Abilities In Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Articles

Quantitative analysis of perception ability in autism spectrum disorder

Quantitative analysis of perception ability in autism spectrum disorder

Age of walking and intellectual ability in autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders: a population-based study.

Delayed walking is common in intellectual disability (ID) but may be less common when ID occurs with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous studies examining this were limited by reliance on clinical samples and exclusion of children with severe motor deficits. To examine in a population-based sample if age of walking is differentially related to intellectual ability in children with ASD versus other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). Participants were from the nested Autism Birth Cohort Study of the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Cox proportional hazards regression assessed if diagnosis (ASD n=212 vs. NDD n=354), continuous nonverbal IQ, and their interaction, were associated with continuous age of walking. The relationship between nonverbal IQ and age of walking was stronger for NDD than for ASD (Group×nonverbal IQ interaction, χ2 =13.93, p=.0002). This interaction was characterized by a 21% decrease in the likelihood of walking onset at any given time during the observation period per 10-point decrease in nonverbal IQ (hazard ratio=0.79, 95% CI: 0.78-0.85) in the NDD group compared to 8% (hazard ratio=0.92, 95% CI: 0.86-0.98) in the ASD group. The finding that age of walking is less strongly related to low intellectual ability in children with ASD than in children without other NDDs supports the hypothesis that ID in ASD may result from heterogeneous developmental pathways. Late walking may be a useful stratification variable in etiological research focused on ASD and other NDDs.

Defining Positive Outcomes in More and Less Cognitively Able Autistic Adults.

Identifying positive outcomes for a wide range of intellectual abilities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains a challenge. Several past studies of autistic adults have used outcome definitions that do not reflect the experiences of less cognitively able adults. The aim of the current study was to (1) define three domains of outcomes: autonomy, social relationships, and purpose, and (2) examine how these outcomes relate to concurrent aspects of adult functioning. Using data from a longitudinal sample of 126 adults (85% diagnosed with ASD at some point), mean age 26, who first entered the study in early childhood, we generated distinct outcomes for less (daily living skills above an 8-year-old level, having regular activities outside the home, and social contacts outside the family) and more cognitively able adults (living independently, having paid employment, and at least one true friend). Verbal IQ, assessed in adulthood, was a significant predictor of more outcomes achieved for individuals within more and less cognitively able groups. For less cognitively able adults, having ever received a formal ASD diagnosis (in contrast to current Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule [ADOS] CSS scores) was associated with lower odds of positive outcomes. For more cognitively able adults, living skills and happiness measures were positively associated with number of outcomes met; higher ADOS CSS, internalizing and externalizing symptoms, being racially diverse, and having caregiver education below college graduation were all negatively associated with the number of positive outcomes. Tailoring outcomes to ability levels may lead to better identification of goals and service needs. LAY SUMMARY: This article describes the outcomes of autistic adults who are more and less cognitively able. For less cognitively able individuals, an earlier autism diagnosis was negatively related to outcomes. Several factors that were associated with positive outcomes for more cognitively able individuals, including daily living skills, fewer mental health problems, family demographics, and subjective measures of happiness. Our study identifies several important factors for families, individuals, and service providers to consider and discuss when planning the transition to adulthood. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1548-1560. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sensorimotor skills in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis

BackgroundSensorimotor skills are often reported as atypical in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little is known about how sensorimotor skills in ASD may vary across development and with symptom severity. The main objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive quantitative meta-analysis of sensorimotor skills in ASD. The specific aims were: to assess impairment of gross and fine sensorimotor skills in ASD, to examine the effect of age on sensorimotor skills in ASD and to examine the relationship between sensorimotor skills and ASD symptom severity. MethodAn exhaustive search was conducted in Psycnet, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Database to identify studies in ASD from 1980 to 2018 that involved quantitative evaluations of motor coordination, motor impairments, arm movement, gait, postural stability, visuomotor or auditory motor integration. A total of 139 studies were included and this represent 3436 individuals with ASD. ResultsResults strongly support the presence of deficits in overall sensorimotor abilities in ASD (Hedges’ g = 1.22, p < 0.001) and these atypicalities extended to fine and gross sensorimotor abilities. Sensorimotor abilities increased with age, but did not appear to covary with symptom severity. ConclusionsThese results highlight the importance to target these deficits in future interventions and consider the impact of sensorimotor impairments across research, therapy, and educational settings.

