Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry最新文献

Objectives: The coronavirus disease pandemic affected people's lives in different ways, including child education and parent-child interactions. The present study aimed to identify the educational opportunities of children and challenges of parents during this pandemic.

Methods: This study was conducted using a qualitative and phenomenological method. The participants were 23 parents of children aged 7-12 years, selected by purposive sampling method. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews, which continued until data saturation was reached, and then classified and processed following Strauss and Glasser's approach.

Results: The findings were classified as parenting transformation, attachment challenges, and parenting challenges due to macro-systemic changes. Online education and changes caused by social distancing were the most significant parenting challenges. Moreover, children did not have the necessary space to be independent and self-sufficient.

Conclusion: For many children, adapting to virtual education has been challenging; therefore, parents should change their parenting control and support. The emergence of such challenges has led to the creation of more opportunities in the field of child education.

Savant syndrome was described before autism. However, they soon became closely associated, as many of their symptoms (intellectual disability, repetitive behaviors, alterations in social communication, and islets of abilities) overlap. Only a few women with autism have been diagnosed with savant syndrome. The theories or hypotheses that attempt to explain savant syndrome, which are common in autism, present differential treatment according to sex. We postulate that savant syndrome associated with autism as well as autism in general is underdiagnosed in women.

Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between suicidal behavior and the use of methylphenidate (MPH) or atomoxetine (ATX) in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines were used to conduct a meta-analysis. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale was used to score the quality of the studies.

Results: Nine studies were included in this quantitative analysis. The analysis included 602864 patients with ADHD (521125 and 81739 patients were taking methylphenidate [MPH group] and atomoxetine [ATX group], respectively) and 19230 healthy controls. The overall estimates were in the order of the control, MPH, and ATX groups; however, no statistically significant between-group difference was observed in the incidence of events (p=0.553 for control vs. MPH; p=1.000 for control vs. ATX; p=1.000 for MPH vs. ATX).

Conclusion: The rate of suicidal behavior was higher in the ADHD groups treated with MPH and ATX than in the control group. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the ADHD groups treated with MPH and ATX, and the control group. Therefore, MPH and ATX did not increase suicidal behavior.

Numerous films and TV series worldwide have depicted characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and savant skills. This study describes the portrayal of ASD and savant skills in Korean films and dramas. Starting with the 2005 film Marathon, characters with ASD have been featured in five films and four dramas. Most portrayals were based on the diagnostic criteria and pathogenesis of ASD, as outlined in the DSM-5. Of the 10 characters with ASD in these films and dramas, seven were male and three were female, with seven of them possessing savant skills. In the future, caution and guidance on the general characteristics of ASD from experts should be provided with the release of ASD-based films and TV dramas in Korea; in addition, critiques and social discourse pertinent to the reality of ASD should be provided by people with ASD, their families, and relevant experts.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze research trends in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and savant syndrome and their cognitive characteristics through a systematic literature review. The objectives of this study were to establish an overview of research trends in ASD and savant syndrome, analyze the overall characteristics of individuals with ASD and savant syndrome, and examine their cognitive characteristics.

Methods: For the systematic literature review, three criteria were used to select review articles: 1) literature from peer-reviewed journals, published in the past 15 years, from 2008 to 2022; 2) subjects with ASD and savant syndrome; 3) study objectives focused on the basic phenomenon and cognitive characteristics of ASD and savant syndrome. Finally, based on the selection criteria, a total of 40 articles were included.

Results: Five themes and nine subthemes were derived from the analysis of 40 studies. The five main themes were as follows: 1) What is savant syndrome? 2) Demographic characteristics of savant syndrome; 3) Spectra of savant syndrome; 4) Savant syndrome and ASD; and 5) Cognitive characteristics of ASD with savant syndrome. The subthemes of the cognitive characteristics were weak central coherence, detail-focused cognitive processing, enhanced perceptual functioning, and hyper-systemizing.

Conclusion: Several studies have been conducted to understand ASD and savant syndrome; however, no single theory can specify the cognitive characteristics of people with ASD and savant syndrome. Therefore, further systematic and multi-layered research on ASD and savant syndrome are required for more comprehensive results.

The authors investigated the artistic characteristics of autistic savant artists, hypotheses on the proximate and ultimate causes of their emergence, recent psychological and other studies about them, and psychological and neuroaesthetic studies about non-savant autistic individuals. The artistic features of autistic savant artists were significantly similar to those of outsider artists. Furthermore, the authors investigated the explanatory power of the paradoxical functional facilitation theory, the superior visual perception hypothesis, the "Hmmmmm" hypothesis, and the Neanderthal theory of autism regarding the emergence of autistic savant artists. In addition, we investigated whether an increase in savant characteristics was related to a decrease in the ability for social communication. The authors suggested that in studies on the aesthetic experience of non-savant autistic individuals, their aesthetic experience ability is never lower than that of neurotypical individuals and that some non-savant autistic individuals may potentially have artistic talent. Finally, the authors reviewed the effectiveness of the "autism savant spectrum syndromic disorder" proposed by some researchers. More scientific and systematic studies on autistic savant artists from a multidisciplinary perspective are warranted.

Objectives: Most developmental screening tests have been built as parent-performed questionnaires. However, they often do not guide parents on how to answer the questionnaire. This study aimed to develop easily applicable parent guidelines.

Methods: We implemented the Delphi procedure with 20 panelists. The development of the initial questionnaire was based on the results of two surveys of parents and experts provided by a policy research report that investigated the item adequacy of the Korean Developmental Screening Test. Round one included 33 items comprising all possible measurements in six categories that were identified as difficult to understand or confusing. Round two merged and modified some items and included 32 items. We defined consensus as a median agreement value of one or less and convergence and stability values of 0.5 or less. The subjective usefulness of the parent guidelines was examined based on their previous test experiences.

Results: Consensus was reached after the second round, reflecting the items with the highest level of accuracy in each category. Of the 167 parents who participated in the survey, 113 (67.7%) affirmed the usefulness of the guidelines, while 10 (6.0%) answered that they were not useful. Items that recommended a different scoring strategy in answering the questionnaire from their previous measurements were found to be more useful by the parents.

Conclusion: The parent guidelines, composed of five bullet points, drew on the consensus of the experts. Further studies are required to assess whether these guidelines improve the accuracy of screening tests in clinical settings.