Search

Objective: In storytelling environments, recipients' questions have mainly been described as non-affiliative. This article examines how the topicality of story-responsive questions relates to the recipients' displays of affiliation. Furthermore, we investigate whether there are differences between the practices of neurotypical participants (NT) and participants diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) in this regard. While aiming to uncover the practices of story-responsive questions in general, we also seek to shed light on the specific interactional features associated with AS. Method: Our method is qualitative conversation analysis. Drawing on a dataset of Finnish quasi-natural conversations, we compare the interactional consequences of story-responsive questions asked by NT-and AS-participants. Results: We show how the NT-participants in our data use a specific set of practices to manage the topical relevance of their questions, while the AS-participants' production of otherwise very similar questions differs precisely with reference to these practices. Discussion: We argue that the different ways in which the NT-and AS-participants treat the topicality of their questions influence the relative affiliative import of the questions in subtle, but yet significant ways. Conclusions: The affiliative import of story-responsive questions can only really be seen in retrospect, since, in their subsequent turns, the questioner can cast their action as having prepared the ground for affiliation. Objective: In storytelling environments, recipients' questions have mainly been described as non-affiliative. This article examines how the topicality of story-responsive questions relates to the recipients' displays of affiliation. Furthermore, we investigate whether there are differences between the practices of neurotypical participants (NT) and participants diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (AS) in this regard. While aiming to uncover the practices of story-responsive questions in general, we also seek to shed light on the specific interactional features associated with AS. Method: Our method is qualitative conversation analysis. Drawing on a dataset of Finnish quasi-natural conversations, we compare the interactional consequences of story-responsive questions asked by NT- and AS-participants. Results: We show how the NT-participants in our data use a specific set of practices to manage the topical relevance of their questions, while the AS-participants' production of otherwise very similar questions differs precisely with reference to these practices. Discussion: We argue that the different ways in which the NT- and AS-participants treat the topicality of their questions influence the relative affiliative import of the questions in subtle, but yet significant ways. Conclusions: The affiliative import of story-responsive questions can only really be seen in retrospect, since, in their subsequent turns, the questioner can cast their action as having prepared the ground for affiliation.

We assessed the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the autism spectrum quotient (AQ)-adolescent. Three assessment groups of adolescents, aged 11-18, were: 80 with Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism (AS/HFA), 71 with other psychiatric disorders (PDs; 35 major depression, 18 obsessive-compulsive disorder, 18 social phobia), and 249 healthy controls. The scores of the AS/HFA group were significantly higher than the healthy control and PD groups. Cronbach alpha value was 0.829. Ordinal alpha value was 0.90. We showed the AQ-adolescent four-factor structure in the factor analysis. In the test-retest of AQ-adolescent and subscale scores, "very strong" significant correlation values were detected. A cut-off score of 24 best distinguished the autism group from healthy controls with 0.975 sensitivity and 0.991 specificity.

Assessing parenting stress in parents of children with autism has crucial clinical implications because increased parental stress is associated with psychological disorders and personal distress, which can result in worse child–parent relationships. We examined the psychometric properties of a new index for assessing parenting stressors—the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index and the temporal variability of parenting stressors using longitudinal data of 212 Japanese parents of children with autism aged 2–18 years. The findings indicated that the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index has appropriate cross-validity, structural validity, construct validity, and reliability. Moreover, the psychometric properties and the brevity of the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index increase the clinical utility of the scale. The implications of the findings of this study are discussed. Lay abstract Parents of children with autism experience high rates of parenting stress. Assessing parenting stress in them has crucial clinical implications because increased parental stress is associated with psychological disorders and personal distress, which can result in worse child–parent relationships. Theorists have proposed that a person’s cognitive appraisal determines whether or not a situation or an encounter is personally stressful. However, prior scales merely measure the outcomes of parental stress as a stress response: little the scales were designed to assess events and cognitive appraisal-related parenting stressors of parents of children with autism. We investigated whether a new index for assessing parenting stressors—the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index is a valid measure to assess parenting stressors of parents of children with autism using longitudinal online surveys at three times. Participants were 212 Japanese parents of children with autism aged 2–18 years who completed the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index and measures of autism symptoms and stress response . Overall, the findings indicated that the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index can be reliably used to measure both experiences and cognitive appraisal of parenting stressors among parents of children with autism. Moreover, the Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index has several advantages and is a valuable measurement tool to be able to evaluate parenting stressors in clinical settings; Developmental Disorder Parenting Stressor Index is shorter, easier to complete, and can evaluate both viewpoints of parenting stressors.

El Síndrome de Asperger (SA) forma parte de los Trastornos del Neurodesarrollo, afectando el área cognitiva, social y motriz de quien lo presenta. Se asocia a déficits en la Función Ejecutiva (FE) que promueven problemas en la interacción y la comunicación social, y en el desarrollo académico desde edades tempranas. Propósito. Analizar la asociación de los síntomas de SA y déficits en la FE, y los índices de prevalencias de sintomatología de SA en edad preescolar. Método. A partir de la aplicación de instrumento de cribado de las psicopatologías infantiles, y un instrumento para la evaluación de la FE, se realizaron correlaciones. Resultados. En una muestra de 539 niños, se encontró una prevalencia de 0.6% (reportada por padres) y 0.2% (reportada por maestras) de síntomas de SA; correlaciones significativas con déficits de la FE, y con síntomas de trastornos internalizantes. Conclusiones. Las deficiencias en la FE asociadas al SA pueden ser detectadas desde edad preescolar, así resulta necesario intervenir desde entonces para disminuir las dificultades académicas, emocionales y sociales típicas en los niños con SA.

