Ajidd-American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities最新文献

Parents of 30 school-age children with Down syndrome participated in a small-scale randomized clinical trial of a behavioral sleep treatment designed specifically for children with Down syndrome. The aim was to improve child sleep, child daytime behavior problems, caregiver sleep, and caregiver stress. The intervention spanned 5-8 weeks, and assessments occurred pre-treatment, immediately post-treatment, and three months post-treatment using a double-blinded design. Both the active treatment and a treatment-as-usual attention-controlled comparison group showed improvements in actigraphy and parent-report measures of child sleep, parent-reported child internalizing behaviors, and actigraphy measures of parent-sleep. The behavioral sleep treatment did not yield significantly different outcomes than a treatment-as-usual approach supplemented with non-sleep-specific behavioral or education sessions. Possible interpretations of study findings are discussed.

This study analyzed narratives of male and female adolescents with fragile X syndrome (FXS). The impact of structural language, cognition and autism symptomatology on narrative skills and the association between narratives and literacy were examined. Narratives from 32 adolescents with FXS (24 males, 8 females) were analyzed for macrostructure. Relationships between narrative macrostructure, language scores, cognitive scores, Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Second Edition scores and literacy skills were examined. Males produced more simplistic narratives, whereas the females' narratives were more complex. Language scores predicted narrative scores above and beyond nonverbal cognitive skills and autism symptomatology. Narrative scores correlated with literacy scores. Narrative skills in FXS are predicted by language skills and are correlated with literacy skills. Investigation into narrative interventions in FXS is needed.

By adulthood, most males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) require support to navigate day-to-day settings. The present study cross-sectionally: (1) characterized the profile of daily living skills in males with FXS and (2) examined associated participant characteristics (i.e., fragile X mental retardation protein [FMRP] expression, nonverbal cognition, language, autism symptomatology, and anxiety symptomatology) using the Waisman-Activities of Daily Living questionnaire. Males with FXS (n = 57, ages 15-23 years) needed more help/support in the areas of domestic and community daily livings skills, than in the area of personal daily living skills. Significant associations were observed between reduced daily living skills and lower nonverbal cognition, receptive language, expressive language, and increased autism symptomatology. Receptive language emerged as the strongest unique predictor of daily living skill performance.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face challenges in accessing diagnostic and treatment services; these challenges vary by race, ethnicity, and culture. This systematic review examines parental perceptions of ASD within Latinx and Black American communities. Findings indicate that interconnections with family and religious groups promoted positive coping and describe positive impacts of having a child with ASD. Relative to White families, community members reported reduced access to information and more inaccurate beliefs about ASD, higher levels of ASD-related stigma, and more negative experiences with healthcare providers, which serve to exacerbate healthcare disparities. Conclusions are limited by an underrepresentation of minority groups in research. We call for efforts to address the specific needs of racial and ethnic minorities.

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder most commonly caused by the impaired expression of the maternal UBE3A gene on chromosome 15. Though anxiety has been identified as a frequently present characteristic in AS, there are limited studies examining anxiety in this population. Studies of anxiety in other neurodevelopmental disorders have found disorder specific symptoms of anxiety and age specific displays of anxiety symptoms. However, there is a consistent challenge in identifying anxiety in people with neurodevelopmental disorders given the lack of measurement instruments specifically designed for this population. Given the limited information about AS and anxiety, the aims of the current project were to (a) examine symptoms of anxiety in children with AS and (b) determine the correlates of anxiety in children with AS. Participants included 42 adult caregivers of youth with AS in the AS Natural History study who completed the Developmental Behavior Checklist (DBC). The results found that 26% of the sample demonstrated elevated symptoms of anxiety and established a relationship between elevated anxiety in youth with AS and higher levels of irritability, hyperactivity, self-absorbed behaviors, and disruptive/antisocial behaviors. Findings from this research provide a foundation for tailoring evidence-based assessments and treatments for youth with AS and anxiety.