Rachael Bedford, Jonathan Green, Teodora Gliga, Emily H. Jones, Mayada Elsabbagh, Greg Pasco, Ming Wai Wan, Vicky Slonims, Tony Charman, Andrew Pickles, Mark H. Johnson, The BASIS Team
Cognitive markers may in theory be more sensitive to the effects of intervention than overt behavioral measures. The current study tests the impact of the Intervention with the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings—Video Interaction for Promoting Positive Parenting (iBASIS-VIPP) on an eye-tracking measure of social attention: dwell time to the referred object in a gaze following task. The original two-site, two-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) of this intervention to increase parental awareness, and responsiveness to their infant, was run with infants who have an elevated familial likelihood for autism (EL). Fifty-four EL infants (28 iBASIS-VIPP intervention, 26 no intervention) were enrolled, and the intervention took place between 9 months (baseline) and 15 months (endpoint), with gaze following behavior measured at 15 months. Secondary intention to treat (ITT) analysis showed that the intervention was associated with significantly reduced dwell time to the referent of another person's gaze (β = −0.32, SE = 0.14, p = 0.03) at 15-month treatment endpoint. Given the established link between gaze following and language, the results are considered in the context of a previously reported, non-significant and transient trend toward lower language scores at the treatment endpoint (Green et al. (2015) The Lancet Psychiatry, 2(2), 133–140). Future intervention trials should aim to include experimental cognitive measures, alongside behavioral measures, to investigate mechanisms associated with intervention effects.
{"title":"Parent-mediated intervention in infants with an elevated likelihood for autism reduces dwell time during a gaze-following task","authors":"Rachael Bedford, Jonathan Green, Teodora Gliga, Emily H. Jones, Mayada Elsabbagh, Greg Pasco, Ming Wai Wan, Vicky Slonims, Tony Charman, Andrew Pickles, Mark H. Johnson, The BASIS Team","doi":"10.1002/aur.3223","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3223","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Cognitive markers may in theory be more sensitive to the effects of intervention than overt behavioral measures. The current study tests the impact of the <i>Intervention with the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings—Video Interaction for Promoting Positive Parenting</i> (iBASIS-VIPP) on an eye-tracking measure of social attention: dwell time to the referred object in a gaze following task. The original two-site, two-arm, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) of this intervention to increase parental awareness, and responsiveness to their infant, was run with infants who have an elevated familial likelihood for autism (EL). Fifty-four EL infants (28 iBASIS-VIPP intervention, 26 no intervention) were enrolled, and the intervention took place between 9 months (baseline) and 15 months (endpoint), with gaze following behavior measured at 15 months. Secondary intention to treat (ITT) analysis showed that the intervention was associated with significantly reduced dwell time to the referent of another person's gaze (<i>β</i> = −0.32, SE = 0.14, <i>p</i> = 0.03) at 15-month treatment endpoint. Given the established link between gaze following and language, the results are considered in the context of a previously reported, non-significant and transient trend toward lower language scores at the treatment endpoint (Green et al. (2015) <i>The Lancet Psychiatry</i>, 2(2), 133–140). Future intervention trials should aim to include experimental cognitive measures, alongside behavioral measures, to investigate mechanisms associated with intervention effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 11","pages":"2346-2354"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3223","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shoba S. Meera, Malavi Srikar, Reny Raju, Divya Swaminathan, Rachel Elizabeth Johnson, Linda R. Watson, Deepa Bhat Nair, John Vijay Sagar Kommu, Jo Chopra-McGowan, Prathyusha P. Vasuki
Preliminary evidence indicates potential benefit of providing caregiver-mediated intervention, prior to diagnosis, for infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism and related developmental delays including language delay (EL-A). However, delivering such interventions online and in low-resource settings like India has not been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a novel manualized caregiver-mediated early support program, the “LiL' STEPS,” online in India, for EL-A infants. LiL' STEPS stands for Language development & Intervention Lab's (LiL') Supporting Early social-communication and language by Promoting caregiver Sensitive responsiveness (STEPS). The program comprised 14 sessions with a focus on social-communication and language, conducted over 12-weeks using demonstration and video feedback. Families of 36 EL-A infants aged 9 to 15-months participated in this feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT). Families were randomized in a 2:1 ratio (n = 24 LiL' STEPS and n = 12 care as usual groups). Information on feasibility and acceptability was collated following a mixed methods approach from caregiver interviews, fidelity forms, session notes, and study register. Findings indicated the LiL' STEPS study trial as feasible and acceptable with recruitment rate of 4 per month, 100% willingness for randomization, 8.3% attrition, and 3.03% loss of blinding. Interventionist and caregiver fidelity was maintained above 80%. Despite challenges like interruptions during sessions, 100% families found the program acceptable and satisfactory, 86% said they would recommend the program to others, and 71% preferred online modality. Caregivers' perspectives on beneficial components and experience attending the program have been described. Accordingly, recommendations for future definitive RCTs have been presented.
