Autistic Children Research Articles

The ways of communication for children with autism spectrum disorder

Deficits in social cognition underlie many of the profound challenges individuals with autism spectrum disorder face interacting with and understanding others. This study aimed to evaluate abilities predicting behavioral, verbal, and emotional responses during simulated social scenarios in 42 autistic children. Additionally, communication patterns were analyzed across solitary, peer, and group settings. A multifaceted assessment battery including the “prognostic stories” technique, expert observational ratings, cultural congruence metrics, and activity mapping provided insights into participants’ capacity forecasting actions, statements, and feelings in interpersonal situations. Results revealed marked variability across skill domains, with greatest impairments anticipating emotions. Communication quality and self-regulation strongly correlated with predictive accuracy. Cluster analysis indicated four distinct functional profiles (“proactive planners”, “regulatory navigators”, “quiet observers”, and “balanced responders”) highlighting heterogeneous strengths warranting support. Despite challenges inferring psychological states, personalized interventions targeting highly correlated skill deficits offer optimal social adaptation. Findings reiterate calls for balanced approaches recognizing autistic diversity while compassionately addressing barriers to inclusion. With acceptance and opportunity, individuals across the spectrum have much to contribute. Limitations include sample size and gender imbalance. Follow-up longitudinal tracking is warranted.

Examining the Transition from Single Words to Phrase Speech in Children with ASD: A Systematic Review.

"Functional speech" by 5years of age is widely established as increasing the probability of long-term positive outcomes across a range of domains for autistic individuals. While terms such as "functional" or "useful" speech are often used, what defines these terms is not well established. Furthermore, most research focusing on language development has emphasized the transition from little or no language to use of single words, but much less is known about the transition from single words to phrase speech, which could be equally important. The verb lexicon is foundational to the development of simple, generative phrases and has been linked to prosocial behaviors and general developmental outcomes including better social communication skills, socioemotional reciprocity, and nonverbal communication in autistic children. The current systematic review synthesized information from 20 independent samples to characterize autistic children who transitioned from single words to phrase speech. On average, 48% of the pooled sample transitioned to phrase speech during the study periods. Results were highly variable across studies. Participants under the age of 5years were more likely to transition to phrases than participants over the age of 5. Though average standard scores were above 50, children who transitioned to phrases generally demonstrated below average adaptive and cognitive skills and moderate-high ASD symptomatology. Variable measures of cognition made it difficult to ascertain patterns in cognitive skills; nonetheless, nonverbal IQ emerged as a salient predictor of the transition to phrases across studies. More research is needed to better understand who transitions beyond single words, clinical benchmarks on the way to generative phrase speech and the factors that predict this transition. Such information can be used to inform clinical decision making and develop or improve targeted interventions based on individual communication profiles. This could make the use of phrases more likely for a greater number of autistic individuals, increasing the likelihood that these individuals communicate independently and effectively with others.

Neuro-Architectural Design of an Inclusive School Complex: A Response to the Needs of Autistic Children in Ngaoundere

In Cameroon, although efforts have been made to improve access to education, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often remain excluded from the traditional school system, particularly in the northern regions where access to specialized infrastructure is limited. This article presents the results of a study on the design of a school complex adapted to autistic children in Ngaoundere, incorporating the principles of neuro-architecture. The survey conducted with specialists, parents, and educators provided crucial insights to create an inclusive and calming educational environment that meets the sensory and cognitive needs of the children. The site analysis in the Adamawa region, considering climatic and geographical constraints, confirmed the relevance of the location. The architectural design, focused on diverse spaces such as classrooms, sensory withdrawal zones, and common areas promoting inclusion, not only enhances the social integration of autistic children but also raises awareness in the community about the importance of their education. This project, rooted in an ecological and cultural approach, represents a sustainable and innovative initiative for Cameroon’s education system.

Spatial Perspective Taking in Non-Autistic Children and Autistic Children: Do Social Processes Benefit or Obstruct?

ABSTRACT The present study investigated whether the presence of another person in a visuospatial perspective taking (VSPT) paradigm would influence the performance of non-autistic and autistic children. Experiment 1 tested non-autistic children aged 5–7 (N = 82, 42 girls) in a self-condition (pure spatial updating of self-mental rotation) and an other-condition (taking another agent’s perspective). Experiment 2 compared 18 autistic children (3 girls, aged 7.17–14.33 years old) and 22 mental ability-matched non-autistic peers (10 girls, M age = 6.82). Both experiments were conducted in mainland China with Chinese participants. Non-autistic children below 7 years of age and autistic children performed better in the self-condition than in the other-condition, especially when angular disparities were greater than 90°, while no such differences were observed in 7-year-old non-autistic children. The interaction between perspective and angular disparity indicated the interference of another agent’s presence in typical VSPT tasks from a developmental perspective. The results were discussed with regard to the nonsynchronous development of spatial and social ability involved in the VSPT paradigm and its implications for the purity of VSPT as a measure of spatial ability.

