Skills In Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Articles

Metaphor comprehension and production in verbally able children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Research in the field of figurative language processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has demonstrated that autistic individuals experience systematic difficulties in the comprehension of different types of metaphors. However, there is scarce evidence regarding metaphor production skills in ASD. Importantly, the exact source of metaphor processing difficulties in ASD remains largely controversial. The debate has mainly focused on the mediating role of structural language skills (i.e., lexical knowledge) and cognitive abilities (i.e., Theory of Mind and executive functions) in ASD individuals' ability to comprehend and generate metaphors. The present study examines metaphor comprehension and production in 18 Greek-speaking verbally able children with ASD and 31 typically-developing (TD) controls. Participants completed two tasks, namely, a low-verbal multiple-choice sentence-picture matching task that tested their ability to comprehend conventional predicate metaphors, and a sentence continuation task that assessed their ability to generate metaphors. The study also included measures of fluid intelligence, expressive vocabulary, and working memory within the sample. The results show that the ASD group had significantly lower performance than the TD group in both metaphor comprehension and production. The findings also reveal that expressive vocabulary skills were a key factor in the metaphor comprehension and production performance of the children with ASD. Working memory capacity was also found to correlate significantly with metaphor comprehension performance in the ASD group. Conversely, no correlations were found in the TD group with neither of the above factors. Of note, children with ASD generated significantly more inappropriate responses and no-responses to the metaphor production task compared with the control group. The overall results reveal that children with ASD had difficulty with both comprehending and using metaphorical language. The findings also indicate that TD children may employ diverse cognitive strategies or rely on different underlying skills when processing metaphors compared with children with ASD.

Mental rotation and language in autism spectrum disorder.

Though visuospatial skills are often considered a relative strength in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), unexplained difficulties relative to neurotypical (NT) peers have also been observed. Dissociations between spatial cognition and language skills in ASD may explain these difficulties given that these systems are linked in NT individuals. The current study examined performance on a mental rotation task that systematically varied stimulus features and the degree to which performance was associated with language in ASD relative to NT peers. Participants were children and young adults with ASD and 25 pairwise age- and IQ-matched NT peers (p's>0.53). The mental rotation task involved four conditions: two-dimensional (2D) abstract figures, three-dimensional (3D) abstract figures, 2D common objects, and 3D common objects. Structural language was measured using the grammar subscale from the Test of Language Development: Intermediate adapted for Norwegian. Mixed-effects model results indicated that autistic individuals were less accurate and had slower reaction time across mental rotation task conditions than NT peers. Language was associated with mental rotation accuracy for both groups across conditions, but with reaction time only for the NT group. The current study demonstrated selective associations between language and performance on a classic spatial cognition task in autistic individuals. Namely, there was a dissociation between language and in-the-moment efficiency in the ASD group, and this dissociation may reflect a broader dissociation between visuospatial and language systems.

Let's face it! The role of social anxiety and executive functions in recognizing others' emotions from faces: Evidence from autism and specific learning disorders.

Youth with different developmental disorders might experience challenges when dealing with facial emotion recognition (FER). By comparing FER and related emotional and cognitive factors across developmental disorders, researchers can gain a better understanding of challenges and strengths associated with each condition. The aim of the present study was to investigate how social anxiety and executive functioning might underlie FER in youth with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific learning disorders (SLD). The study involved 263 children and adolescents between 8 and 16 years old divided into three groups matched for age, sex, and IQ: 60 (52 M) with ASD without intellectual disability, 63 (44 M) with SLD, and 140 (105 M) non-diagnosed. Participants completed an FER test, three executive functions' tasks (inhibition, updating, and set-shifting), and parents filled in a questionnaire reporting their children's social anxiety. Our results suggest that better FER was consistent with higher social anxiety and better updating skills in ASD, while with lower social anxiety in SLD. Clinical practice should focus on coping strategies in autistic youth who could feel anxiety when facing social cues, and on self-efficacy and social worries in SLD. Executive functioning should also be addressed to support social learning in autism.

Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A comparative study and effects on communication skills.