{"title":"Feasibility and acceptability of a caregiver-mediated early support program, delivered online, for infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism: A feasibility randomized controlled trial","authors":"Shoba S. Meera, Malavi Srikar, Reny Raju, Divya Swaminathan, Rachel Elizabeth Johnson, Linda R. Watson, Deepa Bhat Nair, John Vijay Sagar Kommu, Jo Chopra-McGowan, Prathyusha P. Vasuki","doi":"10.1002/aur.3217","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3217","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Preliminary evidence indicates potential benefit of providing caregiver-mediated intervention, prior to diagnosis, for infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism and related developmental delays including language delay (EL-A). However, delivering such interventions online and in low-resource settings like India has not been reported. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a novel manualized caregiver-mediated early support program, the “LiL' STEPS,” online in India, for EL-A infants. LiL' STEPS stands for Language development & Intervention Lab's (LiL') Supporting Early social-communication and language by Promoting caregiver Sensitive responsiveness (STEPS). The program comprised 14 sessions with a focus on social-communication and language, conducted over 12-weeks using demonstration and video feedback. Families of 36 EL-A infants aged 9 to 15-months participated in this feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT). Families were randomized in a 2:1 ratio (<i>n</i> = 24 LiL' STEPS and <i>n</i> = 12 care as usual groups). Information on feasibility and acceptability was collated following a mixed methods approach from caregiver interviews, fidelity forms, session notes, and study register. Findings indicated the LiL' STEPS study trial as feasible and acceptable with recruitment rate of 4 per month, 100% willingness for randomization, 8.3% attrition, and 3.03% loss of blinding. Interventionist and caregiver fidelity was maintained above 80%. Despite challenges like interruptions during sessions, 100% families found the program acceptable and satisfactory, 86% said they would recommend the program to others, and 71% preferred online modality. Caregivers' perspectives on beneficial components and experience attending the program have been described. Accordingly, recommendations for future definitive RCTs have been presented.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1853-1866"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3217","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanith Archibald, Emma Willmott, Cate Kelly, Louise Bradbury, Pippa Hugo, Rachel Bryant-Waugh
The high co-occurrence of autism and eating disorders is well established, including for those with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is therefore important to consider autism and identify possible autism when people present to eating disorder services to ascertain whether further assessment is indicated, to support clinical formulation and to make appropriate adaptations during interventions. This paper explores the utility of a validated autism screening measure, the AQ-10, in a population of children and adolescents who presented to an outpatient eating disorders clinic for an assessment of possible ARFID. Over 19 months, 335 young people were assessed and 246 families with children aged between 4 and 17 years completed one of three versions of the AQ-10 (Child, Adolescent, and Adult), as part of a battery of routinely administered pre-assessment questionnaires. Results indicated that 80.2% (n = 69) of those with an existing autism diagnosis scored above clinical threshold of ≥6 (M = 7.2, SD = 1.9), 43.9% (n = 43) of those queried to be autistic scored above clinical threshold (M = 5.2, SD = 2.5), and 6.5% (n = 4) of non-autistic individuals scored above clinical threshold (M = 2.8, SD = 1.8). Additionally, the AQ-10 satisfactorily discriminated between those with a known autism diagnosis and those who are not autistic across all age groups and sex. We conclude that the AQ-10, alongside a comprehensive clinical assessment and clinical judgment, is a useful screening tool that can support clinicians to identify appropriate onward referrals for autism assessments, aid clinical formulation, and consider appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments during ARFID interventions.
