Autism Spectrum Disorders - Science topic

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impairments in social interactions, communication, hypersensitivity, and systematic patterns of behavior. Although the large majority of individuals with ASD are law-abiding, many individuals with ASD continue to become involved in the criminal-legal system as de...

Objective: to synthesize the care provided by health professionals, at different care levels, to the families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Method: a qualitative study, based on the Family-Centered Care philosophical theoretical framework and developed with 22 professionals from three multidisciplinary teams from the Health Care Ne...

Due to adaptations in legislation and policy higher education has become more available to people with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorders. Currently, students with intellectual and developmental disabilities are enrolled in universities. Innovations and measures are necessary at institutions of higher education in order to cre...

Background: Over the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on a global scale, impacting all racial and cultural groups. This increase in the diagnostic rate has prompted investigation into a myriad of factors that may serve as early signs of ASD. One of these factors in...

Badania naukowe wskazują na wyższe ryzyko zdarzeń niepożądanych i traumy u osób z zaburzeniami ze spektrum autyzmu (ASD). Jednak są one rzadko diagnozowane i leczone w tej grupie osób. Diagnozowanie objawów związanych z traumą i autyzmem jest trudne ze względu na nakładanie się tych symptomatologii. Artykuł zawiera przegląd aktualnej wiedzy na tema...

The aim of this study is to examine the motor skill levels of children aged 3-6 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in comparison with their typically developing (TD) peers and to reveal their needs for motor support programs. The research group consisted of 88 participants aged 3-6 years, including 43 children (40 boys and 3 girls) diagnosed...

The current study examined factorial invariance of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (CESD-R) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) using a convenience sample of 434 adults surveyed though Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participants were sorted into two groups based on their score on the Autism-Spectrum Quotient...

This paper represents a systematic review of peer-reviewed articles which included reports of parental dis/satisfaction about their child’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and diagnoses. Five themes emerged which are visualised in evidence maps: country comparisons of parental dis/satisfaction; factors which enhanced satisfaction; barrier...

The organisation of who speaks when in conversation is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of human communication. Research on a wide variety of groups of speakers has revealed a seemingly universal preference for between-speaker transitions consisting of very short silent gaps. Previous research on conversational turn-taking in Autism Spectrum Dis...

Introduction Hikikomori, a form of pathological social withdrawal, has been suggested to have comorbidity with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to clarify how characteristics of ASD are associated with hikikomori. Methods Thirty-nine adult male patients with a diagnosis of ASD attending our outpatient clinic for neurodevelopmental...

Background and Aims: There is a high prevalence of gastrointestinal-related (GI) symptoms among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is associated with the severity of behavioral symptoms. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a proposed therapeutic strategy that aims to address the dysregulation of the gut microbiome among child...

Telehealth is a broad term that describes the use of communication technologies to deliver diagnoses and educational services. Recent guidelines for practicing telehealth indicate that interventions directly delivered to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) via telehealth may be appropriate and effective. However, as few studies have dir...

The inclusion of microexons by alternative splicing is frequent in neuronal proteins. The roles of these sequences are in most cases unknown, but changes in their degree of inclusion are associated with neurodevelopmental diseases. We recently found that the decreased inclusion of a 24-nucleotide neuron-specific microexon in CPEB4, an RNA-binding p...

This article comprehensively reviews motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to: (1) determine the prevalence of motor problems in children with ASD; (2) understand the nature of motor difficulties in ASD and whether they are consistent with developmental coordination disorder (DCD); and (3) determine if the term DCD was u...

Approximately 50,000 youths with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exit U.S. high schools yearly to enter adult systems of care, many of whom remain dependent on family for day-to-day care and service system navigation. As part of a larger study, 174 family caregivers for adolescents or young adults with ASD were asked what advice they would give ser...

Social interaction is a fundamental component of relationships; however, the key features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) include marked and lifelong impairments in social interaction that adversely affects abilities to fulfil this essential relationship requirement. Despite the momentum of worldwide research on ASD, there is insufficient empiric...