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent among children with neurodevelopmental disorders, like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hiperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The first objective of this study is to examine the differences in sleep problems between a group of children with ASD without intellectual disabilities, a group with ADHD and a typically developing (TD) group. A second objective is aimed at analyzing the effects of sleep problems and symptom severity on their communication skills. Participants were 122 children between 7 and 12 years old distributed in three groups: 32 TD children, 47 children with ASD and 43 children with ADHD, matched on age and intelligence. Parents completed different questionnaires that measured sleep disturbances and communication skills. Findings show significant differences between the clinical groups and the TD group in most types of sleep disorders. Moreover, the group with ADHD showed significantly more sleep breathing disorders and hyperhidrosis in comparison with ASD and TD, as well as more total sleep problems. In contrast to ASD, the predictive power of sleep problems on communication difficulties was greater in the group with ADHD. The results of the mediation analysis indicate that in both groups, sleep problems partially mediate the relationship between symptoms and communication. This investigation highlights the need of considering sleep disorders when assessing communication skills in ASD and ADHD, given its indirect influence in this domain. Understanding the sleep dysfunctions of both conditions and their repercussions is crucial to develop adjusted interventions.

The Effectiveness of JASPER Program Tasks for Early Intervention in Developing Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Skills

The current study aims to use JASPER program components; joint attention, symbolic play, engagement, and regulation to develop the skills of children with autism and reduce the level of disorder. The study sample consisted of 7 children (3 males and 4 females) in addition to their mothers, the children were enrolled in one of the centers for people with disabilities in the United Arab Emirates. The chronological ages of the sample were between 6 to 8 years. The study used a set of tools to achieve the objectives of the study, including the scale of Jasper tasks for Early Intervention, the autism disorder scale, and a training program prepared by the researcher. The results of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the training program in improving the average scores of the experimental group children on JASPER scale for the dimensions and total score. The results also revealed that there were statistically significant differences between the mean scores before and after the application of the training program for the experimental group children for the dimensions and the total degree of autism disorder diagnosis scale in the direction of the post-test. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences between all of post-tests and follow-up tests (a month after the end of the program application). Keywords: Tasks, Program, JASPER, Early intervention, Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The Aquatic WATSU® Therapy Program Improves the Quality of Life of an Adult Male with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A Case Report

Abstract The purpose of this single case study was to investigate the effects of the WATSU training program (WTP) on 21 years old male with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This study used a high level of individual and structured interventions to improve the underperforming adaptive functioning areas like social and academic skills in ASD. The individualized intervention of WTP was completed in five days using critical verbal and bodily language, technical demonstration, taking turns, basic skills, and timely feedback in a social and sensory-isolated environment. The results were collected via in-training observation, semi-structured family and athletic trainer interviews to evaluate the participant’s condition before and after the WTP. The structured communication opportunities improved the sense of trust and played a prominent role in the development of the quality of life. The results indicated that WTP reduced repetitive movements, stress reactions, challenging behaviors, and improved communication skills. In addition, changing roles, positions, and transitions in WATSU training increased the participant’s resiliency in his life with more comfort. Finally, tactile-emotional quality afferents, warmth, and buoyancy of the water, altered and enriched proprioceptive and vestibular input, being safely cradled in the arms instructor were likely to be the other factors improving the underperforming areas including communication, repetitive movements, stress reactions and challenging behaviors.

Virtual Reality Training of Social Skills in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Examination of Acceptability, Usability, User Experience, Social Skills, and Executive Functions.

Poor social skills in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with reduced independence in daily life. Current interventions for improving the social skills of individuals with ASD fail to represent the complexity of real-life social settings and situations. Virtual reality (VR) may facilitate social skills training in social environments and situations similar to those in real life; however, more research is needed to elucidate aspects such as the acceptability, usability, and user experience of VR systems in ASD. Twenty-five participants with ASD attended a neuropsychological evaluation and three sessions of VR social skills training, which incorporated five social scenarios with three difficulty levels. Participants reported high acceptability, system usability, and user experience. Significant correlations were observed between performance in social scenarios, self-reports, and executive functions. Working memory and planning ability were significant predictors of the functionality level in ASD and the VR system's perceived usability, respectively. Yet, performance in social scenarios was the best predictor of usability, acceptability, and functionality level. Planning ability substantially predicted performance in social scenarios, suggesting an implication in social skills. Immersive VR social skills training in individuals with ASD appears to be an appropriate service, but an errorless approach that is adaptive to the individual's needs should be preferred.

The whole-body motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder taking goal-directed actions in virtual reality.