{"title":"Investigating the utility of the AQ-10 in children and adolescents assessed in an outpatient ARFID clinic","authors":"Tanith Archibald, Emma Willmott, Cate Kelly, Louise Bradbury, Pippa Hugo, Rachel Bryant-Waugh","doi":"10.1002/aur.3220","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3220","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The high co-occurrence of autism and eating disorders is well established, including for those with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). It is therefore important to consider autism and identify possible autism when people present to eating disorder services to ascertain whether further assessment is indicated, to support clinical formulation and to make appropriate adaptations during interventions. This paper explores the utility of a validated autism screening measure, the AQ-10, in a population of children and adolescents who presented to an outpatient eating disorders clinic for an assessment of possible ARFID. Over 19 months, 335 young people were assessed and 246 families with children aged between 4 and 17 years completed one of three versions of the AQ-10 (Child, Adolescent, and Adult), as part of a battery of routinely administered pre-assessment questionnaires. Results indicated that 80.2% (<i>n</i> = 69) of those with an existing autism diagnosis scored above clinical threshold of ≥6 (M = 7.2, SD = 1.9), 43.9% (<i>n</i> = 43) of those queried to be autistic scored above clinical threshold (M = 5.2, SD = 2.5), and 6.5% (<i>n</i> = 4) of non-autistic individuals scored above clinical threshold (M = 2.8, SD = 1.8). Additionally, the AQ-10 satisfactorily discriminated between those with a known autism diagnosis and those who are not autistic across all age groups and sex. We conclude that the AQ-10, alongside a comprehensive clinical assessment and clinical judgment, is a useful screening tool that can support clinicians to identify appropriate onward referrals for autism assessments, aid clinical formulation, and consider appropriate adaptations and reasonable adjustments during ARFID interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1867-1875"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142074617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charlotte Dumont, Marie Belenger, Inge-Marie Eigsti, Mikhail Kissine
Some autistic children acquire foreign languages from exposure to screens. Such unexpected bilingualism (UB) is therefore not driven by social interaction, rather, language acquisition appears to rely on less socially mediated learning and other cognitive processes. We hypothesize that UB children may rely on other cues, such as acoustic cues, of the linguistic input. Previous research indicates enhanced pitch processing in some autistic children, often associated with language delays and difficulties in forming stable phonological categories due to sensitivity to subtle linguistic variations. We propose that repetitive screen-based input simplifies linguistic complexity, allowing focus on individual cues. This study hypothesizes that autistic UB children exhibit superior pitch discrimination compared with both autistic and non-autistic peers. From a sample of 46 autistic French-speaking children aged 9 to 16, 12 were considered as UB. These children, along with 45 non-autistic children, participated in a two-alternative forced-choice pitch discrimination task. They listened to pairs of pure tones, 50% of which differed by 3% (easy), 2% (medium), or 1% (hard). A stringent comparison of performance revealed that only the autistic UB group performed above chance for tone pairs that differed, across all conditions. This group demonstrated superior pitch discrimination relative to autistic and non-autistic peers. This study establishes the phenomenon of UB in autism and provides evidence for enhanced pitch discrimination in this group. Acute perception of auditory information, combined with repeated language content, may facilitate UB children's focus on phonetic features, and help acquire a language with no communicative support or motivation.
{"title":"Enhanced pitch discrimination in autistic children with unexpected bilingualism","authors":"Charlotte Dumont, Marie Belenger, Inge-Marie Eigsti, Mikhail Kissine","doi":"10.1002/aur.3221","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3221","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Some autistic children acquire foreign languages from exposure to screens. Such unexpected bilingualism (UB) is therefore not driven by social interaction, rather, language acquisition appears to rely on less socially mediated learning and other cognitive processes. We hypothesize that UB children may rely on other cues, such as acoustic cues, of the linguistic input. Previous research indicates enhanced pitch processing in some autistic children, often associated with language delays and difficulties in forming stable phonological categories due to sensitivity to subtle linguistic variations. We propose that repetitive screen-based input simplifies linguistic complexity, allowing focus on individual cues. This study hypothesizes that autistic UB children exhibit superior pitch discrimination compared with both autistic and non-autistic peers. From a sample of 46 autistic French-speaking children aged 9 to 16, 12 were considered as UB. These children, along with 45 non-autistic children, participated in a two-alternative forced-choice pitch discrimination task. They listened to pairs of pure tones, 50% of which differed by 3% (easy), 2% (medium), or 1% (hard). A stringent comparison of performance revealed that only the autistic UB group performed above chance for tone pairs that differed, across all conditions. This group demonstrated superior pitch discrimination relative to autistic and non-autistic peers. This study establishes the phenomenon of UB in autism and provides evidence for enhanced pitch discrimination in this group. Acute perception of auditory information, combined with repeated language content, may facilitate UB children's focus on phonetic features, and help acquire a language with no communicative support or motivation.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1844-1852"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142074616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eleni Peristeri, Margreet Vogelzang, Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Stephanie Durrleman
