Behavior Of Autistic Children Research Articles

A pilot randomized controlled clinical trial of dance practice for functionality in autistic children and adolescent with all levels of need support

ObjectiveThis study addressed dance practice intertwining communication, functional independence and social behavior in autistic children and adolescents with all levels of need support. DesignA pilot randomized clinical trial with seventy-two participants between 8 and 15 years old were assessed for eligibility. SettingTheater rehearsal room and mental health clinic. InterventionsDance group (n = 17) or control group (n = 19), 24 sessions, once a week, lasting 40 min. Main outcome measuresThe Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Autistic Screening Questionnaire (ASQ), Childhood Autism Rate Scale (CARS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS, version 2.0, to assess mothers’ functioning) were applied at two time points: baseline and end-point. ResultsDifferences between dance and control groups were significant at post-intervention for communication (mean difference: 1.31; 99.8%CI: 0.29, 2.32, p < 0.001, d = 0.93); social cognition (mean difference: 1.01; 99.8%CI: 0.13, 1.89, p < 0.001, d = 0.82); autistic behavior (mean difference: 11.82; 99.8%CI: 17.33, −6.31, p < 0.001, d = 1.45). ConclusionsIn this preliminary study, the findings provide ways of communication and social interaction through dance practice by autistic children and adolescents with all levels of support needs. Research on neurodiversity is needed to understand its feasibility and the lifestyle appropriation.

Association of urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites with symptoms among autistic children: A case-control study in Tianjin, China.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous pollutants that are associated with altered neurodevelopment and various neurodevelopmental disorders. However, studies evaluating internal biomarkers of PAH exposure in reference to the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomology and autistic behaviors are scarce. Hence, we conducted a case-control study evaluating 12 urinary hydroxylated PAH metabolites (i.e., hydroxy-PAHs) in 101 children with autism and 101 neurotypical children, matching according to sex and age in a 1:1 ratio. In children with ASD, the severity of symptomology and autistic behaviors were assessed using the child autism rating scale (CARS) and the autism behavior checklist (ABC). We found that urinary levels of nine of the hydroxy-PAHs were statistically significantly higher in the ASD group, with the exception of 2-hydroxynaphthalene (2-OHNap) and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene (4-OHPhe). Moreover, urinary hydroxy-PAH levels were associated with ASD risk, with odds ratios ranging from 1.86 to 17.19. Exposures to 1-hydroxynaphthalene (1-OHNap, β=3.32), hydroxyphenanthrenes (1/2/3 + 9-OHPhes, β=3.41-5.12), 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OH-Pyr; β=3.91), 2-hydroxybenzofuran (2-OHDBF; β=3.93), and ∑OH-PAHs (β=4.67) were positively associated with CARS scores after adjusting for covariates (all p &lt; 0.05). When applying the ABC scale, 1-OHPyr levels were positively associated with ABC total scores (β=18.54), with the strongest associations evidenced in regard to the social relatedness (β=6.51) and language domains (β=6.51) (all p &lt; 0.05). Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) showed consistent positive exposure responses for 1-OHNap, 1-OHPhe, and 3 + 9-OHPhe levels in regard to CARS scores, and for 1-OHPyr levels in regard to ABC total scores. Our findings suggest that children with ASD may have higher urinary levels of hydroxy-PAHs, and that these biomarker levels are associated with an increased odds of ASD, an increased severity of autism symptomology, and increased autistic behaviors in children with autism. LAY SUMMARY: We conducted an epidemiologic study evaluating the associations of urinary hydroxy-PAH levels with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), autism symptomology, and autistic behaviors. We found that urinary hydroxy-PAHs were statistically significantly associated with ASD. We note strong statistically significant associations between 1-OHNap, 1-OHPhe, and 3 + 9-OHPhe levels and increased severity of autism symptomology, as well as a strong statistically significant association between 1-OHPyr levels and behavioral characteristics within the social and linguistic domains. This work, if confirmed, will contribute to the future development of diagnostics for children with mild autism, as well as to environmental measures to promote the health and wellbeing of children with autism spectrum disorders.

