Abstract Children with acute and chronic associated medical conditions often present for surgical and radiological procedures. An understanding of the implications of these conditions for anaesthesia is important in preventing perioperative adverse events. In this article, we outline the relevant clinical features of some of the commonly encountered associated medical conditions and provide g…
Abstract The present study examined children’s compliance and noncompliance behaviors in response to parental control strategies in 20 children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and 20 matched typically-developing children. Observational coding was used to measure child compliance (committed, situational), oncompliance (passive, defiance, self-assertion, negotiation) and parent control st…
Abstract Oxytocin seems associated with parenting style, and experimental work showed positive effects of intranasally administered oxytocin on parenting style of fathers. Here, the first double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject experiment with intranasal oxytocin administration to fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is presented. Fathers with their typically deve…
Abstract The abilities to form new concepts from scratch (conceptualisation), and to flexibly switch from one concept to another (re-conceptualisation), were investigated in adults with Asperger’s Syndrome and in typically-developed adults with low and high autism spectrum quotients. In consecutively presented morphs, containing increasing percentages of animate or inanimate objects, the em…
Abstract The purpose of the present study was to re-examine diagnostic data from a state-wide autism prevalence study (n = 489) conducted in the 1980s to investigate the impact of broader diagnostic criteria on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) case status. Sixty-four (59 %) of the 108 originally ‘‘Diagnosed Not Autistic’’ met the current ASD case definition. The average IQ estimate in …
Abstract Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty with social-emotional cues. This study examined the neural, behavioral, and autonomic correlates of emotional face processing in adolescents with ASD and typical development (TD) using eye-tracking and event-related potentials (ERPs) across two different paradigms. Scanning of faces was similar across groups in th…
Abstract One hundred forty-nine parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) completed online questionnaires measuring their beliefs about support groups and ASD, coping style, social support, mood, and use of support groups. Those currently using parent support groups (PSGs) reported using more adaptive coping strategies than both parents who had never used PSGs and parents who…
Abstract The aim of this study was to examine how severity of autism affects children’s interactions relatedness) and relationships with their parents. Participants were 25 parent–child dyads that included offspring who were children with autism aged from 4 to 14 years. The severity of the children’s autism was assessed using the calibrated severity metric of the Autism Diagnostic Obse…
Abstract We investigate two aspects of the autism triad, communication and social difficulties, in relatives of specific language impairment (SLI) probands (with and without additional autistic symptomatology) as compared to relatives of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Down’s syndrome (DS) probands. Findings involving 726 first degree relatives of 85 SLI, 99 ASD and 36 DS probands reveal…
Abstract We investigated the predictive power of morphological features in 224 autistic patients and 224 matched- pairs controls. To assess the relationship between the morphological features and autism, we used the receiver operator curves (ROC). In addition, we used recursive partitioning (RP) to determine a specific pattern of abnormalities that is characteristic for the difference betwee…
Abstract People with high-functioning Autism (HFA) can accurately identify social categories from speech, but they have more difficulty connecting linguistic variation in the speech signal to social stereotypes associated with those categories. In the current study, the perception and evaluation of talker age by young adults with HFA was examined. The participants with HFA performed similarl…
Abstract The Internet is a major source of health-related information for parents of sick children despite concerns surrounding quality. For neurodevelopmental disorders, the websites of advocacy groups are a largely unexamined source of information. We evaluated treatment information posted on nine highly-trafficked advocacy websites for autism, cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol spectrum dis…
Abstract The executive dysfunction theory attempts to explain not only the repetitive behaviours but also the socio-communicative difficulties in autism. While it is clear that some individuals with autism perform poorly on certain executive function tasks, it remains unclear what underlies these impairments. The most consistent and striking difficulties are seen on tasks that are open-ended…
Abstract Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a neurodevelopmental disorder primarily characterized by hyperphagia and food preoccupations, is caused by the absence of expression of the paternally active genes in the proximal arm of chromosome 15. Although maladaptive behavior and the cognitive profile in PWS have been well characterized, social functioning has only more recently been systematically…
Abstract Presently there is limited research to suggest efficacious interventions for infants at-risk for autism. Pivotal response treatment (PRT) has empirical support for use with preschool children with autism, but there are no reports in the literature utilizing this approach with infants. In the current study, a developmental adaptation of PRT was piloted via a brief parent training mod…
Abstract 15 School-aged high functioning children on the autistic spectrum were compared with a neurotypical cohort on the WISC-III and the KABC-II, to determine the impact of the relatively more strict timing criteria of the former test on the evaluation of nonverbal intelligence. Significant group effects, showing lower performance by the ASD group were found for three of the five sub-test…
Abstract Autism and epilepsy are common childhood neurological disorders with a great heterogeneity of clinical phenotypes as well as risk factors. There is a high co-morbidity of autism and epilepsy. The neuropathology of autism and epilepsy has similar histology implicating the processes of neurogenesis, neural migration, programmed cell death, and neurite outgrowth. Genetic advances have …
Abstract The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate whether a modified version of the Coping Cat program could be effective in reducing anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty-two children (ages 8–14; IQ C 70) with ASD and clinically significant anxiety were randomly assigned to 16 sessions of the Coping Cat program (cognitive-behavioral therapy; CBT) or a 16-w…
Abstract It is unclear whether symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young children in the population fit the three-factor structure of ASD as described in the DSM-IV, and cluster together in individual subjects. This study analysed questionnaire data on ASD symptoms filled in by mothers of 11,332 18-month-old children that was collected in the context of the Norwegian Mother and Chi…
Abstract Few evidence-based social interventions exist for young adults with high-functioning autism, many of whom encounter significant challenges during the transition into adulthood. The current study investigated the feasibility of an engaging Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training intervention focused on enhancing social skills, social cognition, and social functioning. Eight young a…
