Autism spectrum disorder on the basis of executive functioning profile

Many children with autistic spectrum disorders have unusual reactions to certain sensory stimuli. These reactions vary along a hyper- to hypo-responsivity continuum. For example, some children overreact to weak sensory input, but others do not respond negatively to even strong stimuli. It is typically assumed that this deviant responsivity is linked to sensitivity, although the particular stage of sensory processing affected is not known. Psychophysical vibrotactile thresholds of six male children (age: 8–12) who were diagnosed to have autistic spectrum disorders and six normal male children (age: 7–11) were measured by using a two-alternative forced-choice task. The tactile stimuli were sinusoidal displacements and they were applied on the terminal phalanx of the left middle finger of each subject. By using a forward-masking paradigm, 40- and 250-Hz thresholds of the Pacinian tactile channel and 40-Hz threshold of the Non-Pacinian I tactile channel were determined. There was no significant difference between the thresholds of autistic and normal children, and the autistic children had the same detection and masking mechanisms as the normal children. The sensory responsivity of each subject was tested by clinical questionnaires, which showed again no difference between the two subject groups. Furthermore, no significant correlations could be found between the questionnaire data and the psychophysical thresholds. However, there was a high correlation between the data from the tactile and emotional subsets of the questionnaires. These results support the hypothesis that the hyper- and hypo-responsivity to touch, which is sometimes observed in autistic spectrum disorders, is not a perceptual sensory problem, but may probably be emotional in origin.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, communication and behaviour. The purpose of this study is to apply a machine learning approach to differentiate between autistic and normal children and to evaluate the performance of different classifiers in the detection of autism disorder. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) analysis is one of the strategies used for ASD detection by assessing the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which serves as a biomarker for the autism phenotype. HRV can be derived from the photoplethysmogram (PPG). Logistic Regression, Linear Discriminant Analysis and a Cubic Support Vector Machine (SVM) were chosen to evaluate the performance of HRV features in differentiating between normal and autistic children. Three different combinations of features were selected out of 19 features in total. From the results, Logistic Regression was the best classifier to differentiate between autistic and normal children in a colour stimulus test with 100% accuracy, while Linear Discriminant Analysis was best suited in the baseline test with 90% accuracy. In conclusion, the machine learning approach could be an alternative method of making an early diagnosis of ASD in the near future.

Executive functioning (EF) deficits co-occur frequently with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and have a long-term detrimental impact on quality of life of children and their families. Timely identification of risk for EF vulnerabilities may hasten access to early intervention and alleviate their long-term consequences. This study examines (1) if EF deficits are elevated in toddlers with ASD compared to nonautistic siblings of children with ASD, typically developing (TYP) toddlers, and toddlers with atypical developmental presentation; and (2) if EF deficits have a detrimental effect on adaptive functioning in ASD. Participants were recruited between September 2014 and October 2019 and included 73 toddlers with ASD, 33 nonautistic siblings of children with ASD, 35 toddlers with atypical development, and 28 TYP toddlers matched on chronological age (M=39.01 months, SD=3.11). EF deficits were measured using the BRIEF-P; adaptive skills were measured using the VABS-II. Whenever appropriate, analyses were controlled for MSEL verbal and nonverbal developmental quotient, ADOS-2 autism severity scores, and sex. Analyses revealed that toddlers with ASD exhibited elevated BRIEF-P scores across all domains compared to each of the three comparison groups. Higher BRIEF-P scores were associated with lower adaptive social, communication, and daily living skills while controlling for symptom severity, verbal and nonverbal functioning, and sex. In conclusion, marked vulnerabilities in EF are already present in 3-year-old toddlers with ASD and are predictive of the level of adaptive functioning in ASD. EF vulnerabilities in toddlers should be targeted for intervention to improve long-term outcomes in ASD. LAY SUMMARY: Many children with autism experience vulnerabilities in executive functioning (EF), which may include challenges with inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and planning. The study shows that these vulnerabilities can already be detected at age three and that their presence is linked with lower social, communication, and daily living skills. Screening children with ASD for EF challenges and helping those who have difficulties may improve their long-term outcomes.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction and autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) are closely related with each other. It has also been mitochondrial dysfunction causes impairment in cellular function which may lead to lack of social communications, language deficits and abnormal energy metabolism in autistic spectrum disorder. These are associated with laboratory evidence of lowered mitochondrial function. Objective: To observe the mitochondrial dysfunction and assess serum lactate and CK to in children with autistic spectrum disorder. Methods: This case-control study was conducted in the Department of Physiology of Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), Shahbag, Dhaka from January, 2013 to December, 2013. For this study a total number of 100 male children with age range 3-8 years were randomly selected, among which 50 were normal children and 50 were diagnosed autistic children. The autistic children were selected from the Parent’s Forum, Directorate Generals of Health Service (DOHS), Mohakhali, Dhaka and normal children were selected from some normal school. Serum lactate and creatine kinase (CK) were estimated in all children by standard laboratory method. For statistical analysis independent sample‘t’ test were done as applicable. Result: The mean of both the measured biochemical parameters were found significantly higher (p<0.001) in autistic spectrum disorder children. In addition, elevated levels of serum lactate and CK were found in 94% and 32% of autistic children respectively. Conclusion: The result of this study revealed that mitochondrial dysfunction may occur in children with autistic spectrum disorder. The severity of the autistic spectrum disorder is directly related to the biochemical abnormality for mitochondrial dysfunction. EWMCJ Vol. 13, No. 2, July 2025: 121-124