Social skills and behavior autism spectrum disorder during covid-19 Pandemic

The research aims to describe the social development and behavior of autistic children and find ways to develop the social skills and behavior of autistic children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research method is qualitative research. The data ware collected using interviews, documentation studies, and observations on parents and special assistant teachers for children with autism spectrum disorders of primary and secondary school age. Check the validity of the data used source triangulation. The results showed that autistic children during this pandemic experienced a decline in behavioral, social, and communication aspects. The method that is considered effective in overcoming this is by using daily activities for the development of social skills and behavior. The components of these activities are 1). Creating communication using verbal and visual language. 2). Develop new routines by forming new habits. 3). Monitor the mental development and physical health of children. 4). Establish regular collaboration and communication with schools. 5). Utilize existing human resources at home. 6). Literacy practice in children. 7). Always involve children in daily activities at home. 8). Encouraging children's social relations to connect with friends and teachers by utilizing technology media.

Experimental Effects of Dohsa-Hou Therapy on Adaptive Behavior of Children’s Autism

ABSTRACT This paper examines the effects of Dohsa-hou therapy on adaptive behaviors in autistic children using a case study of a child with poor adaptive behavior. The Vineland II test was chosen to evaluate the results of the sixmonth study program. The child’s handicap patterns determine specific Dohsa-hou exercises. The results of the experiments show a statistically significant change in the condition. Based on the previous data, the researchers concluded that Dohsa-hou therapy influences adaptive behavior in children with ASD. The study found that ratings for general adaptive behavior and most sub-domains improved from 1 to 5 points, indicating an overall improvement. Language and communication (receiving) sub-domains and everyday life skills have seen the most substantial gains in recent years.

Childhood Autism: Clinical Characteristics, Nutritional Status, and Psychosocial Features

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a deficit in social behaviors and nonverbal interactions onset in the first 3 years of life. Therefore, the present study aimed to study the clinical features, nutritional status, risk factors, and behaviors of children with autism. Methods: Across section study involved a total of 100 subjects 74 (76%) male and 26 (24%) female. The ages of the children were ranging from 3-17 years old. The self-administration questionnaire containing questions on behavior, health problems, nutritional status, and risk factors was also completed. Bodyweight and height were measured to calculate the BMI percentile. Laboratory tests such as blood glucose and HbA1C, vitamin D were included. Clinical and behavioral information is also involved. All samples were analyzed through either mean ±SEM or Chi-square to determine significant differences. Results: The present study shows that the majority of the children have age 7 years old, and autism increased significantly at ages between 6-10 years (P&lt;0.05). In comparison to females, a male has three times more affected by autism (P=0.000). There were many points identified in the study including autism onset started between 1-3 years, blood groups of parents O+ significant resultant in offspring with O+ blood groups, 20% of subjects have positive family history and consanguinity for each. The behavior of autistic children shows that children like playing with electronic IPAD, dislike hearing crying, and less sleeping hours than normal people but they have similar food attitudes and consumption compared to normal counterparts. Impairment in communication was the most common sign of autism and less like hours for play. Obesity was a common nutritional disorder and food behavior has been seen toward some foods. The common health problems reported were epilepsy, respiratory diseases, constipation, and UTIs. Conclusion: The present study revealed that some behaviors, risk factors, health problems, and abnormal levels of calcium, hemoglobin, and vitamin D were determined. Furthermore, increase body weight some behaviors toward certain types of foods have been identified. This study suggested that routine monitoring of children with autism should include assessment of blood groups, dietary habits, as well as anthropometric measurements.

Psychoeducation with The Small Group Discussion Approach Increases Knowledge of Parents in Caring for Children with Autism and Aggressive Behavior

Aggressive behavior in autistic children impacts the difficulties in taking care of the children related to parents’ literacy limitations. Previous evidence showed that psychoeducation improved the ability of parents to care for autistic children. However, there is a limiting use in the small group discussion (SDG) approach. This paper investigates the impact of psychoeducation with a small group discussion (SGD) approach on parents’ knowledge in caring for children with Autism and Aggressive Behavior.

