for motor planning and purposeful action (praxis). In this paper, we introduce new methods to measure proprioceptive functions of children with ASD. The instruments use force, touch and RGB-D sensors to retrieve data in different test scenarios. Data are transferred to a mobile device or PC and analyzed close to real-time with specifically developed software tools. The instruments were pilot tested with typically developing children to test for functionality and usability of the instruments. They will be used in a larger study with children with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To utilise the knowledge gained from highly specialised domains as autism therapy to robot-based interactive training platforms, an innovative design approach is needed. We present the process of content creation and co-design of LEGO therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders performed by a humanoid robot. The co-creation takes place across the disciplines of autism therapy, and behavioural robotics, and applies methods from design and human-robot interaction, in order to connect state-of-the-art developments in these disciplines. We designed, carried out and analyzed a pilot and final experiment, in which a robot mediated LEGO therapy between pairs of children was mediated by a robot over the course of 10 to 12 sessions. The impact of the training on the children was then analysed from a clinical and human-robot interaction perspective. Our major findings are as follows: first, game-based robot scenarios in which the game continues over the sessions opened possibilities for long-term interventions using robots and led to a significant increase in social initiations during the intervention in natural settings; and second, including dyadic interactions between robot and child within triadic games with robots has positive effects on the children's engagement and on creating learning moments that comply with the chosen therapy framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New research points to a possible link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the gut microbiota as many autistic children have co-occurring gastrointestinal problems. This review focuses on specific alterations of gut microbiota mostly observed in autistic patients. Particularly, the mechanisms through which such alterations may trigger the production of the bacterial metabolites, or leaky gut in autistic people are described. Various altered metabolite levels were observed in the blood and urine of autistic children, many of which were of bacterial origin such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), indoles and lipopolysaccharides (LPS). A less integrative gut-blood-barrier is abundant in autistic individuals. This explains the leakage of bacterial metabolites into the patients, triggering new body responses or an altered metabolism. Some other co-occurring symptoms such as mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress in cells, altered tight junctions in the blood-brain barrier and structural changes in the cortex, hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum were also detected. Moreover, this paper suggests that ASD is associated with an unbalanced gut microbiota (dysbiosis). Although the cause-effect relationship between ASD and gut microbiota is not yet well established, the consumption of specific probiotics may represent a side-effect free tool to re-establish gut homeostasis and promote gut health. The diagnostic and therapeutic value of bacterial-derived compounds as new possible biomarkers, associated with perturbation in the phenylalanine metabolism, as well as potential therapeutic strategies will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a computational approach is proposed and put into practice to assess the capability of children having had diagnosed Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to produce facial expressions. The proposed approach is based on computer vision components working on sequence of images acquired by an off-the-shelf camera in unconstrained conditions. Action unit intensities are estimated by analyzing local appearance and then both temporal and geometrical relationships, learned by Convolutional Neural Networks, are exploited to regularize gathered estimates. To cope with stereotyped movements and to highlight even subtle voluntary movements of facial muscles, a personalized and contextual statistical modeling of non-emotional face is formulated and used as a reference. Experimental results demonstrate how the proposed pipeline can improve the analysis of facial expressions produced by ASD children. A comparison of system's outputs with the evaluations performed by psychologists, on the same group of ASD children, makes evident how the performed quantitative analysis of children's abilities helps to go beyond the traditional qualitative ASD assessment/diagnosis protocols, whose outcomes are affected by human limitations in observing and understanding multi-cues behaviors such as facial expressions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a system supporting behavioral therapy for autistic children is presented. The system consists of sensors network, base station and a brooch indicating person's emotional states. The system can be used to measure values of physiological parameters that are associated with changes in the emotional state. In the future, it can be useful to inform the autistic child and the therapist about the emotional state of the interlocutor objectively, on the basis of performed measurements. The selected physiological parameters were chosen during the experiment which was designed and conducted by authors. In this experiment, a group of volunteers under controlled conditions was exposed to a stressful situation caused by the picture or sound. For each of the volunteers, a set of physiological parameters, was recorded, including: skin conductance, heart rate, peripheral temperature, respiration rate and electromyography. The bio-statistical analysis allowed us to discern the proper physiological parameters that are most associated to changes due to emotional state of a patient, such as: skin conductance, temperatures and respiration rate. This allowed us to design electronic sensors network for supporting behavioral therapy for children with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, it has become clear that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have difficulty with gross motor function and coordination, factors which influence gait. Knowledge of gait abnormalities may be useful for assessment and treatment planning. This paper reviews the literature assessing gait deviations in children with ASD. Five online databases were searched using keywords “gait” and “autism,” and 11 studies were found which examined gait in childhood ASD. Children with ASD tend to augment their walking stability with a reduced stride length, increased step width and therefore wider base of support, and increased time in the stance phase. Children with ASD have reduced range of motion at the ankle and knee during gait, with increased hip flexion. Decreased peak hip flexor and ankle plantar flexor moments in children with ASD may imply weakness around these joints, which is further exhibited by a reduction in ground reaction forces at toe-off in children with ASD. Children with ASD have altered gait patterns to healthy controls, widened base of support, and reduced range of motion. Several studies refer to cerebellar and basal ganglia involvement as the patterns described suggest alterations in those areas of the brain. Further research should compare children with ASD to other clinical groups to improve assessment and treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]