Recently, we have observed an increase in the number of children diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome (autism spectrum disorder), hence the importance of increasing knowledge about the disorder and the ability to work with students with Asperger’s syndrome. Children grow up, mature and move from primary schools to secondary schools, while teachers, educators, educators and school psychologists in secondary schools are not yet prepared to work with such students. If a child had little therapeutic support in childhood, it may be more difficult to cope with new situational factors such as the new school and environment. Asperger’s syndrome is characterized by qualitative disturbances in the area of social interactions. Behavior patterns are limited and stereotyped, as are behavior and activity. Intellectual development is within the normal range, and often above average, the development of expressive speech and its understanding is also normal. Social development disorders can be characterized by five symptoms: difficulties in initiating and undertaking successful peer interactions, problematic behaviors related to aggression towards others and / or oneself, social anxiety disorders, uncontrolled specific behaviors and companions, and quite specific external appearance.

Although people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not more likely to commit crimes, they are overrepresented in the criminal justice system as reported by Howlin (Autism and Asperger syndrome: Preparing for adulthood, Routledge, 2004). This may, in part, be due to unfavourable interactions with the criminal judiciary. Evidence suggests the autistic population are perceived unfavourably in adjudicative proceedings resulting in harsher penalties. The present study explores whether ASD offenders (ASD-O) receive longer sentences compared to national sentencing data. Sentencing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) were used to compare ASD-O with similar offences. ASD-O attracted longer sentences across all offence classifications. Inferential analyses indicated sexual assault sentences were significantly higher in the ASD-O sample. No significant differences were found for murder, manslaughter, and assault.

Currently, many students in mainstream schools have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome or symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ICD10). Since the term Asperger Syndrome has been adopted in both scientific and colloquial language and is associated with specific dysfunctions in specific spheres, I will use this term for the purposes of this article. Some of these students may have associated difficulties, e.g., in learning or ADHD. In schools, it is not uncommon to also find students who exhibit autism or Asperger syndrome behaviour but without a diagnosis. By participating in the standard education cycle, teaching in elementary schools become a challenge for teachers because they face many challenges themselves. The purpose of the article is to show the difficulties faced by students with Asperger syndrome at school. An indication of how teachers can organize work in the classroom to ensure optimal working conditions for students with AS and to avoid provoking unnecessary tensions and frustration that would disturb work during the lesson will be provided.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex pathology that includes impaired social interaction abilities. Insufficient attention has been paid to programs specifically devoted to improving communicative-pragmatic skills. Moreover, the majority of studies have focused on children, while programs specifically developed for the adolescents are lacking. The present study aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of the adapted version of the Cognitive Pragmatic Treatment for adolescents (A-CPT), a 15-session group training, as well as its ability to improve the communicative-pragmatic performance of adolescents with ASD. Twenty-one verbally fluent adolescents with ASD took part in the training; they were assessed in three phases, i.e., before, after and at three-month follow-up, using the equivalent forms of the Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo), a tool for testing a wide range of pragmatic phenomena, such as direct and indirect speech acts, irony, deceit and violation of Grice’s maxims, expressed through linguistic, non-verbal, i.e., gestures, or paralinguistic expressive means. Furthermore, Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks and tests investigating the main cognitive domains, for example, Executive Functions (planning, shifting, working memory) and long-term memory, were administered. The results showed an improvement in participants’ performance in all the four scales of the ABaCo, i.e., linguistic, extralinguistic, paralinguistic and context scale; this improvement was maintained at follow-up assessment three months after the end of the program. No improvement was observed in the cognitive and ToM domains investigated, with the only exception of expressive vocabulary task. Despite the lack of a control group, the high degree of feasibility of the CPT, highlight the importance of more work needed in this research line.

The aim of this paper is to present the names for people with diagnosed autism that are used in the literature dedicated to logopaedics. The analysed expressions are as follows: autystyk (an autistic), osoba z autyzmem (a person with autism), osoba z ASD (a person with ASD), osoba autystyczna (an autistic person), dziecko autystyczne (an autistic child), osoba cierpiąca z powodu autyzmu (a person who suffers from autism), osoba ze spectrum (a person on the spectrum), osoba ze spektrum autyzmu (a person on the spectrum of autism), osoba wysoko i nisko funkcjonująca (a high- and low-functioning person)

This study documents the patterns of conversational sequential organization, i.e., turn construction unit (TCU), of a person (pseudonym Samy, age 27) with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The language data was audio recorded from two naturally occurring conversations (30 and 40 minutes long two different encounters) between the participant and the first author of this paper. Later, the data was transcribed and analyzed by using the tools of conversation analysis (CA). The results revealed the occurrences of unusual prosody, unusual pauses, invalid turns and word-finding difficulties, in the participant’s TCUs. The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge on the interactional patterns of people with AS. It also draws attention to the efficacy of the CA method in investigating conversational structures of atypical people. The findings eventually prepare a dialogue for incorporating conversation analytical methods into clinical approaches to study the persons with AS.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify consumer buying behavior, sense of security on the market and basic economic knowledge among young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – Asperger Syndrome, while the empirical goal is the development of conclusions and implications, which may be used in consumer strategies. Design/methodology/approach The research consisted of a pilot study and used the diagnostic survey method. A survey questionnaire of the own devising was used. The study used a purposive (arbitrary) sample. This was a non-probability respondent sample, consisting of subjective selection by researchers among a selected closed representative sample, the aim of which was to test the research tool (survey questionnaire) during the pilot study. The survey questionnaire was constructed on the basis of theoretical assumptions explaining consumer buying behavior and on a literature review regarding research conducted in this area. The study was conducted on adolescents aged between 16 and 19 years of age, 40 of whom suffered from ASD – Asperger syndrome and 50 of whom were without ASD – Asperger syndrome (control group). Findings The results indicate a limited range of consumer behaviors, a relatively poor sense of security in consumer (retail) spending and a limited understanding of fundamental consumer issues among young consumers with ASD – Asperger syndrome in comparison to people from the control group. Practical implications This study suggests that marketers should prepare diverse means of communication with consumers and a variety of sales strategies targeted at consumers with communication disorders. The research may be extended to include the large number of factors that influence consumer behavior among people with ASD – Asperger syndrome, together with the determination of the predictors. The factors contribute to a varying extent to constant changes in consumer behavior, which makes it necessary for longitudinal or even cyclical studies to be carried out. In further research, the research tool should be improved in terms of more precise questions relevant to a given issue and random sampling should be implemented. Social implications The research concept can be transferred to other vulnerable groups with communication disorders (e.g. with hearing disorders). Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this study is the first to investigate selected aspects of consumer (and financial consumer) behavior among young people with ASD – Asperger syndrome.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is widely developing neurodevelopmental disorder. The ASD is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that effects the social interaction and behavior of human beings. In this review, we presented structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) studies that were examined in structural brain abnormalities of ASD patients. To date sMRI results were distinct, due to the diversity of the ASD itself. The accelerated brain volume is the uniform finding of ASD. However, the recent investigation reports have started to interpret the structural abnormalities of ASD patient’s brain. The most common abnormalities found in total brain volume, cerebellum, amygdala, hippocampal, basal ganglia, insula, gray and white matter. Limited sMRI research has been done on less than 2 years ASD children. Future research should include autistic children less than 2 years along with functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging.

