Skills Of Autistic Children Research Articles

The Impact of Bilingualism on the Executive Functions of Autistic Children: A Study of English-Arabic Children.

There is evidence to suggest that certain executive functions are impaired in autistic children, contributing to many daily challenges. Regular use of two languages has the potential to positively influence executive functions, though evidence is mixed. Little is known about the impact of bilingualism on the executive functions of autistic children, with only a handful of studies published worldwide to date. This study investigated the impact of bilingualism on sustained attention, interference control, flexible switching and working memory, in Arabic-English autistic children (n = 27) and their typically developing peers (n = 66), aged 5-12 years old. Groups were matched on age, nonverbal IQ and socioeconomic status, and completed a battery of computerized tests. Results showed an advantage for bilingual autistic children relative to their monolingual peers in sustained attention, and equivalent performance between bilingual and monolingual autistic children on all other executive functions. There were no generalized positive effects of bilingualism, and typically-developing children performed better than autistic children on all measures. The findings indicate that bilingualism does not negatively impact the executive function skills of autistic children, and that it might mitigate difficulties in sustained attention. LAY SUMMARY: Contrary to widespread belief, but in line with previous research, this study showed that speaking two languages did not harm thinking skills in autistic children. The thinking skills evaluated in this study included the ability to focus over a period of time, the ability to resist distractions, the ability to move back and forth between tasks, and the ability to use short-term memory. In fact, speaking two languages might help reduce difficulties that autistic children might face when focusing over a period of time.

Fundamental Motor Skills Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Narrative Review.

In the past decade, converging evidence has suggested that motor impairment is one of the most consistent markers, alongside sociocommunicative difficulties, for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Indeed, widespread anomalies of movement have been described in the ASD context. These motor abnormalities could have critical implications for subsequent cognitive and social development. Nevertheless, this area of development is particularly underexamined in the autism-related context, and early intervention programs commonly focus on the core symptoms of the condition. In the present work, we review and discuss the findings from recent studies that investigated the effect of interventions regarding fundamental motor skills in autistic children. Although the limited nature of the literature prevents researchers from drawing definitive conclusions, the results from the studies discussed here demonstrated potentially significant improvements in the motor abilities of autistic children after the interventions. Only a subset of the reviewed studies explored possible changes in the sociocommunicative domain after the motor skills improvements, and they had not concordant, although promising, conclusions. Overall, in consideration of the well-documented motor impairment people with the condition, the present findings highlight the importance of including motor skills training within the rehabilitation programs designed for autistic children. Furthermore, this narrative review encourages future interventional trials to consider motor skills as a possible target for reducing activity limitations and participation restrictions of autistic children.

Parent training for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of behaviour therapy training to mothers of autistic children on verbal and non-verbal improvement of their children. A total of 33 mothers of autistic children were selected for training based on non-probability purposive sampling procedure. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Knowledge Scale was used to assess mothers' knowledge about autism and Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale was used for assessment of the communication skill in autistic children. This study revealed that behaviour therapy training significantly improved communication skills of children with autism by training mothers. The results of paired t-test revealed that trained mothers developed improved communication skills. These results showed improvement in communication skills of autistic children whose mothers were trained in behaviour therapy.

O desenvolvimento motor e a aquisição de habilidades motoras em autistas

O desenvolvimento motor e as habilidades motoras em crianças autistas ainda permanecem pouco compreendidas. Estudos sugerem fortes relações entre o transtorno do espectro autista (TEA) com déficits do desenvolvimento motor e a aquisição de habilidades motoras, mas apesar disso, ainda hoje, essa questão não é considerada como critério diagnóstico. Fator intrigante entre os pesquisadores da área. A presente pesquisa realizou uma Revisão Integrativa da Literatura (RIL), com o objetivo de relacionar estudos sobre o desenvolvimento motor e a aquisição das habilidades motoras em crianças com TEA quando comparadas com crianças típicas. A pesquisa foi relizada na base de dados do Pub Med, através dos descritores “autismo” e “desenvolvimento motor” e “habilidades motoras”, após a aplicação dos critérios de inclusão e exclusão foram selecionados quinze artigos para análise. Os estudos incluídos apresentam um consenso razoável sobre a existência de atrasos motores em crianças com TEA, contudo em sua quase unanimidade, apontam para a necessidade de pesquisas mais aprofundadas por motivos diversos, seja pelo baixo número de participantes ou pelas dificuldades de isolar as caracterísitcas autísticas, em seus diferentes níveis.

