Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders最新文献

Purpose: The subthreshold autism trait questionnaire (SATQ) is a brief self-report measure designed to assess subthreshold autistic traits in the general population. While several parent-report instruments have been validated in Turkish, no self-report tool has been adapted for adolescents. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and examine the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the SATQ for adolescents aged 12-18 years.

Method: A cross-sectional, multicenter case-control design was employed with 412 adolescents (143 patients, 269 non-clinical controls). Following translation and back-translation, the Turkish SATQ underwent item analysis, reliability testing, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, criterion validity evaluation, and ROC analysis. Two items were removed due to cross-loadings, yielding a 30-item version (SATQ-TR).

Results: The SATQ-TR showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.74) and excellent test-retest reliability (r = 0.92). Item discrimination analyses were significant for all items (p < 0.001). Exploratory factor analysis identified a seven-factor structure explaining 53.5% of the variance (KMO = 0.86, p < 0.001), and confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable model fit (RMSEA = 0.071; CFI = 0.93; TLI = 0.92; NFI = 0.90; GFI = 0.95). ROC analysis demonstrated satisfactory discriminative ability for ASD (AUC = 0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.86). Significant correlations between SATQ and AQ scores supported criterion validity.

Conclusion: The 30-item Turkish version of the SATQ (SATQ-TR) is a valid and reliable tool for assessing subthreshold autistic traits in adolescents. By providing a brief, multidimensional self-report measure, it fills an important gap in Turkish adolescent populations and supports early identification and dimensional approaches in autism research and practice.

Purpose: Whilst the survival rate of preterm (PT) children has increased significantly, the number of neurodevelopmental problems and behavioural difficulties throughout the lifespan has also risen, especially in those born very or extremely PT. These vulnerabilities can lead to certain psychopathologies, though there is also evidence for a specific subclinical and more subtle behavioural pattern in PTs. Our aim is to pinpoint important vulnerabilities of PT children and to further investigate this "preterm behavioural phenotype".

Methods: We investigated a group of thirty-nine school-aged very and extremely PT children without major neurological impairments or a formal autism diagnosis, and we compared them to a cohort of thirty-eight age- and sex-matched full-term (FT) controls. Autism-related difficulties in social functioning and repetitive behaviours, as well as behavioural problems, anxiety, and attachment, were assessed through self-reports from the child and/or informant reports from the parent(s) and clinicians, with informant sources varying across assessments.

Results: Compared to FT peers, PT children displayed significantly increased anxiety, attention problems and autism-related social difficulties. No significant group differences were evident in terms of autism-related restricted/repetitive behaviours or self-reports of peer and parental attachment.

Conclusion: Even in a PT population without major neurological impairments or a clinical diagnosis of autism, important clinical-behavioural differences were evident in line with a preterm behavioural phenotype. Thus, delineating this subclinical PT pattern can be of relevance to recognize and validate meaningful difficulties experienced by these children that fail to reach the clinical threshold but could still benefit from certain interventions.

Purpose: In-person family navigation accelerates autism diagnosis; however, effectiveness of telehealth autism navigation is unknown. This study tested preliminary efficacy of telehealth autism navigation.

Method: In this site-randomized pilot trial of telehealth autism family navigation, 7 clinics (66 primary care providers) were trained in autism screening and randomized to family navigation versus usual care. 49 children aged 12-54 months enrolled. We used Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education (EI/ECSE) and health records to compare navigation intervention and control arms on time from enrollment to EI/ECSE eligibility determination, percent receiving EI/ECSE eligibility determination within 6 months, percent of children receiving EI/ECSE referrals within 6 months, and percent receiving autism educational and medical diagnoses within 6 months.

Results: In intention-to-treat analysis, 46.7% of the navigation (66.7% of those referred to EI/ECSE) and 36.8% of control families (87.5% of those referred to EI/ECSE) had EI/ECSE eligibility determinations. Median time to EI/ECSE eligibility determination was 66.5 days in navigation and 120 days in control. 70% of navigation and 42.1% of control children were referred to EI/ECSE. 23.8% of navigation and 0% of control children received an autism educational eligibility within 6 months, but 10% of navigation children versus 42.1% of control had autism medical diagnostic determination within 6 months. 50% of the navigation arm had < 4 navigator interactions.

Conclusion: Telehealth family navigation shows preliminary promise for improving access to services in EI/ECSE, especially for referral and evaluation. Access to medical diagnostic evaluation may need additional support. A larger trial can investigate longer-term services receipt.

Clinicaltrials:

Gov id: NCT04861740, Registered 4/7/2021.

Purpose: Studies have consistently shown that exercise interventions are beneficial for improving attention in children and adolescents. Nevertheless, the evidence regarding its impact on the sustained attention (SA) of children and adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is unclear. This study synthesises empirical studies on the effects of exercise interventions on the SA of children and adolescents with ADHD.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of the literature was conducted in April 2024, and the updated search was conducted until September 2025 in six electronic databases: CINAHL Complete, Embase, Medline, PsychINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science. Randomised controlled trials and non-randomised comparison studies that applied exercise interventions and assessed SA using neurocognitive tasks among children and adolescents with ADHD were included. Meta-analyses were performed using a random-effects model, and Hedges' g was used to express the effect size index. The quality assessment was conducted using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale.

Results: 11 studies with adequate to high methodological quality were included, originating from four regions and published between 2012 and 2023. In total, 540 children and adolescents with ADHD aged 5-18 years were included. The meta-analytic findings indicated that exercise interventions improved their sustained SA (g = 0.877). Subgroup analysis revealed that cognitively engaging exercises (g = 0.980) produced significant training effects than aerobic exercise on SA. Meta-regression indicated that older children (5-18 years) interventions with more total sessions (12-144 sessions), generated greater benefits.

Conclusion: Exercise interventions positively affect the SA of children and adolescents with ADHD.

Purpose: Academic achievement in autistic children is highly variable: some experience significant difficulties, others perform on par with their peers. While the preschool home learning environment (HLE) supports academic development in neurotypical children, it remains unclear what this environment looks like for autistic preschoolers, how it differs from their peers, and how it relates to child characteristics and academic skills.

Methods: This systematic review searched Web of Science, PubMed, ERIC and Scopus, following PRISMA guidelines. It provides a comprehensive overview of 43 studies on the HLE of autistic preschoolers, exploring differences with peers, associations with child characteristics and academic skills, and outcomes of HLE-focused interventions.

Results: Overall, parents of autistic preschoolers reported engaging in a range of learning activities, having many books available and holding positive beliefs about the HLE. While some differences with peers emerged, these often disappeared once children's language skills were taken into account. Child characteristics appeared to influence the HLE. However, evidence on associations between the HLE and academic skills was limited and mixed. Notably, only one study examined home numeracy, and no studies investigated the longitudinal impact of the preschool HLE on academic outcomes. Intervention studies showed promising effects on parent and child behaviours, though long-term effectivity and methodological rigour remain concerns.

Conclusion: Autistic preschoolers generally experience rich HLEs, with limited differences from peers. Future research should clarify how the HLE influences learning development in the short and long term, consider the role of child characteristics, and address the notable gap in home numeracy research.