This paper, written in honor of Professor Ed Zigler, focuses on some of the themes in developmental disabilities research that were so central to his work. It has now been nearly 80 years since Leo Kanner first identified the prototypic form – early infantile autism – of what is now autism spectrum disorder. In this article we summarize the development of the concept and the important accumulation of knowledge over time that has now led us to the recognition of a broader autism phenotype just as, at the same time, the current official diagnostic system in the USA has narrowed the concept. We also address current controversies regarding autism as the diagnosis is impacted by age and developmental factors, gender, and cultural issues. In parallel to the work on intellectual deficiency and development pioneered by Zigler and his colleagues, we summarize some of the challenges for the years ahead.

Purpose Autistic women and girls have received comparatively less attention within clinical practice and research. Research suggests women tend to be diagnosed later than men, and are more likely to experience misdiagnosis. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to report a narrative literature review that examines research on the presentation, recognition, and diagnosis of autistic women and girls. Findings Findings suggest that autistic females present differently to males and highlight low recognition of the female presentation of autism among the general public, in social spheres, educational, clinical and forensic settings. This lack of recognition appears to affect the likelihood of females being referred for diagnosis, the reliability of diagnostic assessments and subsequent access to support. Originality/value Recommendations for clinical practice focus on initiatives to increase awareness of the female presentation of autism, improving the diagnostic process for females, increasing female representation within autism training and for future research to support these goals.

Leisure Opportunities for Autistic Children and Adolescents: How Satisfied are Parents and what do they Think their Children Would Like? Like all children and youth, autistic children and adolescents have the right to participate in cultural life including recreational, leisure and sporting activities. Therefore, arrangements have to be made to ensure access to these areas for these particular population (Art. 30 UN-BRK, §§76, 78 BTHG). Thus far, no research has been conducted that examines the need for leisure time facilities for autistic children and/or adolescents in Germany. Therefore, it is unclear if an equal participation in leisure time opportunities is provided. This study presents a first assessment of this topic based on an online-survey of parents of autistic children and adolescents (N = 327). The results indicate, that there is a substantial need for leisure opportunities. Parents of children with infantile and atypical autism show a greater need for more leisure opportunities than parents of children with Asperger Syndrome. In general, the findings show that an equal participation has not been achieved yet. Overall, there is a need for (small) group and sporting activities and especially younger parents asked for specific experiential environments. Possible approaches to a need-oriented organization of leisure facilities for autistic children and adolescents and for an enhancement of leisure opportunities are discussed. The paper further outlines the need for more research in order to provide an empirical basis for equal participation possibilities in public life for autistic children and adolescents.

Catatonia was first described by Karl Ludwig Kahlbaum in 1874, occurring in association with other psychiatric and medical disorders. However, in the nineteenth century the disorder was incorrectly classified as a subtype of schizophrenia. This misclassification persisted until the publication of DSM-5 in 2013 when important changes were incorporated. Although the etiology is unknown, disrupted gamma-aminobutyric acid has been proposed as the underlying pathophysiological mechanism. Key symptoms can be identified under 3 clinical domains: motor, speech, and behavioral. Benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy are the only known effective treatments. Timely recognition and treatment have important outcome, and sometimes lifesaving, implications.

Purpose This study aimed to examine the print knowledge of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison to children who have developmental language disorder (DLD) and typically developing (TD) children as well as examine the child and family predictors of print knowledge. Method A total of 629 preschool children, including 33 children with ASD, 93 children with DLD, and 503 TD children, were the focus of the current study. Teachers completed direct assessments with the children in the fall and spring of the academic year on print knowledge using the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screener. Results Analyses of covariance were used to compare the print knowledge skills (uppercase and lowercase letter identification, print and word awareness, name writing) in the fall and spring for each of the three groups. The groups were significantly different for the Print and Word Awareness and Name Writing subtests in both the fall and spring. A Tukey's honestly significant difference further indicated that, for these subtests, the children with ASD had significantly lower scores than both the children with DLD and TD children. When examining the child and family predictors of residualized gain in print knowledge for the children with ASD, the only significant predictor for any outcome was fall scores. When examining the predictors for the full sample, fall scores, age, ASD status, and mothers' education level were significant predictors of print and word awareness and name writing scores. Conclusions None of the child and family characteristics seemed to be related to residualized gain in print knowledge for children with ASD. However, when examining predictors of residualized gain in print knowledge for the full sample, ASD status was related to lower scores for both print and word awareness and name writing.

Despite the steps taken to improve support in universities, many students and graduates with autism face a substantial employment gap when completing university as compared to any other student group with disabilities. The literature shows that often students with autism do not have appropriate support to prepare them for entering the workforce. Therefore, it is imperative that this under-researched topic be studied. Utilising a participatory approach, in this article, we sought to investigate perceptions of students and graduates with autism about the employment support they received when preparing for university-to-work transition. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 30 university students and graduates with autism from Finland, France, the Netherlands, and the UK. Data were analysed using an inductive content analysis approach. Findings indicate that organisational enablers consisting of career-focused support and internships and practicums facilitated preparation for employment. Supportive and caring relationships emerged as forms of support that included mentors, committed and caring academics, and family members. Further, the findings indicated the aspiration for individualisation that consists of improving work and academic support, and awareness and understanding. These findings have also important practical implications.

