Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders最新文献

This scoping review synthesises the current research into robotics technologies for promoting social-emotional learning in children with autism spectrum disorder. It examines the types of robotics technologies employed, their applications, and the gaps in the existing literature. Our scoping review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) reporting guidelines. The systematic search of relevant databases allowed us to identify studies that use robotics technologies for fostering social, emotional, and cognitive skills in young children with autism. Our review has revealed that various robots, such as Nao, Kaspar, and Zeno, have been used to support the development of social and emotional skills through imitation games, turn-taking, joint attention, emotional recognition, and conversation. As most of these studies were conducted in clinical settings, there is a need for further research in classroom and community-based environments. Additionally, the literature calls for more high-quality longitudinal studies to assess the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of robot-assisted therapy and to assess adaptive and personalised interventions tailored to individual needs. More emphasis is recommended on professional development for educators, parents, and health professionals to incorporate robotics technologies as evidence-based interventions as a pathway for creating inclusive learning environments for children with autism.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated depression, anxiety, and executive function (EF) difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). EF skills have been positively associated with mental health outcomes. Here, we probed the psychosocial impacts of pandemic responses in children with and without ASD by relating pre-pandemic EF assessments with anxiety and depression symptoms several months into the pandemic. We found that pre-pandemic inhibition and shifting difficulties, measured by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, predicted higher risk of anxiety symptoms. These findings are critical for promoting community recovery and maximizing clinical preparedness to support children at increased risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes.

The aim was to investigate trait social anxiety and social evaluative stress in autistic children and adolescents and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD). This was done by evaluating behavioral, subjective, and autonomic responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Study 1 included 280 children and adolescents: 60 autistic without intellectual disability (ID), 70 SLD, and 150 non-diagnosed (ND) peers. Study 2 involved 55 participants: 15 autistic without ID, 15 SLD, and 20 ND. The sample was predominantly male. In Study 1, behavioral (quality of public speech) and subjective (valence, arousal, perceived competence, and worries) aspects of social stress were examined. Study 2 expands upon the first study, as physiological responses to social stress were also measured. Trait social anxiety was investigated using both parents' and children's reports in the two studies. Parents of autistic participants and with SLD reported higher trait social anxiety in their children than the parents of ND. No differences emerged from the participants' self-reports, though those autistic and with SLD were assigned lower scores in the public speech quality than ND. Autistic children and adolescents reported lower arousal and higher perceived competence than ND, while those with SLD reported a lower perception of competence. Autistic participants had a decreased cardiac reactivity across the TSST when compared to SLD and ND. Our findings show unique patterns of responses within each group, confirming that the combined investigation of trait anxiety and social stress responses could be a valuable insight in research and clinical practice.

Autistic adolescents frequently encounter difficulties in managing changes associated with puberty, sexuality, and relationships, and parents may be a useful source of sexual and reproductive health education (SRE) for this population. Despite this, few evidence-based programs exist to support parents in this role. Thus, there is a need for the development of such programs, particularly those incorporating the lived experiences of key stakeholders. The present qualitative investigation aimed to determine the SRE needs of autistic youth and to inform a novel, parent-led SRE program. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with two rounds of focus groups with two stakeholder groups: parents of autistic children (N = 4) and adult autistic self-advocates (N = 4). Focus groups were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The research team conducted rapid qualitative analysis on all four transcripts, and major findings were summarized and triangulated across groups. Four overarching themes were identified: "Empower parents as educators," "Individualize supports and education," "Consider cultural and intersecting identities," and "Prioritize safety." Parents can serve a primary role in providing SRE to autistic youth and would likely benefit from participating in a tailored program that prioritizes safety and considers the influence of culture and other aspects of identity on content delivery. Future research on the implementation of such a program is needed.

This study adopts a person-centered approach to evaluate personality diversity as a source of interpersonal variability in autistic children and adolescents, and how personality subgroup membership relates to variability in autistic characteristics, social-emotional presentations, and parenting outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis was used to analyze 569 parent reports on a child-based Five-Factor-Model personality measure (aged 6-18 years; M_age = 11.8 years, SD = 3.1; 70% boys). Four distinct personality profile groups were identified, showing varying levels in the low to average range of all five personality domains. All groups scored lowest on Extraversion and Emotional Stability. They differed the most in Imagination and the least in Emotional Stability. Group 1 (n = 72) exhibited the lowest mean-level scores on all five domains, whereas Group 4 (n = 90) had the highest domain scores. Group 2 (n = 307) and Group 3 (n = 100) showed more diverse patterns. Group membership was meaningfully associated with variation in characteristics of social interaction and communication, internalizing, externalizing, and attentional problems, psychosocial strengths, and positive parenting strategies. Only modest group differences were found in parenting stress. All groups had similar scores on repetitive and restrictive behaviors. These findings help to better understand and support natural subgroups within the autism phenotype by exploring shared personality attributes.