Many symptoms of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are evident in early infancy, but ASD is usually diagnosed much later by procedures lacking objective measurements. It is necessary to anticipate the identification of ASD by improving the objectivity of the procedure and the use of ecological settings. In this context, atypical motor skills are reaching consensus as a promising ASD biomarker, regardless of the level of symptom severity. This study aimed to assess differences in the whole-body motor skills between 20 children with ASD and 20 children with typical development during the execution of three tasks resembling regular activities presented in virtual reality. The virtual tasks asked to perform precise and goal-directed actions with different limbs vary in their degree of freedom of movement. Parametric and non-parametric statistical methods were applied to analyze differences in children's motor skills. The findings endorsed the hypothesis that when particular goal-directed movements are required, the type of action could modulate the presence of motor abnormalities in ASD. In particular, the ASD motor abnormalities emerged in the task requiring to take with the upper limbs goal-directed actions with low degree of freedom. The motor abnormalities covered (1) the body part mainly involved in the action, and (2) further body parts not directly involved in the movement. Findings were discussed against the background of atypical prospective control of movements and visuomotor discoordination in ASD. These findings contribute to advance the understanding of motor skills in ASD while deepening ecological and objective assessment procedures based on VR.

Oromotor skills in autism spectrum disorder: A scoping review.

Oromotor functioning plays a foundational role in spoken communication and feeding, two areas of significant difficulty for many autistic individuals. However, despite years of research and established differences in gross and fine motor skills in this population, there is currently no clear consensus regarding the presence or nature of oral motor control deficits in autistic individuals. In this scoping review, we summarize research published between 1994 and 2022 to answer the following research questions: (1) What methods have been used to investigate oromotor functioning in autistic individuals? (2) Which oromotor behaviors have been investigated in this population? and (3) What conclusions can be drawn regarding oromotor skills in this population? Seven online databases were searched resulting in 107 studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Included studies varied widely in sample characteristics, behaviors analyzed, and research methodology. The large majority (81%) of included studies report a significant oromotor abnormality related to speech production, nonspeech oromotor skills, or feeding within a sample of autistic individuals based on age norms or in comparison to a control group. We examine these findings to identify trends, address methodological aspects hindering cross-study synthesis and generalization, and provide suggestions for future research.

Assessment of Theory of Mind in Psychopathology: a Scoping Review

IntroductionTheory of Mind (ToM) is defined as the cognitive ability that infers other’s mental states (Premack & Woodruff. J Behav Brain Sci 1978; 1 515-526).The interest in the study of ToM distinguishing its affective and cognitive components has been growing. Its study in psychopathology has been evolved from its original studies in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and, borderline personality disorder (BPD), to other mental disorders like major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BP), anorexia nervosa (AN) and social anxiety disorder (SAD).Objectives1) review the most commonly used instruments for ToM assessment; 2) to compile the evidence on ToM deficits across mental disorders. For both objectives, target disorders are previously mentioned.MethodsThe search was carried out on the PubMed, PsycInfo and Scopus databases, using the terms “Theory of mind”, “Mentalization” and the previously mentioned mental disorders and pertinent thesaurus. Articles in English, published since 2010 were considered. A 2-step strategy (first, article screening and full reading) was followed to select articles of interest.ResultsReading the Mind in the Eyes (Baron-Cohen et al., J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2001; 42 241-251) and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (Dziobeck et al. J Autism Dev Disord 2006; 36 623-636) were the most commonly used tasks to assess ToM. Regarding mental disorders, studies showed deficits in cognitive and affective ToM skills in ASD, SCZ, BPD, MDD and BP. Hypomentalization was mainly observed in ASD and MDD, while BPD and SCZ were featured by errors associated with hypermentalization. Studies in AN and SAD are scarce, but they mainly highlight a cognitive ToM deficit, with hypomentalization in AN and hypermentalization in ASD. In all of them, depressive symptomatology seems to be a critical moderator of ToM performance.ConclusionsAlthough ToM impairments are well described for some mental disorders, more research is needed to reach solid conclusions for others. The use of different and heterogeneous ToM assessment instruments can strongly influence the results of studies. The study of ToM is essential to gain a better understanding of the diseases and to develop effective treatments targeting specific ToM deficits.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

The impact of Lego® Therapy on cognitive skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders: a brief discussion

<abstract> <p>Over the years, several interventions have been implemented, including Lego® Therapy, with the aim of supporting and implementing social and communication skills impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Although recent studies have shown that the ability to learn implicitly is preserved in ASDs, no study related to Lego® Therapy has analyzed whether and how this training can also affect aspects not directly treated. In this study, we report a first attempt of assessment of Lego® Therapy's effect on the specific area of cognitive skills in an ASD child. Over a period of 12 months, a child with ASD had weekly meetings with an expert operator of Lego® aiming to improve the child's ability to communicate, reduce impulsiveness and hyper verbalism, and encourage pro-social behavior. The intervention resulted in positive outcomes that were assessed after 12 months.</p> </abstract>

Assessment of Motor Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Assessment of Motor Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Involving autism stakeholders in identifying priorities for interventions based on augmented reality