Fetal ventriculomegaly is the most common antenatally-diagnosed brain abnormality. Imaging studies in antenatal isolated ventriculomegaly demonstrate enlarged ventricles and cortical overgrowth which are also present in children with autism-spectrum disorder/condition (ASD). We investigate the presence of ASD traits in a cohort of children (n = 24...

Purpose The social responsiveness scale (SRS) is frequently used to quantify the autism-related phenotype and is gaining use in health outcomes research. However, it has a high respondent burden (65 items) for large-scale studies. Further, most evaluations of it have focused on the school-age form, not the preschool form. More validity evidence of...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a childhood neurodevelopment psychiatric disease formed by strong genetic factors. Normally, communication and social interaction deficits, and repetitive stereotype behaviors are the most common symptoms caused by ASD. Until now, although several treatments, such as depressive inhibitors, antipsychotic drugs, and...

Despite several efforts to identify the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), its etiology remains still unclear. Among other aspects, genes that encode neurotransmitter receptors are strong candidates for autism. Here, we wanted to study some genetic variants of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit genes GABRB3, GABRG3, and GABRA5,...

The BRAIN Foundation (Pleasanton, CA, USA) hosted Synchrony 2022, a translational medicine conference focused on research into treatments for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), including those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) [...]

The microbiome-gut-brain axis plays a role in anxiety, the stress response and social development, and is of growing interest in neuropsychiatric conditions. The gut microbiota shows compositional alterations in a variety of psychiatric disorders including depression, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophre...

Objectives This study aimed to obtain the profile of efficacy and tolerance of risperidone in the treatment of people with autism spectrum disorder. Materials and Methods This research was a cross-sectional and retrospective study. The medical records of 100 patients diagnosed with ASD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental D...

Neurexins (Nrxns) have been extensively studied for their role in synapse organization and have been linked to many neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and epilepsy. However, no studies have provided direct evidence that Nrxns may be the key regulator in the shared pathogenesis of these conditions largely due to co...

ADNP syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability, sensory reactivity symptoms, facial dysmorphisms, and a wide variety of other physical and behavioral health manifestations. Research on ADNP syndrome has been limited, and there are currently no validated tools for assessing cli...

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience social interaction and communication problems, making it difficult to participate in social activities. Therefore, some individuals with ASD may become fixated on specific interests, including ChatGPT use. In addition, excessive use of it could potentially interfere w...

Resumo: Com o cenário mundial de distanciamento social, de pandemia da Covid-19, táticas diversas passaram a ser utilizadas para educar crianças e jovens, que tiveram que modificar suas rotinas de estudo. Isso trouxe mudanças no cotidiano de pessoas com Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) e seus familiares, que tiveram que lidar com resistência...

The increasing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has led to worldwide interest in factors influencing the age of ASD diagnosis. Parents or caregivers of 237 ASD children (193 boys, 44 girls) diagnosed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) completed a simple descriptive questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the va...

Objectives Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report experiencing stress, which increases with age. Few studies have included the biological stress response for measuring stress. While aerobic exercise can lower stress and repetitive behaviors, motivating adults with disabilities to exercise can be challenging. This study examined whet...

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common heart defect in children, refers to congenital disease with abnormal development of the heart or large blood vessels during the fetal period. The researchers suggest that children with CHD show more obvious neurodevelopmental disorders than children with normal development, and children w...

Self-domestication could contribute to shaping the biology of human brain and consequently the predisposition to neurodevelopmental disorders. Leveraging genome-wide data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, we tested the enrichment of self-domestication and neural crest function loci with respect to the heritability of autism spectrum disorde...

As interest in derived relational responding has increased, so have the number of investigations evaluating interventions to promote the emergence of derived responding for individuals with autism, as well as other intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, much of the literature has focused on the relation of sameness, and less is known...

Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) has been studied as a potential biomarker for abnormal auditory sensory processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with mixed results. Motivated by prior somatosensory findings of group differences in inter-trial coherence (ITC) between ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals at twice the steady-state...

