Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders最新文献

Purpose: Autistic children and youth (C&Y) experience low levels of physical activity (PA) participation due to persistent barriers that have traditionally been researched through deficit-based perspectives. A strengths-based approach may constitute a transformative alternative that focuses on abilities instead of deficits. The identification of facilitators plays a key role in the use of this approach. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to identify facilitators to PA participation among autistic C&Y, 5-18 years, and then use the identified facilitators to help conceptualize a strengths-based approach to promote, facilitate, and increase PA participation in autistic C&Y.

Methods: The Arksey and O'Malley framework, the PRISMA guidelines, and the socio-ecological model were utilized to conduct this review. Six databases were searched.

Results: Forty-three studies were identified and analyzed which led to the uncovering of 95 PA participation facilitators. These facilitators were organized into categories within the six socio-ecological model levels (i.e., intrapersonal, interpersonal, physical, institutional, community, public policy).

Conclusion: This review provides solid evidence to recommend a shift in research and practice about the PA participation of autistic C&Y from deficit-based perspectives towards strengths-based approaches. We highlighted in this paper how individual strengths can be fostered through the interaction of various facilitators across all levels of the socio-ecological model. Shifting the focus of researchers and PA practitioners from PA barriers to PA strengths may help find and implement solutions to promote new and ongoing PA participation among autistic C&Y as well as empower them to take ownership of their long-term well-being.

Purpose: This study investigated the social motivation underlying young autistic children's language and time spent in engagement states [adapted from Bottema-Beutel et al., (2014) and ranging from less social to more social] during interactions with parents. We examined (1) autistic children's time and words per minute (WPM) in each engagement state; (2) the relationship between time in engagement states and the social motivation (SM) of utterances; and (3) the effect of the Pathways intervention on time in engagement states.

Methods: This secondary analysis used video recordings of 10-min naturalistic interactions between 47 young autistic children (mean age = 36.23 months, SD = 7.89) and their parents. Families were randomized to either Pathways or services-as-usual (SAU). Videos were coded for engagement states, and child utterances were transcribed and coded for degree of SM using a novel coding scheme that captured attention (visual and auditory) and communicative intent. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlations, and hierarchical regression analyses.

Results: On average, children spent more time and produced more WPM during less social engagement states. Regression analyses revealed significant small-to-medium effects of (a) frequency of utterances with the lowest SM score on time in Object Engagement (less social; SAU > Pathways); and (b) frequency of utterances with higher SM scores on time in Coordinated Joint Engagement (more social; Pathways > SAU).

Conclusion: Findings emphasize the difference between autistic children's WPM and use of SM utterances, highlighting the need to differentiate expressive language from social language as distinct outcomes for this population.

Purpose: Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face elevated risks of depressive symptoms, which may impair their daily functioning and hinder effective caregiving. Grounded in self-determination theory and conservation of resources theory, this study examined the bidirectional relationship between basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) satisfaction and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating effect of parenting stress in this relationship.

Methods: Using a two-wave cross-lagged design, we assessed 178 Chinese parents of autistic children at baseline and at the three-month follow-up. The participants completed questionnaires on basic psychological needs satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and parenting stress at two waves of survey.

Results: The results supported the reciprocal relationship between autonomy need satisfaction and depressive symptoms, as well as the predictive effect of depressive symptoms on subsequent competence/relatedness need satisfaction. The findings also established parenting stress as a bidirectional mediator: it not only mediated the negative effects of depressive symptoms on the three psychological needs satisfaction, but also served as a mechanism through which autonomy need satisfaction buffers against mental health decline.

Conclusion: These findings highlight the necessity of developing interventions that enhance autonomy support and mitigate parental stress to improve the well-being of parents of autistic children.

Purpose: Metaphor comprehension is a critical yet challenging skill for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly in understanding psychological related metaphors. This study aims to address this gap by employing story-based thinking maps intervention to enhance comprehension of both physical and psychological related metaphors in children with ASD.

Method: Three children with ASD (aged 5-8) participated in this study. A concurrent multiple-probe design across two behaviors (physical and psychological related metaphors) and three participants was used, with baseline, intervention, follow-up, and generalization phases. Intervention involved identifying metaphor elements, shared features, and meanings.

