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Background Despite high levels of social engagement, the social competence of individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) is frequently compromised. This descriptive study explores the ability of young people with WS to learn from facial expressions when provided as a source of feedback for their actions. Method Using a novel task, the ability to interpret facial expressions and adapt behaviour after receiving feedback in the form of happy or angry faces was assessed in 12 participants with WS aged between 10 and 28 years and with a mean nonverbal mental age of 6.5 years, and in typically developing (TD) children aged between 4 and 7 years. Results Individuals with WS were able to use facial expressions as feedback in a manner commensurate with their mental age, only when other cognitive demands were low. Their performance profile differed from that of the TD children matched for mental age and from the performance profile of 4 year olds. Conclusions Possible explanations for the unique performance profile observed in the participants with WS are discussed. The results highlight the need to examine social competencies in the context of the cognitive demands characteristic of social environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Studies have shown that beyond public and self stigma, stigma can also impact family members. Only scant research has examined the internalised aspects of stigma, known as affiliate stigma, among family caregivers of individuals with disabilities. This study examined affiliate stigma among family caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities via a comparison between caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities ( ID), autism spectrum disorders ( ASD) and physical disabilities ( PD) in Israel. Methods Family caregivers ( n = 171) of individuals with developmental disabilities, mainly ID (22.4%), ASD (32.9%) and PD (27.1%), completed a self-report structured questionnaire including the Affiliate Stigma Scale and background variables. Results Results supported a one-factor structure for the Affiliate Stigma Scale. Overall, affiliate stigma was relatively low in this sample, but was found to be higher among caregivers of individuals with ASD when compared with caregivers of individuals with ID or PD. Conclusion Findings from this study point to the importance of supporting caregivers of individuals with ASD to decrease their feelings of stigma. It is also important to further develop scales measuring affiliate stigma in order to capture the multi-dimensional nature of the concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a neurogenetic condition characterized by high rates of psychiatric disorders. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess psychiatric disorders in young children with 22q11DS using a structured psychiatric diagnostic interview, and one of few studies to use the complete gold standard diagnostic evaluation to examine the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young children with 22q11DS and compare it to a matched control group with iASD., Methods: We identified the psychiatric disorders and autistic phenotype of young children with 22q11DS (age 3-8 years) and compared them with those of age and sex-matched children with idiopathic autism (iASD). We used the gold standard psychiatric and ASD assessments including the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and a clinical examination by a child psychiatrist., Results: Eighty-four percent of the children with 22q11DS had at least one psychiatric disorder, including anxiety disorders and ADHD, and 16% met strict criteria for ASD. Children with 22q11DS and ASD symptoms had less severe overall ASD symptoms than those with iASD. Children with 22q11DS, regardless of ASD diagnosis, were characterized by repetitive restricted behaviors., Conclusions: Our results highlight the need to screen for psychiatric disorders in 22q11DS and treat them already in preschool years., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Context: Maternal and paternal ages are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders., Objective: To examine the relationship between advancing paternal age at birth of offspring and their risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)., Design: Historical population-based cohort study., Setting: Identification of ASD cases from the Israeli draft board medical registry., Participants: We conducted a study of Jewish persons born in Israel during 6 consecutive years. Virtually all men and about three quarters of women in this cohort underwent draft board assessment at age 17 years. Paternal age at birth was obtained for most of the cohort; maternal age was obtained for a smaller subset. We used the smaller subset (n = 132 271) with data on both paternal and maternal age for the primary analysis and the larger subset (n = 318 506) with data on paternal but not maternal age for sensitivity analyses., Main Outcome Measures: Information on persons coded as having International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision ASD was obtained from the registry. The registry identified 110 cases of ASD (incidence, 8.3 cases per 10 000 persons), mainly autism, in the smaller subset with complete parental age data., Results: There was a significant monotonic association between advancing paternal age and risk of ASD. Offspring of men 40 years or older were 5.75 times (95% confidence interval, 2.65-12.46; P<.001) more likely to have ASD compared with offspring of men younger than 30 years, after controlling for year of birth, socioeconomic status, and maternal age. Advancing maternal age showed no association with ASD after adjusting for paternal age. Sensitivity analyses indicated that these findings were not the result of bias due to missing data on maternal age., Conclusions: Advanced paternal age was associated with increased risk of ASD. Possible biological mechanisms include de novo mutations associated with advancing age or alterations in genetic imprinting.