Difficulties In Interaction Research Articles

Sleep Disordered Breathing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An In-Depth Review of Correlations and Complexities.

Sleep-disordered breathing is a significant problem affecting the pediatric population. These conditions can affect sleep quality and children's overall health and well-being. Difficulties in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavioral patterns characterize autism spectrum disorder. Sleep disturbances are common in children with ASD. This literature review aims to gather and analyze available studies on the relationship between SDB and children with autism spectrum disorder. We comprehensively searched the literature using major search engines (PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). After removing duplicates, we extracted a total of 96 records. We selected 19 studies for inclusion after a thorough title and abstract screening process. Seven articles were ultimately incorporated into this analysis. The research findings presented herein emphasize the substantial influence of sleep-disordered breathing on pediatric individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These findings reveal a high incidence of SDB in children with ASD, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and specialized treatment. Obesity in this population further complicates matters, requiring focused weight management strategies. Surgical interventions, such as adenotonsillectomy, have shown promise in improving behavioral issues in children with ASD affected by OSA, regardless of their obesity status. However, more comprehensive studies are necessary to investigate the benefits of A&T treatment, specifically in children with ASD and OSA. The complex relationship between ASD, SDB, and other factors, such as joint hypermobility and muscle hypotonia, suggests a need for multidisciplinary treatment approaches. Physiotherapy can play a critical role in addressing these intricate health issues. Early sleep assessments and tailored weight management strategies are essential for timely diagnosis and intervention in children with ASD. Policy initiatives should support these efforts to enhance the overall well-being of this population. Further research is crucial to understand the complex causes of sleep disturbances in children with ASD and to develop effective interventions considering the multifaceted nature of these conditions.

Self- and proxy-reported impaired social interaction in young adults with simple congenital heart defects.

Simple Congenital Heart Defects such as septal defects constitute a large proportion of Congenital Heart Defects. New research has demonstrated more co-morbidities than previously thought. In particular, co-morbidities involving neurocognitive, psychiatric, and social difficulties have been described. Neurocognitive and psychiatric morbidities affect social interaction. Social interaction is important in everyday social life (education, work life, family life). In this study, we investigated social interaction through self- and proxy-answered Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) in young adults with simple Congenital Heart Defects and compared their social interaction profile to healthy matched controls. We included a total of 80 patients with either atrial or ventricular septal defect (age 26.6 years) and 38 heart-healthy, age, sex, and ISCED educational matched controls (age: 25.3 years). A close relative proxy from each participant took part in the study as well. All participants answered the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) (n = 225). Our primary and secondary outcomes were the SRS-2 Total score and the SRS-2 sub-scores. In the Congenital Heart Defects group, 31.3% had a Total score above 60 compared to 7.9% in the control group (p = 0.005, RR = 3.96). The participants with a septal defect had a higher Total score (52.5 vs. 45.5, p = 0.004), a higher Social Cognition sub-score (55.0 vs. 47.0, p = 0.0004), and a higher Social Motivation sub-score (50.0 vs. 45.0, p = 0.003) than the heart-healthy participants. We found no difference between the two groups regarding the sub-scores of Social Awareness and Social Communication. A multiple linear regression model showed that the variable that explained most of the variation in Total Score was having a previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder. We found that young adults with atrial or ventricular septal defects have a fourfold increased risk of social interaction difficulties compared to heart-healthy peers. They have a social interaction profile, with difficulties in social cognition and social motivation, and preserved social awareness and social communication. Psychiatric morbidity explained most of the variation in social interaction problems. As social difficulties and psychiatric morbidities are intertwined, social interaction difficulties could be an indication of already underlying psychiatric morbidities or a risk factor for future psychiatric morbidity.

Specific interests as a social boundary and bridge: A qualitative interview study with autistic individuals.