Results: The results indicated that all participants demonstrated low accuracy during the baseline phase but exhibited similar patterns of improvement during the intervention phase and achieved 100% accuracy. High accuracy rates were maintained during the follow-up and generalization phases.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that the story-based thinking maps intervention is effective in enhancing metaphor comprehension skills in children with ASD. This study provides valuable insights for designing interventions targeting metaphor comprehension in this population.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a six-week Life Kinetic (LK) training program on static balance, dynamic balance, and motor coordination in children diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).

Methods: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 40 female students aged 10-12 years with clinically confirmed DCD were randomly assigned to either a LK training group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). The intervention group participated in two 45-minute LK training sessions per week for six weeks. Outcome measures included the Revised Stork Balance Test (RSBT) for static balance, the Bass Test of Dynamic Balance for dynamic balance, and the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) for motor coordination. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were analyzed using ANCOVA, adjusting for baseline values.

Results: Participants in the LK group showed significant improvements in the static balance (F (1, 37) = 356.76, P < 0.001, η² =0.906), dynamic balance (F (1, 37) = 150.65, P < 0.001, η² =0.920), and motor coordination (F (1, 37) = 160.07, P < 0.001, η² =0.812) subscales compared to the control group. ANCOVA confirmed the superiority of the LK group after controlling for baseline scores (partial η² > 0.80 for all outcomes).

Conclusion: Life Kinetic training significantly improves static balance, dynamic balance, and motor coordination in children with DCD. These findings support the use of LK as an effective neurocognitive-motor intervention in pediatric motor rehabilitation. Future research should explore the long-term effects and comparative efficacy of LK against other therapeutic modalities.

Trial registration number and date of registration: This trial was retrospectively registered with the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) under the ID: IRCT20190908044722N10 on April 19, 2025, after data collection had begun, due to administrative delays in the registration process. The full registration record is available at: https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/user/trial/82797/view https://irct.behdasht.gov.ir/user/trial/82797/view .

Purposes: There is a great need for mechanistically informed biomarkers to understand autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and guide treatment. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive method for identifying objective biomarkers, but traditional trial-averaged metrics may mask neural variability, a meaningful feature of ASD reflecting sensory, attentional, and cognitive differences.

Methods: This study investigates whether across-trial EEG variability enhances ASD classification compared to conventional mean EEG features. We hypothesize that capturing dynamic within-subject neural variability improves classification accuracy and offers deeper insights into ASD-related neural disruptions. We analyzed EEG power spectral features in individuals with and without ASD, extracting across-trial variability in five frequency bands alongside traditional mean EEG power metrics. Using machine learning, we compared classification performance and identified the most predictive neural markers.

Results: Results show that across-trial EEG variability outperformed mean EEG metrics, achieving 70.7% classification accuracy. Variability in delta and gamma bands is critical for distinguishing ASD, with robust cross-validation results and significant correlations with behavioral scores, supporting the clinical relevance and generalizability of neural variability as an ASD biomarker.

Conclusions: By incorporating neural variability into machine learning models, this study introduces a novel framework for improving biomarker-driven assessments. These findings highlight the potential for personalized tools that inform targeted interventions while offering insights into ASD neurophysiology. Future research should integrate longitudinal EEG analyses and multimodal neuroimaging to advance precision diagnostics in autism.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the interrelations between autistic characteristics, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and personality traits in autistic youth. While these psychological constructs are individually well-established, their simultaneous associations have not been comprehensively assessed.

Methods: A sample of 434 parents of autistic children and adolescents (ages 6-18; M = 11.5 years, SD = 3.0; 69% boys) completed standardized questionnaires assessing their child's autistic characteristics (SRS-2, RBS-R), internalizing and externalizing behaviors (CBCL), and and Five Factor personality traits (HiPIC). Network analysis was employed to explore how the intersections of these constructs when assessed as a comprehensive system.

Results: Results showed clear associations between personality and both internalizing and externalizing problems in the network, suggesting personality and internalizing/externalizing are distinct yet related constructs. In contrast, core autistic characteristics appeared more distantly linked. Strong inverse associations emerged between Benevolence and Externalizing problems, and between Emotional Stability and Internalizing difficulties.