Theory of Mind has long been studied as a core weakness in autism spectrum disorder due to its relationship with social reciprocity, while bilingualism has been shown to compensate for autistic individuals' mentalizing weaknesses. However, our knowledge of the Theory of Mind developmental trajectories of bilingual and monolingual autistic children, as well as of the factors related to Theory of Mind development in autism spectrum disorder is still limited. The current study has examined first- and second-order Theory of Mind skills in 21 monolingual and 21 bilingual autistic children longitudinally across three time points, specifically at ages 6, 9, and 12, and also investigated associations between Theory of Mind trajectories and trajectories of the children's language, intelligence and executive function skills. The results reveal that bilingual autistic children outperformed their monolingual peers in second-order Theory of Mind at ages 9 and 12, and that intelligence and, especially, expressive vocabulary skills played a pivotal role in advancing bilingual autistic children's second-order Theory of Mind development. On the other hand, monolingual autistic children only managed to capitalize on their language and intelligence resources at age 12. The findings highlight the importance of investigating bilingualism effects on autistic children's advanced cognitive abilities longitudinally.
{"title":"Bilingualism and second-order theory of mind development in autistic children over time: Longitudinal relations with language, executive functions, and intelligence","authors":"Eleni Peristeri, Margreet Vogelzang, Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Stephanie Durrleman","doi":"10.1002/aur.3214","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3214","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Theory of Mind has long been studied as a core weakness in autism spectrum disorder due to its relationship with social reciprocity, while bilingualism has been shown to compensate for autistic individuals' mentalizing weaknesses. However, our knowledge of the Theory of Mind developmental trajectories of bilingual and monolingual autistic children, as well as of the factors related to Theory of Mind development in autism spectrum disorder is still limited. The current study has examined first- and second-order Theory of Mind skills in 21 monolingual and 21 bilingual autistic children longitudinally across three time points, specifically at ages 6, 9, and 12, and also investigated associations between Theory of Mind trajectories and trajectories of the children's language, intelligence and executive function skills. The results reveal that bilingual autistic children outperformed their monolingual peers in second-order Theory of Mind at ages 9 and 12, and that intelligence and, especially, expressive vocabulary skills played a pivotal role in advancing bilingual autistic children's second-order Theory of Mind development. On the other hand, monolingual autistic children only managed to capitalize on their language and intelligence resources at age 12. The findings highlight the importance of investigating bilingualism effects on autistic children's advanced cognitive abilities longitudinally.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1818-1829"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3214","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142037882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cynthia E. Brown, Courtney J. Bernardin, Marshall T. Beauchamp, Stephen M. Kanne, Kerri P. Nowell
Almost all autistic youths have special interests (SIs), which are focused, intense areas of passion and interest in a particular topic. Emerging research suggests that there are gender differences in SIs among autistic youth; however, commonly used measures that assess for the presence of SIs may not fully capture the granular nature of those differences between autistic boys and girls. Characterizing these differences is important for autism identification in girls, as SIs in autistic girls may often be overlooked by caregivers, teachers, and clinicians due to their more “typical” and more socially oriented content areas compared to autistic boys. This study therefore aimed to more fully characterize gender differences in SIs using a newly developed caregiver-report measure of SIs (the Special Interests Survey; SIS). Caregivers of 1921 autistic youth completed the SIS. Analyses revealed many similarities between boys and girls; there were no gender differences in mean age SI onset, caregivers' perceptions of uniqueness or interferences of endorsed SIs, or duration of previous SIs. There were gender differences in endorsement of less than half (39%) of the SI categories measured, and there were minor differences in the number of endorsed current and past SIs. Categories with significant gender differences fell along typical gender lines (e.g., more boys interested in math and construction, more girls interested in animals and arts/crafts). This study extends the growing literature on SIs and gender differences in autism and has important implications for supporting autistic youth and their families.