Refletir sobre a produção de podcast por pessoas em situação de deficiência, em especial do espectro autista, é um dos objetivos deste artigo. Incursionamos no universo do podcast ancorados na Teoria dos Afetos para discutir como os circuitos de afecção dos modos de existência de pessoas com Síndrome de Asperger impulsionam o debate sobre os desafios cotidianos de grupos considerados “diferentes” se tomados a partir de modelos normativos de ser e estar no mundo. Se, nas produções radiofônicas de emissoras comerciais ainda é reduzido o espaço para a representatividade de autistas, o podcast seria um lócus importante para eles, que reivindicam falar por si e sobre si, sem a mediação de outros produtores. Estabelecemos um diálogo com Introvertendo, um podcast de pessoas com Síndrome de Asperger, ou seja, dentro do espectro autista, que debate sobre suas vidas e temas diversos, e estabelece relações com uma acessibilidade afetiva.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder are often diagnosed with at least one or more accompanying disorders. Most studies reported prevalence of the psychiatric comorbidities among these individuals; however, the incidence of developing comorbidities is unclear. This study used Taiwan's claims database and aimed to investigate the incidence of developing major psychiatric comorbidities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder and whether the incidence was moderated by gender, autism-spectrum disorder subtypes, and autism-associated neurodevelopmental conditions. A total of 3,837 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (2,929 autistic disorder, 447 Asperger syndrome, 461 pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified) and 38,370 comparison subjects, who were matched by age and gender, were included. The incidences of schizophrenia spectrum, bipolar, and major depressive disorders was examined. The results showed that the incidences of schizophrenia spectrum (9.7 per 1,000 person-year), bipolar disorder (7.0 per 1,000 person-year), and major depressive disorder (3.2 per 1,000 person-year) were significantly higher than the comparison group across all three subtypes of autism-spectrum disorder. Individuals with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified had higher risk for major depressive disorder than autistic disorder. Females with Asperger syndrome had significant higher risk for schizophrenia spectrum than males. The comorbidity rate dramatically dropped when the autism-associated neurodevelopmental conditions were taken into account. Our findings suggested that the incidences of major psychiatric comorbidities were higher in autism spectrum disorder and influenced by autism subtypes, gender, and autism-associated neurodevelopmental conditions. LAY SUMMARY: We examined whether people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher incidence of schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and major depression using a large claims database. The results showed the incidences of these mental illness among individual with ASD were significantly higher than those without ASD. In addition, the incidences were influenced by autism subtypes, gender, and comorbid neurodevelopmental conditions.

Being in a caregiver role for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) brings a unique set of stressors and challenges to the entire family unit. This study examined a model hypothesizing that (a) parenting stress and the parenting style used by the parents of a child with ASD are correlated; (b) ASD severity, parenting stress, and parenting style uniquely explain the variance in the presentation of internalizing and externalizing symptoms among children with ASD; and (c) parenting style moderates the association between ASD severity and the presentation of internalizing and externalizing behaviors after controlling for specific demographic variables. A group of online participants were recruited through personal contacts, social media, and Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The group of subjects, made up of 70 primary caregivers of children ages 3 to 18 years diagnosed with ASD, completed a self-report measure. Statistical analyses revealed that ASD severity and parenting style contributed to externalizing behaviors but did not have a significant impact on internalizing behaviors. Parenting stress was the primary predictor of both internalizing and externalizing child behaviors. Parenting style was not related to the stress level of parents of children with ASD and was not found to moderate the relationship between ASD severity and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed, highlighting the importance of reducing parenting stress and providing parent training to promote positive parenting styles for children with ASD.

Autistic children experience higher levels of anxiety than their peers. Making appropriate diagnoses of anxiety disorders and providing effective treatment for these children is particularly difficult. Inconsistent evidence suggests that levels of anxiety in autistic children are related to intellectual functioning. We provide the first meta-analysis of this evidence. A systematic search identified 49 papers for review. These papers included measures of anxiety and intelligence quotient in 18,430 autistic children. Studies employing correlations showed evidence of a significant relationship between intelligence quotient and anxiety in autistic children: children with higher intelligence quotient scored higher on measures of anxiety. Studies directly comparing groups of autistic children with and without intellectual disability also supported this conclusion. Most studies employing other designs also supported this finding. Employing a quality assessment framework identified common threats to validity. Many studies used measures of anxiety that were not validated across the samples they measure. This was most notable for those autistic children with an intellectual disability. It is vital that future research determines whether the identified relationship between intelligence quotient and anxiety reflects something important in the mechanism for anxiety in autistic children, or quantifies the lack of sensitivity of our measures of anxiety across different groups. Lay abstract Autistic children often experience higher levels of anxiety than their peers. It can be difficult to diagnose and treat anxiety disorders in autistic children, in part because of the high degree of variability in their underlying abilities and presentations. Some evidence suggests that autistic children with higher intelligence (as measured by intelligence quotient) experience higher levels of anxiety than autistic children with lower intelligence. However, the evidence is inconsistent, with other papers not finding a difference or finding higher levels of anxiety in autistic children with lower intelligence. In this article, we review existing literature to see whether autistic children with higher intelligence quotients have higher anxiety than autistic children with lower intelligence quotients. A systematic search of the literature was conducted which identified 49 papers on the topic. The methods of all the papers were reviewed using an objective quality assessment framework. When combining the data statistically, there was evidence that autistic children with higher intelligence quotients are more anxious than autistic children with lower intelligence quotients. The quality review raised common weaknesses across studies. Most importantly, few studies used measures of anxiety that have been shown to be valid for children with very low intelligence quotients. Similarly, many studies used measures of anxiety that have not been shown to be valid for autistic children. These factors are important because autistic children and those with low intelligence quotient may experience or understand anxiety differently. Future research should use fully validated measures to test whether high intelligence quotient is associated with high levels of anxiety in autistic children.

Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is of paramount importance as it opens the road to early intervention, which is associated with better prognosis. However, early diagnosis is often delayed until preschool or school age. The purpose of the current retrospective study was to explore the age of recognition of first alarming symptoms in boys and girls as well as the age at diagnosis of different subtypes of ASD in a small sample. A total of 128 parents' of children with ASDs were participated in the survey by completing a self-report questionnaire about early signs and symptoms that raised their concern. Parents of children with autism voiced concerns earlier and obtained diagnosis significantly earlier compared to parents of children with Asperger syndrome (

Previous research has shown elevated levels of depressive symptoms in typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders. The current study investigates for associations between the depressive symptoms of school-aged typically developing siblings of children with autism and parental mental health, perceived social support as well as demographic factors. Eighty-five Greek typically developing siblings of autistic children and their parents provided information concerning children’s depressive symptoms (assessed with the Children’s Depression Inventory), demographics, parent mental health status (assessed with the General Health Questionnaire-28), and perceived social support (assessed with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support). Typically developing siblings showed higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to normative data. The hierarchical multiple regressions performed showed that typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms were significantly associated with parental anxiety and perceived social support from the family. Of note, parental anxiety remained associated with typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms independent of perceived social support. These findings demonstrate a direct link between typically developing siblings’ psychopathological symptoms and those of their parents and highlight the need for family-centered interventions, not limited to providing social support. Lay abstract Typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders are often found to exhibit elevated levels of stress and depressive symptoms compared to siblings of typically developing children or siblings of children with other disabilities. Besides the behavioral problems of the child with autism and certain demographic characteristics that have been recognized as factors associated with typically developing siblings’ psychological distress, the role of parental mental health and the social support from the family has not been studied sufficiently. The goal of this study is to assess depressive symptoms in 85 Greek school-aged typically developing siblings of children with autism and to investigate for any associations between siblings’ depressive symptoms on one hand and demographics, parental mental health, and perceived social support on the other hand. It was found that typically developing siblings had higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to children from a general population sample. In addition, parental anxiety and social support from the family as perceived by the parents themselves were identified as independently associated with typically developing siblings’ depressive symptoms. Of note, perceived social support failed to attenuate the association between parental anxiety and siblings’ depressive symptoms. These results highlight the importance of assessing both parental and typically developing siblings’ psychological state to implement interventions addressed to the needs of all family members.

In several diagnostic manuals of disabilities and disorders, High-Functioning Autism (HFA) is omitted and/or remains an unofficial diagnostic term. However, in 2007, the American Academy of Special Education Professionals has given it an official diagnostic code AU-4.00 in its Educator’s Diagnostic Manual of Disabilities and Disorders (EDM). This has rekindled research to re-look at HFA if it deserves to be given its own diagnostic code. Today, HFA refers to autistics who possess average/above-average intelligence and function in typical settings. This paper explores what ‘high-functioning’ is in the enigmatic condition of HFA.

يهدف البحث الحالي إلى التعرف على تأثير اضطراب اللغة البراجماتية لدى الأطفال ذوي متلازمة إسبرجر على بعض اضطرابات التواصل غير اللفظي لديهم ( التواصل البصري – الانتباة المشترک – التواصل الانفعالي)؛ ولتحقیق أهداف الدراسة تم اختیار عينة مکونة من (22) طفلا وطفلة من الأطفال ذوي متلازمة إسبرجر، يتراوح أعمارهم بين (9–12) عاما، بمناطق ( جدة – تبوک – الحدود الشمالية). وتم تطویر مقياس اضطراب اللغة البراجماتية لدى الأطفال ذوي متلازمة إسبرجر، وتطوير استبيان التواصل غير اللفظي لدى الأطفال ذوي متلازمة إسبرجر، وتوصلت نتائج البحث إلى وجود علاقة إرتباطية سالبة دالة إحصائيا بين اضطراب اللغة البراجماتية ومهارات التواصل غير اللفظي لدى الأطفال ذوي اضطراب متلازمة إسبرجر، وعدم وجود فروق دالة إحصائيا بين درجات الأطفال ذوي متلازمة إسبرجر عينة الدراسة على مقياس اضطراب اللغة البرجماتية واستبيان التواصل غير اللفظي تبعا لمتغير النوع. The aim of this research is to identify the effect of pragmatic language disorder in children with Asperger's syndrome on their nonverbal communication disorders (eye contact - shared attention - emotional communication). To achieve the objectives of the study, a sample consisting of (22) children and girl children with Asperger's syndrome, whose ages ranged between (9-12) years, were selected in the regions of (Jeddah - Tabuk - Northern Borders). The pragmatic language disorder scale was developed in children with Asperger's syndrome, and a nonverbal communication questionnaire was developed for children with Asperger's syndrome, and the results of the research found a negative statistically significant correlation between pragmatic language disorder and non-verbal communication skills in children with Asperger's syndrome, and the absence of Statistically significant differences between the scores of children with Asperger syndrome, the study sample on the pragmatic language disorder scale and the non-verbal communication questionnaire according to the gender variable.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is known as ‘triad impairment’ which consists of communication, interaction, and behaviour problem. They also exhibit hypersensitivities or hyposensitivities to physical sensory stimuli which affect the processing system to be overloaded and cause an uncomfortable feeling or pain. Their reactions then trigger some particular behaviors, which are considered aggressive, harmful, repetitive, and odd. The main problem is most people judge and avoid them solely based on their actions without any effort to find out the reason and learn how to interact with them properly. This one-sided stereotype most probably leads them and their family to emotional insecurities, lack of self-esteem, and rebellious tendency. While this kind of situation is mostly centralized, institutionalized, and deep rooted in society, it can be reconditioned through a small step by teaching people since their early age the appropriate way to interact with people with autism. It is essential to realize that each individual with autism is first and foremost an individual who should not be treated as invisible in society. In order to facilitate this idea, I offer HAI: An Instructional Motion Graphic of How to Interact with People with Autism for Grade Schoolers which consists of several illustrated empirical steps which can be applied in school. The instructions are suitable to interact with several specific types of ASD, such as Classic Autism and Asperger syndrome, by reason of the severity of the symptoms which enables them to live relatively normal lives in society. In other words, the main objective of this project is to encourage and assist people, especially grade schoolers to have short conversation or simple interaction with their autistic friends through practical and proper set of actions. Throughout this project, sequential exploratory design method was implemented by combining qualitative and quantitative method in the process.Keywords: autism, interaction, instructional, motion graphic

