The effect of peer- and sibling-assisted aquatic program on interaction behaviors and aquatic skills of children with autism spectrum disorders and their peers/siblings

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of peer- and sibling-assisted learning on interaction behaviors and aquatic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Outcome measures were also examined in their typically developing (TD) peers/siblings. Twenty-one children with ASD and 21 TD children were assigned in three groups: peer-assisted (PG), sibling-assisted (SG), and control (CG). All participated in 16-week aquatic settings under three instructional conditions (teacher-directed, peer/sibling-assisted, and voluntary support). The main findings were that (a) PG and SG of children with ASD showed significantly more improvement on physical and social interactions with their TD peers/siblings during peer/sibling-assisted condition as compared to CG (p < 0.01), (b) PG and SG of children with ASD showed significantly more improvement on physical interactions with their TD peers/siblings (p < 0.01) and social interactions with their teachers and other children with ASD (p < 0.01) during voluntary support condition as compared to CG, and (c) all children with ASD and their TD peers/siblings significantly increased their aquatic skills after the program. The benefit for children with ASD as well as TD peers/siblings makes the use of TD peer/sibling assisted learning an even more desirable instructional strategy.     

Postural sway patterns in children with autism spectrum disorder compared with typically developing children

Postural control is a fundamental building block of each child's daily activities. The aim of this study was to compare patterns of postural sway in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with typically developing children (TD). We recruited 21 schoolchildren diagnosed with ASD aged 9–14 and 30 TD pupils aged 8–15. Postural sway parameters in composite, anteroposterior and mediolateral axis were reported. Furthermore we examined the impact of age and characteristics of autism on postural sway. Children with ASD exhibited higher amount of sway in anteroposterior range (p < 0.001), mediolateral range (p = 0.002), root mean square (p = 0.001), mean velocity (p = 0.03), and sway area (p = 0.007) compared with their TD peers. Children with ASD showed higher instability in mediolateral than anteroposterior axis though TD children demonstrated higher sway scores in anteroposterior than mediolateral direction. The rate of autism symptom severity significantly affected the postural sway in children with ASD (p < 0.05). In conclusion, patterns of postural control seem to be different in children with ASD compared with TD counterparts. This could be partially due to clinical features were underlying in ASD.     

Anthropometric measures of Spanish children with autism spectrum disorder

We aimed to compare body mass index (BMI) and healthy eating index (HEI) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 105) and typically developing (TD, n = 495) children. They were aged 6–9 years, lived in Valencia (Spain) and came from similar cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. In this case–control study, the weight, height and BMI were measured for both groups. Three-day food records were used to assess dietary intake. Although the differences between children with ASD and TD children in raw BMI (p = 0.44), BMI z-score (p = 0.37), HEI (p = 0.43) and total energy intake (p = 0.86) were not significant, children with ASD and the boys subgroup were shorter (p = 0.01), but not the girls subgroup, compared to TD children of the same gender. Using the controls values as a reference, the BMI distribution in children with ASD became distorted, with values below the 5th percentile (11% vs. 4%, p = 0.03) and above the 95th percentile (8% vs. 5%, p = 0.04). The gender- and age-adjusted odds ratios for being underweight in the groups of all children and boys with ASD were 3.03 and 2.39, respectively, vs. TD children. Our data suggest that routine monitoring of children with ASD should include anthropometric measurements and assessment of their dietary habits.     

Role of fruits,grains, and seafood consumption in blood cadmium concentrations of Jamaican children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Human exposure to cadmium has adverse effects on the nervous system. Utilizing data from 110 age- and sex-matched case–control pairs (220 children) ages 2–8 years in Kingston, Jamaica, we compared the 75th percentile of blood cadmium concentrations in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In both univariable and multivariable Quantile Regression Models that controlled for potential confounding factors, we did not find any significant differences between ASD cases and typically developing (TD) controls with respect to the 75th percentile of blood cadmium concentrations (P > 0.22). However, we found a significantly higher 75th percentile of blood cadmium concentrations in TD Jamaican children who consumed shellfish (lobsters, crabs) (P < 0.05), fried plantain (P < 0.01), and boiled dumpling (P < 0.01). We also observed that children living in Jamaica have an arithmetic mean blood cadmium concentration of 0.16 μg/L which is similar to that of the children in developed countries and much lower than that of children in developing countries. Although our results do not support an association between blood cadmium concentrations and ASD, to our knowledge, this study is the first to report levels of blood cadmium in TD children as well as those with ASD in Jamaica.     