Growing evidence shows that specific interests can help autistic individuals cope with difficulties in social communication and interaction. However, it is unclear which specific characteristics of these interests make them suitable for this coping role. Therefore, this study explored how specific interests can help autistic individuals navigate social communication and interaction. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine autistic individuals to inquire about their perspectives on the meanings and functions of their specific interest in their (social) life. We found that specific interests served two important social functions. First, the interests provided a way to disconnect from the challenging outside world, through a shift in the attentional focus of participants. Second, the interests served as a "social compass," providing structure and meaning to social situations and helping the participants feel more connected to others. Based on these findings, we propose a conceptual model suggesting that specific interests create the experience of a "protective boundary" between oneself and others, which helps autistic individuals feel safe during social interactions. Namely, engaging in specific interests not only creates a space where autistic individuals can retreat when they feel overwhelmed, but also provides a framework with delineations in time and space, as well as explicit rules for social interactions, which make them more predictable and regulated. The study suggests that incorporating specific interests into therapy can help improve social communication and interaction for autistic individuals while still prioritizing their personal well-being.

Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) describe a category of neurodevelopmental disorders in which individuals experience difficulties of social interaction and age-appropriate play and struggle to establish healthy peer interactions at their stage of development. This study will address the various aspects of Autism in children including clinical symptoms, evaluation, diagnosis and widely used medication or care. Methodology: The search strategy involved utilizing two primary sources for obtaining relevant literature: Google Scholar and PubMed. The inclusion criteria comprised articles published in peer-reviewed journals, written in English, and focusing on ASD in children. Studies with diverse designs, including experimental, observational, and review studies, were considered. Results: While children with autism spectrum disorders share many characteristics with children that have other developmental disorders and can benefit from many of the same educational strategies, they pose specific challenges for families, teachers, and others who collaborate with them. A deficiency in non-verbal and verbal communication requires a great deal of effort and ability, including in teaching basic knowledge. Special challenges in social interaction (e.g.,joint attention) may require more individual instruction than most children to gain and retain their children’s attention. Furthermore, ordinary social interactions between peers do not typically take place without active preparation and ongoing adult structuring in the child’s environment. Conclusion: The lack of traditional friendships and peer relationships influences child motivation structures and the sense of experience. Adequate social experiences can be some of the most challenging and valuable lessons a child with autism spectrum disorders can learn. Keywords: ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders), QOL (Quality Of Life), neurodevelopmental conditions, PA (Physical Activity), DSM, ICD

Understanding Family-centered Care and Related Factors From the Perspective of Mothers of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents numerous challenges for families with affected children due to communication and social interaction difficulties. Adopting a family-centered care approach can enhance the quality of care and increase the satisfaction of families seeking medical services for children with ASD. Objective: This study aims to assess the status of family-centered care and its related factors among mothers of children with ASD in Rasht City, Iran. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 183 mothers of children with ASD in Rasht, utilizing a census approach at Guilan Welfare Centres in September 2020. Data collection tools involved questionnaires on individual-family characteristics and the measure of processes of care, a 20-item questionnaire, which was validated and reliable. Descriptive and inferential statistics, including the Pearson test, independent t-test, analyses of variance, and multiple linear regression, were used for data analysis. Results: Out of 183 participants (69.31%), met the study criteria most mothers held a diploma (41%) and were housewives (74.3%). The scores for “empowerment and partnership” and “general information” aspects were below mean score, while “specific information”, “comprehensiveness and coordination” of services, and “respect and support” aspects received scores above mean score. The aspect of “specific information” received the highest score (55.4±16.2), while the “general information” aspect received the lowest (45.3±88.1). The regression model revealed that the child’s gender (B=-0.58, 95% CI, -1.07% to 0.001%, P=0.001), sufficiency of health insurance (B=-1.19, 95% CI, -2.17% to -0.21%, P=0.017), and severity of ASD (B=-1.25, 95% CI, -2.46% to -0.04%, P=0.042) significantly influenced empowerment and participation, general information, and specific information aspects. The family residence also impacted the aspect of respect and support (B=-1.24, 95% CI, 0.57% to 1.17%, P=0.001). Conclusion: The study findings revealed that mothers’ understanding of family-centered care in empowerment/participation and general information was below mean score. This finding highlights the importance of focusing on family-oriented approaches while providing services and care to families with children with ASD.