The aim of the present study was to search for a sensorimotor marker (i.e., visuopostural tuning) that could be correlated with the severity of motor impairments in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Given that autistic children were previously reported to be posturally hyporeactive to visually perceived environmental motion in comparison with normal control children (Gepner et al., 1995), we sought to determine whether children with Asperger syndrome (AS) would share the same postural hyporeactivity to visual motion. Three autistic children with mild to severe motor impairments, three AS children with soft motor signs, and nine normal control children were tested for overall postural instability and postural reactivity to environmental motion. Results indicate, first, that overall postural instability is significantly reduced in autistic children compared with both AS and normal children. Second, although postural oscillations in the fore-aft axis become more attuned to the oscillation frequency of an immersive dynamic visual display as visual speed is increased, in both control and AS subjects, this is not the case in autistic children. Despite the small number of subjects tested in this study, our data confirm the existence of a visuopostural detuning in autistic children. Third, they argue for a correlation between visuopostural tuning and severity of motor signs in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Finally, they suggest a differentiation between children with autism and children with AS with regard to postural reactivity to fast visual motion. Neurophysiological implications of these results are discussed. In particular, a visuocerebellar pathway deficit hypothesis in autism is proposed.

Executive function deficits and neural discordance in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

In this paper, we are looking at the differences between autistic and normal children in term of fine motor movement. Previous findings have shown that there are differences between autistic children and normal children when performing a simple motor movement tasks. Imitating a finger tapping and clinching a hand are two examples of a simple motor movement tasks. Our study had adopted one of the video stimuli for clinching the hand from Brainmarkers. 6 selected autistic children and 6 selected normal children were involved in this study. The data collection is using EEG device and will be analyzed using Gaussian mixture model (GMM) and Multilayer perceptron (MLP) as classifier to discriminate between autistic and normal children. Experimental result shows the potential of verifying between autistic and normal children with accuracy of 92%. The potential of using these techniques to identify autistic children can help early detection for the purpose of early intervention. Moreover, the spectrums of the signals also present big differences between the two groups.