Do spoken nonword and sentence repetition tasks discriminate language impairment in children with an ASD?

The primary aim of this paper was to investigate heterogeneity in language abilities of children with a confirmed diagnosis of an ASD (N = 20) and children with typical development (TD; N = 15). Group comparisons revealed no differences between ASD and TD participants on standard clinical assessments of language ability, reading ability or nonverbal intelligence. However, a hierarchical cluster analysis based on spoken nonword repetition and sentence repetition identified two clusters within the combined group of ASD and TD participants. The first cluster (N = 6) presented with significantly poorer performances than the second cluster (N = 29) on both of the clustering variables in addition to single word and nonword reading. The significant differences between the two clusters occur within a context of Cluster 1 having language impairment and a tendency towards more severe autistic symptomatology. Differences between the oral language abilities of the first and second clusters are considered in light of diagnosis, attention and verbal short term memory skills and reading impairment.     

Physical activity during the segmented school day in adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorders

The purpose of this study was to assess the intensity of physical activity (PA) that secondary school-aged students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) students exert during a school day, and to compare the percentages of students achieving the recommended guidelines between groups. The PA of 60 male students (ASD, n = 30; TD, n = 30) was recorded every 10 s for up to 5 school days by performing uniaxial accelerometry. The main results are listed as follows: (a) daily PA was significantly lower among the students with ASD than among the TD students; (b) students with ASD spent significantly lower proportion of their time in moderate PA than TD students did during physical education (PE), recess, and lunchtime; and (c) fewer students with ASD than TD students achieved the PA guidelines during the school day and PE time. Schools should increase PA opportunities across the school day.     

How children with autism spectrum disorder behave and explore the 4-dimensional (spatial 3D + time) environment during a joint attention induction task with a robot

We aimed to compare, during a joint attention (JA) elicitation task, how children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with typical development (TD) behave and explore their 4 dimensional (meaning spatial 3D + time) when interacting with a human or with a robotic agent.We built a system that employed a Nao robot and a perception system based on a RGB-D sensor (Kinect) to capture social engagement cues. A JA induction experiment was performed in which children with ASD (N = 16) and matched TD children (N = 16) had a 3-min interaction with the robot or with a therapist. Nao induced JA by gazing; by gazing and pointing; and by gazing, pointing and vocalizing at pictures. Both groups of children performed well with the therapist. However, with Nao, both groups had lower JA scores, and the children with ASD had a significantly lower score than the TD children. We found that (i) multimodal JA induction was more efficient in both groups; (ii) the 3D spatial world gaze exploration showed less accuracy; and (iii) the trunk position in ASD showed less stability in the 4 dimensions compared to TD controls.We conclude that, in ASD, JA skill depends on the interaction partner, and implies a higher motor and cognitive cost.     

Inattention and hyperactivity in association with autism spectrum disorders in the CHARGE study