Scaling of Early Social Cognitive Skills in Typically Developing Infants and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

We delineate the sequence that typically developing infants pass tasks that assess different early social cognitive skills considered precursors to theory-of-mind abilities. We compared this normative sequence to performance on these tasks in a group of autistic (AUT) children. 86 infants were administered seven tasks assessing intention reading and shared intentionality (Study 1). Infants responses followed a consistent developmental sequence, forming a four-stage scale. These tasks were administered to 21 AUT children (Study 2), who passed tasks in the same sequence. However, performance on tasks that required following others’ eye gaze and cooperating with others was delayed. Findings indicate that earlier-developing skills provide a foundation for later-developing skills, and difficulties in acquiring some early social cognitive skills in AUT children.

EFFECTS OF SENSORY INTEGRATION THERAPY ON SELECTED FITNESS SKILLS IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN

Introduction: Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterised by abnormal development in the first two years of life and impairment with respect to the following three areas: social interactions, communication, and behaviour. The disorder is more common in males than females. The aim: The study was conducted to assess the effects of sensory integration therapy on selected fitness skills in autistic children. Material and methods: The study assessed a group of 20 children (15 boys and 5 girls) aged 3 to 10 years. All children were diagnosed with autism and underwent 2-year therapy. The children showed impaired sensory modulation with abnormal stimulus reception and processing in the tactile, auditory, vestibular (balance), olfactory, and gustatory sensory systems. The study assessed fitness skills and their correlations with sensory integration therapy used in the children. The assessment used the Sensorimotor Development Questionnaire developed by Zbigniew Przyrowski and selected tests from "Obserwacja Kliniczna" as well as history-taking conducted with the parents. The following aspects were analysed: muscle tone, static balance, dynamic balance, jumping on two legs, jumping on one leg, catching and throwing a ball, and self-care activities, such as putting on shoes. Results: Sensory integration therapy contributed to an improvement in motor, sensory, cognitive, emotional, communication, and social development in the study patients. Conclusion: The use of sensory integration effectively supports sensory processes in autistic children.

The Effect of Adapted Basketball Exercises on the Development of Non-Oral Communication Skills of Autistic Children

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of adapted basketball exercises on the development of nonverbal communication skills of autistic children. Among the single-subject research models, multiple-polling inter-polling behavior was used. The population of the study consists of children with mild autism spectrum disorder in the special education center in which autistic children are educated in Isparta. The sample of the study was determined by using simple random sampling method for two (2) mildly autistic children of ten (10) years. Written consent was obtained from the parents for the selected children to participate in the study. The aim of the study is to teach selected children the skills of non-verbal communication, to the other person, to shake hands and to shake hands with the other person. The study lasted a total of seventeen (17) weeks, one week of observation and sixteen weeks of application. The same program was applied to both children during the study. The content of the program consists of teaching basic technical skills specific to basketball. These skills include ball holding, right and left hand bouncing, right and left hand dribbling, chest pass, bounce pass, overhead pass and smash techniques. The skills were adapted to the readiness levels of both children. In order to record the data, video camera, entry level data recording form and teaching process data recording forms were used. The data obtained at the end of the application were analyzed by showing on the graph. Since the number of participants was two (2), the data obtained during the seventeen (17) week period were converted to point points in accordance with the scale protocol and converted to line graphs to reveal the change. When the findings of the study were evaluated, it was seen that there were positive changes in the development of non-verbal communication skills of autistic children who extended their hands, squeezed their hands and shook hands with the other person.