Assessment of Saliva Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Gingival Health Status in a Sample of High-Functioning Autistic Children in Erbil City

Assessment of Saliva Oxidative Stress Biomarkers and Gingival Health Status in a Sample of High-Functioning Autistic Children in Erbil City

Utilization of early therapeutic supports by autistic preschoolers in Australia: A cross-sectional study following implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

There are many types of support for young autistic children and their families, but service use in this population is not well understood. In this study, primary caregivers of autistic preschoolers were surveyed (n = 95) and a selection were then interviewed (n = 19) to understand how early, therapeutic supports were accessed by families in Australia following the establishment of a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This article presents the quantitative data from surveys and interviews. Families usually accessed at least two types of support. The most accessed supports were occupational therapy, speech pathology and psychology, with 43% of the sample accessing some other form of support. Multiple linear regression indicated that children's higher level of support need, living in less remote or less socio-economically disadvantaged areas, and high household income were associated with higher numbers of supports accessed. Services tended to follow an individual, clinic-based model and little use of alternative service delivery was reported. The findings indicate that Australian families are accessing a wider range of support types than before the NDIS and children with more substantial autism-related support needs are likely to access a greater number of types of supports. Socio-economic inequities continue to exist and should be addressed.

Prediction for children with autism spectrum disorder based on digital behavioral features during free play.

Play is an indispensable and meaningful activity in children's daily life. Research has shown that autistic children often exhibit differences in play development. The core traits of autism, such as distinct patterns in social interaction and communication, focused interests, and repetitive behaviors, frequently manifest in their play. Therefore, play may serve as an insightful measure of these differences. Unlike previous studies focusing on play behaviors only, we explored other behaviors associated with autism during free play, and constructed a clinical prediction model for effectively screening autistic children. Participants, including 123 autistic children and 123 neurotypical children aged 1-6 years, engaged in a 1.5-min free play with fixed toys, which was videotaped. A novel behavior-coding scheme was used to code these videos for 19 autistic behaviors, including play. The coding details of the 19 behaviors were then converted and expanded to 81 digital behavior indicators, including counts, duration, and proportion. The autistic children showed less functional play and imaginative play and reduced social communication and interactions, such as eye contact, facial expressions, and vocalizations, compared to the neurotypical children during free play. Furthermore, 5 behavioral indicators were selected for the prediction model through stepwise logistic regression, including 1 on socially oriented vocalizations and 4 on count and duration of functional play. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed a good prediction performance with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.826, a sensitivity of 85.4%, and a specificity of 68.3%. Our findings highlight differences in play performance and social communication and interactions during free play among autistic children. Based on these findings, we constructed a good clinical prediction model, which might be a potential digital tool used by clinicians to effectively screen autistic children.

Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in children: what pediatricians should know

The issue of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children is a significant concern at present. In the Russian Federation, there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of ASD and the number of children diagnosed with this condition, making childhood autism a major medical and social issue. Pediatricians need to be trained in the diagnostic criteria for early identification of this disorder. The main diagnostic methods involve monitoring the child’s development, with the district pediatrician playing a crucial role. The knowledge and expertise of the doctor significantly influences the timeliness of diagnosis and the prescription of appropriate interventions, which can lead to positive outcomes and prevent further symptom progression. It is essential for pediatricians to carefully listen to families’ concerns about any developmental or behavioral issues in their children. According to our research, 32% of families did not receive timely assistance. The most common complaint made by parents was delayed speech development and impaired communication. To identify autism spectrum disorders, doctors should regularly assess a child’s neuropsychiatric development and monitor them in various situations to assess their behavior and interaction with others. If any deviations are detected, a questionnaire such as the M-CHAT (a modified list of questions for detecting autism in children) should be used and the patient referred to a psychiatrist for further consultation. Our study highlighted the need for pediatricians to better understand the signs and symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.

Parental Representations and Emotional Availability: The Case of Children with Autism and Severe Behavior Problems.