BackgroundAttention deficits in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood. This study sought to determine: 1) the prevalence of ADHD symptoms in young children with ASD, typical development (TD), and developmental delay (DD) and 2) the association between ADHD symptoms and cognitive and behavioral functioning in children with ASD.MethodADHD symptoms, defined according to Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) hyperactivity subscale scores, were compared across children aged 2–5 from a large case-control study with ASD (n = 548), TD (n = 423), and DD (n = 180). Inattention and hyperactivity items within this subscale were also explored. Within the ASD group, linear and logistic regression were used to examine how ADHD symptoms were associated with cognition as assessed by the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and adaptive functioning as assessed by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales.ResultsMean hyperactivity subscale scores were lowest in children with TD (mean = 3.19), higher in children with DD (12.3), and highest in children with ASD (18.2; between-group p < 0.001). Among children with ASD, significant associations were observed with higher ADHD symptoms and poorer adaptive and cognitive functioning (adjusted beta for hyperactivity score in association with: Vineland composite = −5.63, p = 0.0005; Mullen visual reception scale = −2.94, p = 0.02; for the highest vs. lowest quartile of hyperactivity score, odds of lowest quintile of these scores was approximately doubled). Exploratory analyses highlighted associations with inattention-related items specifically.ConclusionThese results suggest ADHD symptoms may play a key role in the functioning of young children with ASD.     

Autistic children do not exhibit an own-race advantage as compared to typically developing children

The characteristics of aberrant face processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been extensively studied, but the aspect regarding sensitivity to race is relatively unexplored. The present study hypothesized that the magnitude of the other-race effect shall be reduced in individuals with ASD owing to their inattention to faces since infancy. Using a sequential face discrimination task, we tested the other-race effect of 18 ASD (mean age = 7.5 years) and 13 age-matched typically developing (TD) children (mean age = 7.6 years). The stimuli were cropped Asian and African faces, each with four levels of difficulty: easy (change identity), medium (replaced eyes), hard-eye (widen eye spacing), and hard-mouth (moved up mouth). The TD children showed a significant own-race advantage such that the best performance was found in the Asian easy condition. The ASD children did not exhibit such advantage at all. Moreover, ASD children showed the highest error rates in the hard-eye condition instead of the hard-mouth condition, indicating insensitivity to eyes region. In sum, our findings support the hypothesis that the other-race effect is reduced in ASD children, reflecting an incomplete development of an expert face system.     

Psychometric properties of the French Version of the Social Responsiveness Scale in autism spectrum disorder with or without attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

ObjectivesThe Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) is an instrument that is commonly used to screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) frequently occurs with ASD and both disorders share some phenotypic similarities. In the present study, we aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the French version of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and its 5 subscales (social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, and autistic mannerisms) to discriminate between children with ADHD and those with ASD (differential diagnosis) and children with ADHD from those with a dual diagnosis of ADHD and ASD (comorbid diagnosis).MethodSRS total scores and the 5 subscores of the SRS were compared between 4 groups of children: ADHD (n = 32), ASD + ADHD (n = 30), ASD (n = 31) and typical neurodevelopment (TD; n = 30) children. The discriminant validity was estimated using the Area Under the ROC Curves (AUC).ResultsSRS Social cognition (AUC = 0.73) and Autistic mannerisms (AUC = 0.70) subscores were the most discriminating for differential diagnosis of ASD and ADHD. SRS total scores (AUC = 0.70), and Social communication (AUC = 0.66) and Autistic mannerisms (AUC = 0.75) subscores were the most discriminating for comorbid diagnosis of ASD among ADHD children.ConclusionThe SRS autistic mannerisms subscore was found to be clinically relevant for both differential diagnosis of ASD and ADHD and comorbid diagnoses of ASD among ADHD children but with a modest discriminant power.     

Psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders on the Development and Well-Being Assessment

The Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) parent interview was used to assess psychiatric symptoms in children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (n = 60; age range 6.5–16.7) and in typically developing (TD) children and adolescents (n = 60; age range 6.9–16.2). Psychiatric symptoms were reported in the ASD group (68%) significantly more compared to the TD group (12%). Specifically, emotional disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/hyperkinesis, and tic disorders were significantly more frequent in the ASD group compared to the TD group. Routine screening and early identification of these symptoms could have important implications for planning interventions and thus outcome in individuals with higher functioning ASD. The DAWBA would be a useful interview for this purpose, since it can also be easily and quickly administered in clinics not specialized in psychiatry.     

