Sex Differences in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) prevalence is higher in males than females, few studies address sex differences in developmental functioning or clinical manifestations. Participants in this study of sex differences in developmental profiles and clinical symptoms were 22 girls and 68 boys with ASD (mean age = 28 months). All children achieved strongest performance in visual reception and fine motor followed by gross motor and language functioning. Sex differences emerged in developmental profiles. Controlling for language, girls achieved higher visual reception scores than boys; boys attained higher language and motor scores and higher social-competence ratings than girls, particularly when controlling for visual reception. Longitudinal, representative studies are needed to elucidate the developmental and etiological significance of the observed sex differences.     

Psychiatric Hospitalization Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examined predictors of psychiatric hospitalization among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Data were collected from 760 caregivers of children with ASD. Cox regression was used to determine factors associated with hospitalization. Almost 11% were hospitalized. Youth in single parent homes were more likely to be hospitalized (OR = 2.54), as were youth diagnosed at a later age (OR = 1.10). Engaging in self-injurious behavior (OR = 2.14), aggressive behavior (OR = 4.83), and being diagnosed with depression (OR = 2.48) or obsessive compulsive disorder (OR = 2.35) increased the odds of hospitalization. Risk for hospitalization increased with age and over time. The results suggest early diagnosis and community-based interventions for aggressive and self-injurious behaviors may reduce hospitalizations.     

Bullying Experiences Among Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Few studies have investigated bullying experiences among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, preliminary research suggests that children with ASD are at greater risk for being bullied than typically developing peers. The aim of the current study was to build an understanding of bullying experiences among children with ASD based on parent reports by examining rates of various forms of bullying, exploring the association between victimization and mental health problems, and investigating individual and contextual variables as correlates of victimization. Victimization was related to child age, internalizing and externalizing mental health problems, communication difficulties, and number of friends at school, as well as parent mental health problems. Bullying prevention and intervention strategies are discussed.     

Self-Reported Autism Symptoms in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Scores on the autism spectrum quotient (AQ) were examined in 65 adults with ASD. Maternal reports of symptoms were collected simultaneously using the autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R) and the Vineland Screener. A slightly revised AQ administration procedure was used to accommodate adults with below average IQ. AQ scores were lower than in the original validation study, with only 11 adults (17%) scoring above the proposed diagnostic cut-off and 24 (27%) exceeding the screening cut-off. Adults with higher IQs endorsed more symptoms than those with below average intelligence, but even when analyses were restricted to the 39 adults with at least average IQ, only 44% met the screening cut-off. AQ scores were not significantly correlated with ADI-R or Vineland scores.     

Deaf Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Epidemiological studies investigating the prevalence of autism have increased in recent years, within the United States and abroad. However, statistics as to how many of those children may also have a comorbid hearing loss is lacking. The prevalence of school-administrator reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (clinical diagnosis [DSM-IV] and/or IDEA classification) among children with hearing loss in the US was estimated from the 2009–2010 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth conducted by the Gallaudet Research Institute. Results indicate that during the 2009–2010 school year 1 in 59 children (specifically 8-year olds) with hearing loss were also receiving services for autism; considerably higher, than reported national estimates of 1 in 91 (Kogan et al. in Pediatrics 124(4):1–8, 2009) and 1 in 110 (CDC 2007) for hearing children. Significantly more children with profound hearing loss had a comorbid diagnosis of autism than those with milder forms of hearing loss. These results are discussed, while highlighting the need for increased awareness and research in a population that has thus far received little services or attention.     

Driving Behaviors in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This pilot study investigated driving history and driving behaviors between adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as compared to non-ASD adult drivers. Seventy-eight licensed drivers with ASD and 94 non-ASD comparison participants completed the Driver Behavior Questionnaire. Drivers with ASD endorsed significantly lower ratings of their ability to drive, and higher numbers of traffic accidents and citations relative to non-ASD drivers. Drivers with ASD also endorsed significantly greater numbers of difficulties on the following subscales: intentional violations, F(1, 162) = 6.15, p = .01, η _p ²  = .04; mistakes, F(1, 162) = 10.15, p = .002, η _p ²  = .06; and slips/lapses, F(1, 162) = 11.33, p = .001, η _p ²  = .07. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD who are current drivers may experience more difficulties in driving behaviors and engage in more problematic driving behaviors relative to non-ASD drivers.     