Parent-mediated interventions (PMIs) are commonly used with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and their effectiveness for young children has been documented. However, no reviews have examined the use of PMIs with older children with ASD. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to investigate the state of the literature regarding PMIs for school-age children with ASD and to evaluate their effectiveness across domains. Eighteen studies of PMIs examining 170 child participants with ASD were included. Participants, interventions, and the effects of the interventions are described. Overall, studies demonstrated moderately positive effects for PMIs for school-age children with ASD. Group design studies demonstrated an overall effect size (ES) of 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [0.50, 1.09], while single-case design (SCD) studies yielded an overall ES of 1.84, 95% CI = [1.08, 2.60]. More research is needed to understand the differential effectiveness of parent training components, and future research should focus on including measures of parent treatment integrity, to aid in the understanding of program efficacy.

Patients with Asperger syndrome (AS) usually report sleep problems. The objective of this study was to compare the general sleep structure of children with Asperger syndrome to that displayed by healthy children through polysomnographic study. Sleep characteristics were compared to severity of AS symptoms. Two groups of children aged 8–12 years were studied, one group with AS patients and the other with healthy children. Results show that patients with AS had a significant increase in sleep latency, REM latency and a decrease in the number of REM sleep episodes. It was also observed that the AS patients exhibit a correlation between the fragmentation of sleep and the increase in the intensity of the AS symptoms. It is concluded that sleep latency, REM latency and number of episodes are affected in AS patients and the AS symptoms are related to sleep disturbances in patients.

We examined racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of behavioral problems measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL), sleep disturbances measured by the Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and medication use among children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). We analyzed data from the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) dataset for 2,576 children ages 6 to 18 years of age diagnosed with ASD. Multivariable logistic regression accounting for age, gender, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Edition – Text Revision), diagnosis (Autistic Disorder, PDD-NOS, Asperger's Disorder), and parents' education did not show any racial or ethnic differences in behavioral challenges, conduct problems, or sleep disturbances for any of the groups, but Black children had lower odds of Total Problem Behaviors and Asian children had lower odds of Hyperactivity compared to White children. As a group, children from racial and ethnic minorities had lower odds of Total Problem Behaviors and Conduct Problems compared to White children. Hispanic children had lower odds of medication use for Behavioral Challenges, Total Problem Behaviors, Hyperactivity, and Conduct Problems. Asian children had lower odds of medication use for Behavioral Challenges, Total Problem Behaviors, and Hyperactivity; and had close to lower odds in medication use for Conduct Problems. Black children had lower odds for medication use for Total Problem Behaviors only. As a group, children from racial and ethnic minorities had lower odds for medication use for Behavioral Challenges, Total Problem Behaviors, Hyperactivity, and Conduct problems, but not for Sleep Disturbances. While these results are consistent with previous studies showing that White children are significantly more likely to receive psychotropic medication compared to children from racial and ethnic minority groups, we found no such differences for sleep challenges, suggesting that they are more consistently identified and equitably treated than other behavioral problems associated with ASD. We draw upon Andersen's (1995) Behavioral Model of Healthcare Use to suggest predisposing, enabling, and needs factors that may contribute to this pattern of racial and ethnic differences in the use of medications among children ASD.

The article concerns the problem of improving the communication of high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder using music therapy methods. While we are witnessing the progress of research work on the language capabilities of these people, knowledge about their communication is still not sufficient. It is common ground that communication at both the language and non-language level is disturbed in these children. Music therapy can have a very positive effect on people with ASD, due to its calming and relaxing but also activating effects, depending on the type of music used. Considering the often occurring auditory hypersensitivity in these people, one should carefully select the musical material and gradually accustom them to this type of therapy, starting with sound habituation and passive music therapy. It is difficult not to notice similarities that combine music therapy with other methods that support multimodal development of children such as the Good Start Method, some elements of drama using elements of rhythm, movement and sound, logorythmics. The variety of therapeutic methods allows selection of the one that is most appropriate for a given person. Music therapy classes can have a positive impact on the psychomotor development process of a child with ASD.

Thunberg's increased media attention coupled with her diagnosis-Asperger Syndrome (AS)-may foster help-seeking behaviors among those with similar psychiatric disorders. Using Google Trends data, we compared values of AS from the week of the UN Climate Summit through the end of the year compared to an ARIMA model predicting search interest had Thunberg not been in the media. The search trend for AS at peak was 254.07% higher than predicted and was on average 10.61 points above the projected model during this time. As the primary goal of AS intervention focuses on improving quality of life and preventing common comorbidities such as depression and anxiety, capitalizing on increased public interest in AS and help-seeking behaviors is imperative.

The transition to secondary school is an important educational milestone impacting wellbeing and academic achievement. Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder may be vulnerable during transition however little is known about how Autism Spectrum (AS) traits influence transition outcomes. Generalised estimating equations were used to examine how AS traits were associated with four indicators of successful transition in a school-based sample of 51 students. Higher AS traits were associated with lower quality of life, school belonging and mental health, however the hypothesised decline after school transition was not supported. Characteristics of both the primary and secondary school appeared to be contributing to the wellbeing of students with high AS traits which could be clarified by further investigation with a larger sample.