Resting-state alpha brain rhythms provide a foundation for basic as well as higher-order brain processes. Research suggests atypical maturation of the peak frequency of resting-state alpha activity (= PAF) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study examined resting-state alpha activity in young school-aged children, obtaining magnetoencep...

Abstract Background Suicidality is highly prevalent in autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disabilities, and high autistic traits are found in adults who have attempted suicide. However, prevalence rates for both autistic and possibly autistic people have not been synthesised meta-analytically. Aims To (1) calculate pooled prevalence...

Increased oxidative/genotoxic stress is known to impact the pathophysiology of ASD (autism spectrum disorder). Clinical studies, however, reported limited, heterogeneous but promising responses to treatment with antioxidant remedies. We determined whether the functional polymorphism of the Nrf2 gene, master regulator of anti-oxidant adaptive reacti...

Many studies have explored the efficacy of probiotics on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children, but there is no consensus on the curative effect. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively investigate whether probiotics could improve behavioral symptoms in children with ASD. A systematic database search was conducted and...

In the present study, we aimed to quantify the effects of COVID-19 restrictions and speech treatment approaches during lockdowns on autistic children using CBCL and neuro-fuzzy artificial intelligence method. In this regard, a survey including CBCL questionnaire is prepared using online forms. In total, 87 children with diagnosed Autism spectrum di...

Background: Exogenous melatonin is commonly used to treat insomnia, other sleep problems, and numerous medical illnesses, including Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, and mild cognitive impairment in adults and children. There is evolving information regarding issues with the use of chronic melatonin. Methods: The present investigation...

To explore the effect of exercise intervention on fundamental movement skills (FMS) of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Following the principle of PICOS, randomized controlled trials of the effect of exercise intervention on the FMS of ADHD/ASD children were searched. A total of 12...

Sibling-mediated interventions (SMI) have the potential to increase social communication, play, and interpersonal skills for children on the autism spectrum. However, less is known about effective practices for training siblings to be intervention mediators. Existing SMI systematic reviews and meta-analyses have focused on the effects of SMIs for c...

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience higher levels of stress than parents of typically-developing (TD) children, due to differences in their children’s emotional functioning. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the cognitive and practical demands on vulnerable populations and their families. The aim of this study was to...

Autisms Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by core symptoms (social communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors) and related comorbidities, including sensory anomalies, feeding issues, and challenging behaviors. Children with ASD experience significantly more feeding problems than their peers. In fact, parents and clinicians have...

Background: Specifying early developmental differences among neurodevelopmental disorders with distinct etiologies but similar clinical phenotypes is critical to improving early identification and tailored intervention during the first years of life. Recent studies have uncovered important differences between infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS) a...

After his 1944 thesis, Hans Asperger continued to work and write about autistic children. However, apart from this earlier text, none of these texts have been translated and presented to the scientific community. Yet, thousands of articles and books on the subject have been published. At a time when autism spectrum disorder faces many challenges (i...

Background: We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale Second Edition (K-CARS2), which is composed of the Standard Version (K-CARS2-ST) and the High Functioning Version (K-CARS2-HF). Method: A total of 340 participants were included in this study. We assessed 145 participants (aged 2–...

The study assessed the role of urinary aluminium towards autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among preschool children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From the study, there was a significant association between urinary aluminium and ASD among preschool children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with a wide spectrum of symptoms, mainly characterized by social, communication, and cognitive impairments. Latest diagnostic criteria according to DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, 2013) now include sensory issues among the four restricted/r...

The success of finding a cure for any disease depends on the fundamental understanding of disease pathology, causative factor(s), and interventional feasibility. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is no different, but even though ASD has been known for a long time, our basic understanding of causative factor(s) and the biochemical basis of disease path...

Objective: Investigate diagnostic stability, daily life functioning and social situation in women diagnosed with ADHD and/or ASD in childhood. Methods: Prospective 17 to 20-year follow-up study of 100 girls of whom 92 diagnosed in childhood with main DSM-IV ADHD or ASD, and 60 comparison girls. Ninety and 54 of these women were examined (M = 27,...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) characterized by impairments in social communication, repetitive behaviors, restricted interests, and hyperesthesia/hypesthesia caused by genetic and/or environmental factors. In recent years, inflammation and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathogenesis of ASD. In t...