Social perception in deaf individuals: A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.

Deaf individuals may report difficulties in social interactions. However, whether these difficulties depend on deafness affecting social brain circuits is controversial. Here, we report the first meta-analysis comparing brain activations of hearing and (prelingually) deaf individuals during social perception. Our findings showed that deafness does not impact on the functional mechanisms supporting social perception. Indeed, both deaf and hearing control participants recruited regions of the action observation network during performance of different social tasks employing visual stimuli, and including biological motion perception, face identification, action observation, viewing, identification and memory for signs and lip reading. Moreover, we found increased recruitment of the superior-middle temporal cortex in deaf individuals compared with hearing participants, suggesting a preserved and augmented function during social communication based on signs and lip movements. Overall, our meta-analysis suggests that social difficulties experienced by deaf individuals are unlikely to be associated with brain alterations but may rather depend on non-supportive environments.

Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder among People in a Remote Area of Bangladesh

Introduction: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which are manifested within two years of life. It exhibits difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as repetitive or constrained interests and actions. Autism has already posed significant burden in health sector in Bangladesh. That’s why it is high time to address autism. Objectives: To assess the factors affecting children with ASD and perception of rural people about it. Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out from 01 January to 31 December, 2021 among 55 people of different unions of Bauphal Upazila of Patuakhali district. Results: Majority of the autistic children are male (61.82%). In maximum cases, parents and family members were usually the first persons to identify (60%) the autistic symptoms. A good percentage (21.82%) respondents were ignorant about the cause of autism. Most (38.18%) of the children with autism were treated at government hospital. Maximum therapy received by the children is speech therapy (41.82%) and there is partial improvement (54.55%) of autism by applying therapy. Conclusion: This study revealed that most of the parents of autistic child were unaware about its contributory factors and treatment. Even there is scarcity of trained or specialist health professionals. There are also false belief about autism that inhibit people to take proper treatment. JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 18, No 2 (December) 2022: 66-71

Altered brain network organization in adults with Asperger's syndrome: decreased connectome transitivity and assortativity with increased global efficiency.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that persists into adulthood with both social and cognitive disturbances. Asperger's syndrome (AS) was a distinguished subcategory of autism in the DSM-IV-TR defined by specific symptoms including difficulties in social interactions, inflexible thinking patterns, and repetitive behaviour without any delay in language or cognitive development. Studying the functional brain organization of individuals with these specific symptoms may help to better understand Autism spectrum symptoms. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate functional connectivity as well as functional network organization characteristics using graph-theory measures of the whole brain in male adults with AS compared to healthy controls (HC) (AS: n = 15, age range 21-55 (mean ± sd: 39.5 ± 11.6), HC: n = 15, age range 22-57 [mean ± sd: 33.5 ± 8.5]). No significant differences were found when comparing the region-by-region connectivity at the whole-brain level between the AS group and HC. However, measures of "transitivity," which reflect local information processing and functional segregation, and "assortativity," indicating network resilience, were reduced in the AS group compared to HC. On the other hand, global efficiency, which represents the overall effectiveness and speed of information transfer across the entire brain network, was increased in the AS group. Our findings suggest that individuals with AS may have alterations in the organization and functioning of brain networks, which could contribute to the distinctive cognitive and behavioural features associated with this condition. We suggest further research to explore the association between these altered functional patterns in brain networks and specific behavioral traits observed in individuals with AS, which could provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of its symptomatology.

Milieu-specific differences in symptom severity and treatment outcome in psychosomatic rehabilitation in Germany.

