Autism Research最新文献

This study investigates the experiences of autistic adult women, a group understudied in autism research due to a predominant focus on early identification/intervention, restrictive research participation criteria, and differing rates of diagnosis by sex. This study characterizes a cohort of autistic adult women (n = 1424) across various dimensions including demographics, relationships, education, employment, income, well-being, and co-occurring psychiatric conditions. It also explores differences among those diagnosed with autism as children versus those diagnosed as adults. The sample was limited to women able to read and provide independent consent to participate. Results indicated that the average age of diagnosis for those diagnosed before age 18 was 9.6 years old, whereas for those diagnosed in adulthood it was 31.8. Over 80% of the sample had completed some college or post-secondary education, with more than a third of those diagnosed as adults having attained a 4-year college degree or higher. More than half were employed, with those diagnosed as adults more likely to be employed full time (31.74%). Additionally, more than half were married or identified a romantic partner. Significant rates of psychiatric comorbidity were reported, with those diagnosed with autism as adults more likely to have co-occurring anxiety (69.87%), depression (61.79%), eating disorders (17.28%), and substance use diagnoses (8.85%) than those diagnosed as children. High rates of suicidal ideation (34%) and self-harm (21%) were endorsed in the full sample. Regression analyses indicated that being diagnosed with autism at a later age was associated with higher internalizing, externalizing, and substance use as well as a lower report of personal strengths, even when accounting for demographic factors. Despite these challenges, our findings highlight that many autistic women have positive outcomes and meet common adult developmental milestones. The authors advocate for the development of more tailored treatment options that address the specific needs of autistic women.

One of the earliest and commonly reported symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a delay in language development. Such delay may sometimes accompany deficits which can have a long-term impact on reading comprehension. It is frequently reported that autistic children exhibit significant difficulties in pragmatics, which is the communicative use of language. While the focus of most studies on reading has been on comprehension, some have proposed a positive correlation between reading and pragmatics. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms that underpin pragmatic language in autism remain poorly understood. The objective of this functional MRI study is to examine the differences in the brain's Pragmatic Network (PN) during two levels of reading tasks in autistic and neurotypical (NT) children. The study included children aged 8–13 years (VA task = 26 ASD and 15 NT; MS task = 25 ASD and 15 NT). The results demonstrate that while both groups engaged the PN, the ASD participants exhibited additional recruitment of PN areas that overlapped with language processing, contextual integration of linguistic information, and theory of mind. Furthermore, the ASD group, but not the NT group, showed a correlation between the percentage of signal change and reading comprehension. In addition to underscoring the role of the PN in reading comprehension, these findings point to increased engagement of the PN in autism.

Families of transition-aged youth with autism often struggle to access services. Due to systemic barriers, Latino, Spanish-speaking families of autistic youth especially struggle to access services. One way to improve service access is through parent advocacy abilities (i.e., knowledge of adult services, advocacy abilities and comfort, empowerment). To improve parent advocacy abilities and, ultimately, service access, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the feasibility and efficacy of an advocacy program: ASISTIR (Apoyando a nueStros hIjo/as con autiSmo obTener servIcios de tRansición; Supporting our Children with Autism to Obtain Transition Services). Of the 30 participants who were retained for analyses, intervention (vs. waitlist-control) group participants demonstrated significant increases in knowledge about adult services, advocacy activities, advocacy skills and comfort, and empowerment. Further, intervention (vs. waitlist-control) group participants demonstrated significantly greater service access. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT06207149

We investigated associations between maternal grandparents' age and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in grandchildren, exploring differences by race/ethnicity. In a multigenerational California birth cohort study including 1,743,998 and 1,630,722 mother–child pairs (with 27,975 and 25,816 ASD cases, respectively), we examined ASD risk by grandmother's and grandfather's age at the time when their daughter was born. Logistic regression was used to obtain odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. The odds of ASD in grandchildren were higher among White grandmothers (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.08–1.20) and grandfathers (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.11–1.25) who had daughters at younger ages (18–24 years) compared to the 25–29 year reference, while inverse associations were observed for younger Black grandmothers (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78–0.94). At older ages (35–55 years), ASD risks were higher among Hispanic grandmothers (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06–1.21) and Hispanic (OR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.06–1.18) and Black grandfathers (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.05–1.32). The risk of ASD in grandchildren was higher among older grandparents of several races/ethnicities but among the youngest grandparents only among those of White race. Differences by race/ethnicity may imply different mechanisms operating in younger and older grandparents. Studies exploring the contributions of biological as well as social, occupational, and environmental factors on the influence of age at pregnancy with ASD are needed.