Exploring the use of the verbal intelligence quotient as a proxy for language ability in autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundThere is growing interest in understanding the brain and language associations in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A considerable number of studies investigating these associations have used the verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) as their primary measure of language form and content. Given this current trend, we aimed to establish whether the VIQ could reliably be used as a measure of receptive and expressive language form and content in individuals with ASD and in typical development (TD). MethodWe examined the VIQ standard scores derived from a Wechsler cognitive battery as well as receptive and expressive language standard scores from the Oral Written Language Scales – Second Edition (OWLS-II) of 714 participants aged 3–21 years: 488 with ASD and 226 with TD. ResultsRegression analyses revealed that VIQ scores predicted greater variance in receptive and expressive language scores in males with ASD relative to males with TD, and predicted less variance in receptive and expressive language scores in females with ASD relative to females with TD. Overall, VIQ accounted for a small proportion of variance in receptive and expressive language scores. ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the VIQ does not accurately capture language form and content evaluated by language measures like the OWLS-II, but may perhaps be used as a proxy for language content only.

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Assessment of cognitive abilities using the non-verbal SON-R 6-40

Abstract Cognition in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) shows large variability. Nonverbal tests can be more suitable for cognitive assessment in this group. We investigated cognitive abilities in ASD using the SON-R 6-40 Nonverbal Intelligence Test. A total of 37 individuals with ASD (AG) aged 6-24 years participated. Cognitive assessment of the AG was done using the SON-R 6-40 and performance compared with the standardized sample which served as the control group (CG). Results showed lower subtest scores in the AG than in the CG. Approximately 84% of the AG had intellectual disability according to IQ scores. Individuals with preserved speech in the AG had higher IQ scores than patients without preserved speech. There was no relationship between intelligence and ASD symptom severity as reported by families.

Initial eye gaze to faces and its functional consequence on face identification abilities in autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined and diagnosed by core deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors. Research on face processing suggests deficits in this domain in ASD but includes many mixed findings regarding the nature and extent of these differences. The first eye movement to a face has been shown to be highly informative and sufficient to achieve high performance in face identification in neurotypical adults. The current study focused on this critical moment shown to be essential in the process of face identification.MethodsWe applied an established eye-tracking and face identification paradigm to comprehensively characterize the initial eye movement to a face and test its functional consequence on face identification performance in adolescents with and without ASD (n = 21 per group), and in neurotypical adults. Specifically, we presented a series of faces and measured the landing location of the first saccade to each face, while simultaneously measuring their face identification abilities. Then, individuals were guided to look at specific locations on the face, and we measured how face identification performance varied as a function of that location. Adolescent participants also completed a more traditional measure of face identification which allowed us to more fully characterize face identification abilities in ASD.ResultsOur results indicate that the location of the initial look to faces and face identification performance for briefly presented faces are intact in ASD, ruling out the possibility that deficits in face perception, at least in adolescents with ASD, begin with the initial eye movement to the face. However, individuals with ASD showed impairments on the more traditional measure of face identification.ConclusionTogether, the observed dissociation between initial, rapid face perception processes, and other measures of face perception offers new insights and hypotheses related to the timing and perceptual complexity of face processing and how these specific aspects of face identification may be disrupted in ASD.

Incomplete Gestation has an Impact on Cognitive Abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Extreme prematurity is known as a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the association between prematurity and ASD, for children born moderately and late preterm (MLPT) and those born early term (ET), is less established. This retrospective study aimed to characterize the phenotypic characteristics (i.e. behavioral profile and cognitive abilities) of 254 children with ASD, between 3 and 15years of age, born MLPT (19 children), ET (60 children) and full term (175 children). MLPT and ET births do not modify ASD symptomatology, but modify cognitive development. The results highlight that incomplete gestation, i.e., MLPT or ET, has a negative impact on both verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities, in children with neurodevelopmental vulnerability.