Our aim is to analyze the relevance of the mentor-child paradigm with a robot for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the adaptations required. This method could allow a more reliable evaluation of the socio-cognitive abilities of individuals with autism, which may have been underestimated due to pragmatic factors.

Recently, individuals with autistic traits, especially female, have been known to use compensatory strategies (e.g. hiding their autistic traits or compensatory learning) for better adaptation. Though these strategies are predicted to be relevant with the non-clinical undiagnosed autistic people, their adaptive status and the factor contributing to...

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has become a major public health concern due to its rapidly rising incidence over the past few years. Disturbances in folate or methionine metabolism have been identified in many individuals with ASD, suggesting that the folate–methionine cycle may play an essential role in the pathogenesis of autism. Thus, changes in...

We aim to investigate early developmental trajectories of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as indexed by the pupillary light reflex (PLR) in infants with (i.e. preterm birth, feeding difficulties, or siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder) and without (controls) increased likelihood for atypical ANS development. We used eye-tracking t...

A review of the research literature indicated that early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and acceleration in receiving specialist help is associated with beneficial clinical outcomes and better ASD prognosis. However, there is a significant gap between the onset of early signs of ASD and the receipt of specialist advice. This study aime...

Abstract Objective: Executive functions (EFs) play a crucial role in overall human functioning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have EFs deficits. The aim of this study was to examine EFs in preschool children with ASD. Methods: The sample for this study comprised 32 children (27 boys, mean age 65.3 months, SD- 4.0 months) with A...

Taking the visual perspective of another individual is an important skill in social communication, and is termed visual perspective-taking (VPT). Individuals with autism spectrum disorder who have deficits in social interaction show relatively lower performance on VPT tasks than individuals who achieve age-appropriate developmental milestones. Thus...

Caring for a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging for parents. Many of parent’s challenges are related to the spectrum of symptoms associated with the condition. Because one of the most pivotal changes made in the DSM–5 relates to ASD concerns the symptoms’ impact on social communication aspects of functioning we s...

Abstract Background Social and language abilities are closely intertwined during early typical development. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however, deficits in social and language development are early-age core symptoms. We previously reported that superior temporal cortex, a well-established social and language region, shows reduced activation...

In the recent years, growing attention has been paid to the use of camouflaging strategies by adult populations suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with milder manifestations and without intellectual impairment, which may lead to a delay in diagnosis or even a misdiagnosis. In fact, high-functioning ASD individuals were reported to be mor...

A mixed-method approach was used to explore and compare self-forgiveness, guilt, shame, and parental stress in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and parents of neurotypical (NT) children. The data were obtained by the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (Thompson et al., 2005), Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (Maliňáková et al., 2019...

Screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an essential early step in the identification process and inaccurate screening may lead to significant delays in the onset of treatment. Past research has highlighted discrepancies in the performance of ASD screening tools such as the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) among certain racial and e...

Past researchers have sought to describe and predict how individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are likely to benefit from applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy. These studies, however, have had limited generalizability due to sample sizes, simple modeling approaches, and failing to include more holistic patient profiles. Further, few s...

The children today are in the midst of the epidemic of neurodevelopment disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. In this metallomics study for total 2,550 children with neurodevelopment disorders (2,108 males and 442 females aged 0-15 year), it is demonstrated that near one half of the infantile indi...

Selenium and selenoproteins play a role in many biological functions, particularly in brain development and function. This review outlines the role of each class of selenoprotein in human brain function. Most selenoproteins play a large antioxidant role within the brain. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been shown to correlate with increased oxid...

Pathological Demand Avoidance: Current State of Research and Critical Discussion Abstract: Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) describes children who obsessively avoid any demand to a clinically relevant extent and is presently the subject of controversial discussion. Their behavior may be interpreted as an attempt to reduce anxiety by establishing...