Maternal asthma has been linked to child autism. In this study, we systematically reviewed observational studies published between July 2001 and February 2024 that assessed maternal asthma during pregnancy (exposure) and child autism (outcome). Databases searched included MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO. Of the 350 potential studies, 19 met the inclusion criteria (2,530,716 participants; 73,065 autistic participants). Quality was assessed with the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Meta-analyses using proportions and odds ratios were conducted using the Mantel–Haenszel method with a random-effects model. Compared to women without asthma, there was an increased odds of child autism with any history of maternal asthma (OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.44; I² = 61%, n = 14), with current asthma during pregnancy (OR = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.12, 1.35; I² = 35%, n = 10) and with medication use during pregnancy (OR = 1.48; 95% CI = 1.30, 1.68; I² = 0%, n = 3). However, when women with asthma who used asthma medication were compared to those with asthma who did not use medication, there were no increased odds for child autism (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 0.89, 1.27; I² = 34%, n = 2). Maternal asthma is associated with an increased odds of child autism. Future studies should consider neurodivergence in the parents, the severity of asthma, and the effectiveness of prescribed medication in managing the mother's asthma to improve our understanding of this association.

Trial Registration: PROSPERO registration: CRD42021265060

This study examined cognitive and affective empathy in individuals with autism spectrum condition (ASC), social anxiety (SA), and those without these conditions. A total of 105 university students (mean age = 24.2 years) were divided into three groups: ASC (n = 34), SA (n = 38), and controls (n = 33). Participants completed the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to assess cognitive (fantasy, perspective taking) and affective (personal distress, empathic concern) empathy. State cognitive empathy was measured using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task (RMET). Results showed that the ASC group had lower empathic concern than the SA and control groups and lower perspective taking than controls. Both ASC and SA groups reported higher personal distress than controls. A novel personal distress-to-empathic concern ratio (PD/EC) effectively differentiated ASC from SA, with a proposed cutoff of 0.83, demonstrating good sensitivity and moderate specificity. RMET scores were within the norm for all groups, with no significant differences. These findings highlight distinct empathy profiles in autism and social anxiety and introduce a new metric for differentiation, with potential clinical and research applications in empathy assessment.

Social media platforms play a crucial role in shaping public perceptions of neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism spectrum disorders, by providing spaces for community interaction and content sharing. These platforms hold the potential to foster connections and support among autistic individuals while offering valuable insights into their personal experiences and diverse perspectives. However, knowledge is limited on autism-related content shared within Reddit, one of the most prominent social media outlets. In this study, we aimed to examine discussions and narratives shared on Reddit about autism, with the dual objectives of identifying the main topics of discussion and exploring the lived experiences of autistic individuals. To achieve this, we utilized state-of-the-art natural language processing techniques to perform a topic modeling analysis on 740,042 autism-related posts collected from Reddit. Converging themes emerged when comparing the largest and most general subreddit in the dataset (r/autism) with 15 additional autism-related subreddits. The most prominent topics of discussion included challenges in social relationships, behaviors such as stimming, and sensory sensitivities. Additional themes highlighted specific emotional experiences and practical concerns, such as managing a diagnosis, navigating intervention options, and coping with daily life. These findings were organized and discussed in relation to social communication differences and restricted, repetitive behaviors, which are frequently highlighted in discussions about autism. At the same time, we acknowledge the perspective of autistic communities, which view these traits as differences rather than deficits, with many challenges arising from societal expectations and the pressure to mask neurodivergent traits. Together, the results provide a comprehensive overview of the most common topics discussed within autism-related social media content and offer valuable insights into the lived experiences and motivations for social media engagement among autistic individuals.

Autistic people are at an elevated risk of experiencing co-occurring anxiety and depression. The contributors to this are likely multifaceted and complex and remain poorly understood. Cognitive flexibility, social camouflaging, and perceived stress provide useful indices of the interacting neurocognitive, behavioral, and environmental factors that have been associated with anxiety and depression in autistic individuals. Here, we test if cognitive flexibility, as the factor most closely related to individual differences in thinking styles, mediates the relationships between social camouflaging, perceived stress, and anxiety/depression. This study included 806 autistic individuals aged between 18 and 83 years (Mean age = 40.2), recruited through the Research Match service of the Simons Powering Autism Research (SPARK) participant registry. Participants completed an online battery of questionnaires measuring cognitive and social flexibility, social camouflaging, perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. Parallel mediation analyses were used to test the mediating effect of cognitive and social flexibility. Across separate parallel mediation analyses, cognitive flexibility was found to significantly mediate the relationships between both social camouflaging and perceived stress with anxiety and depression. This was contrasted with social flexibility, which showed a lower magnitude mediating effect for perceived stress and no mediating effect of social camouflaging. Cognitive flexibility plays an important mediating role between the impact of both perceived stress and social camouflaging on greater symptoms of both anxiety and depression in autistic adults.