Maternal Mid-Gestation Cytokine Dysregulation in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterised by deficits in social interactions and communication, with stereotypical and...     

Dysregulation in Children and Adolescents Presenting to a Multidisciplinary Autism Clinic

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Research indicates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit dysregulation, which refers to poorly coordinated affective,...     

Maternal Exposures Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Jamaican Children

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with poorly understood etiology. Many maternal exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding potentially interfere with neurodevelopment. Using data from two age- and sex-matched case-control studies in Jamaica (n?=?298 pairs), results of conditional logistic regression analyses suggest that maternal exposures to fever or infection (matched odds ratio (MOR)?=?3.12, 95% CI 1.74–5.60), physical trauma (MOR?2.02, 95% CI 1.01–4.05), and oil-based paints (MOR?1.99, 95% CI 1.14–3.46) may be associated with ASD. Additionally, maternal exposure to oil-based paints may modify the relationship between maternal exposure to pesticides and ASD, which deepens our understanding of the association between pesticides and ASD.     

Risk Factors Associated with Self-Injurious Behaviors in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

While self-injurious behaviors (SIB) can cause significant morbidity for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about its associated risk factors. We assessed 7 factors that may influence self-injury in a large cohort of children with ASD: (a) atypical sensory processing; (b) impaired cognitive ability; (c) abnormal functional communication; (d) abnormal social functioning; (e) age; (f) the need for sameness; (g) rituals and compulsions. Half (52.3%, n?=?126) of the children (n?=?241, aged 2–19?years) demonstrated SIB. Abnormal sensory processing was the strongest single predictor of self-injury followed by sameness, impaired cognitive ability and social functioning. Since atypical sensory processing and sameness have a greater relative impact on SIB, treatment approaches that focus on these factors may be beneficial in reducing self-harm in children with ASD.     

Age-Related Variation in Health Service Use and Associated Expenditures Among Children with Autism

This study examined differences by age in service use and associated expenditures during 2005 for Medicaid-enrolled children with autism spectrum disorders. Aging was associated with significantly higher use and costs for restrictive, institution-based care and lower use and costs for community-based therapeutic services. Total expenditures increased by 5 % with each year of age; by 23 % between 3–5 and 6–11 year olds, 23 % between 6–11 and 12–16, and 14 % between 12–16 and 17–20 year olds. Use of and expenditures for long-term care, psychiatric medications, case management, medication management, day treatment/partial hospitalization, and respite services increased with age; use of and expenditures for occupational/physical therapy, speech therapy, mental health services, diagnostic/assessment services, and family therapy declined.     

Clinical Characteristics Associated with Language Regression for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

We investigated correlates of language regression for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Using archival data, children diagnosed with ASD (N = 114, M age = 41.4 months) were divided into four groups based on language development (i.e., regression, plateau, general delay, no delay) and compared on developmental, adaptive behavior, symptom severity, and behavioral adjustment variables. Few overall differences emerged between groups, including similar non-language developmental history, equal risk for seizure disorder, and comparable behavioral adjustment. Groups did not differ with respect to autism symptomatology as measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised. Language plateau was associated with better adaptive social skills as measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Implications and study limitations are discussed.     

Glutamate Dysfunction Associated with Developmental Cerebellar Damage: Relevance to Autism Spectrum Disorders

Neural abnormalities commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders include prefrontal cortex (PFC) dysfunction and cerebellar pathology in the form of Purkinje cell loss and cerebellar hypoplasia. It has been reported that loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells results in aberrant dopamine neurotransmission in the PFC which occurs via dysregulation of multisynaptic efferents from the cerebellum to the PFC. Using a mouse model, we investigated the possibility that developmental cerebellar Purkinje cell loss could disrupt glutamatergic cerebellar projections to the PFC that ultimately modulate DA release. We measured glutamate release evoked by local electrical stimulation using fixed-potential amperometry in combination with glutamate selective enzyme-based recording probes in urethane-anesthetized Lurcher mutant and wildtype mice. Target sites included the mediodorsal and ventrolateral thalamic nuclei, reticulotegmental nuclei, pedunculopontine nuclei, and ventral tegmental area. With the exception of the ventral tegmental area, the results indicated that in comparison to wildtype mice, evoked glutamate release was reduced in Lurcher mutants by between 9 and 72 % at all stimulated sites. These results are consistent with the notion that developmental loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells drives reductions in evoked glutamate release in cerebellar efferent pathways that ultimately influence PFC dopamine release. Possible mechanisms whereby reductions in glutamate release could occur are discussed.     

Externalizing Behaviors are Associated with Increased Parenting Stress in Caregivers of Young Children with Autism

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report higher levels of stress than parents of typically developing children. Few...     