Purpose Literature supports the use of technological tools such as augmented reality, 3 D avatars and mobile devices to improve individuals with autism spectrum disorder skills. Possibilities of including these technological tools in intervention and the critical issues related to intervention design are essential research questions. The aim of the current work is to present an interdisciplinary research study on the design of an autism intervention considering these technologies. Materials and methods This study used qualitative evidence and thematic analysis to identify the main design guidelines. A semi-structured interview was administered to a total of twenty participants representing four stakeholder categories: ASD, clinicians, therapists and caregivers. Interviews focussed on three dimensions related to user, technology and environment since they represent a complex system within which the individual using technology is situated. Results Thematic analysis of the interviews identified a total of 10 themes considered central to the design of the technological intervention. Conclusions Since the application of technology in autism intervention is a relatively new area, the guidelines related to the potential incentives and barriers of the proposed technology are helpful to inform future treatment studies. Implications for Rehabilitation This study highlights the strengths and barriers associated with the use of smartphones and augmented reality in autism spectrum disorder interventions considering the dimensions within which the user using assistive technology is located. Strengths and major concerns that emerged are key points to consider during the development of the technological intervention. Considering these points can foster the use of technology within the intervention and promote its effectiveness.

Motor performance, praxis, and social skills in autism spectrum disorder and developmental coordination disorder.

Previous research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) may have overlapping social and motor skill impairments. This study compares ASD, DCD, and typically developing (TD) youth on a range of social, praxis and motor skills, and investigates the relationship between these skills in each group. Data were collected on participants aged 8–17 (n = 33 ASD, n = 28 DCD, n = 35 TD). Overall, the clinical groups showed some similar patterns of social and motor impairments but diverged in praxis impairments, cognitive empathy, and Theory of Mind ability. When controlling for both social and motor performance impairments, the ASD group showed significantly lower accuracy on imitation of meaningful gestures and gesture to command, indicating a prominent deficit in these praxis skills in ASD.Lay SummaryIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) have social and motor skill impairments to varying degrees. This study compares ASD, DCD, and typically developing (TD) youth on a range of social, praxis, and motor skills. ASD and DCD shared similar patterns of gross and fine motor skills, but differed in skills related to making gestures. Specifically, our results also suggest that ASD has a prominent deficit in gesture performance and meaningful imitation compared to TD and DCD groups.

Metacognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Digital Technologies in Metacognitive Skills Training

Extensive research has been conducted regarding socio-emotional skills training in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The latest autism research is now beginning to recognize the role of metacognitive deficits in ASD as well as the importance of metacognitive skills training in autism intervention. The purpose of the current review study is to shed light on the role of metacognition in ASD and identify assistive technologies that may compensate for metacognitive deficits in ASD. Specifically, we examine autism through the lens of the models of metacognition developed by (Drigas and Mitsea, 2020;2021). Following these metacognitive models, we identified digital technologies that have the significant potential to train metacognitive skills in people with ASD. These technologies include, among others, robotics, virtual reality, mobile applications, digital serious games, coding digital games and robots. This review provides evidence that people with autism face important difficulties in almost all metacognitive domains. It also highlights that digital technologies are effective tools for training metacognitive skills in ASD. This study is one of the few studies that deal with autism as a disorder of metacognition and gives pointers for future experimental research regarding intervention strategies with the assistance of technologies.

Gross motor impairment and its relation to social skills in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and two meta-analyses.