When observing other people during naturally paced and dynamic interactions, it is essential to look at specific locations at the right time to extract a maximum of socially informative content. In this study, we aimed to investigate the looking behavior of typically developing toddlers and toddlers later diagnosed with autism when observing other children interact. The sample consisted of 98 toddlers; 22 in a low-likelihood of autism group, 60 in an elevated likelihood of autism group who did not receive a subsequent diagnosis, and 16 in an elevated likelihood group who did receive an autism diagnosis. Participants performed an eye tracking task at 18 months of age and were assessed for diagnostic outcome at 36 months. The video stimuli consisted of two children interacting, where a boy reaches out for a toy and a girl refuses to give it to him. The low likelihood group showed an expected increase in ratio of looking at the girl's face after the boy requested the toy, as compared to before (t(21) = -3.337, p = .003). Toddlers with later autism showed a significantly lower ratio of looking at the girl's face during this time window, as compared to the other groups (F(2,91) = 3.698, p = .029). These findings provide new leads on how social gaze may be different in children with autism in everyday life (e.g., kindergarten), and highlight the need of studying the dynamics of gaze on short time scales.

The primary aim of this systematic review is to investigate the inclusion of autistic individuals in the design process of immersive technologies. This study follows the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses standards for systematic literature reviews. To ensure the research questions and subsequent stages of the review incorporate pertinent parameters, the problem, interest, context framework has also been employed. Findings highlight that, while early proponents of immersive technology emphasized the importance of user involvement in design of new technology, immaturity of the technology often limited the implementation of direct user input to the design process. Nonetheless, analysis of the literature published between 2002-2022 identified 20 studies in which substantial influence of autistic individuals and stakeholders was found in the design process of immersive technologies. The roles of autistic individuals varied from active co-designers and co-creators to essential contributors in refining prototypes and providing critical feedback, ensuring the final products align with their needs and preferences. Results underscore the need to align research and design of immersive technologies more closely with the priorities and preferences of autistic individuals. Further is needed regarding actively involving autistic individuals in the design and implementation of immersive technology applications. On this basis, we maintain that more inclusive and effective deployment of immersive technologies is needed in order to ensure that resultant technologies are fit for purpose and address the actual needs of the autistic community.

Participation in Organised Extracurricular Social Activities (OESA) can provide positive outcomes for children. This study investigated whether children aged 4 to 12 years diagnosed with autism differ in their OESA participation and experience compared to neurotypical peers. Parents of autistic children (n = 35) and those of neurotypical peers (n = 171) responded to questions that asked them to reflect on their child's participation and experiences in OESAs. Parents of autistic children reported significantly less OESA participation compared to parents of neurotypical children. Additionally, when evaluating factors that facilitated OESA participation, parents of autistic children rated their child's individual abilities and behaviour, the OESA's features, and the social environment less positively, compared to parents of neurotypical children. OESA participation and experiences differ for autistic and neurotypical children. This study identifies factors that can be adjusted to mitigate this difference.

This pre-test post-test control group design sought to compare the effectiveness of delivering different types of information ([1] factual information vs. [2] factual information + descriptive and explanatory information vs. [3] factual information + descriptive, explanatory + directive information) in an animated video intervention in increasing university students' autism knowledge and openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. The sample consisted of 92 undergraduates (27 males, 65 females; age range = 18-36) from various universities in Singapore. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions/videos, where they completed a measure of their autism knowledge and openness scale, before viewing a 5-minute long animated video containing different types of information about autism. After which, participants completed the measure of autism knowledge and openness scale again, followed by a measure of their empathy level. Results indicated that participants' autism knowledge improved following the viewing of the animated video. However, the three different videos containing different types of information did not differ in influencing participants' openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. Nevertheless, qualitative responses proposed that the video containing factual information, with descriptive, explanatory, and directive information was useful in helping participants to know how to interact with their peers on the autism spectrum. The findings of this study provide preliminary support for the most effective method to educate and raise awareness about autism, among the general student population in order to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.

Psychology originally defined parent-child conflict in terms of interpersonal relationships, where parent-child conflict is a process of inconsistent attitudes between parents and children that occurs in a family setting. For this end, we aims to investigate the influence of parental awareness on preschoolers' perception of parent-child conflict and the mediating role of preschoolers' self-esteem. This paper proposes a dynamic parent-child relationship discovery algorithm based on the impact of parent-child cooperation activities on preschool children's development. We applied SPSS and Mplus statistical software for data processing and analysis, and Nvivo 11.0 qualitative software for validation and analysis. The reliability of preschool children's perceived parent-child conflict and sub-dimensions were: 0.901, 0.799, 0.791, 0.811, 0.729; the total scale and the retest reliability of each dimension were: 0.914, 0.837, 0.836, 0.792, 0.711. Validated factor analysis using Mplus: RMSEA = 0.075, TLI = 0.856, CFI = 0.876, SRMR = 0.064.