Child Behavior Check List 1½–5 as a tool to identify toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A case-control study

Tools to identify toddlers with autism in clinical settings have been recently developed. This study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the Child Behavior Check List 1½–5 (CBCL 1½–5) in the detection of toddlers subsequently diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ages 18–36 months. The CBCL of 47 children with ASD were compared to the CBCL of 47 toddlers with Other Psychiatric Disorders (OPD) as well as the CBCL of 47 toddlers with Typical Development (TD) in a case control study. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and logistic regression with odds ratio (OR) analyses were performed. In order to establish the optimal threshold able to discriminate children with ASD from children with OPD and TD, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences between the three groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that the Withdrawn and the Pervasive Developmental Problems (PDP) subscales can recognize toddlers subsequently identified as ASD from both children with TD (p < 0.001) and OPD (p < 0.001). ROC analyses showed very high sensitivity and specificity for the PDP (0.98 and 0.91) and Withdrawn (0.92 and 0.97) subscales when ASD was compared to TD. Sensitivity and specificity of Withdrawn (0.90 and 0.83) and PDP (0.85 and 0.83) remained high when comparing ASD versus OPD. In conclusion, the CBCL 1½–5 seemed to be able to identify toddlers subsequently diagnosed with ASD from children with TD and OPD. Its high sensitivity and specificity, coupled with its efficiency in terms of time and cost, suggest this broadband tool should be tested in a pilot screening survey of toddlers in the general population.     

Visual tasks and postural sway in children with and without autism spectrum disorders

We investigated the influences of two different suprapostural visual tasks, visual searching and visual inspection, on the postural sway of children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixteen ASD children (age = 8.75 ± 1.34 years; height = 130.34 ± 11.03 cm) were recruited from a local support group. Individuals with an intellectual disability as a co-occurring condition and those with severe behavior problems that required formal intervention were excluded. Twenty-two sex- and age-matched typically developing (TD) children (age = 8.93 ± 1.39 years; height = 133.47 ± 8.21 cm) were recruited from a local public elementary school. Postural sway was recorded using a magnetic tracking system (Flock of Birds, Ascension Technologies, Inc., Burlington, VT). Results indicated that the ASD children exhibited greater sway than the TD children. Despite this difference, both TD and ASD children showed reduced sway during the search task, relative to sway during the inspection task. These findings replicate those of Stoffregen et al. (2000), Stoffregen, Giveans, et al. (2009), Stoffregen, Villard, et al. (2009) and Prado et al. (2007) and extend them to TD children as well as ASD children. Both TD and ASD children were able to functionally modulate postural sway to facilitate the performance of a task that required higher perceptual effort.     

The link between emotion regulation,social functioning,and depression in boys with ASD

PurposeSymptoms of depression are common in children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but information about underlying developmental factors is limited. Depression is often linked to aspects of emotional functioning such as coping strategies, but in children with ASD difficulties with social interactions are also a likely contributor to depressive symptoms.MethodologyWe examined several aspects of emotional coping (approach, avoidant, maladaptive) and social functioning (victimization, negative friendship interactions) and their relation to depression symptoms in children with ASD (N = 63) and typically developing (TD) peers (N = 57). Children completed a battery of self-report questionnaires.ResultsLess approach and avoidant, but more maladaptive coping strategies, and poor social functioning were uniquely associated with more symptoms of depression in children with ASD. Only less approach and more maladaptive coping were uniquely associated with depression severity in TD boys.ConclusionsUnlike TD boys, boys with ASD who report using avoidant strategies to deal with stressful situations report fewer symptoms of depression, suggesting that this may be an adaptive emotion regulation strategy. However, understanding the role of over-arousal in this process, inferences about long-term effects of this strategy, its causality and direction of effects will require additional research.     