Do minimally verbal and verbally fluent individuals with autism spectrum disorder differ in their viewing patterns of dynamic social scenes?

Attending preferentially to social information in the environment is important in developing socio-communicative skills and language. Research using eye tracking to explore how individuals with autism spectrum disorder deploy visual attention has increased exponentially in the past decade; however, studies have typically not included minimally verbal participants. In this study, we compared 37 minimally verbal children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder with 34 age-matched verbally fluent individuals with autism spectrum disorder in how they viewed a brief video in which a young woman, surrounded by interesting objects, engages the viewer, and later reacts with expected or unexpected gaze-shifts toward the objects. While both groups spent comparable amounts of time looking at different parts of the scene and looked longer at the person than at the objects, the minimally verbal autism spectrum disorder group spent significantly less time looking at the person's face during the episodes where gaze following-a precursor of joint attention-was critical for interpreting her behavior. Proportional looking-time toward key areas of interest in some episodes correlated with receptive language measures. These findings underscore the connections between social attention and the development of communicative abilities in autism spectrum disorder.

Impaired Recognition of Negative Facial Expressions is Partly Related to Facial Perception Deficits in Adolescents with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Accumulating studies have reported facial emotion recognition or facial perception impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To clarify the specificity of the emotion recognition impairment, this study examined the relationships between facial emotion recognition and facial perception abilities in ASD. Twenty-two adolescents with high-functioning ASD (20 males) and 22 typically developing (TD) adolescents (16 males) aged 11-18years undertook a facial emotion labeling task and a facial perception test. We found that adolescents with ASD had deficits in recognizing negative facial expressions, which correlated with both facial perception deficits and severity of social impairment. In addition, the emotion recognition deficits remained after adjusting for facial perception performance. Thus, our findings suggest an emotion-specific impairment in facial emotion recognition in ASD.

Faster eye movements in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Atypical visual exploration of both social and nonsocial scenes is often reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with less precise and longer saccades, potentially reflecting difficulties in oculomotor control. To assess a subset of oculomotor functions in ASD, 20 children with ASD and 21 age-matched typically developing (TD) children (2.6-11.5 years) partook in three tasks of increasing complexity, while no explicit instruction was provided: a prosaccade gap task, a color and a "categorical" visual search tasks (a face among butterflies and vice-versa). In addition to classical saccade metrics, we measured Distance error, (the distance between the target and the closest gaze position) and Time-to-target (the time taken to reach the target). In the prosaccade task, children with ASD were as accurate as TD children, yet faster to reach the stimulus. In the color visual search task, children with ASD were faster but less precise than TD children. In the categorical visual search, while TD children were more precise in orienting their gaze towards the face, children with ASD performed similarly in the two conditions; Time-to-target did not differ. Our results provide contradictory evidence regarding enhanced visual search ability in ASD: when considering response times, enhanced visual search performance was found in one task only, while when considering gaze precision no advantage was found. These three experiments demonstrate that the automatic saccadic system may function more rapidly in children with ASD. Nonetheless, a diminished sensitivity to bottom-up saliency and top-down influence might suppress this advantage in more complex visual environments. Autism Res 2019, 12: 212-224 © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Three experiments with no instructions were designed to assess oculomotor functions in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In a saccade task, children with ASD were faster than but as accurate as control children. In visual search tasks, accuracy and speed decreased with increasing complexity of visual environment. Children with ASD showed faster automatic visual orientation, but this might hinder exploratory behaviors, leading to difficulties in complex and social situations.

Auditory perception is associated with implicit language learning and receptive language ability in autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with language impairment as well as atypical auditory sensory processing. The current study investigated associations among auditory perception, implicit language learning and receptive language ability in youth with ASD. MethodsWe measured auditory event related potentials (ERP) during an artificial language statistical learning task in 76 youth with ASD and 27 neurotypical (NT) controls. Participants with ASD had a broad range of cognitive and language abilities. ResultsNT youth showed evidence of implicit learning via attenuated P1 amplitude in the left hemisphere. In contrast, among youth with ASD, implicit learning elicited bilateral attenuation that was increasingly evident with greater receptive language skill. ConclusionsEfficient early auditory perception reflects language learning and is a marker of language ability among youth with ASD. Atypical lateralization of word learning is evident in ASD across a broad range of receptive language abilities.