Previous studies that focused on socioeconomic differences did not comprehensively explain existing inequalities in psychosomatic rehabilitation in Germany. We applied a social milieu approach, which additionally includes sociocultural factors such as lifestyles, attitudes and values, to investigate differences among patients in symptom severity, psychosocial impairment and improvement over the course of the intervention. As a model for social milieus, the empirical Sinus milieus were used. 2,000 patients of two psychosomatic rehabilitation clinics in Germany were included and their milieu was assessed with the Sinus milieu indicator for Germany 10/2018 questionnaire. BDI-II (N = 1,832) and HEALTH-49 (N = 1,829) questionnaires were used to measure depressiveness and psychosocial impairment at admission (T0) and discharge after 5 weeks of treatment (T1). Milieu differences in severity and improvement were analyzed by mixed-model ANOVAs. Milieu distribution was not representative of the overall population of Germany. We found significant differences between patients from different milieus in both BDI-II and HEALTH-49 (p < 0.001). Patients from the Precarious Milieu had the highest burden of depressive symptoms in BDI-II and the highest impairment on all HEALTH-49 scales at T0 and T1. Over the course of rehabilitation, patients from all milieus improved significantly in all domains (p < 0.001). Significant interaction effects showed milieu-dependent differences in improvement for depressiveness on the BDI-II [F(9, 1822) = 2.50, p = 0.008] and for three HEALTH-49 scales, namely Psychological well-being [F(9, 1819) = 3.30, padj = 0.005], Interactional difficulties [F(9, 1819) = 2.74, padj = 0.036] and Activity and Participation [F(9, 1819) = 4.94, padj < 0.001], while post-hoc tests only revealed two significant group differences for the last scale. In all domains, patients from the Precarious Milieu retained higher symptoms and impairment at T1 than patients from better-off milieus had at T0. Social milieu was associated with symptom severity, treatment access and outcome of psychosomatic rehabilitation patients. Milieu-specific sociocultural habits, psychosocial needs and therapeutic demands may help describe differences and should be considered in therapy planning and implementation, to improve equal access, quality and effectiveness of rehabilitation. Therefore, further research on milieu-specific differences and needs is necessary.

A new diagnostic autism spectrum disorder (DASD) strategy using ensemble diagnosis methodology based on blood tests

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disease that impacts a child’s way of behavior and social communication. In early childhood, children with ASD typically exhibit symptoms such as difficulty in social interaction, limited interests, and repetitive behavior. Although there are symptoms of ASD disease, most people do not understand these symptoms and therefore do not have enough knowledge to determine whether or not a child has ASD. Thus, early detection of ASD children based on accurate diagnosis model based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques is a critical process to reduce the spread of the disease and control it early. Through this paper, a new Diagnostic Autism Spectrum Disorder (DASD) strategy is presented to quickly and accurately detect ASD children. DASD contains two layers called Data Filter Layer (DFL) and Diagnostic Layer (DL). Feature selection and outlier rejection processes are performed in DFL to filter the ASD dataset from less important features and incorrect data before using the diagnostic or detection method in DL to accurately diagnose the patients. In DFL, Binary Gray Wolf Optimization (BGWO) technique is used to select the most significant set of features while Binary Genetic Algorithm (BGA) technique is used to eliminate invalid training data. Then, Ensemble Diagnosis Methodology (EDM) as a new diagnostic technique is used in DL to quickly and precisely diagnose ASD children. In this paper, the main contribution is EDM that consists of several diagnostic models including Enhanced K-Nearest Neighbors (EKNN) as one of them. EKNN represents a hybrid technique consisting of three methods called K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Naïve Bayes (NB), and Chimp Optimization Algorithm (COA). NB is used as a weighed method to convert data from feature space to weight space. Then, COA is used as a data generation method to reduce the size of training dataset. Finally, KNN is applied on the reduced data in weight space to quickly and accurately diagnose ASD children based on new training dataset with small size. ASD blood tests dataset is used to test the proposed DASD strategy against other recent strategies [1]. It is concluded that the DASD strategy is superior to other strategies based on many performance measures including accuracy, error, recall, precision, micro_average precision, macro_average precision, micro_average recall, macro_average recall, F1-measure, and implementation-time with values equal to 0.93, 0.07, 0.83, 0.82, 0.80, 0.83, 0.79, 0.81, 0.79, and 1.5 s respectively.

Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) as a Biomarker for Autistic Spectrum Disease (ASD).

Autistic spectrum disease (ASD) is an increasingly common diagnosis nowadays with a prevalence of 1-2% in most countries. Its complex causality-a combination of genetic, immune, metabolic, and environmental factors-is translated into pleiomorphic developmental disorders of various severity, which have two main aspects in common: repetitive, restrictive behaviors and difficulties in social interaction varying from awkward habits and verbalization to a complete lack of interest for the outside world. The wide variety of ASD causes also makes it very difficult to find a common denominator-a disease biomarker and medication-and currently, there is no commonly used diagnostic and therapeutic strategy besides clinical evaluation and psychotherapy. In the CORDUS clinical study, we have administered autologous cord blood to ASD kids who had little or no improvement after other treatments and searched for a biomarker which could help predict the degree of improvement in each patient. We have found that the neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was elevated above the normal clinical range (less than 16.3 ng/mL) in the vast majority of ASD kids tested in our study (40 of 41, or 97.5%). This finding opens up a new direction for diagnostic confirmation, dynamic evaluation, and therapeutic intervention for ASD kids.

Training work-related social skills in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder using a tablet-based intervention

ABSTRACT While multiple studies suggest that social skills are considered as essential in promoting employment, literature highlights a deficit in these skills among workers with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for whom difficulties in communication and social interaction are often reported. In this article, we explain how we used a User-Centered Design to identify and define in detail the work-related social skills that need to be trained. The aim was to develop social scenarios to train work-related social skills relevant for people with ASD using a digital app on a tablet. Participatory Design in our study included a needs analysis with questionnaires and interviews, as well as focus-groups and workshops with professionals of several disability employment services and workers or job seekers with ASD. Sixty-six social scenarios were written and 28 social skills were identified as relevant. This approach allowed us to design a tablet-based intervention which is an intelligent system by design since its content and structure target the social skills which require training for users with ASD.

Developing a Smartwatch-Based Healthcare Application: Notes to Consider.

Wearable devices and fitness trackers have gained popularity in healthcare and telemedicine as tools to reduce hospitalization costs, improve personalized health management, and monitor patients in remote areas. Smartwatches, particularly, offer continuous monitoring capabilities through step counting, heart rate tracking, and activity monitoring. However, despite being recognized as an emerging technology, the adoption of smartwatches in patient monitoring systems is still at an early stage, with limited studies delving beyond their feasibility. Developing healthcare applications for smartwatches faces challenges such as short battery life, wearable comfort, patient compliance, termination of non-native applications, user interaction difficulties, small touch screens, personalized sensor configuration, and connectivity with other devices. This paper presents a case study on designing an Android smartwatch application for remote monitoring of geriatric patients. It highlights obstacles encountered during app development and offers insights into design decisions and implementation details. The aim is to assist programmers in developing more efficient healthcare applications for wearable systems.

Back to Actual Behavior - A Modest Proposal on the Example of Exploratory Behavior in Children on the Autism Spectrum.

Autism spectrum is characterized by difficulties in social communication and interactions and limited, restricted patterns of behavior, interests, and activity. It is diagnosed and described on the basis of behavioral characteristics. Therefore, behavior research plays a critical role in better understanding the functioning of this group of children. Studies on their interests and curiosity take mainly the form of experiments on visual and object exploration. We argue that important aspects of behavior might be neglected within these studies and propose to refine the approach by incorporating the achievements of classic ethology, contemporary measurement and analytical tools, and the theory of integrative levels. We conclude with an outline of the proposed approach in a short list of major methodological postulates.