几乎所有自闭症青少年都有特殊兴趣(SIs),即对某一特定主题的专注、强烈的热情和兴趣。新近的研究表明,自闭症青少年在特殊兴趣方面存在性别差异;然而,评估是否存在特殊兴趣的常用方法可能无法完全捕捉到自闭症男孩和女孩之间这些差异的细微差别。由于与自闭症男孩相比,自闭症女孩更 "典型"、更注重社交,因此她们的社交障碍可能经常被照顾者、教师和临床医生忽视。因此,本研究旨在使用一种新开发的由照护者报告的特殊兴趣测量方法(特殊兴趣调查,SIS),更全面地描述特殊兴趣的性别差异。1921 名自闭症青少年的照顾者完成了 SIS。分析结果表明,男孩和女孩之间有很多相似之处;在特殊兴趣爱好的平均开始年龄、照顾者对所认可的特殊兴趣爱好的独特性或干扰性的看法以及之前特殊兴趣爱好的持续时间等方面没有性别差异。在不到一半(39%)的被测 SI 类别中,认可度存在性别差异,在认可的当前和过去 SI 的数量上也存在微小差异。具有明显性别差异的类别属于典型的性别界线(例如,对数学和建筑感兴趣的男生较多,对动物和艺术/手工感兴趣的女生较多)。这项研究扩展了有关自闭症患者社交活动和性别差异的文献,对支持自闭症青少年及其家庭具有重要意义。
{"title":"More similar than different: Characterizing special interests in autistic boys and girls based on caregiver report","authors":"Cynthia E. Brown, Courtney J. Bernardin, Marshall T. Beauchamp, Stephen M. Kanne, Kerri P. Nowell","doi":"10.1002/aur.3216","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3216","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Almost all autistic youths have special interests (SIs), which are focused, intense areas of passion and interest in a particular topic. Emerging research suggests that there are gender differences in SIs among autistic youth; however, commonly used measures that assess for the presence of SIs may not fully capture the granular nature of those differences between autistic boys and girls. Characterizing these differences is important for autism identification in girls, as SIs in autistic girls may often be overlooked by caregivers, teachers, and clinicians due to their more “typical” and more socially oriented content areas compared to autistic boys. This study therefore aimed to more fully characterize gender differences in SIs using a newly developed caregiver-report measure of SIs (the Special Interests Survey; SIS). Caregivers of 1921 autistic youth completed the SIS. Analyses revealed many similarities between boys and girls; there were no gender differences in mean age SI onset, caregivers' perceptions of uniqueness or interferences of endorsed SIs, or duration of previous SIs. There were gender differences in endorsement of less than half (39%) of the SI categories measured, and there were minor differences in the number of endorsed current and past SIs. Categories with significant gender differences fell along typical gender lines (e.g., more boys interested in math and construction, more girls interested in animals and arts/crafts). This study extends the growing literature on SIs and gender differences in autism and has important implications for supporting autistic youth and their families.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 11","pages":"2333-2345"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Although the developmental process of linguistic register—the appropriate manner of speech as determined by the listener and social situation—has been gradually clarified in typically developing (TD) children, research on the mechanism and developmental process of register acquisition in atypically developing children are insufficient. This study compared the developmental process of understanding linguistic register among TD children, autistic children, and those with Williams syndrome (WS), and examined the contributions of social cognition and motivation to the acquisition of linguistic register. Two experiments were designed to assess the recognition of which linguistic register to use when communicating with different listeners and of the listener's feelings according to the speakers' use of register. The results revealed that the process of understanding register-listener associations was nearly identical among all groups of children and their understanding improved with age. Conversely, their understanding of the effect of register selection on the listener's feelings varied. Importantly, as TD children mature, they become aware that adult listeners may feel negatively when spoken to in an inappropriate register, whereas autistic children and those with WS do not exhibit the same awareness. Thus, our results suggest that atypical social cognition and motivation do not disturb the understanding of register-listener associations. However, social cognition and motivation play important roles in understanding the effect of register selection on the listener's feelings. These findings provide a significant contribution to clarifying the mechanism of linguistic register acquisition.
