Comprehension of presuppositions in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without autism spectrum disorders

ABSTRACT

While an enormous amount of research has been done on the deficient conversation skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), little is known about their performance on presuppositions, a domain of knowledge that is crucial for successful communication. This study investigated the comprehension of four types of presupposition, namely existential, factive, lexical and structural presuppositions, in school-age Cantonese-speaking children with and without ASD. A group of children with ASD (n = 21), mean age 8.8, was compared with a group of typically developing children (n = 106). Knowledge of presuppositions was evaluated based on children’s ability to judge whether a given utterance was a correct presupposition of a preceding utterance. Children with ASD were found to show a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions, even after controlling for differences in general language ability and non-verbal intelligence. The relative difficulty of the four types of presupposition did not differ between the two groups of children. The present findings provide new empirical evidence that children with ASD have a deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions. Future research should explore whether the deficit in the comprehension of presuppositions is related to the development of theory of mind skills in children with ASD.     

Postural control in children with autism

Postural control was evaluated in samples of autistic, normal, and mentally retarded children in this pilot study using a recently developed, computerized posturographic procedure. A battery of postural positions was administered including postures involving some degree of stress (e.g., occluded vision or standing on pads). The postural patterns of children with autism differed from those observed in normal children, in mentally retarded children, and in adults with vestibular disorders. In comparison to normal children the autistic subjects were less likely to exhibit age-related changes in postural performance and postures were more variable and less stable with more lateral sway. Autistic subjects also exhibited a paradoxical response of greater stability with more stressful postures, putting excessive weight on one foot, one toe, or one heel. The implications for neuroanatomical models of autism are discussed.This work was supported in part by grant NS25026 from the National Institute of Health.     

Sustained attention in children with autism

Although many children with early infantile autism cannot maintain attention to externally imposed tasks, they may continue a repetitive behavior of their own choosing for long periods of time. This study examined the performance of autistic and mental age matched normal children on a Continuous Performance Test of sustained attention. Results suggest that autistic children's difficulties in sustaining attention on imposed tasks may be attributable partly to a developmental delay and partly to the motivational contingencies of task rather than to a primary impairment in the ability to sustain attention.This project was supported by an NIMH grant MH 28605 to L. Waterhouse and D. Fein. We appreciate the cooperation of the staff and students of League School, Newton, Massachusetts, and the Nazarene Child Care Center in Beverly, Massachusetts. We gratefully acknowledge the help of Hope Trefry, Dot Lucci, Kaye Cook, and Kathleen Sheber with data gathering and analysis. Ross Rizley, Anne Copeland, Jaqueline Liederman, and Leslie Brody of the Boston University Graduate Program in Psychology provided helpful comments at every stage of this project.     

Unusual fears in children with autism

Unusual fears have long been recognized as common in autism, but little research exists. In our sample of 1033 children with autism, unusual fears were reported by parents of 421 (41%) of the children, representing 92 different fears. Many additional children had common childhood fears (e.g., dogs, bugs, and the dark). More than half of children with unusual fears had fears of mechanical things, heights, and/or weather. The most common unusual fear was fear of toilets, and the most common category was fear of mechanical things. Amazingly, many of the fears reported in our sample were described in children with autism 70 years ago by Kanner, including fear of vacuum cleaners, elevators, mechanical toys, swings, and the wind. Children with autism perceive, experience, and react to the world differently than children without autism. What is tolerable for most children (e.g., clouds in the sky, a change in activity or routine, sensory input, or a performance request) might be terrifying, distressing, or infuriating for a child with autism. It is critical to assess for unusual and common fears in children with autism because they are present in the majority of these children, they further impair functioning, and effective treatment is available.     

Sleep disorder in children with autism

Abstract Eighty-eight children with autism, living in a suburb of Tokyo, were examined by questionnaire from 21 July to 31 August. Experienced sleep disorders were observed in 56 children; 44 of whom had sleep disorders before 3 years old. The average age when sleep disorders were seen to have stopped was 5 years old. The most common problem was difficulty falling sleep ( n = 23), followed by frequent awakening during sleep time ( n = 19), then early morning awakening ( n = 11). Bed-wetting was observed in 22 children.     