Artificial intelligence and bioinformatics analyze markers of children's transcriptional genome to predict autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, is extremely challenging to diagnose in toddlers. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial however. In this study, we developed a machine learning classification model based on mRNA expression data from the peripheral blood of 128 toddlers with ASD and 126 controls. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between ASD and controls were identified. We identified genes such as UBE4B, SPATA2 and RBM3 as DEGs, mainly involved in immune-related pathways. 21 genes were screened as key biomarkers using LASSO regression, yielding an accuracy of 86%. A neural network model based on these 21 genes achieved an AUC of 0.88. Our findings suggest that the identified neurotransmitters and 21 immune-related biomarkers may facilitate the early diagnosis of ASD. The mRNA expression profile sheds light on the biological underpinnings of ASD in toddlers and potential biomarkers for early identification. Nevertheless, larger samples are needed to validate these biomarkers.

Corneal confocal microscopy demonstrates sensory nerve loss in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulty in communication and interaction with others. Postmortem studies have shown cerebral neuronal loss and neuroimaging studies show neuronal loss in the amygdala, cerebellum and inter-hemispheric regions of the brain. Recent studies have shown altered tactile discrimination and allodynia on the face, mouth, hands and feet and intraepidermal nerve fiber loss in the legs of subjects with ASD. Fifteen children with ASD (age: 12.00 ± 3.55 years) and twenty age-matched healthy controls (age: 12.83 ± 1.91 years) underwent corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) and quantification of corneal nerve fiber morphology. Corneal nerve fibre density (fibers/mm2) (28.61 ± 5.74 vs. 40.42 ± 8.95, p = 0.000), corneal nerve fibre length (mm/mm2) (16.61 ± 3.26 vs. 21.44 ± 4.44, p = 0.001), corneal nerve branch density (branches/mm2) (43.68 ± 22.71 vs. 62.39 ± 21.58, p = 0.018) and corneal nerve fibre tortuosity (0.037 ± 0.023 vs. 0.074 ± 0.017, p = 0.000) were significantly lower and inferior whorl length (mm/mm2) (21.06 ± 6.12 vs. 23.43 ± 3.95, p = 0.255) was comparable in children with ASD compared to controls. CCM identifies central corneal nerve fiber loss in children with ASD. These findings, urge the need for larger longitudinal studies to determine the utility of CCM as an imaging biomarker for neuronal loss in different subtypes of ASD and in relation to disease progression.

Organization of palliative care for children in the Children’s Hospice of the Leningrad Region

Palliative care is an actively developing area. A separate area of palliative care is palliative care for children and their families, that is, support for children and adolescents and incurable, progressive diseases up to the age of 18. The relevance and demand for palliative and hospice care is confirmed by the growing number of patients in the North-Western Federal District who need them. In 2018, the Leningrad Region opened the State Autonomous Health Institution of the Leningrad Region Childrens Hospice (hereinafter the Childrens Hospice). The mission of the Childrens Hospice is to provide assistance where recovery is impossible, which is realized in an individual approach to each patient, taking into account his resources and environment, and not a diagnosis. The main goal is to improve the quality of life of children with incurable diseases and their families through providing them with multidisciplinary assistance. Childrens Hospice implements unique support programs for children with life-threatening or life-limiting diseases. The directions of development of the Childrens Hospice are outlined, related to the presence of myths and stereotypes in society, the remoteness of the districts of the Leningrad Region, the difficulties of interdepartmental interaction with regional healthcare institutions, the peculiarities of interaction of patients with specialists of various healthcare institutions and the occurrence of iatrogenic injuries, issues related to the anesthesia of patients. Promising growth points have been outlined that will optimize palliative care for children. In particular, conducting educational work, opening outpatient branches in certain districts of the Leningrad Region which will allow observing the time interval of the assistance provided.

Covid-19's impact on the mental and psychological health of people with autisms: a narrative review

The restrictions on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have had a significant emotional impact on the general population and could lead to high levels of psychological distress. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be more vulnerable in this widespread because of persistent difficulties in social interaction and communication as well as constrained and repetitive patterns of behavior. The goal of this study is to review studies that assess how COVID-19 affects autistic people's psychological and mental health. This study is a narrative review. The subjects included in these studies consisted of individuals with autism, their parents, families and caregivers. The findings revealed that responses to the pandemic varied, with some autistic persons displaying improvements and others demonstrating deterioration in mental health. Variables like biological vulnerability, isolation, and loss of social support, adjustments to household roles and dynamics, and family conflicts all related to reductions in mental health.