We compared the presence of autistic and comorbid psychopathology and functional impairments in young adults who received a clinical diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified or Asperger’s Disorder during childhood to that of a referred comparison group. While the Autism Spectrum Disorder group on average scored higher on a dimensional ASD self- and other-report measure than clinical controls, the majority did not exceed the ASD cutoff according to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Part of the individuals with an ASD diagnosis in their youth no longer show behaviors that underscribe a clinical ASD diagnosis in adulthood, but have subtle difficulties in social functioning and a vulnerability for a range of other psychiatric disorders.

Background Synesthesia is a sensory phenomenon where certain domain-specific stimuli trigger additional sensations of e.g. color or texture. The condition occurs in about 4% of the general population, but is overrepresented in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), where it might also be associated with the presence of prodigious talents. Case presentation Here we describe the case of a young transsexual man with Asperger Syndrome, synesthesia and a prodigious talent for foreign language acquisition. In our case, not only letters, numbers, spoken words, music, noises, weekdays and months lead to highly consistent, vivid color sensations but also his own and others’ emotions, geometric shapes, any mathematical symbol, and letters from an unfamiliar alphabet (Hebrew). These color associations seem to aid categorization, differentiation and storage of information and might thereby contribute to the young man’s language acquisition ability. We investigated the young man’s structural brain connectivity in comparison to adults with or without ASD, applying global fiber tracking to diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data. The case presented with increased connectivity, especially between regions involved in visual and emotion processing, memory, and higher order associative binding regions. An electroencephalography experiment investigating synesthetic color and shape sensations while listening to music showed a negligible occipital alpha suppression, indicating that these internally generated synesthetic sensations derive from a different brain mechanism than when processing external visual information. Conclusions Taken together, this case study endorses the notion of a link between synesthesia, prodigious talent and autism, adding to the currently still sparse literature in this field. It provides new insights into the possible manifestations of synesthesia in individuals with ASD and its potential contribution to prodigious talents in people with an otherwise unexceptional cognitive profile. Additionally, this case impressively illustrates how synesthesia can be a key element not only of sensory perception but also social and emotional processing and contributes to existing evidence of increased brain connectivity in association with synesthesia.

It is a hot spot in the field of computer application to diagnose complex brain diseases such as Asperger syndrome (AS) using machine learning technology. To identify AS patients and detect lesions, this paper proposes a novel clustering-evolutionary random support vector machine (SVM) ensemble (CERSVME) based on graph theory. Firstly, we extract graph theory indexes from the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data as sample features and construct an ensemble learner by integrating multiple SVM classifiers. Secondly, the base learners with high redundancy and poor classification ability are deleted through clustering evolutions to improve the performance of the model. Then the CERSVME model is used to classify fMRI image of AS patients and healthy controls. According to the classification results, a multi-stage analysis scheme is designed to find the AS-related brain areas. We validate the proposed approach on 135 participants from autism brain imaging data exchange cohort. The highest accuracy reported by the CERSVME reaches 95.24%. More importantly, the diseased brain areas such as middle frontal gyrus, hippocampus and precuneus are found based on their contributions to classification performances of the CERSVME. Our study provides useful assistances for the clinical detection of patients with AS.

This article is concerned with the protagonist of the story suffering from Asperger Syndrome. He finds difficulty in social interaction, be it appearance, language, attitude, or thinking. In addition, he has got an intelligent ability to interpret objects around him well. He has also the ability to make patterns of activities that he does every time. The whole analysis is conducted by means of qualitative research method supported by library research. The grand theory used is on autism, picturing Asperger Syndrome as an autism spectrum disorder on the high functioning end; referred to as “dash of autism”. Asperger syndrome, also known as Asperger’s, is a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. The results show that the protagonist of the novel has got some significant features of Asperger Syndrome: Lacking of Social Activity, Ability of Interpreting Object, and Ability to Set Routine Patterns.

Autistische Storungen werden im DMS‑5 unter dem Begriff „autism spectrum disorder“ zusammengefasst. Es handelt sich um schwerwiegende, lebenslange, tiefgreifende Entwicklungsstorungen. Kernmerkmale sind bereits in der Kindheit vorliegende Beeintrachtigungen der sozialen Kommunikation sowie restriktive, repetitive Verhaltensweisen. Auspragungsgrad, sprachliche und kognitive Beeintrachtigungen variieren, jedoch ist die Mehrzahl der Betroffenen unterdurchschnittlich begabt und 80 % weisen mindestens eine komorbide Storung auf. Der vielfaltigen Pathologie und Heterogenitat liegt eine komplexe genetische Atiologie zugrunde, die mit einer reduzierten synaptischen Plastizitat neuronaler Netzwerke einhergeht. Das Storungsbild ist mit einer deutlich reduzierten Lebensqualitat sowie hohen familiaren Belastungen verbunden. Die Differenzialdiagnostik hat eine hohe Relevanz und die Diagnosestellung sollte durch eine spezialisierte Stelle erfolgen. Verhaltenstherapeutische Interventionen sind indiziert.

Friendships have a central importance in childhood and adolescence, and the friendship demands on girls with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be higher than for boys. Few previous studies have ex...