Dissociations in the neural substrates of language and social functioning in autism spectrum disorder.

Impairments in social communication (coupled with intact nonsocial language skills) are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the neural correlates of these social communication deficits in adolescents and young adults with ASD are not fully understood. The communication checklist self-report (CC-SR) was administered to adolescents and young adults with ASD (n = 52) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 64) to assess structural-language, pragmatic-language, and social-engagement. One high-resolution T1-weighted structural image was obtained from each participant. FreeSurfer was used to quantify cortical thickness. A main effect of diagnosis, with the ASD group performing worse than the TD group on all three CC-SR scales, and a diagnosis by scale interaction, driven by low social-engagement self-ratings in the ASD group, were found. There were also group differences in the relationship between scores on two of the three CC-SR scales and cortical thickness in multiple regions (pragmatic-language: left rostral frontal; social-engagement: left medial prefrontal). These interactions were driven by poorer self-ratings of language/social skills associated with decreased cortical thickness in the ASD group, while in the TD group worse self-ratings were associated with thicker cortex. Self-ratings of language/social-communication were lower in the ASD than the TD group. Moreover, language/social-communication self-ratings showed a different relationship with cortical thickness for the ASD and TD groups in the left inferior frontal region for pragmatic language ratings and the left medial prefrontal cortex for social engagement ratings. These findings suggest thinner cortex is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1175-1186. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The present study examines the associations between brain structure and language/social communication ability in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to neurotypical adolescents and young adults. We utilized thickness of the cerebral cortex as a measure of brain structure, and we found different correlations between language or social communication ability and cortical thickness in distinct regions for the ASD and TD groups. These findings suggest that for regions implicated in language/social communication ability, decreased cortical thickness is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD.

Processing Speed is Impaired in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Relates to Social Communication Abilities.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by a variety of social and non-social behavioral deficits. One potential mechanism that could unify this diverse profile of behaviors is slower processing speed. Seventy-six high-functioning adults with ASD were compared to 64 matched controls on standardized measures of processing speed. Participants with ASD were significantly slower on all measures, and on the composite score from the three tests (d's > .65). ASD participants with slower processing speeds scored higher on the ADOS Communication and Reciprocal Social Interaction scale (r = .34). These findings provide evidence of slower processing speeds in adults with ASD, and that this may be contributing to impairments in social communication skills. Interventions that improve processing speed might improve social communication abilities in ASD.

Associations Between Emotion Regulation and Social Impairment in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In typically-developing (TD) individuals, effective emotion regulation strategies have been associated with positive outcomes in various areas, including social functioning. Although impaired social functioning is a core criterion of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the role of emotion regulation ability in ASD has been largely ignored. This study investigated the association between emotion regulation and ASD symptomatology, with a specific emphasis on social impairment. We used parent-report questionnaires to assess the regulatory strategies and symptom severity of 145 youth with ASD. Results showed that: (1) more effective emotion regulation, defined by greater use of reappraisal, predicted less severe ASD symptomatology, and (2) greater use of reappraisal predicted less severe social impairment. Suppression was not predictive of general symptomatology or social functioning.

Efficacy of Static and Intermittent Gravity Inverted Therapy Techniques in Improvement of Motor Apraxia and Cognitive Abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This work was carried out to investigate the efficacy of static and intermittent gravity inverted therapy techniques in improvement of motor apraxia and cognitive abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 30 children were randomly joined in this study into two groups; Group A (sensory integration therapy approach plus static and intermittent inversion therapy techniques) and Group B (sensory integration therapy approach only). Block design test was used to locate and follow constructional apraxia, computerized information processing speed test to locate and follow cognitive processing and grooved pegboard test was used to locate and follow fine motor skills. The variance between pre- and post-treatment results was highly significant in the study group in all variables. By comparison of the two groups in constructional apraxia variables test at post-treatment, there was a highly representative elevation in favour to study groups (p < 0.05). By comparison of the two groups in cognitive processing variable at post-treatment, there was a highly representative elevation in favour to study group (p < 0.05). By comparison of the two groups in fine motor skills variable at post-treatment, there was a highly representative elevation in favor to study group (p < 0.05). According to the outcomes of this study, it can be terminated that the sensory integration therapy approach plus static and intermittent inversion therapy techniques can be recommended in improvement constructional apraxia and cognitive processing abilities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children.