An SPSS Analysis of the Effects of Online and Offline Classes on Students

The advent of online learning has brought about a significant transformation in the education landscape, challenging the traditional model of classroom-based instruction. The integration of online and offline classes has had a profound impact on students worldwide. Online classes provide flexibility, convenience, and access to a wide range of resources, enabling students to learn at their own pace. It has also fostered a global learning community, transcending geographical boundaries. However, the transition to online learning has not been without challenges. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) is a widely used software program for statistical analysis in various fields, including social sciences, psychology, and market research. Developed by IBM, SPSS offers a comprehensive range of statistical procedures and data manipulation tools. It provides a user-friendly interface that allows researchers to input, organize, analyze, and visualize data easily. SPSS allows researchers to perform a wide array of statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, factor analysis, and many more. It also provides advanced features for data cleaning, recoding variables, and handling missing data. Moreover, SPSS enables researchers to generate meaningful graphs and charts to visualize data and present findings effectively. It offers a flexible and powerful platform for both beginners and experienced researchers to conduct statistical analysis and make data-driven decisions. Overall, SPSS is a valuable tool for researchers and analysts in various disciplines, empowering them to explore and understand data, derive insights, and draw reliable conclusions. Take as Input parameters for Age, gender, Place, qualification, family status, how satisfied are you with the offline classes?, how satisfied are you with online classes?, what rate do you give to online classes when compared to offline classes?, what rate does the students gain knowledge on offline classes when compared to online classes?, how do u rate your college in providing online classes? And At what frequency do you face problems while attending online classes? The Cronbach's Alpha is reported as .653, suggesting a moderate level of internal consistency reliability for the scale. A higher value, closer to 1, would indicate stronger internal consistency. In conclusion, the impact of online and offline classes on students is a complex and evolving subject. The integration of online learning has provided students with unprecedented flexibility, convenience, and access to resources. It has created a global learning community and opened up opportunities for diverse educational experiences. However, the transition to online learning has also posed challenges, such as the lack of face-to-face interaction and potential difficulties with engagement and motivation. Balancing the benefits of both online and offline classes is crucial to optimize student learning outcomes. Continued research and adaptation of teaching methodologies can help harness the potential of online and offline classes to create effective and inclusive learning environments that meet the evolving needs of students in the digital age.

Online social media poses opportunities and risks in autistic youth: implications for services from a qualitative study.

Autistic people are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to their difficulties in managing social situations and interpersonal relationships. The popular online social media (OSM) can be a potential solution to these concerns for their social lives as it allows non-face-to-face social interactions, however it remained unclear how this group is using these online platforms. This study explored their experiences of using online social media, and their perceived benefits and risks associated with this use. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth face to face interviews. We recruited 13 autistic young adults who were with normal intelligence from two community centers in Hong Kong. Interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format by experienced clinical psychologist and social workers. Four themes were identified from the data, namely: (1) Paradox of using OSM to supplement social needs; (2) Unpleasant social interactions in the online environment; (3) Restricted and repetitive pattern of interest leading to troubles in OSM use, and; (4) Privacy and personal safety issues. The results suggested that while OSM could be a useful tool for our participants to connect with existing friends and to meet new ones, their limitations, such as difficulties in understanding languages and social interaction as well as restricted patterns of interests could potentially put them at risk, including interpersonal conflicts, cyber-bullying, financial scams, as well as unwanted sexual experiences. These experiences not only paradoxically increased their sense of loneliness and their distance from others, but also resulted in a negative impact on their mood and functioning. This qualitative study provided some insights into the OSM use among autistic young adults. OSM could be a useful tool to overcome potential limitations in social interactions, but at the same time it could potentially bring detrimental consequences. In order to maximize the benefits of online social networking, there is a need for timely guidance and support to use OSM among autists, and for psychoeducation to promote awareness, and enable adequate skills and behaviors attainment associated with safe OSM use.