{"title":"Developmental process of the understanding of linguistic register in children: A comparison of typically developing children, autistic children, and children with Williams syndrome","authors":"Ayaka Ikeda, Yoko Hakuno, Kosuke Asada, Takahiro Ikeda, Takanori Yamagata, Masahiro Hirai","doi":"10.1002/aur.3219","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3219","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Although the developmental process of <i>linguistic register</i>—the appropriate manner of speech as determined by the listener and social situation—has been gradually clarified in typically developing (TD) children, research on the mechanism and developmental process of register acquisition in atypically developing children are insufficient. This study compared the developmental process of understanding linguistic register among TD children, autistic children, and those with Williams syndrome (WS), and examined the contributions of social cognition and motivation to the acquisition of linguistic register. Two experiments were designed to assess the recognition of which linguistic register to use when communicating with different listeners and of the listener's feelings according to the speakers' use of register. The results revealed that the process of understanding register-listener associations was nearly identical among all groups of children and their understanding improved with age. Conversely, their understanding of the effect of register selection on the listener's feelings varied. Importantly, as TD children mature, they become aware that adult listeners may feel negatively when spoken to in an inappropriate register, whereas autistic children and those with WS do not exhibit the same awareness. Thus, our results suggest that atypical social cognition and motivation do not disturb the understanding of register-listener associations. However, social cognition and motivation play important roles in understanding the effect of register selection on the listener's feelings. These findings provide a significant contribution to clarifying the mechanism of linguistic register acquisition.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1902-1915"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emily F. Ferguson, Emily Spackman, Ru Ying Cai, Antonio Y. Hardan, Mirko Uljarević
There is a paucity of research that explores associations between emotion dysregulation and the expression and severity of core and co-occurring characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially in autistic youth with co-occurring intellectual disability (ID). This study explored the interplay between developmental characteristics and emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and specific subtypes of RRBs that are elevated in autistic youth with co-occurring ID. Generalized additive models demonstrated that age, sex, language level, dysregulation, and anxiety showed unique patterns of association with subtypes of RRBs in a sample of 150 autistic youth with co-occurring ID who are non-speaking or minimally verbal. More specifically, higher anxiety levels were significantly associated with elevations in repetitive sensory motor behaviors (RSMB), self-injurious behaviors (SIB), insistence on sameness (IS), and unusual interests (UI). While emotion dysregulation was a significant predictor of UI, it demonstrated positive, albeit not significant, associations with the intensity of SIB and RSMB. Language level was a significant predictor of RSMB, such that the intensity of RSMB was higher for individuals who were non-speaking relative to those who spoke in single words. These findings provide preliminary insights into patterns of associations between emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and specific subdomains of RRBs in autistic youth with ID.
{"title":"Characterizing associations between emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and repetitive behaviors in autistic youth with intellectual disability","authors":"Emily F. Ferguson, Emily Spackman, Ru Ying Cai, Antonio Y. Hardan, Mirko Uljarević","doi":"10.1002/aur.3207","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3207","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There is a paucity of research that explores associations between emotion dysregulation and the expression and severity of core and co-occurring characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially in autistic youth with co-occurring intellectual disability (ID). This study explored the interplay between developmental characteristics and emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and specific subtypes of RRBs that are elevated in autistic youth with co-occurring ID. Generalized additive models demonstrated that age, sex, language level, dysregulation, and anxiety showed unique patterns of association with subtypes of RRBs in a sample of 150 autistic youth with co-occurring ID who are non-speaking or minimally verbal. More specifically, higher anxiety levels were significantly associated with elevations in repetitive sensory motor behaviors (RSMB), self-injurious behaviors (SIB), insistence on sameness (IS), and unusual interests (UI). While emotion dysregulation was a significant predictor of UI, it demonstrated positive, albeit not significant, associations with the intensity of SIB and RSMB. Language level was a significant predictor of RSMB, such that the intensity of RSMB was higher for individuals who were non-speaking relative to those who spoke in single words. These findings provide preliminary insights into patterns of associations between emotion dysregulation, anxiety, and specific subdomains of RRBs in autistic youth with ID.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 9","pages":"1810-1817"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142010029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mei-Ni Hsiao, Yi-Ling Chien, Yueh-Ming Tai, Heng-Man Chen, Hsien-Hsueh Shih, Li-Wei Chen, Yu-Ying Chen, Wei-Tsuen Soong, Yen-Nan Chiu, Wen-Che Tsai, Elizabeth Laugeson, Mei-Hui Tseng, Susan Shur-Fen Gau
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience lifelong social communication challenges and are more vulnerable to school bullying. Addressing their social difficulties and school bullying requires evidence-based interventions. PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) was adapted and translated for Taiwanese adolescents. This randomized controlled study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Taiwanese version of PEERS® in reducing school bullying and enhancing social function among autistic adolescents. Twenty-one autistic adolescents (mean age 14.29 ± 1.67 years; female n = 733.33%) were randomized to a treatment group (TG, n = 10) or a delayed treatment control group (DTG, n = 11). The outcome measures (school bullying, social challenges, social skills knowledge, and social skills performance) were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up. The group and time interaction analyses revealed greater magnitudes of reduction in general school bullying (p < 0.001), victimization (p < 0.001), perpetration (p = 0.012), social challenges (p = 0.001), and peer conflicts (p < 0.001), and improvement in social knowledge (p < 0.001) in the TG group than the DTG group. The findings suggest that the PEERS® program tailored for Taiwanese adolescents is effective in reducing school bullying, decreasing social challenges, and enhancing social skills among autistic adolescents, with very large effect sizes (Cohen's d ranging from 1.19 to 2.88). Consequently, participation in the PEERS® program is recommended for adolescents with social difficulties to improve their social communication and interactions to offset school bullying and other social challenges related to adverse outcomes.