Studies suggest that parents' emotional availability (EA) is associated with children's wellbeing, including in the case of children with autism. Our study extended prior research by examining the role of parents' representations in fostering parental EA and by focusing on fathers and on children with autism and severe behavior problems. We expected that parents' positive representations would be associated with higher EA and compared mothers' and fathers' representations and EA. Participants were 79 mothers and 69 fathers (child age range = 61-173months, 21.95% girls). Representation assessments included the Reaction to Diagnosis Questionnaire, tapping resolution with respect to the child's diagnosis, and the coherence and positive comments in parents' Five Minute Speech Samples about the child. Parents' EA was coded from parent-child play interactions. Controlling for children's autism symptoms and adaptive functioning, mothers' resolution with respect to the child's diagnosis and positive comments (but not coherence) were associated with their EA, and fathers' coherence (but not positive comments and resolution) was associated with their EA. Mothers expressed more positive comments than fathers, and the resolution and EA scores of mothers and fathers were significantly correlated. Our results highlight the importance of considering both parents' representations and EA when studying and working with families of children with autism and severe behavior problems.

Visual attention modulates mu suppression during biological motion perception in autistic individuals.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding mirror neuron function in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in particular during the observation of biological motions (BM). Here, we directly explored the link between visual attention and brain activity in terms of mu suppression, by simultaneously recording eye-tracking and EEGs during BM tasks. Nineteen autistic children (15 boys, mean age = 11.57 ± 4.28 years) and 19 age-matched neurotypical (NT) children (15 boys, mean age = 11.68 ± 5.22 years) participated in the study. Each participant's eye movement and EEG were simultaneously recorded while watching four BM stimuli (walking, cartwheeling, free-throwing and underarm throwing) and a scrambled condition. Mu (8-13 Hz) suppression index (SI) for central regions was calculated. Fixation counts and percent of fixation time were calculated as indices of eye movements. EEG results revealed significant mu suppressions in the central region in both groups for all BM actions. Eye-tracking results showed that NT children had greater fixation counts and a higher percentage of fixation time than autistic children, indicating greater overall visual attention to BM. Notably, correlational analyses for both groups further revealed that individuals' fixation time and fixation counts were negatively correlated with the mu suppression index for all actions, indicating a strong association between visual attention and mu SI in the central region. Our findings suggest a critical role of visual attention in interpreting mu suppression during action perception in autism.

Supporting caregivers within caregiver-mediated interventions: a commentary on Brown etal. (2024).

A substantial portion of interventions designed to support autistic children are also designed to be delivered by caregivers (i.e. are 'caregiver-mediated'). Brown etal. (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2024) are one of the first groups to critically examine the baseline skills that caregivers bring as they prepare to learn a class of interventions called Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), which are designed to support social communication growth in young autistic children. This commentary commends Brown and colleagues for their focus on caregivers, a linchpin within the increasingly prominent caregiver-mediated process of intervention delivery. However, it is imperative that future research understand the potential adverse effects and supports that are needed to bolster caregivers in this crucial role. We present six recommendations for research on caregiver-mediated interventions that build on Brown and colleagues' work and address these needs, which involve: caregiver supports, equitable samples, community settings, adaptive designs, general principles, and implications for NDBI dissemination.

Investigating visual perspective taking and belief reasoning in autistic adults: A pre-registered online study.

Many autistic individuals report difficulties in social situations, where they are required to think about what goes on in others' minds. These states of the mind can include how others perceive the world around them, their beliefs, or their desires. While research has shown that autistic children could be delayed in developing their full capacity in this regard, less is known about how adults process others' experiences and beliefs. Here we used a novel task and asked adults to participate online. Participants self-reported whether they had been diagnosed with autism or not and we split them into two groups depending on their response. We also asked participants to fill in a self-report questionnaire about social preferences and habits and we also asked them to conduct a test of their nonverbal reasoning ability. Importantly, the autistic and the non-autistic groups did not differ in their nonverbal reasoning abilities, and on our task, we observed that the autistic group committed fewer mistakes than the non-autistic group. Autistic participants were particularly fast and made fewer mistakes on those responses that overlapped with their own view and belief of reality. In conclusion, our findings do not support a simple view of autism in terms of deficits in either social or more general thinking abilities. Instead, autistic adults might favour slightly different ways of thinking about other's experiences and beliefs that is more firmly linked to their own experience and knowledge.

Exploratory analyses of sleep intraindividual variability and fatigue in parents of children on the autism spectrum.