Subtle Executive Impairment in Children with Autism and Children with ADHD

Background: The executive functions of inhibition, planning, flexible shifting of actions, and working memory are commonly reported to be impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders. Method: We compared these abilities in children (8–12 years) with high functioning autism (HFA, n = 17), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 32). Response inhibition was assessed using the Stroop Color and Word Test (Golden, 1978). Problem solving, set-shifting, and nonverbal memory were assessed using three tasks, respectively, from the CANTAB^® (Cambridge Cognition, 1996): the Stockings of Cambridge task; the Intra-Dimensional/Extra-Dimensional set-shifting task; and the Spatial Working Memory task (SWM) with tokens hidden behind 3, 4, 6, and 8 boxes. Results: There were no group differences on the response inhibition, planning, or set-shifting tasks. On the SWM task, children with HFA made significantly more between-searcherrors compared with controls on both the most difficult problems (8-box) and on the mid-difficulty problems (6-box); however, children with ADHD made significantly more errors compared to controls on the most difficult (8-box) problems only. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that spatial working memory is impaired in both ADHD and HFA, and more severely in the latter. More detailed investigation is needed to examine the mechanisms that differentially impair spatial working memory, but on this set of tasks there appears to be sparing of other executive functions in these neuropsychiatric developmental disorders.     

Helping and Cooperation in Children with Autism

Helping and cooperation are central to human social life. Here, we report two studies investigating these social behaviors in children with autism and children with developmental delay. In the first study, both groups of children helped the experimenter attain her goals. In the second study, both groups of children cooperated with an adult, but fewer children with autism performed the tasks successfully. When the adult stopped interacting at a certain moment, children with autism produced fewer attempts to re-engage her, possibly indicating that they had not formed a shared goal/shared intentions with her. These results are discussed in terms of the prerequisite cognitive and motivational skills and propensities underlying social behavior.     

Recall Readiness in Children with Autism

When people are asked to learn information they need to judge when they have encoded the information accurately and will be able to retrieve it correctly. Making such a judgment is an aspect of metacognitive ability, and is referred to as recall readiness. Previous researchers have not considered recall readiness in children with autism, therefore we asked matched groups of children with autism, children with mental retardation, and normally developing children (mean mental age: 7 years) to study several pictures of objects until they felt ready to recall all the objects without error. Their recall was then tested. The children with autism and the children with mental retardation had impaired recall readiness compared to the normally developing children. We discuss this result with reference to other research into the metacognitive abilities of children with autism.     

Color Perception in Children with Autism

This study examined whether color perception is atypical in children with autism. In experiment 1, accuracy of color memory and search was compared for children with autism and typically developing children matched on age and non-verbal cognitive ability. Children with autism were significantly less accurate at color memory and search than controls. In experiment 2, chromatic discrimination and categorical perception of color were assessed using a target detection task. Children with autism were less accurate than controls at detecting chromatic targets when presented on chromatic backgrounds, although were equally as fast when target detection was accurate. The strength of categorical perception of color did not differ for the two groups. Implications for theories on perceptual development in autism are discussed.     

Coping by Redefinition: Cognitive Appraisals in Mothers of Children with Autism and Children Without Autism

To test a model of how mothers cope with the stresses of raising a child with autism (Tunali & Power, 1993), mothers of children with and without autism were interviewed. As predicted, mothers of autistic children: (1) placed less emphasis on career success and were more likely to believe that mothers of young children should not work outside of the home; (2) spent more leisure time with their extended family; (3) placed less emphasis on others' opinions of their child's behavior; (4) placed more emphasis on spousal support and parental roles in their discussions of marriage; (5) had more difficulty understanding their child's behavior; and (6) showed a marginally significant difference in their tolerance of ambiguity. Moreover, mothers of children with autism who showed these characteristics had the greatest life satisfaction overall.     

Alterations in Gut Vitamin and Amino Acid Metabolism are Associated with Symptoms and Neurodevelopment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Metabolic disturbance may be implicated in the pathogenesis of autism. This study aimed to investigate the gut metabolomic profiles of autistic...     

Parental Feeding Practices and Child-Related Factors are Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Atypical eating behaviors displayed by children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) predispose them to unhealthy weight gain. We determined the...     

Feeding and Eating Behaviors in Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

Mothers of children aged 2–12 years completed an exhaustive questionnaire assessing feeding and eating behaviors for both themselves and their children with autism, and typically developing siblings of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (where available), or typically developing children with no sibling with a disability. Results indicate that children with autism were only marginally more likely to exhibit picky eating behavior (overall style) than their siblings or matched typically developing children. Rates of ritualistic feeding behaviors were equivalent in all groups of children although children with autism were more likely to be currently exhibiting problematic eating and feeding behaviors. The implications of these results for the treatment of feeding difficulties exhibited by children with autism will be discussed.