Evaluation of Auditory Attention and Memory Skills in Autistic Children after Hyperbaric O2 Treatment

Introduction: The children with autism often exhibit abnormalities in auditory central processing including both auditory attention and auditory memory.Objective: The aim of this research was to determine the effectiveness of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy in improving auditory attention and auditory memory.Method: The study included 20 children with autism and 20 normally developed children as the control group. The children with autism were evaluated before and after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen using audirory P300 and MMN to evaluate both auditory attention and auditory memory.Results: There was a statistically significant difference of the auditory P300 and MMN latencies in the autistic children before and after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. There was a decrease of the P300 and MMN latencies, after the hyperbaric oxygen therapy.Conclusion: The children with autism showed improvement in both auditory attention and auditory memory after hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

An Adaptive Learning Game for Autistic Children using Reinforcement Learning and Fuzzy Logic

This paper, presents an adapted serious game for rating social ability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The required measurements are obtained by challenges of the proposed serious game. The proposed serious game uses reinforcement learning concepts for being adaptive. It is based on fuzzy logic to evaluate the social ability level of the children with ASD. The game adapts itself to the level of the autistic patient by reducing or increasing the challenges in the game via an intelligent agent during the play time. This task is accomplished by making more elements and reshaping them to a variety of real world shapes and redesigning their motions and speed. If autistic patient's communication level grows during the playtime, the challenges of game may become harder to make a dynamic procedure for evaluation. At each step or state, using fuzzy logic, the level of the player is estimated based on some attributes such as average of the distances between the fixed points gazed by the player, or number of the correct answers selected by the player divided by the number of the questioned objects. This paper offers the usage of dynamic AI difficulty system proposing a concept to enhance the conversation skills in autistic children. The proposed game is tested by participating of 3 autistic children. Each of them played the game in 5 turns. The results displays that the method is useful in the long-term.

The Effectiveness of Social Skills Training on Reducing Autistic Children's Behavioral Problems

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of social skills training on reducing the behavioral problems of children with autism and pseudo-experimental. The statistical population of all autistic children is Mashhad. In this research, a goal-based sampling method is used. 30 children were selected from among children with autism and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (15 people) and control (n = 15). The Shelli & Sorkab Communication Skills Questionnaire (2004) and Rutter's Behavioral Disorder (1964) Then, independent variable, ie social skills training (ten sessions 60 minutes), was performed on the experimental group, while no intervention was performed on the control group. After collecting data, the data were analyzed using covariance analysis. The results showed that social skills training has a positive and significant effect on reducing the behavioral problems of communication skills improvement in autistic children. Conclusion: Social skills training is a suitable method for reducing behavioral problems and improving communication skills in autistic children. These results can be used by psychologists and counselors.

Design of Immersive Virtual Reality System to Improve Communication Skills in Individuals with Autism

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) regularly experience situations in which they need to give answers but do not know how to respond; for example, questions related to everyday life activities that are asked by strangers. Research geared at utilizing technology to mend social and communication impairments in children with autism is actively underway. Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a relatively recent technology that has the potential of being an effective therapeutic tool for developing various skills in autistic children. This paper presents an interactive scenario-based VR system developed to improve the communications skills of autistic children. The system utilizes speech recognition to provide natural interaction and role-play and turn-taking to evaluate and verify the effectiveness of the immersive environment on the social performance of autistic children. In experiments conducted, participants showed more improved performance with a computer augmented virtual environment (CAVE) than with a head mounted display (HMD) or a normal desktop. The results indicate that immersive VR could be more satisfactory and motivational than desktop for children with ASD.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Holistic Multidimensional Treatment Model (Hojjati Model) on Receptive and Expressive Language Skills in Autistic Children

Background: Autism as part of the category called Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is caused by disorders in brain and nervous network and characterized by defect in social behavior, language and cognition. This study aimed to investigate receptive and expressive language performance and the severity of the disorder in 30 children with autism aged 2-8 years who speak in Persian language. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study 30 children with autism were selected using random sampling method. study tools included The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Developmental Scale (NDS) for assessing the receptive - expressive language skills. In order to assess the level of language impairment in subjects, the participants were divided into 5 groups with 6 people (considering the speaking ability including sign language and speech), with equal number of boys and girls (3 girls and 3 boys) in each group. All of these children were evaluated by pediatric psychiatry, pediatric neurologist and pediatrician and were assessed according to the criteria for autism based on the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Eventually, the data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS version 16.0 software. Results results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean (standard deviation) and scores of receptive – expressive language skills in autistic subjects in each of the groups (P<0.05). In other words, there is a substantial difference in the mean scores of subscales of Newsha developmental scale with the scores of the subjects. Results also revealed that the processes of language development in subjects improved gradually during the treatment period. Conclusion Altogether, it can be said that the HMTM treatment method (Hojjati Model) which is derived from Iranian traditional medicine and holistic philosophy, can be effective in the treatment of language disorder in children with autism.