Gross motor ability is associated with profound differences in how children experience and interact with their social world. A rapidly growing literature on motor development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) indicates that autistic individuals exhibit impairment in gross motor skills. However, due to substantial heterogeneity across studies, it remains unclear which gross motor skills are impaired in ASD, when and for whom these differences emerge, and whether motor and social impairments are related. The present article addressed these questions by synthesizing research on gross motor skills in ASD in two separate meta-analyses. The first examined gross motor deficits in ASD compared to neurotypical (NT) controls, aggregating data from 114 studies representing 6,423 autistic and 2,941 NT individuals. Results demonstrated a significant overall deficit in gross motor skills in ASD (Hedges' g = -1.04) that was robust to methodological and phenotypic variation and was significant at every level of the tested moderators. However, moderation analyses revealed that this deficit was most pronounced for object control skills (i.e., ball skills), clinical assessment measures, and movements of the upper extremities or the whole body. The second meta-analysis investigated whether gross motor and social skills are related in ASD, synthesizing data from 21 studies representing 654 autistic individuals. Findings revealed a modest but significant overall correlation between gross motor and social skills in ASD (r = 0.27). Collectively, results support the conclusion that motor deficits are tied to the core symptoms of ASD. Further research is needed to test the causality and directionality of this relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Feasibility of a virtual reality-based exercise intervention and low-cost motion tracking method for estimation of motor proficiency in youth with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundMotor impairment is widely acknowledged as a core feature in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which can affect adaptive behavior and increase severity of symptoms. Low-cost motion capture and virtual reality (VR) game technologies hold a great deal of promise for providing personalized approaches to motor intervention in ASD. The present study explored the feasibility, acceptability and potential efficacy of a custom-designed VR game-based intervention (GaitWayXR™) for improving gross motor skills in youth with ASD.MethodsTen children and adolescents (10–17 years) completed six, 20-min VR-based motor training sessions over 2 weeks while whole-body movement was tracked with a low-cost motion capture system. We developed a methodology for using motion tracking data to quantify whole-body movement in terms of efficiency, synchrony and symmetry. We then studied the relationships of the above quantities with standardized measures of motor skill and cognitive flexibility.ResultsOur results supported our presumption that the VR intervention is safe, with no adverse events and very few minor to moderate side-effects, while a large proportion of parents said they would use the VR game at home, the most prohibitive reasons for adopting the system for home therapy were cost and space. Although there was little evidence of any benefits of the GaitWayXR™ intervention in improving gross motor skills, we showed several positive correlations between the standardized measures of gross motor skills in ASD and our measures of efficiency, symmetry and synchrony from low-cost motion capture.ConclusionsThese findings, though preliminary and limited by small sample size, suggest that low-cost motion capture of children with ASD is feasible with movement exercises in a VR-based game environment. Based on these preliminary findings, we recommend conducting larger-scale studies with methods for improving adherence to VR gaming interventions over longer periods.

Supplemental Material for Gross Motor Impairment and Its Relation to Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Two Meta-Analyses

Supplemental Material for Gross Motor Impairment and Its Relation to Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Two Meta-Analyses

Social anxiety tendency and autism spectrum disorder in Japanese adolescence.

In Japanese high schools, understanding of school non-attendance and students with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is gradually improving. On the other hand, few people recognize social anxiety disorder (SAD), the onset of which commences during youth. Social anxiety disorder and ASD share various overlapping characteristics but have different diagnostic criteria. The anxiety caused by these disorders sometimes appears as school non-attendance. This study examines the relationship between SAD, ASD, and history of school non-attendance in high school students. One hundred and fifty-eight students at one Japanese high school that accepts school non- attending students were investigated. To understand the features of ASD and how it relates to SAD tendencies, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale - Japanese (LSAS-J) and Autism-Spectrum Quotient - Japanese (AQ-J) were used. Based on the LSAS-J cutoff point, participants were divided into high and low anxiety groups and then data were compared between the two groups. Potential factors associated with a high-SAD trend were evaluated using multivariate logistic regression. The results showed that students with high ASD scores were more likely to have SAD and that a lack of "social skill," a subscale of ASD, was closely associated with a social anxiety trend. However, the relationship between school non-attendance and social anxiety could not be confirmed. Focusing on the lack of social skills in ASD may provide an opportunity to identify students with high SAD tendencies. This study will contribute to the understanding of high school students with high SAD tendencies in Japan.

Facial emotion training as an intervention in autism spectrum disorder: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

AbstractA large number of computer‐based training programs have been developed as an intervention to help individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) improve their facial emotion recognition ability, as well as social skills. However, it is unclear to what extent these facial emotion training programs can produce beneficial, long‐lasting, and generalizable results. Using standard meta‐analytic techniques, we investigated the effects of facial emotion training including generalization and maintenance restricted to randomized control trial studies comprising a total of 595 individuals with ASD. Our findings revealed that the intervention resulted in a robust improvement in emotion recognition for individuals receiving training compared with controls. However, while there was also some evidence for generalization of training effects, the small number of studies which conducted follow‐ups and assessed social skills reported that improvements were not maintained and there was no evidence for general improvement in social skills. Overall, the analysis revealed a medium effect size in training improvement indicating that facial emotion training may be an effective method for enhancing emotion recognition skills in ASD although more studies are required to assess maintenance of effects and possible general improvements in social skills.Lay summaryFacial emotion training as an intervention may be a potential way to help improve emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), however robust empirical support for its efficacy has not been sufficiently established. Here, we conducted a meta‐analysis of previous studies to summarize the effects of facial emotion training on ASD. Our results show that the training produces a robust improvement in subsequent emotion recognition, while maintenance and generalization effects still need further investigation. To date, no experimentally verified improvements in social skills have been reported.