Impact of behavioral problems of autistic children upon psychological stress of their family at autistic care centers in Holy Kerbala

Stress experienced by parents of children with developmental impairments is very high, and the tension is best explained by the increase in child behavior concerns seen in children with developmental disabilities rather than intellectual or developmental functioning (davis, 2015).The study aimed to know the impact of the problem of autistic behavior in children on the psychological pressures of the caregiver and to know the differences in the psychological pressure of caregivers regarding the demographic characteristics of them and their children. To assess the psychological stress of family caregiver of autistic child. An analytical descriptive study was conducted to determine the effect of behavioral problems for children with autism on the psychological stress of family caregivers in autism care centers in the holy Kerbala and started from September_ 2019 to May 2020. A convenance sample consist of 75 An autistic child, and the psychological stress questionnaire was responded to by family caregivers.

Manipulating image luminance to improve eye gaze and verbal behavior in autistic children

Autism has been characterized by a tendency to attend to the local visual details over surveying an image to understand the gist–a phenomenon called local interference. This sensory processing trait has been found to negatively impact social communication. Although much work has been conducted to understand these traits, little to no work has been conducted to intervene to provide support for local interference. Additionally, recent understanding of autism now introduces the core role of sensory processing and its impact on social communication. However, no interventions to the end of our knowledge have been explored to leverage this relationship. This work builds on the connection between visual attention and semantic representation in autistic children. In this work, we ask the following research questions: RQ1: Does manipulating image characteristics of luminance and spatial frequency increase likelihood of fixations in hot spots (Areas of Interest) for autistic children? RQ2: Does manipulating low-level image characteristics of luminance and spatial frequency increase the likelihood of global verbal responses for autistic children? We sought to manipulate visual attention as measured by eye gaze fixations and semantic representation of verbal response to the question “What is this picture about?”. We explore digital strategies to offload low-level, sensory processing of global features via digital filtering. In this work, we designed a global filter to reduce image characteristics found to be distracting for autistic people and compared baseline images to featured images in 11 autistic children. Participants saw counterbalanced images way over 2 sessions. Eye gaze in areas of interest and verbal responses were collected and analyzed. We found that luminance in non-salient areas impacted both eye gaze and verbal responding–however in opposite ways (however versus high levels of luminance). Additionally, the interaction of luminance and spatial frequency in areas of interest is also significant. This is the first empirical study in designing an assistive technology aimed to augment global processing that occurs at a sensory-processing and social-communication level. Contributions of this work include empirical findings regarding the quantification of local interference in images of natural scenes for autistic children in real-world settings; digital methods to offload global visual processing to make this information more accessible via insight on the role of luminance and spatial frequency in visual perception of and semantic representation in images of natural scenes.

Empathy, Theory of Mind, and Prosocial Behaviors in Autistic Children.

Background:Previous research has suggested that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display fewer prosocial behaviors, and the role of empathy or Theory of Mind (ToM) in prosocial behaviors of autistic children remains unclear.MethodsData were obtained from an ongoing longitudinal study in Guangzhou, China. A total of 96 autistic children and 167 typically developing (TD) children were enrolled. Prosocial behaviors were assessed using a subscale of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire and Dictator Game (DG) paradigm with stickers as incentives. Empathic traits and ToM ability were measured using the children's Empathy Quotient and the Chinese version of ToM toolkit. Generalized linear models were used to assess the differences of prosocial behaviors and empathic traits, ToM ability between the two groups and the associations between empathic traits, ToM ability and prosocial behaviors in autistic children.ResultsCompared with TD children, autistic children exhibited worse ToM ability and performed less pro-socially in the DG paradigm, while there were no differences regarding empathic traits. In autistic children, empathic traits especially affective empathy, were positively associated with parent-reported prosocial behaviors [β = 0.17, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.07–0.27; β = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.33–0.60]. ToM ability was associated with DG paradigm (β = 1.03, 95%CI: 0.16–1.89).ConclusionAutistic children showed less pro-sociality and ToM ability than TD children. In autistic children, empathic trait was associated with parent-reported prosocial behaviors while their ToM ability was associated with prosocial behaviors in experimental condition. Our findings indicated that better ToM ability and empathic trait might promote prosocial behaviors in autistic children.