The Effect of Gymnastic Exercises on Motor Skills in Autistic Children

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of 16 week of gymnastic exercises on motor and skills of children with autism. The statistical population consisted of autistic children in a charity centre in Karaj. Thirty autistic children 8–12 years of age, who were eligible to be included in the study, were randomly selected and assigned to two test and control groups. To evaluate motor development the short form of Bruininks-Oseretski test. The test group carried out gymnastic exercises for 16 weeks (3 sessions a week, with each session lasting for 45 minutes); the control group subjects were engaged in their daily activities during the period. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the two groups. There was a significant difference in the total motor skill scores between the two groups (P 0.05). It can be concluded from the results of the present study that gymnastic exercises might have an effective role in improving motor skills of children with autism.

Use of Lean Robotic Communication to Improve Social Response of Children with Autism

In light of inconclusive results reported in the literature on the benefits of using robots to foster social skills in autistic children, this paper assesses the use of robots with no facial expressions to create basic structured communication with autistic children. We address the complexity of communication when autistic children cannot understand the unintentional facial expressions of human instructors in training sessions. The paper reports 19 training sessions of a mild autistic child interacting with a humanoid robot with approximate duration of 20 minutes each. It was observed that during these 19 sessions, the child improved his responses to the directives given by the robot. The paper discusses the results in terms of the implications for professionals in the field. Further, the study serves as a proof of concept for future contributions to media richness theory.

Keefektifan Strategi Visual Dalam Pembelajaran Keterampilan Sosial Pada Anak Dengan Kondisi Spektrum Autis Tipe Sindroma Asperger (ASD)

Abstract: Visual Strategy, Learning Social Skills, Autis Spectrum Disorder (ASD. Tantrum behavior is a behavior that often appears in children with autism spectrum, in the form of behavioral tantrums, anger outbursts, screams, cries, banging his head, banging, kicking, rolling and rigidity of the body. It often makes teachers and parents are confused about it. Usually teachers or parents are always trying to explain verbally to the child, but the results, the child remains tantrums if it wishes to buy food or toys when school is not met. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the application of visual strategies to address the tantrum behavior in children with autism condition Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This research is a qualitative descriptive analysis. Sampling was done by sampling techniques with specific criteria (purposive sampling). Informants in this study is a teacher assistant (shadow teacher), parents and classroom teachers. The results showed that (1) the planning of learning social skills with visual strategy was well planned but the system documentation is still general, (2) the implementation of learning social skills with visual strategy done in the classroom and outside the classroom, using the drawings concerning a actions to be performed by children, (3) evaluation of learning social skills with visual strategies have been implemented during the learning process and at the end of the study, but has not been well documented, (4) the use of visual strategies in learning social skills in children ASD types Asperger syndrome rated very effective views of a significant change in behavior before and after learning social skills with visual strategy. The implications of this study that the TPP Al-Firdaus need to use visual strategies in learning social skills in autistic children and improve the quality of teachers and therapists to use visual strategies for learning and therapy for children with autism more optimal.

A Review of Play Interventions for Children with Autism at School

Play is an important aspect of children’s development and its value to education has been widely explored. However, play in children with disabilities and especially children with autism may be restricted when compared to that of their non-disabled peers of similar age and abilities. Moreover, play has been neglected to a certain extent in school practice due to the focus many teachers place on academic attainments and the difficulty in engaging autistic children in play activities. Children spend most of their time in schools as opposed to attending interventions individually. School based research can improve the educational outcomes for autistic children and, therefore, there is a pressing need for more research to be conducted in school settings. The current literature review aims to: (i) identify empirical studies using interventions to develop play skills in autistic children at school, and (ii) explore the features of play skills targeted in these studies. A systematic search of two electronic databases: (i) PsycINFO, and (ii) Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) has been conducted between 2000 and 2014. Fourteen papers were collected and the findings suggest that a significant number of studies have been conducted in schools exploring a wide range of play skills. Strengths and limitations of the reviewed studies are given as well as implications for practice and future research. Conclusions are discussed in the light of the high ecological validity of real world studies and the need to bridge the gap between academic research and school practice.