患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的人通常会终生面临社交沟通方面的挑战,而且更容易受到校园欺凌。要解决他们的社交障碍和校园欺凌问题,需要采取循证干预措施。PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills)经过改编和翻译,适用于台湾青少年。这项随机对照研究旨在考察台湾版 PEERS® 在减少自闭症青少年校园欺凌和增强其社会功能方面的效果。21名自闭症青少年(平均年龄14.29 ± 1.67岁;女性n = 733.33%)被随机分配到治疗组(TG,n = 10)或延迟治疗对照组(DTG,n = 11)。结果测量(校园欺凌、社交挑战、社交技能知识和社交技能表现)分别在基线、治疗后和随访时进行评估。小组与时间的交互作用分析表明,一般校园欺凌的减少幅度更大(p
{"title":"A preliminary randomized controlled study of the PEERS® program for Taiwanese autistic adolescents: The effectiveness on reducing school bullying and enhancing social function","authors":"Mei-Ni Hsiao, Yi-Ling Chien, Yueh-Ming Tai, Heng-Man Chen, Hsien-Hsueh Shih, Li-Wei Chen, Yu-Ying Chen, Wei-Tsuen Soong, Yen-Nan Chiu, Wen-Che Tsai, Elizabeth Laugeson, Mei-Hui Tseng, Susan Shur-Fen Gau","doi":"10.1002/aur.3213","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3213","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience lifelong social communication challenges and are more vulnerable to school bullying. Addressing their social difficulties and school bullying requires evidence-based interventions. PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) was adapted and translated for Taiwanese adolescents. This randomized controlled study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Taiwanese version of PEERS® in reducing school bullying and enhancing social function among autistic adolescents. Twenty-one autistic adolescents (mean age 14.29 ± 1.67 years; female <i>n</i> = 733.33%) were randomized to a treatment group (TG, <i>n</i> = 10) or a delayed treatment control group (DTG, <i>n</i> = 11). The outcome measures (school bullying, social challenges, social skills knowledge, and social skills performance) were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up. The group and time interaction analyses revealed greater magnitudes of reduction in general school bullying (<i>p</i> < 0.001), victimization (<i>p</i> < 0.001), perpetration (<i>p</i> = 0.012), social challenges (<i>p</i> = 0.001), and peer conflicts (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and improvement in social knowledge (<i>p</i> < 0.001) in the TG group than the DTG group. The findings suggest that the PEERS® program tailored for Taiwanese adolescents is effective in reducing school bullying, decreasing social challenges, and enhancing social skills among autistic adolescents, with very large effect sizes (Cohen's <i>d</i> ranging from 1.19 to 2.88). Consequently, participation in the PEERS® program is recommended for adolescents with social difficulties to improve their social communication and interactions to offset school bullying and other social challenges related to adverse outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 8","pages":"1705-1720"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019802","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yael Estrugo, Shahar Bar Yehuda, Nirit Bauminger-Zviely
Challenges in social functioning are considered a core criterion for diagnosing autism. Although motor skills, executive functioning (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) abilities independently affect social challenges and are interconnected, these abilities' shared contribution to the explanation of social functioning in autism remains under-investigated. To address this disparity, we examined the motor, EF, and ToM abilities of 148 autistic and non-autistic youth (ages 6–16 years), evaluating these variables' impact on social ability and their interconnections. Our mediation model exploring the contribution of motor, EF, and ToM skills explained 85% of the variance in social functioning (Social Responsiveness Scale—SRS-2). Analysis yielded a direct path from study group to SRS-2-social (typically developing-TD > autistic) and two main parallel indirect joint paths: (a) Group ➔ motor ➔ EF ➔ SRS-2-social; and (b) Group ➔ motor ➔ ToM ➔ SRS-2-social. In two secondary indirect paths, autistic children showed lower motor skills, which in turn explained their higher EF and/or ToM impairment, which in turn explained their higher social skills impairment. Put differently, our results suggest that better EF and TOM proficiency may compensate for poorer motor skills. Findings also indicated that the collective impact of motor, EF, and ToM skills on social functioning, along with the mediating role played by EF and ToM on the social-motor linkage, may contribute to understanding individual differences in the social functioning of autistic children. These conclusions call for the inclusion of motor, EF, and ToM activities into daily practices to facilitate social functioning.