High internal noise and poor external noise filtering characterize perception in autism spectrum disorder

An emerging hypothesis postulates that internal noise is a key factor influencing perceptual abilities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Given fundamental and inescapable effects of noise on nearly all aspects of neural processing, this could be a critical abnormality with broad implications for perception, behavior, and cognition. However, this proposal has been challenged by both theoretical and empirical studies. A crucial question is whether and how internal noise limits perception in ASD, independently from other sources of perceptual inefficiency, such as the ability to filter out external noise. Here, we separately estimated internal noise and external noise filtering in ASD. In children and adolescents with and without ASD, we computationally modeled individuals’ visual orientation discrimination in the presence of varying levels of external noise. The results revealed increased internal noise and worse external noise filtering in individuals with ASD. For both factors, we also observed high inter-individual variability in ASD, with only the internal noise estimates significantly correlating with severity of ASD symptoms. We provide evidence for reduced perceptual efficiency in ASD that is due to both increased internal noise and worse external noise filtering, while highlighting internal noise as a possible contributing factor to variability in ASD symptoms.

Auditory Pitch Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated With Nonverbal Abilities.

Atypical sensory perception and heterogeneous cognitive profiles are common features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, previous findings on auditory sensory processing in ASD are mixed. Accordingly, auditory perception and its relation to cognitive abilities in ASD remain poorly understood. Here, children with ASD, and age- and intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched typically developing children, were tested on a low- and a higher level pitch processing task. Verbal and nonverbal cognitive abilities were measured using the Wechsler's Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. There were no group differences in performance on either auditory task or IQ measure. However, there was significant variability in performance on the auditory tasks in both groups that was predicted by nonverbal, not verbal skills. These results suggest that auditory perception is related to nonverbal reasoning rather than verbal abilities in ASD and typically developing children. In addition, these findings provide evidence for preserved pitch processing in school-age children with ASD with average IQ, supporting the idea that there may be a subgroup of individuals with ASD that do not present perceptual or cognitive difficulties. Future directions involve examining whether similar perceptual-cognitive relationships might be observed in a broader sample of individuals with ASD, such as those with language impairment or lower IQ.

Atypical activation of action-semantic network in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

In typical adults, fMRI studies have shown activation of primary and pre-motor regions during action word processing. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments. ASD studies have shown atypical semantic processing and motor deficits. The objective of this study was to examine semantic processing of verbs in ASD. 15 ASD adolescents and 19 typically developing adolescents, 11–16years, completed a semantic similarity judgment task during fMRI. There were no differences in task accuracy or reaction time. At the group level, both groups had activation in left language areas; controls, but not ASD, also had activation in the left pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA). In ASD, less left frontal activation and reduced left lateralization of activation within these regions was associated with shorter reaction times and better language skills. More left temporal activation was associated with better language abilities in ASD. Differences in pre-SMA activation may relate to motor planning deficits or differences in approach to the semantic task in ASD. Results suggest that left frontal language areas may be less efficient in ASD and those who can compensate by recruiting more right hemisphere homologues may result in better language abilities.

Multisensory Integration of Low-level Information in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Measuring Susceptibility to the Flash-Beep Illusion.

Previous studies have suggested audiovisual multisensory integration (MSI) may be atypical in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, much of the research having found an alteration in MSI in ASD involved socio-communicative stimuli. The goal of the current study was to investigate MSI abilities in ASD using lower-level stimuli that are not socio-communicative in nature by testing susceptibility to auditory-guided visual illusions. Adolescents and adults with ASD and typically-developing (TD) individuals were shown to have similar susceptibility to a fission illusion. However, the ASD group was significantly more susceptible to the fusion illusion. Results suggest that individuals with ASD demonstrate MSI on the flash-beep illusion task but that their integration of audiovisual sensory information may be less selective than for TD individuals.