Motor skills predict adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents

It is well‐documented that intelligence quotient (IQ) is a poor predictor of adaptive behavior scores in autism, with autistic children having lower adaptive behavior scores than would be predicted based on their IQ scores. Differences in motor skills may explain the variability in their adaptive behavior scores. The current study examined how motor skills might explain autistic individuals' low adaptive behavior scores and which individual components of IQ (i.e., verbal comprehension and perceptual reasoning) and motor skills (i.e., manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance) may drive this effect. We examined the associations between IQ, motor skills, calibrated severity, and adaptive behavior scores in 45 autistic children and adolescents. Using a t‐test, we found a significant difference (p <0.001) between full‐scale IQ and adaptive behavior scores, indicating that our participants' adaptive behavior scores were lower than would be expected given their full‐scale IQ. Using a linear regression, we investigated whether motor skills predicted adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents and found that motor skills scores were associated with adaptive behavior scores (p = 0.022). To further investigate these associations, we used another linear regression to examine how individual components of IQ and motor skills predicted adaptive behavior scores in autistic children and adolescents. Our results indicated that manual dexterity scores were associated with adaptive behavior scores (p = 0.036). These findings clearly illustrate the need for further understanding of autistic individuals' difficulties with adaptive behavior and the potential role of motor skill difficulties that may underlie these difficulties.Lay SummaryAutistic children have lower adaptive behavior scores (e.g., daily living skills, social skills, communication) than intelligence scores (e.g., verbal and perceptual skills) along with difficulties with motor skills. Motor skills may explain the gap between adaptive behavior and intelligence. We found motor skills were associated with adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents. In particular, hand coordination was associated with adaptive behavior. We need to better understand how autistic individuals' motor skills impact their adaptive behavior to provide effective supports.

The Development of Psycho-educational Module of Dental Management for Primary Caregivers and Teachers of Autism Children: A Qualitative Study in Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of autism increases globally and in Indonesia. Children with autism experience intellectual, behavioral, and anxiety disorders, including fear of dental care. These children often experience difficulty brushing teeth and are reluctant to visit dental care facilities. The poor oral and dental cleanness in children with autism may increase the risk of dental and oral diseases such as periodontal disease and caries. One preventive effort is providing psycho-education to the child and the people surrounding them (parents or caretaker and teacher). Psycho-education modules should be adequate and based on the client’s needs. AIM: The aim of the study was to explore the contents of the psycho-educational module as a guide for primary caregivers and teachers to prevent dental and oral health problems of the child with autism. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews from 12 November to 26 December 2020. This study involved 11 primary caregivers and 14 teachers of the autism-special school in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The FGD and in-depth interviews were recorded and verbatim transcripted and were analyzed by thematic content analysis. RESULTS: We found three topics required to maintain the dental and oral health of a child with autism, namely: Management of behavior in autistic children, oral-dental treatment, and nutrition management in dental-oral health in autistic children. Available materials used practical and straightforward language. CONCLUSION: The study findings provide an important information as a new approach contained in the module on maintaining oral health to improve the health status of autistic children.