Abstract We analyzed data from case groups of 538 children with autism spectrumdisorders (ASD) and 163 with developmental delays (DD), and from 421 typically developing controls to assess associations with maternal influenza or fever during pregnancy. Exposure information was obtained by telephone nterviews, and outcomes were clinically confirmed. Though neither ASD nor DD was associated wit…
Abstract Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is an empirically validated behavioral treatment that has widespread positive effects on communication, behavior, and social skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For the first time, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify the neural correlates of successful response to PRT in two young children with ASD. Ba…
Abstract The study assessed whether teacher and parent ratings of child behavior problems were similar for children with autism spectrum disorders. Two informants rated child behaviors in the same home environment, and the degree to which parenting stress impacted the similarity of the ratings was assessed. Overall behavior problem ratings did not differ between groups, but there was poor cor…
Abstract In the present study, we investigated the ability to assign moral responsibility and punishment in adults with high functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome (HFA/AS), using non-verbal cartoons depicting an aggression, an accidental harm or a mere coincidence. Participants were asked to evaluate the agent’s causal and intentional roles, his responsibility and the punishment he deserv…
Abstract The recreation of children with High Functioning Autism (HFA) is not well understood. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to compare the recreational engagement of children with HFA and their typically developing peers. Children with HFA (n = 30) and peers (n = 31) were similar on key characteristics that may impact recreation except those related to the HFA attributes.…
Abstract It has been suggested that individuals with autism will be less responsive to the emotional content of music than typical individuals. With the aim of testing this hypothesis, a group of high-functioning adults on the autism spectrum was compared with a group of matched controls on two measures of emotional responsiveness to music, comprising physiological and verbal measures. Impai…
Abstract Preschoolers with severe autism and minimal speech were assigned either a discrete trial or a aturalistic language treatment, and parents of all participants also received parent responsiveness training. After 12 weeks, both groups showed comparable improvement in number of spoken words produced, on average. Approximately half the children in each group achieved benchmarks for the fi…
Abstract The purpose of the present study was to determine whether individuals with Asperger’s disorder exhibit difficulty in switching attention from a local level to a global level. Eleven participants with Asperger’s disorder and 11 age- and gender-matched healthy controls performed a level-repetition switching task using Navontype hierarchical stimuli. In both groups, level-repetitio…
Abstract Language-impaired individuals with autism perform poorly on tests such as non-word repetition that are sensitive clinical markers of specific language impairment (SLI). This has fuelled the theory that language impairment in autism represents a co-morbid SLI. However, the underlying cause of these deficits may be different in each disorder. In a novel task, we manipulated non-word s…
Abstract Anxiety is common among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may amplify the core social disability, thus necessitating combined treatment approaches. This pilot, randomized controlled trial evaluated the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skills Intervention (MASSI) program in a sample of 30 adolescents with ASD and anxiety sym…
Abstract The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is commonly used to inform diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Considering the time dedicated to using the ADI-R, it is of interest to expand the ways in which information obtained from this interview is used. The current study examines how algorithm totals reflecting past (ADI-Diagnostic) and current (ADI-Current) behaviors a…
Abstract The aim of this study was to examine ASD traits in children with clinical anxiety in early development, as well as current manifestations. Parents of 42 children with an anxiety disorder (but no known diagnosis of ASD) and 42 typically developing children were interviewed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R). They also completed questionnaires that assessed child anxiety (S…
Abstract Teacher commitment to classroom model philosophy and burnout were explored in a sample of 53 teachers implementing three preschool models at high levels of fidelity for students with autism: Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH); Learning Experiences and Alternative Program for Preschoolers and Their Parents (LEAP); and high qua…
Abstract We investigated the influence of control over a social stimulus on the ability to detect direct gaze in highfunctioning autism (HFA). In a pilot study, 19 participants with and 19 without HFA were compared on a gaze detection and a gaze setting task. Participants with HFA were less accurate in detecting direct gaze in the detection task, but did not differ in their ability to establi…
Abstract Acquiring useful language by age 5 has been identified as a strong predictor of positive outcomes in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This study examined the relationship between age of language acquisition and later functioning in children with ASD (n = 119). First word acquisition at a range of ages was probed for its relationship to cognitive ability and adaptive…
Abstract Major advances in multimedia computer technology over the past decades have made sophisticated computer games readily available to the public. This, combined with the observation that most children, including those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), show an affinity to computers, has led researchers to recognize the potential of computer technology as an effective and efficient t…
Abstract Altered motor behaviour is commonly reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder, but the aetiology remains unclear. Here, we have taken a computational approach in order to break down motor control into different components and review the functioning of each process. Our findings suggest abnormalities in two areas—poor integration of information for efficient motor planning, and increase…
Abstract Theodor Heller first described a severe regression of adaptive function in normally developing children, something he termed dementia infantilis, over one 100 years ago. Dementia infantilis is most closely related to the modern diagnosis, childhood disintegrative disorder. We translate Heller’s paper, U¨ ber Dementia Infantilis, and discuss similarities in presentation between He…
Abstract This fMRI study investigated neural responses while making appraisals of self and other, across the social and academic domains, in children and adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Compared to neurotypical youth, those with ASD exhibited hypoactivation of ventromedial refrontal cortex during self-appraisals. Responses in middle cingulate cortex (MCC) and ant…
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol were adopted on 13 December 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and opened for signature on 30 March 2007. They entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD is unique in its complexity for many reasons. It encompasses both civil and political rights, and economic, social and cultural r…