Executive function (EF) deficits in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are ubiquitous and understudied. Further, there are no effective, neuroscience-based treatments to address this impairing feature of ASD. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has demonstrated promise in addressing EF deficits in adult neuropsychiatric disorders. This article will outline the design of a novel randomized-controlled trial of bilateral, 20 Hz, rTMS applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for treatment of EF deficits in ASD that is currently ongoing. We describe prior therapeutic rTMS research for ASD and prior rTMS trials targeting EFs in adult neuropsychiatric disorders. A neurophysiological rationale for rTMS treatment of EF deficits in ASD is presented. An ongoing protocol will enroll participants aged 16-35 with ASD and no intellectual disability. Psychotropic medications will be continued during the 4-week trial of active 20 Hz versus sham rTMS applied to the DLPFC. Twenty, active treatment sessions consisting of 25 stimulation trains at a 90% motor threshold will be administered. The primary outcome measure is the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) spatial working memory task. At present, recruitment, enrollment, and treatment within the described clinical trial are ongoing. EF deficits are common and impairing symptoms of ASD. There are no evidence-based treatments for EF deficits in ASD. The protocol described here will provide important preliminary data on the feasibility and efficacy of 20 Hz rTMS to DLPFC for EF deficits in ASD.

The extent of overlapping presentation within Attachment Disorder (AD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) gives rise to considerable difficulties for the separation of the disorders. In order to ascertain the impact of the difficulties in differentiating the symptomologies on diagnosis, this study was designed to seek to measure the presenting behaviours of children using psychometric tools with a view to contributing to the understanding of the commonalities, differences and the relationship between ASD and AD. Chapter 2 explored that a percentage of children with ASD meeting the criteria for AD. It was possible to discriminate between the presence or absence of ASD, and of AD, by the presence of all behavioural problems but ASD and AD could not be discriminated from one another either when predicting clinical diagnosis or psychometric classification. There was an indication that when using clinical diagnosis, hyperactivity was more predictive of AD than ASD. The research gave strength to the argument that overlap between ASD and AD exists. Chapter 3 considered overlaps and differences between parent reports of ASD and AD, and examined profiles of children fulfilling criteria for ASD and AD in terms of behaviour problems and attachment styles. There was a large overlap in the reported diagnoses and classifications of ASD and AD. Peer problems predicted a reported ASD diagnosis and conduct problems predicted a reported AD diagnosis. Attachment styles differentiated the diagnosis of those with ASD showing more ambivalent, and those with AD more avoidant and anxious, attachment styles. Chapter 4 compared the similarities and differences in parenting stress and behaviours in parent reports of ASD and AD. Parents of children with AD reported greater levels of parenting stress than parents of children with ASD. Parents of children reaching criteria for both disorders reported the greatest levels of parenting stress. Limit setting was poorest in parents of children with both classifications, followed by parents of children with AD and then ASD. Limit setting mediated the relationship between parenting stress and child behaviour problems for parents of children with ASD, but not for parents of children with AD. Chapter 5 investigated the differences between ASD and AD using Executive Function (EF) tasks in terms of their clinical diagnoses and psychometric traits, on four EF tasks (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), Hungry Donkey, Stroop, and Tower of London). Limited difference between the EF performances of individuals with ASD and AD was noted (there was slightly better AD performance on cold EF tasks, and slightly better performance for ASD on hot tasks). Chapter 6 examined whether EF mediated the relationship between either ASD or AD, and behaviour problems, examined in terms of their AD and ASD traits, their levels of behaviour problems, and performance on four EF tasks (WCST, Hungry Donkey, Stroop, and Tower of London). There were positive correlations between levels of ASD and AD, and between both of these traits and behaviour problems. However, there was no relationship between these traits and EF and no relationship between EF and behaviour problems.