Fatigue is associated with numerous harmful physical and mental health outcomes. Despite research indicating a relationship between fatigue and sleep, there has been a limited focus on how the variability of a person's sleep may be associated with fatigue. In addition, previous studies have not explicitly explored relationships among child sleep, parent sleep, and parent fatigue. Increasing knowledge about this area of research could be particularly relevant for families with autistic children with an increased likelihood of sleep disturbances. The current study used two weeks of objective sleep (actigraphy) data and subjective ratings of parent fatigue from 81 parents and their autistic children to examine associations among child and parent within-person sleep variability regarding average parent fatigue levels. Evidence was assessed for the role of parent sleep variability in hypothesized connections between child sleep variability and parent fatigue. We found that only greater variability in parents' total sleep time was associated with higher levels of parents' average daily fatigue rating over the two weeks. Child sleep variability was not significantly associated with parent sleep variability or average daily fatigue. In addition, average levels of child sleep were unrelated to parent total sleep time variability and fatigue. Although cautious interpretation is required, findings support the idea that variability in total sleep time may be a unique aspect of parental sleep's association with fatigue, independent of child sleep. In addition, sleep variability could be important to consider when examining sleep in addition to average levels of parameters like total sleep time.

A pilot study of Chinese parents’ perceptions of friendships in autistic children

Objectives Previous research has reported that parental perceptions and expectations regarding friendship for their autistic children varies across different cultural contexts, but investigations of parents’ attitudes towards their autistic children’s friendships in eastern cultures are scarce. Settled in the unique collectivistic culture in China, the purpose of this study was to explore Chinese parents’ perceptions and expectations of friendships for their autistic children. Methods A qualitative research method was adopted in this pilot study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 parents regarding their perceptions, expectations, and perceived barriers to friendship development in their autistic children (n = 11, age mean = 9.18). Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the data. Results The results revealed that Chinese parents generally perceived a low level of their children’s friendship status and that they hold low expectations for their children’s friendship development. Additionally, cognitive and environmental barriers were identified as the major obstacles to friendship development for children with autism. Conclusions This pilot study investigated how Chinese parents of autistic children perceive their children’s friendship and identified social and cultural barriers to the development of their autistic children. It highlighted the need for cultural investigations in future research to promote efficient friendship development in autistic children.

Case report: Multicomponent intervention for severe food selectivity in autism spectrum disorder: a single case study

Food selectivity is common in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The treatment used can be invasive and difficult to implement, necessitating the exploration of multicomponent approaches. This study presents the case of a 9-year-old autistic girl with severe food selectivity, who ate exclusively liquid and semi-solid foods. A multicomponent intervention protocol was developed, including stimulus fading and positive reinforcement techniques, to increase acceptance of new textures and foods. Treatment sessions showed significant improvement in acceptance of semi-solid and novel foods, with a reduction in problem behaviors associated with mealtime. This study suggests that a multicomponent intervention can significantly improve food acceptance and reduce mealtime distress, proving to be a practical and effective treatment strategy in an autistic child. The intervention led to an increase in food acceptance and a reduction in mealtime-related distress, potentially improving the child and family’s quality of life.

Suicidal risk among Chinese parents of autistic children and its association with perceived discrimination, affiliate stigma and social alienation

BackgroundCaring for autistic children becomes challenging and may lead to negative psychological outcomes, even increasing the suicide risk (SR). Researchers have studied the SR among parents of autistic children in Western nations, but little is known about it in China and how it relates to perceived discrimination (PD), affiliate stigma (AS), and social alienation (SA). The current study aimed to reveal the SR prevalence rate among Chinese parents of autistic children, and clarify whether AS and SA may play mediating roles in the association between SR and PD.MethodsA total of 645 Chinese parents of autistic children were recruited to complete a series of scales to evaluate SR, SA, AS, and PD using the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), Perceived Discrimination Scale for Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (PDS-FP), Affiliate Stigma Scale (ASS), and General Social Alienation Scale (GSAS), respectively. Then, the SR prevalence rate among Chinese parents of autistic children was evaluated; and the multiple mediation analysis and structural equation modeling with the bootstrap method were conducted to test the mediating effects of AS and SA in the association between SR and PD.Results34.6% Chinese parents of autistic children had high SR. In particular, the incidence rate of suicide ideation, suicide plans, suicide attempts, and suicide likelihood during the previous year were 49.8%, 11.9%, 2.5%, and 13.8%, respectively. Additionally, PD was positively associated with SR (r = .40, p < .01); and AS and SA showed significant mediating effects on the association between PD and SR (p < .01).ConclusionsThe current study evaluated the SR prevalence rate among Chinese parents of autistic children, and clarified the mediating effects of AS and SA in the association between SR and PD. Findings might bring new insights and guidance for intervention of suicidality among Chinese parents of autistic children.

Remote Infant Studies of Early Learning (RISE): Scalable online replications of key findings in infant cognitive development.