A Multifaceted Device for Discreetly Acquiring Natural Behaviors of Children with Autism

Autism is a multifaceted neurological disorder that affects the four fundamental areas of sensory processing, communication mechanisms, social interaction skills, and whole child/self-esteem. The underlying mechanisms and symptoms of the disorder have been shown to largely vary from patient to patient, and therefore, a durable, effective therapy is best achieved through multifaceted, multidisciplinary approaches that allow a direct assessment of each individual’s behavior, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The aim of this project was to simulate, design, manufacture, and assess a device that can help cultivate sensory, social, communication, and motor skills in autistic children while being able to extract data of the child’s behavior that could be used by the therapist. Critical components of the toy involve auditory and visual stimulation, as well as interactive mechanisms to promote development. The most important features of the toy are hidden cameras that discreetly monitor the child’s reactions in order to provide analytical feedback mechanisms, allowing parents, caregivers, or therapists to monitor and evaluate the child’s learning and therapy. The performance of the toy was examined on 17 children with autism at two specialized centers for child with developmental disorders. The results showed that the device was found satisfactory by the majority of children as assessed by their willingness to spend time accomplishing the tasks on the device, as well as by captured videos of their natural reactions throughout. Furthermore, improved performance was observed on the same population of children who were tested multiple times, indicating the potential use of the toy for therapeutic and learning purposes.

Developing social skills in autistic children through ‘Relaxed Performances’

Families living with autism often feel unable to attend social and cultural events, largely due to the fear of their child attracting negative or even aggressive reactions from others. The ‘joint attention’ that is part of the theatre experience, however, may be a powerful factor in the development of social and communication skills for such children. ‘Relaxed performances’ offer an opportunity for them to access and engage with theatre by making special arrangements designed to reduce tensions associated with visits to public places. Aspects of the production such as the use of lighting and sound effects which may trigger adverse reactions are also adjusted. This paper reports on how one local theatre drew on the findings of a national project to mount a ‘relaxed performance’ of their annual pantomime. It discusses the theatre's preparations and presents evidence of the impact the event had on local children with autism and their families. The success of both the national project and this local one marks a new beginning for improved access to the theatre for an audience that has hitherto felt largely excluded.

Enhancement of the Communication Effectiveness of Interactive Robots for Autism Therapy by Using Touch and Colour Feedback

AbstractPrevious studies in the field of robot assisted therapy demonstrated that robots engage autistic children’s attention in a better way. Therefore, the interactive robots appear to be a promising approach for improving the social interaction and communication skills of autistic children. However, most of the existing interactive robots use a very small number of communication variableswhich narrow their effectiveness to a few aspects of autistic childrens’ social communication behaviour. In the present work, we explore the effects of touching and colours on the communication effectiveness between a robot and an autistic child and their potential for further adjustability of the robot to child’s behaviour. Firstly, we investigated touching patterns of autistic and non-autistic children in three different situations and validated their responses by comparison of touching forces. Results showed that patterns of touching by non-autistic children have certain consistency, while reaction patterns in autistic children vary from person to person. Secondly, we studied the effect of colour feedback in autism therapy with the robot. Results showed that participants achieved better completion rate when colour feedback was provided. The results could support the design of more effective therapeutic robots for children with autism.

EPA-1143 – The effect of physical exercises on social and cognitive skills of autistic children: A randomized control trial

Introduction In general, the large body of research for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) indicates that autistic children show profound impairment in socio-cognitive functions. So, strategies should be considered in intervention programs in order to decrease the socio-cognitive impairments in individuals with ASD. Objectives Although exercise activities can be presented in conjunction with social activities, there is few works examining a multilayer group exercise targeting a wide range of characteristics of ASD such as social and cognitive deficits as well as behavioral problems. Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 10 week social group exercise program (SGEP) on social abilities, attentional function and clinical character of children with ASD. Methods In a randomized, controlled trial, 30 high functioning autistic children and adolescents aged 7 to 14 years old were randomly allocated to either an experimental group that received SGEP or to a control group. Participants were evaluated for level of social skill (Autism Social Skill Profile), cognitive and attentional functions (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and clinical features (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist) before and after the intervention period. Results Results indicated that participants in experimental group showed significant improvement in social, attentional skills and clinical character but those in control group remained unchanged. Conclusions We concluded that physical exercise particularly those with social content have the potential for improving main problems of children with ASD and can be added as an essential part of their treatments alongside the conventional and behavioral intervention programs.