Hyperlexia in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

We compared the reading-related skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders who have hyperlexia (ASD + HPL) with age-matched children with ASD without HPL (ASD - HPL) and with single-word reading-matched typically developing children (TYP). Children with ASD + HPL performed (1) better than did children with ASD - HPL on tasks of single-word reading and pseudoword decoding and (2) equivalently well compared to word-reading-matched TYP children on all reading-related tasks except reading comprehension. It appears that the general underlying model of single-word reading is the same in principle for "typical" and hyperlexic reading. Yet, the study revealed some dissimilarities between these two types of reading when more fine-grained cognitive and linguistic abilities were considered; these dissimilarities warrant further investigations.     

Patterns and Predictors of Anxiety Among Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of anxiety among siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and determine the characteristics of the child with ASD and their parents that predicted anxiety. Data was collected from 1,755 siblings of children with ASD whose families participated in the Simons Simplex Collection; siblings ranged in age from 3 to 18 years (M = 9 years). Male siblings were at increased risk for sub-clinical anxiety problems during middle childhood. Parental history of anxiety disorders, higher maternal pragmatic language, and more proband behavior problems predicted higher anxiety. While siblings overall did not show elevated anxiety symptoms, higher rates of sub-clinical anxiety problems among males and siblings in middle childhood are cause for concern.     

Attentional Differences in a Driving Hazard Perception Task in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The current study explored attentional processing of social and non-social stimuli in ASD within the context of a driving hazard perception task. Participants watched videos of road scenes and detected hazards while their eye movements were recorded. Although individuals with ASD demonstrated relatively good detection of driving hazards, they were slower to orient to hazards. Greater attentional capture in the time preceding the hazards’ onset was associated with lower verbal IQ. The findings suggest that individuals with ASD may distribute and direct their attention differently when identifying driving hazards.     

Epilepsy Among Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Population-Based Study

The present population-based study examines associations between epilepsy and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The cohort includes register data of 4,705 children born between 1987 and 2005 and diagnosed as cases of childhood autism, Asperger’s syndrome or pervasive developmental disorders—not otherwise specified. Each case was matched to four controls by gender, date of birth, place of birth, and residence in Finland. Epilepsy was associated with ASD regardless of the subgroup after adjusting for covariates. The associations were stronger among cases with intellectual disability, especially among females. Epilepsy’s age at onset was similar between the cases and controls regardless of the ASD subgroup. These findings emphasize the importance to examine the neurodevelopmental pathways in ASD, epilepsy and intellectual disability.     

Sex Differences in Diagnosis and Clinical Phenotypes of Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The aim of this study was to explore the differences between boys and girls in the diagnosis and clinical phenotypes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China's mainland. Children diagnosed with ASD (n = 1064, 228 females) were retrospectively included in the analysis. All children were assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). The results showed that girls scored significantly higher in ADI-R socio-emotional reciprocity than boys, and also scored lower in ADI-R and ADOS restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Meanwhile, the proportions of girls who satisfied the diagnostic cut-off scores in the ADI-R RRBs domain were lower than in boys (P < 0.05). Our results indicated that girls with ASD show greater socio-emotional reciprocity than boys. Girls also tended to show fewer RRBs than boys, and the type of RRBs in girls differ from those in boys. The ADI-R was found to be less sensitive in girls, particularly for assessment in the RRBs domain.     

Directed Forgetting in High-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Rehearsal strategies of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and demographically matched typically developed (TD) adults were strategically manipulated by cueing participants to either learn, or forget each list word prior to a recognition task. Participants were also asked to distinguish between autonoetic and noetic states of awareness using the Remember/Know paradigm. The ASD group recognised a similar number of to-be-forgotten words as the TD group, but significantly fewer to-be-learned words. This deficit was only evident in Remember responses that reflect autonoetic awareness, or episodic memory, and not Know responses. These findings support the elaborative encoding deficit hypothesis and provide a link between the previously established mild episodic memory impairments in adults with high functioning autism and the encoding strategies employed.