Diagnosing young children with autism

The starting point for any research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves the identification of people who evince the condition. From this point follows research on symptom presentation, genetics, epidemiology, animal models, treatment efficacy, and many other important topics. Major advances have been made in differential diagnosis, particularly with young children. This fact is particularly important since ASD is a life long condition. This review documents recent advances and the current state of research on this topic.     

Siblings relationships of children with autism

This study investigated sibling relationships of children with autism compared to children with Down syndrome and siblings of normally developing children. Ninety siblings (30 per group) between the ages of 8 and 18 participated in this study. Results indicated that sibling relationships in families of children with autism were characterized by less intimacy, prosocial behavior, and nurturance than those of the two comparison groups. Both siblings of children with autism and siblings of children with Down syndrome reported greater admiration of their sibling and less quarreling and competition in their relationships relative to normally developing comparison children.     

Macrocephaly in children with autism spectrum disorders

Research indicates the presence of macrocephaly or abnormally large head circumferences in children with autism and spectrum-related disorders, compared with their typically developing peers. Previous research, however, centered on non-nationally representative, clinic-based samples of children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Moreover, these samples were typically small. The present study represents results of a nationally representative, community-based sample of children with and without autism spectrum disorders, derived from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort. Results reveal statistically nonsignificant differences in the head circumferences of children with autism spectrum disorders across three time points, compared with children without autism spectrum disorders. These results may be considered highly generalizable, because they are derived from a nationally representative, community-based sample of children with and without autism spectrum disorders from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort.     

Corpus callosum volume in children with autism

The corpus callosum (CC) is the main commissure connecting the cerebral hemispheres. Previous evidence suggests the involvement of the CC in the pathophysiology of autism. However, most studies examined the mid-sagittal area and investigations applying novel methods are warranted. The goal of this investigation is to apply a volumetric method to examine the size of the CC in autism and to identify any association with clinical features. An MRI-based morphometric study of the total CC volume and its seven subdivisions was conducted and involved 22 children with autism (age range 8.1–12.7 years) and 23 healthy, age-matched controls. Reductions in the total volume of the CC and several of its subdivisions were found in the autism sample. Associations were observed between CC structures and clinical features including social deficits, repetitive behaviors, and sensory abnormalities. Volumetric alterations of the CC observed in this investigation are consistent with midsagittal area tracings of decreased CC size in autism. These findings support the aberrant connectivity hypothesis with possible decrease in interhemispheric communications.     

Establishing metaphorical reasoning in children with autism

Researchers have shown that children with autism have difficulty with non-literal language, such as irony, sarcasm, deception, humor, and metaphors. To date, few studies have attempted to remediate these deficits, and no studies of which we are aware have attempted to teach children with autism to understand metaphors. Metaphorical reasoning consists of complex verbal behavior, involving relations of coordination, hierarchy, and distinction, at a minimum. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate multiple exemplar training for teaching children with autism to attend to relevant features of the context in which a metaphor is used and to engage in the required relational responding in order to respond correctly to metaphorical questions. Participants included three children, ages 5-7. Results suggest that multiple exemplar training is effective for teaching children with autism to understand metaphors. Furthermore, generalization to untrained metaphors was found for all participants.     

Sleep in children with autism spectrum disorders

The amount of research conducted on sleep in children and adolescents has increased dramatically over the past decade due to the recognition that many children have significant sleep problems leading to daytime dysfunction. Approximately one third of typically developing children have sleep difficulties at some point, and a similar percentage of adolescents have impaired or insufficient sleep leading to daytime impairments. Sleep problems are known to occur at even greater rates in children with special needs, such as those with developmental disabilities, psychiatric conditions, and medical illnesses. The recognition that interventions can improve sleep and may result in better daytime functioning has fueled a growing interest in more fully characterizing the sleep problems in children with special needs. This article presents a discussion of the sleep problems experienced by children with one particular group of developmental disorders—the autism spectrum disorders.     

Sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate an increased prevalence of difficulties with sleep initiation and maintenance. The consequences may include alterations in daytime behavior, memory, and learning in patients, and significant stress in caretakers. The dysregulation of melatonin synthesis, sensitization to environmental stimuli, behavioral insomnia syndromes, delayed sleep phase syndrome, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, and comorbid anxiety, depression, and epilepsy comprise common etiologic factors. The clinical assessment of sleep problems in this population and a management algorithm are presented.     

Secretin and sleep in children with autism

The objectives of this pilot study were 1) to examine possible effects of secretin infusions on sleep-wake state organization in children with autism, and 2) to assess the feasibility of home recordings using time-lapse videosomnography in children with autism. Participants were a subset of subjects from two double blind, placebo-control, multi-center clinical trials. One trial, the UC Irvine study, assessed the effects of porcine secretin vs. saline infusions on children's behavior, language and IQ. The UC Davis trial assessed the effects of synthetic human secretin vs. saline infusions on behavior, language and gastrointestinal function. The sleep study enrolled some of the children from each of the two trials to observe possible secretin effects on sleep. To examine sleep, the UC Irvine trial used the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire and daily sleep diaries, whereas the UC Davis study used home-recorded time-lapse videosomnography. Because of the small sample size, the results from both trials are preliminary. They suggest that secretin, porcine or synthetic, does not improve sleep-wake state organization dramatically.     

72例孤独症的系统综合训练对策及效果观察

目的探讨孤独症儿童系统训练对策及效果。方法将符合条件的140例孤独症患儿随机分成两组,研究组共72例,接受为期6个月的系统综合训练,对照组共68例,暂不接受该系统综合训练。然后分别于研究前、6个月末应用孤独症行为量表（ABC）对两组患儿进行效果评估。结果与训练前相比,研究组治疗结束后ABC量表总分及各项得分均降低,其中感觉能力、交往能力、运动能力、语言能力得分前后差异具有非常显著性（P〈0．01）,自理能力项得分前后差异具有显著性（P〈0．05）。结论系统综合训练对孤独症儿童症状的改善是有效的。     

Stereotypy in young children with autism and typically developing children

Although stereotypy is one of the key diagnostic features of autism, few studies have compared stereotypic behavior in children with autism and typically developing children. The present study employed direct observational measurement methods to assess levels of stereotypic behavior in 2-, 3- and 4-year-old children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and age-matched typically developing peers. Thirty children with autism or PDD-NOS and 30 typically developing children participated. Each child's performance of several early learning and play skills was assessed using a direct observational assessment protocol developed for children with autism who were entering early intensive behavioral treatment. Duration of episodes of vocal and motor stereotypy was recorded from a videotaped 10 min portion of that assessment session. Results indicated that the 2-year-old children with autism or PDD-NOS had somewhat higher levels of stereotypic behavior than the typically developing 2-year-olds, while the 3- and 4-year-old children with autism or PDD-NOS displayed substantially higher levels stereotypic behavior than their same-age peers.     

Observational learning and children with autism

A skill essential for successful inclusion in general education settings is the ability to learn by observing others. Research, however, has documented children with autism display significant deficits in the fundamental skills necessary for observational learning. This article outlines the skills essential for observational learning from an operant learning perspective, the research base on teaching observational learning to children with autism, and suggests practical strategies to increase these skills in children with autism so they may more fully benefit from inclusion in general education settings.     

Weaning time of children with infantile autism

Since early wearning in infancy has been known to results in vulnerability to infection, wearning times of 145 children diagnosed as autistic by DSM-III were statistically compared with those of 224 normal children in the same catchment area: 24.8% of the patients and 7.5% of the controls were weaned by the end of 1 week, a significant difference. Early wearning because of the mother's rather than the child's condition occurred with 17.9% of the patients and 5.8% of the controls, also a significant difference. Historical studies on infantile autism revealed that the disease developed more prevalently in the socioeconomic status where the incidence of breast-feeding was less frequent. These results suggest that early weaning may contribute to the etiology of infantile autism.We are grateful to the staffs in Tsuchiura Child Guidance Center, Ishioka, Tsuchiura, Ryugasaki, and Yatabe Health Centers, for cooperation, and Dr. Katsumi Kano, for the statistical advice. This study was supported by a grant from the Matsuoka Memorial Fund for medical research in Ibaraki, Japan.