Schematic and realistic biological motion identification in children with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research investigating biological motion perception in children with ASD has revealed conflicting findings concerning whether impairments in biological motion perception exist. The current study investigated how children with high-functioning ASD (HF-ASD) performed on two tasks of biological motion identification: a novel schematic motion identification task and a point-light biological motion identification task. Twenty-two HF-ASD children were matched with 21 TD children on gender, non-verbal mental, and chronological, age (M years = 6.72). On both tasks, HF-ASD children performed with similar accuracy as TD children. Across groups, children performed better on animate than on inanimate trials of both tasks. These findings suggest that identification of both realistic and schematic biological motion is unimpaired in children with HF-ASD.     

Types and experiences of bullying in adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder

Being victimized by one's peers is a major problem in adolescence, and research has suggested that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may experience higher rates of bullying than their typically-developing (TD) peers. However, it is currently unclear whether adolescents with ASD are victimized more by their peers simply because they are ‘different’. This study was designed to examine percentage rates across different types of bullying behaviour in adolescents with an ASD (n = 24), in comparison to a group of special-needs adolescents without an ASD (n = 22), and a group of typically developing peers (n = 24), to determine whether simply being ‘different’ leads to higher rates of victimization. We also examined the agreement between parental and self-reports of bullying behaviour experienced by these groups. Overall, more adolescents with ASD reported victimization than adolescents in the other two groups. In addition, those with ASD reported more social bullying in comparison to the other two groups and more physical bullying than the TD group. No difference was found between parental and self-reports for the bullying experienced by the adolescents with ASD or special needs; however, TD adolescents reported higher levels of victimization than their parents reported for them. Contributing factors for the victimization experienced by adolescents with an ASD are discussed.     

Increased clinical and neurocognitive impairment in children with autism spectrum disorders and comorbid bipolar disorder

Bipolar (BD) symptomatology is prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may lead to increased impairment. The current study compared clinical and neurocognitive impairment in children (7–13 years) diagnosed with ASD (n = 55), BD (n = 34), ASD + BD (n = 23), and a non-clinical control group (n = 27). Relative to the ASD group, the ASD + BD group reported elevated rates of aggression and delinquency, behavioral disorders, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and suicidal ideation, and poorer performance on the Stroop Color-Word Test. Future research might address how best to improve diagnostic assessment and adapt treatment to meet the needs of this uniquely impaired population.     

The relationship of comorbid anxiety symptom severity and challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorder

The rates of comorbid anxiety as well as the presentation of challenging behaviors are elevated within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population. The current study utilizes the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT) to explore the relationship of anxiety/repetitive behavior symptom severity and challenging behaviors in infants and toddlers with ASD. Children with ASD who evinced more severe impairment associated with anxiety/repetitive behavior (n = 94) demonstrated higher rates of overall challenging behaviors than those with ASD who evinced no to minimal anxiety impairment (n = 291). Specifically, a comparison of individual challenging behavior items indicated that the infants and toddlers with moderate to severe anxiety impairment exhibited more significant challenging behaviors under the domains of aggression/destruction, stereotypies, and self-injurious behavior than children with no to minimal impairment. This study adds to the literature evidencing an exacerbation of challenging behaviors by comorbid psychopathology in individuals with ASD. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.     

Implicit and explicit motor learning: Application to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Aims and objectivesThis study aims to determine whether children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are capable of learning a motor skill both implicitly and explicitly.MethodsIn the present study, 30 boys with ASD, aged 7–11 with IQ average of 81.2, were compared with 32 typical IQ- and age-matched boys on their performance on a serial reaction time task (SRTT). Children were grouped by ASD and typical children and by implicit and explicit learning groups for the SRTT.ResultsImplicit motor learning occurred in both children with ASD (p = .02) and typical children (p = .01). There were no significant differences between groups (p = .39). However, explicit motor learning was only observed in typical children (p = .01) not children with ASD (p = .40). There was a significant difference between groups for explicit learning (p = .01).DiscussionThe results of our study showed that implicit motor learning is not affected in children with ASD. Implications for implicit and explicit learning are applied to the CO-OP approach of motor learning with children with ASD.