The current article describes the Remote Infant Studies of Early Learning, a battery intended to provide robust looking time measures of cognitive development that can be administered remotely to inform our understanding of individual developmental trajectories in typical and atypical populations, particularly infant siblings of autistic children. This battery was developed to inform our understanding of early cognitive and language development in infants who will later receive a diagnosis of autism. Using tasks that have been successfully implemented in lab-based paradigms, we included assessments of attention, memory, prediction, word recognition, numeracy, multimodal processing, and social evaluation. This study reports results on the feasibility and validity of administration of this task battery in 55 infants who were recruited from the general population at age 6 months (n = 29; 14 female, 15 male) or 12 months (n = 26; 14 female, 12 male; 62% White, 13% Asian, 1% Black, 1% Pacific Islander, 22% more than one race; 6% Hispanic). Infant looking behavior was recorded during at-home administration of the battery on the family's home computer and automatically coded for attention to stimuli using iCatcher+, an open-access software that assesses infant gaze direction. Results indicate that while some tasks replicated lab-based findings (attention, memory, prediction, and numeracy), others did not (word recognition, multimodal processing, and social evaluation). These findings will inform efforts to refine the battery as we continue to develop a robust set of tasks to improve the understanding of early cognitive development at the individual level in general and clinical populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

GABA and glutamate measurements in temporal cortex of autistic children.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and presents with challenges in social communication. A hypothesized underlying contributing mechanism is the imbalance in excitation and inhibition (E/I), partly influenced by the levels of excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate (Glu) and inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. Although many have reported the levels of GABA and Glu in the brain, only a few reports address the temporal cortex and then only with a small sample of autistic children, and often only in one hemisphere. We used a macromolecular suppressed edited-magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) sequence to study GABA and Glu (as potential key players influencing E/I) in a large sample of children with ASD in the right and left temporal cortices of children with (N = 56) and without (N = 30) ASD (7-18 years). As a group, children with ASD exhibited no differences in the left hemisphere (GABA and Glu Cohen's |d|: 0.24 and 0.03), but the right hemisphere showed higher GABA and lower Glu concentrations (GABA and Glu Cohen's |d|: 0.53 and 0.65) compared to neurotypicals. Furthermore, a negative association was found between the right hemisphere Glu levels of the ASD group and a clinical assessment tool (r = -0.361, p = 0.022), reflecting autism trait severity (social responsiveness scale). In conclusion, we highlight the chemical abnormalities in children with ASD through a cross-sectional measurement. Longitudinal studies are warranted to determine whether these chemical levels persist or resolve over development.

Enhancing Early Intervention For Caregivers of Autistic Children with Online Reciprocal Imitation Training Learning Modules

In this study, we taught caregivers of four young autistic children to implement Reciprocal Imitation Training, a focused naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention (NDBI), using a hybrid approach, combining online modules with in vivo coaching. Early Intervention (Part C) services are often the first to support autistic children; therefore, providers must focus on training caregivers to deliver NDBIs such as RIT, within daily activities that are meaningful to the family in the home. We used a multiple-probe design to examine the effect of home visits enhanced by online modules completed before the coaches’ arrival. Results indicated caregivers acquired intervention procedures effectively after approximately six coaching sessions. While most caregivers maintained acceptable fidelity levels, outcomes for children varied, with mixed results in spontaneous imitation. We discuss considerations for providers delivering NDBIs, including factors that impacted outcomes, barriers to intervention, and recommendations for Part C services.

An 'explosion in the mouth': The oral health experiences of autistic children.

In England, one in four children have tooth decay by the age of 5 years. Tooth decay affects many autistic children. Communication differences, sensory sensitivities and preferred routines can make dental care difficult. Daily toothbrushing, healthy eating and drinking, and attending the dentist may be challenging for autistic children. We do not know much about how autistic children feel about looking after their teeth. Learning from them directly is important to understand their needs and make sure their voices are heard. We interviewed 10 autistic children aged between 7 and 13 years to discover how they care for their teeth, what helped and what did not. We talked about toothbrushing, healthy eating and drinking and visiting the dentist. To support our conversations, we used Talking Mats® - a tool that can help with communication. Autistic children described a wide range of sensory issues related to looking after their teeth. This finding shows how important it is to tailor care to each child's needs. Children wanted to be included in conversations about their teeth at home and at the dentist. This was felt to make a big difference in building trust and making them feel comfortable and supported. Overall, we found Talking Mats® can be used in dental research to engage with autistic children. By understanding children's views, we can better help professionals and parents to support their dental needs. Our research showed that every child's experience is unique, so dental support must be tailored and inclusive to meet children's needs.