Characterizing Parent–Child Interactions in Families of Autistic Children in Late Childhood

Parent–child interactions are influential to a wide range of positive developmental processes in neurotypical children, yet contributions to our understanding of these interactions using observational methods in families of children on the autism spectrum are lacking. The aim of the current study is to investigate how autism symptoms might impact these interactions. We use a family discussion task to: (1) compare families of autistic children aged 8–12 years (n = 21) to families of typically developing children (n = 21, matched on age and cognitive abilities) on the observed levels of supportive and directive behaviors in the parent–child relationship, and (2) examine the associations between parent–child interaction characteristics and child functioning. Results showed no differences in the observed levels of supportive behavior exhibited by parents, but significantly less supportive behavior in autistic children compared to neurotypical children. In addition, parents of autistic children had higher levels of observed directive behavior compared to parents of neurotypical children. Levels of supportive behavior in parents and autistic children were negatively associated with child ADHD symptoms. Findings reinforce literature on younger children describing positive parenting characteristics and further rebuke historical accounts of negative parenting qualities of parents of autistic children.

Positive, negative, neutral-or unknown? The perceived valence of emotions expressed by young autistic children in a novel context suited to autism.

Starting early in life, autistics are characterized as having atypical facial expressions, as well as decreased positive and increased negative affect. The literature on autistic facial expressions remains small, however, with disparate methods and results suggesting limited understanding of common autistic emotions. Furthermore, unlike non-autistics’ emotions, autistics’ emotions have been assessed without considering this population’s characteristics. In this study, the valence of young children’s facial expressions was thus rated as positive, negative, neutral, or “unknown”—a term for perceived emotions observers do not understand. Facial expressions were assessed using the Montreal Stimulating Play Situation, a context incorporating potential autistic interests. Comparing 37 autistic and 39 typical young (27–56 months) age-matched children, we found no group differences in expressed positive, negative, and neutral emotions. We did find differences in unknown emotions, which were unique to the autistic group. Preliminary data also showed that autistic children’s repetitive behaviors co-occurred with positive, neutral, and unknown emotions, but not with negative emotions. In a novel context that considers their characteristics, we did not find decreased positive or increased negative emotions in young autistic children. Instead, they uniquely expressed emotions perceived as unknown, showing the need to improve our understanding of their full emotional repertoire.Lay abstractAutistic people are believed to have emotions that are too negative and not positive enough, starting early in life. Their facial expressions are also persistently judged to be unusual, as reflected in criteria used to identify autism. But it is possible that common autistic facial expressions are poorly understood by observers, as suggested by a range of findings from research. Another issue is that autistic emotions have always been assessed in contexts suited to non-autistics. In our study, the facial expressions of young autistic and typical children were rated as positive, negative, neutral, or “unknown”—a category we created for emotions that observers notice but do not understand. These emotions were assessed using a context suited to autistic children, including objects of potential interest to them. We found that in this context, autistic and typical children did not differ in positive, negative, or neutral facial emotions. They did differ in unknown emotions, which were found only in autistic children. We also found that repetitive behaviors in autistic children co-occurred with positive, neutral, and unknown emotions, but not with negative emotions. In a context which suits their characteristics, autistic children do not show emotions that are too negative or not positive enough. They do show emotions perceived as unknown, which means we need to improve our understanding of their full emotional repertoire.

Effects of 1Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on autism with intellectual disability: A pilot study

ObjectiveTo explore whether 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has positive effects on brain activity and behavior of autistic children with intellectual disability. Methods32 autistic children with intellectual disability (26 boys and 6 girls) were recruited to participate in this feasibility study. The autistic children were divided randomly and equally into an experimental group and a control group. 16 children (three girls and 13 boys; mean ± SD age: 7.8 ± 2.1 years) who received rTMS treatment twice a week were served as the experimental group, while 16 children (three girls and 13 boys; mean ± SD age: 7.2 ± 1.6 years) with sham stimulation were considered as the control group. Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) was employed to quantify the nonlinear features of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals recorded during the resting state. Three RQA measures, including recursive rate (RR), deterministic (DET) and mean diagonal length (L) were extracted from the EEG signals to characterize the deterministic features of cortical activity. ResultsSignificant differences in RR and DET were observed between the experimental group and the control group. We also found discernible discrepancies in the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) score pre- and post-rTMS for the experimental group. Conclusions1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could positively influence brain activity and behavior of autistic children with intellectual disability.