社交功能方面的挑战被认为是诊断自闭症的核心标准。虽然运动技能、执行功能(EF)和心智理论(ToM)能力会独立影响社交挑战并相互关联,但这些能力对解释自闭症社交功能的共同贡献仍未得到充分研究。为了解决这一差异,我们研究了 148 名自闭症和非自闭症青少年(6-16 岁)的运动、EF 和心智理论能力,评估了这些变量对社交能力的影响及其相互联系。我们的中介模型探索了运动能力、情感和态度管理能力对社会功能(社会反应量表-SRS-2)的贡献,该模型解释了社会功能(社会反应量表-SRS-2)中 85% 的差异。分析结果显示,从研究小组到 SRS-2 社交(典型发育型-自闭症>典型发育型-自闭症)有一条直接路径,还有两条平行的间接联合路径:(a) 小组 ➔ 运动 ➔ EF ➔ SRS-2-社交;(b) 小组 ➔ 运动 ➔ ToM ➔ SRS-2-社交。在两个次要间接路径中,自闭症儿童的运动技能较低,这反过来解释了他们较高的 EF 和/或 ToM 损伤,这反过来解释了他们较高的社交技能损伤。换句话说,我们的研究结果表明,较好的EF和TOM能力可以弥补较差的运动技能。研究结果还表明,运动、情商和定向行走技能对社交功能的共同影响,以及情商和定向行走对社交-运动联系的中介作用,可能有助于理解自闭症儿童社交功能的个体差异。这些结论呼吁将运动、情绪情感和待人接物活动纳入日常实践,以促进社交功能。
{"title":"Motor, cognitive, and socio-cognitive mechanisms explaining social skills in autism and typical development","authors":"Yael Estrugo, Shahar Bar Yehuda, Nirit Bauminger-Zviely","doi":"10.1002/aur.3215","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.3215","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Challenges in social functioning are considered a core criterion for diagnosing autism. Although motor skills, executive functioning (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) abilities independently affect social challenges and are interconnected, these abilities' shared contribution to the explanation of social functioning in autism remains under-investigated. To address this disparity, we examined the motor, EF, and ToM abilities of 148 autistic and non-autistic youth (ages 6–16 years), evaluating these variables' impact on social ability and their interconnections. Our mediation model exploring the contribution of motor, EF, and ToM skills explained 85% of the variance in social functioning (Social Responsiveness Scale—SRS-2). Analysis yielded a direct path from study group to SRS-2-social (typically developing-TD > autistic) and two main parallel indirect joint paths: (a) Group ➔ motor ➔ EF ➔ SRS-2-social; and (b) Group ➔ motor ➔ ToM ➔ SRS-2-social. In two secondary indirect paths, autistic children showed lower motor skills, which in turn explained their higher EF and/or ToM impairment, which in turn explained their higher social skills impairment. Put differently, our results suggest that better EF and TOM proficiency may compensate for poorer motor skills. Findings also indicated that the collective impact of motor, EF, and ToM skills on social functioning, along with the mediating role played by EF and ToM on the social-motor linkage, may contribute to understanding individual differences in the social functioning of autistic children. These conclusions call for the inclusion of motor, EF, and ToM activities into daily practices to facilitate social functioning.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"17 11","pages":"2319-2332"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aur.3215","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142006016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}