Biomarkers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are lacking but would facilitate drug development for the core deficits of the disorder. We evaluated markers proposed for characterization of differences in social communication and interaction in adults with ASD versus healthy controls (HC) for utility as biomarkers. Data pooled from an observational study and baseline data from a placebo-controlled study were analyzed. Between-group differences were observed in eye-tracking tasks for activity monitoring, biomotion, human activity preference, composite score (p = 0.0001–0.037) and pupillometry (various tasks, p = 0.017–0.05). Impaired olfaction was more common in the ASD sample versus HC (p = 0.018). Our preliminary results suggest the potential use for stratification and response sub-analyses outcome-prediction of specific eye-tracking tasks, pupillometry and olfaction tests in ASD trials Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s10803-020-04493-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Notwithstanding several research efforts in the past years, robust and replicable molecular signatures for autism spectrum disorders from peripheral blood remain elusive. The available literature on blood transcriptome in ASD suggests that through accurate experimental design it is possible to extract important information on the disease pathophysiology at the peripheral level. Here we exploit the availability of a resource for molecular biomarkers in ASD, the Italian Autism Network (ITAN) collection, for the investigation of transcriptomic signatures in ASD based on a discordant sibling pair design. Whole blood samples from 75 discordant sibling pairs selected from the ITAN network where submitted to RNASeq analysis and data analyzed by complementary approaches. Overall, differences in gene expression between affected and unaffected siblings were small. In order to assess the contribution of differences in the relative proportion of blood cells between discordant siblings, we have applied two different cell deconvolution algorithms, showing that the observed molecular signatures mainly reflect changes in peripheral blood immune cell composition, in particular NK cells. The results obtained by the cell deconvolution approach are supported by the analysis performed by WGCNA. Our report describes the largest differential gene expression profiling in peripheral blood of ASD subjects and controls conducted by RNASeq. The observed signatures are consistent with the hypothesis of immune alterations in autism and an increased risk of developing autism in subjects exposed to prenatal infections or stress. Our study also points to a potential role of NMUR1, HMGB3, and PTPRN2 in ASD.

The following text is focused on mapping a work with a girl with Asperger Syndrome, who is extra talented intelecutally and art way. There is a 4 years cooperation experience with the currently 9-year old girl described in the text. This study’ objective is to cover the key moments of the therapy, simultaneously it is a psychologist reflection from the start of the therapy (forming the relationship) through the weak points in the therapy (disagreement with the care) until sustainable therapy style. I mentioned the methods and approaches useful for mutual co-action, as well as useless methods and approaches.

The article examines the experience of parenting a child with a diagnosis of autism with a focus on scripts and intentions in relation to the parents’ own childhood experiences of being parented. Five parents participated in a multiple case study design involving in-depth interviews, Adult Attachment Interviews and a parenting intentions scaling task. The findings revealed that all of the parents had experienced significant adverse events in their own childhoods, including trauma and losses. They also expressed intentions to offer parenting that was ‘corrective’ in terms of providing a better emotional environment for their children. Their corrective attempts and also intentions to repeat positive aspects of being parented were moderated by unconscious aspects of their early childhood experiences and also by the autistic features of their children. The interplay between early embodied experiences, theories of autism, parenting experiences and intentions is discussed along with clinical implications.

Zusammenfassung. Fragestellung: Sehr viele Menschen informieren sich heutzutage über gesundheitsrelevante Themen im Internet, wobei die Qualität dieser Informationen fraglich ist. In der vorliegenden Studie soll beispielhaft für ein psychisches Störungsbild (Autismus-Spektrum-Störung) die Qualität der Informationsquelle Internet sowie die sich daraus ergebenden Implikationen diskutiert werden. Methodik: Es wurde eine systematische Auswertung von 96 deutschsprachigen Internetseiten durchgeführt mit dem Ziel, neben konkreten Charakteristika der Internetseiten auch die Zuverlässigkeit der Publikationen, die Informationsdarstellung sowie die Gesamtqualität der Internetseiten zu bewerten und die sich aus der Darstellung ergebenden klinischen Implikationen zu analysieren. Ergebnisse: Nur bei 39 % der Internetseiten ließen sich Referenzen für wissenschaftlich fundierte Informationen feststellen, Werbung war hingegen auf 53 % der Internetseiten vorhanden. Die meisten falschen Informationen wurden im Bereich der „Behandlung“ (17 %) verbreitet. Bei 75 % der Internetseiten traf die Vollständigkeit nicht zu. Lediglich 10 % der Internetseiten thematisierte die Beeinträchtigung bzw. Belastung der Familien. Die Qualität der Seiten wurde bei 30 % als ungenügend, bei 41 % als mangelhaft und nur bei 6 % als gut beurteilt. Schlussfolgerungen: Ähnlich wie durch die bereits vorliegenden Analysen zu englischsprachigen Internetseiten festgestellt, können für viele der deutschsprachigen Seiten deutliche Qualitätsmängel konstatiert werden. Die Implikationen in Bezug auf Bestätigungsfehler, Stigmatisierung, Überidentifikation, Ingroup-Outgroup-Effekte, Kontrast- und Schneeballeffekte werden diskutiert.

Little is known about their stability and the factors that influence their persistence or change over the life-course. To address this, we use data from 158 participants from the Special Needs and Autism Project cohort studied at three time-points from 12 to 23 years. We used latent growth models to study the role of child, family, and contextual characteristics on the conduct, emotional, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder domains of the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Symptoms decreased significantly over time for all three domains, but many participants still remained above the published cutoffs for likely disorder on at least one of the three domains. Individual trajectories showed high levels of persistence. Higher initial adaptive function and language levels predicted a greater decline in conduct and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. In contrast, increased emotional symptoms were predicted by higher language functioning, lower levels of autism symptom severity and higher parental education. Greater neighborhood deprivation was associated with more conduct problems but also a greater decline over time. Our findings highlight that it may be possible to accurately predict mental health trajectories over this time period, which could help parents and carers in planning and help professionals target resources more efficiently.Lay AbstractAlthough mental health problems are common in autism, relatively little is known about their stability and the factors that influence their persistence or change over the life-course. To address this, we use data from the Special Needs and Autism Project (SNAP) cohort studied at three time-points from 12 to 23 years. Using the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) domains of conduct, emotional, and ADHD symptoms, we evaluated the role of child, family, and contextual characteristics on these three trajectories. Symptoms decreased significantly over time for all three domains, but many participants still scored above the published disorder cutoffs. Individuals showed high levels of persistence. Higher initial adaptive function and language levels predicted a greater decline in conduct and ADHD symptoms. In contrast, higher language functioning was associated with higher levels of emotional symptoms, as was lower levels of autism symptom severity and higher parental education. Those with higher neighborhood deprivation had higher initial conduct problems but a steeper decline over time. Our findings highlight that it may be possible to accurately predict mental health trajectories over this time period, which could help parents and carers in planning and help professionals target resources more efficiently.