Development of plastic abilities of children-autistics by means of modern-dance in the conditions of modern cultural and artistic practices

The purpose of the article is to determine the methods of developing the creative abilities of autistic children by modern choreography. Methodology: in our work, we used systematic and comparative methods, as well as problem and analytical analysis of the literature to study methods of developing autistic children through art therapy and choreography, to improve their plastic capabilities and study the latest trends in art and psychology. Scientific novelty. The question of the development of creative abilities of autistic children by art therapy has already been studied in modern literature, but the novelty of the research it’s the first attempt to determine methods of developing plastic abilities of children with autism by means of modern dance. Due to the research, we have identified methods for developing the creative abilities of autistic children by means of modern choreography, in particular - modern dance. On the one hand, the focus of modern pedagogy is on people with special needs who receive additional permanent or temporary support in the educational process in order to ensure their right to education. On the other hand, much less importance is given to meeting the needs of children with autism by involving them in modern cultural and artistic practices. Although, in our opinion, it provides much more opportunities for adaptation of people with special needs, the development of their desire for beauty. Our research art and cultural attention have focused on the development of plastic abilities of autistic children by means of modern dance in modern cultural and artistic practices. Conclusions: we determined that it is important to develop the plastic abilities of such children, although it is very difficult to teach such child to dance professionally, it is possible to develop the choreographic grace of movements. In the course of our research, we analyzed the available scientific materials on autism and identified the behavior of autistic children, and explored the possibilities of using modern dance in the development of autistic children as one of the means of developing their creative abilities.

How are intense interests used within schools to support inclusion and learning for secondary-aged autistic pupils? A scoping review

ABSTRACT Approximately 1.3% (42,555 pupils) of secondary school pupils in England are autistic and there are numerous reports of poor academic and social experiences among this group. The intense interests that form part of an autism diagnosis relate to an increased focus on specific topics or objects and are reported to positively impact learning when effectively embedded into teaching. However, there is very little research into how interests may be used to support learning in secondary schools and little analysis of whether the utilisation of intense interests is conceptualised and implemented as an inclusive practice. This scoping review explored how intense interests are used to support the learning of autistic adolescents and provides a conceptual analysis of the six papers identified, all from the United States. Three applications of intense interests were reported: power cards, lunch clubs and responding to joint attention. A within-child, deficit-focused perspective was consistent throughout all papers, with the aim being to improve the ‘appropriate’ target behaviour of autistic children. There is limited research overall, and so further research is needed to examine how intense interests can be implemented in practice in more inclusive ways.

Analisis Tatar Perilaku sebagai Langkah Awal untuk Membangun Desain Interior Sarana Pendidikan Anak Autis

Empowering interior design to lead to better development can be done from small things such as paying attention to the means of education for autistic children. Interior designers can play a role in building educational facilities in accordance with the behavior of children with autism. Autistic behavior can be caused by not being able to process information properly from the stimuli of the physical environment (space) around it. The purpose of this study is to analyze the behavior of children with autism as a first step if they want to build an interior design for children with autism education in accordance with the behavior, so it is expected that if they know the behavior in the room, then the interior designer can design the educational facilities according to their needs and will maximum. The limitation of this study is only to analyze the behavior of autistic children in the therapy room according to the researcher's perspective as an interior designer. The method used is observation of children's behavior in the room during the therapy process, using video recorders. Analysis was carried out by anova statistical test. The results showed that there were differences in the number of children's behavior in the room when with the therapist and when alone. Before the therapy process takes place, the child will carry out the adaptation phase, showing curiosity whether the space / object makes the child comfortable / uncomfortable. In addition, children have the same behavior that is easily distracted with interior elements.