Conclusion: These findings underscore the need for integrative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches addressing autistic, internalizing/externalizing, and personality-based behavior patterns. Such approaches may enhance individualized support and intervention planning by accounting for the complex interplay between these psychological domains.

Purpose: Air pollutants are emerging as recognised contributing factors in the aetiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly increasing the risk of autism in children. This study explored the association between prenatal exposure to air pollutants and the likelihood of developing autism, considering both autistic symptoms and diagnosed cases in a school-based population from Tarragona (Spain), a province with extensive petrochemical activity.

Methods: In the first phase, parents and teachers of 3,727 children (aged 4 and 11 years) completed screening questionnaires (CAST and EDUTEA, respectively). In the second phase, 623 children were individually assessed, and diagnoses were based on DSM-5 criteria (58 children with autism and 51 with subthreshold autistic traits).

Results: We performed multiple regressions, adjusting for individual, social, and family covariates. Significant associations were found between exposure to PM_coarse (β-0.16; CI: 0.03-0.29), NO₂ (β-0.15; CI: 0.02-0.28), and NO_x (β-0.18; CI: 0.03-0.34) and autism symptom scores reported by the teachers. Furthermore, a significant association suggests higher exposure to PM_2.5 (OR-1.66; CI: 1.03-2.65) and PM₁₀ (OR-1.46; CI: 1.01-2.12) during the second trimester of pregnancy can lead to higher chances of developing autism + subthreshold autistic traits in children.

Conclusions: These findings emphasise the potential impact of specific air pollutants, particularly during critical periods of pregnancy and foetal development, highlighting the need to explore further the role of air pollutants associated with the increased likelihood of autism in children.

Purpose: Since COVID-19, tele-based methods of autism assessment have been relied upon to a previously unparalleled degree; however, the need for such advancements is not new. Observation-based measures are a crucial component of face-to-face autism diagnostic evaluations, but few validated observation tools exist for remotely assessing autism across childhood, offering minimal guidance for older children and adolescents. Sanchez and Constantino previously validated a brief, face-to-face, clinician-facilitated observation coded according to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS-2). During the pandemic, this measure was adapted as a remote observation, but has yet to be validated in this format.

Methods: The current study validated this remote observation against the in-person Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), in a sample of 30 children ages 1-16 years (M = 7.25, SD = 4.05).

Results: The remote observation was highly correlated with the ADOS-2 (r = .75, p < .001) and Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (r = .74, p < .001), and demonstrated acceptable sensitivity (88.9%) and specificity (80%) in predicting research diagnostic classification. The remote observation correctly predicted whether a child met criteria for a research diagnosis of autism in 82.8% of cases, and the same classification as the ADOS-2 in 72.4% of cases.

Conclusions: This pilot study offers preliminary support for the validity of this brief, accessible, remote autism observation. This is a crucial step in ensuring uniform training and clinical procedures for tele-assessment of autism, to help mitigate long-standing barriers to service access (e.g., geography, cost, availability).

Purpose: Comprehension of syntactic language is facilitated by the executive function of Prefrontal Synthesis (PFS), defined as an ability to deliberately modify and juxtapose mental visuospatial objects. Autistic individuals often experience deficits in PFS. This study aimed to differentiate between two hypotheses regarding PFS acquisition. The first suggests a persistent, age-independent barrier that continuously hinders PFS development. The second proposes an age-dependent factor, such as a critical period for PFS acquisition. These hypotheses predict distinct learning trajectories: the first expects autistic individuals to exhibit a consistently slower PFS-learning rate across all ages, while the second predicts an initial learning rate comparable to neurotypical peers, followed by an early decline.

Methods: To test these predictions, we analyzed PFS development in 15,183 autistic and 138 neurotypical individuals aged 2 to 22 years using parent-reports.

Results: At age 2, both groups exhibited similar PFS-learning rates. In neurotypical individuals, this rate remained high until age 7. However, in autistic individuals, learning rates began to decline exponentially as early as 2.3 years, with an even earlier onset in those with severe autism.

Conclusion: These findings support the second hypothesis, suggesting that PFS deficits in autism may stem from an age-dependent factor, such as a shortened critical period.