Background : Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) is one of the most important measures in estimating language acquisition in children. The study of how language develops in these patients can be useful in providing effective treatment strategies. This study aims to investigate the developmental process of MLU in children with ASD and compare them with normal children. Methods : This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional-quantitative one. The statistical society is all 3-6 years of children with ASD in Tehran, and the sample has been selected via cluster sampling among welfare organizations In region 6 (Mantaghe 6). The participants included 10 monolingual Persian children with ASD aged 3-6. In this research, the spoken utterances of children were recorded and transcribed in 30 minutes of free play sessions. The control group included 10 monolingual Persian children aged 2-5, with no previous linguistic and psychological disorders. Two groups were matched based on non-verbal IQ and gender. Results : Based on the findings, the mean and standard deviation of MLU in autistic children were 2.5 and 1.24, respectively and the mean and standard deviation of MLU in normal children were 3.74 and 1.03, respectively. The results of T-test analysis showed a statistically significant difference between two groups with regard to the MLU (t (18)=-2.41, Pvalue=0.02). The results also indicated a statistically significant correlation between MLU and age in children with ASD (Pvalue=0.01, r=0.95) and in normal children (Pvalue=0.000, r=0.95). Conclusions: The study showed that after controlling for vocabulary knowledge, non-verbal IQ and talkativeness, MLU was significantly lower in children with ASD than in normal children. The results also showed that MLU increases with increase of age in both groups. Key words : Autism Spectrum Disorder, language ability, Mean Length of Utterance.

Much of the current research concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focuses on early identification of behaviors that may indicate future deficits or higher risk for a later diagnosis. Additionally, there exists a strong claim regarding the dimensional nature of ASD, such that even among non-diagnosed individuals, a continuous distribution of symptom severity can be observed. Executive function (EF) has been widely studied in children, adolescents, and adults with ASD, with a robust body of research supporting widespread EF deficits in diagnosed individuals. However, it remains unclear how the degree of ASD symptomatology, outside of the presence of a diagnosis, affects EF abilities in a community sample. The First Year Inventory 2.0 (FYI 2.0), a parent-report measure, was designed to identify infants at 12 months who are at risk for an eventual ASD diagnosis. In the current study, a continuous scoring scale was used to examine risk (overall, Social-Communication, and Sensory-Regulatory) from a dimensional perspective. Parents also completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2nd edition when their children were 42 months (3.5 years) old. Each FYI 2.0 risk variable significantly predicted scores on an overall EF composite and specific EF subscales. When controlling for general ASD symptomatology, Sensory-Regulatory risk still significantly predicted EF deficits. This research provides additional support for a quantitative consideration of risk for ASD and presents novel findings regarding the relation between infant behaviors indicative of ASD risk and EF in early childhood. Autism Research 2018, 11: 1532-1541. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty with executive function (EF) tasks that require a set of mental processes involved in goal-directed behaviors. Studying children without ASD who may have symptoms affecting EF is also important. This study demonstrates that certain infant behaviors related to ASD are linked to early childhood EF difficulties. These results support looking at a range of ASD symptoms to better understand children who struggle with EF and potentially design tools to help them.

Objective To test the attachment quality of autism children between 2～6 years with attach-ment Q-Sort,and to understand the difference from normal children. Methods Use the AQS to test the parents of 167 normal children and 55 autism children,which can evaluate the children' attachment types. Results The rate of security attachment in normal children was 68.3% ,and the rate of unsure attachment was 31.7%. The rate of security attachment in autism children was 29.1% ,and the rate of unsure attachment was 70.9% ;and the rates of security attachment in normal and autism children were different significantly(X2=26.16, P<0.01). Attachment quality was not associated with sex both in normal and autism children and neither age was. Conclusions Most of the normal children have the security attachment,and the autism children have the unsure attachment. Neither age nor sex is associated with attachment quality both normal children and autism children. Key words: Attachment Q Sort; Children; Autism; Cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study was to compare executive functions of all the children with autism spectrum disorders of Tabriz city with normal children. The methodology was causal-comparative. The statistical population included all the children with autism spectrum disorders of Tabriz city with normal children among them 35 people were selected for each group. The instrument of data collection was executive functions questionnaire. Data was analyzed through MANOVA method using SPSS software. The results showed there is significant difference among eightfold components of executive functions between autism spectrum disorders children and normal children, such that the rate of eightfold components of executive functions in autism spectrum disorders children are significantly less than the ones in normal children.

Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Analysis and classification of speech sounds of children with autism spectrum disorder using acoustic features