Parent-mediated Behavioral Intervention for Treatment Behavioral Excesses in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background and Aim: One of the problems of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is behavioral excesses resistance to many educational and rehabilitation programs. Parent-mediated behavioral interventions seem to be effective in overcoming these problems. However, these methods are not well-introduced. The purpose of this study is to systematically review these studies and their primary and secondary outcomes, and finally analyze the components. Methods &amp; Materials: This study was a systematic review. The search included SID, Magiran, Medline, PubMed, Springer, Science Direct, Online Library, and PsycINFO. We reviewed The articles published between 2000 and 2017 about parent-mediated behavioral interventions on behavioral excesses in autistic children. Ethical Considerations: This study with ethical code IR.SBU.ICBS.97/1013 was approved by the Biological Research Department of Shahid Beheshti University. Results: The findings of 9 studies indicated positive effects of parent-mediated behavioral intervention on behavioral excesses, including repetitive behaviors, irritability (including tantrums, aggression, and self-injurious behaviors), echolalia, and destructive behaviors (preliminary results). Also, these interventions improved the adaptive behaviors in autistic children, and parental functions such as self-efficacy, parental style, psychological problems (secondary results). Components of the therapeutic program included the type of consequence-based interventions (such as response interruption and redirection), antecedent-based interventions A (visual cue and daily schedules), antecedent-based interventions B (such as enriching environment with play). Three articles had medium certainty of the evidence, and 6 had high certainty of evidence. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated the positive effect of parent-mediated behavioral intervention on behavioral excesses in children with ASD. Future studies should emphasize the comprehensiveness of all the effective components in the parent-mediated behavioral intervention and the feasibility of the intervention in various contexts. It is suggested that parent-mediated interventions be implemented on behavioral excesses in children with ASD in Iran.

The status of chemical elements in the blood plasma of children with autism spectrum disorder in Tunisia: a case-control study.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders defined by a deficit in social interactions and the presence of restricted and stereotypical behaviors or interests. The etiologies of autism remain mostly unknown. Many genetic and environmental factors have been suspected. Among these environmental factors, exposure to several chemical elements has been previously studied. The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of trace elements in the blood plasma of children with ASD with typically developed children (TDC). The participants in this study consisted of 89 children with ASD (14 girls and 74 boys) and 70 TD children (29 girls and 41 boys). The levels of 33 chemical elements have been analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP-MS). We detected significant differences in the levels of eight elements between the two groups, among which there were three rare earth elements (REEs): Eu, Pr, and Sc (p= 0.000, p= 0.023, and p< 0.001 respectively); four heavy metals: Bi, Tl, Ti, and V (p= 0.004, p< 0.001, p= 0.001, and p = 0.001 respectively); and one essential element: Cu (p= 0.043). Children with ASD had higher levels of Er, Pr, Sc, Bi, Tl, Ti, and V, and lower levels of Cu in comparison with the TD group. The children exposed to passive smoking had lower levels of lead (Pb) compared with children without exposure (p= 0.018). Four elements (Cr, Er, Dy, and Pr) were negatively correlated to the severity of ASD. The level of Cu was significantly associated with autistic children's behavior (p= 0.014). These results suggest that children with ASD might have abnormal plasma levels of certain chemical elements (including Er, Pr, Sc, Bi, Tl, Ti, and V, and Cu), and some of these elements might be associated with certain clinical features.

Effects of Positive Strengthening on the Crying, Anger, and Jumping Behavior of Autistic Children in Surabaya Private Schools

This study aims to determine the effect of the use of behavior therapy with behavioristic methods for behavior disorders of children with autism. These behavioral disorders in the form of angry, crying, jumping behavior that appears when attending lessons at school. This research is an experimental type research. The method used is an experimental method with a single research subject or Single Subject Research (SSR). The research design used is Within Subject Design. The subject of the study was a 3-year-old boy in a private school in Surabaya. Data collection techniques through observation checklist of autistic children's behavior, and observation. The results of the analysis show that there is a positive influence on the use of behavioral therapy with positive reinforcement methods for autistic children's behavior disorders in the form of angry, crying and jumping behaviors. The behavior decreased after being given behavioristic therapy (Operant Conditioning) by giving positive reinforcement in the form of praise and hugs. Positive reinforcement is given as a reward each time after the subject has targeted the behavior. The target behavior is angry, crying and jumping when in class. The behavior decreases when the child comes to school to take lessons in class.