scholarly journals Subtle Oculomotor Difficulties and Their Relation to Motor Skill in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Sumner ◽  
Samuel B. Hutton ◽  
Elisabeth L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Pursuit ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Saccade Amplitude ◽  
Amplitude Variability ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Fixation Stability

Abstract Objectives Sensorimotor difficulties are often reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Visual and motor skills are linked in that the processing of visual information can help in guiding motor movements. The present study investigated oculomotor skill and its relation to general motor skill in ASD by providing a comprehensive assessment of oculomotor control. Methods Fifty children (25 ASD; 25 typically developing [TD]), aged 7–10 years, completed a motor assessment (comprising fine and gross motor tasks) and oculomotor battery (comprising fixation, smooth pursuit, prosaccade and antisaccade tasks). Results No group differences were found for antisaccade errors, nor saccade latencies in prosaccade and antisaccade tasks, but increased saccade amplitude variability was observed in children with ASD, suggesting a reduced consistency in saccade accuracy. Children with ASD also demonstrated poorer fixation stability than their peers and spent less time in pursuit of a moving target. Motor skill was not correlated with saccade amplitude variability. However, regression analyses revealed that motor skill (and not diagnosis) accounted for variance in fixation performance and fast smooth pursuit. Conclusions The findings highlight the importance of considering oculomotor paradigms to inform the functional impact of neuropathologies in ASD and also assessing the presentation of co-occurring difficulties to further our understanding of ASD. Avenues for future research are suggested.

Increasing the Number Sense Understanding of Preschool Students With ASD

2021 ◽  
pp. 027112142110061
Author(s):  
Bonnie L. Ingelin ◽  
Seyma Intepe-Tingir ◽  
Nanette C. Hammons
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Functional Relation ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Preschool Students ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Early Number ◽  
Mathematical Success ◽  
Number Talks

Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) academic skills supports their future opportunities. For example, early number sense skills are predictive of future mathematical success for all children including children with ASD. Yet, research on foundational early childhood mathematics skills of children with ASD is limited. This study used an adapted version of Number Talks to increase the number sense skills of preschool children with ASD. Number Talks is a constructivist approach that was combined with systematic instruction (i.e., system of least prompts and modeling) in this study. A multiple probe across participants design established a functional relation between using an adapted version of Number Talks and the early number sense skills of preschool children with ASD. Findings suggest using an adapted version of Number Talks can increase the early number sense skills of preschool children with ASD. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Exploring Growth in Expressive Communication of Infants and Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
pp. 105381512199557
Author(s):  
Jay Buzhardt ◽  
Anna Wallisch ◽  
Dwight Irvin ◽  
Brian Boyd ◽  
Brenda Salley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Progress Monitoring ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Infants And Toddlers ◽  
Early Communication ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Language Growth

One of the earliest indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is delay in language and social communication. Despite consensus on the benefits of earlier diagnosis and intervention, our understanding of the language growth of children with ASD during the first years of life remains limited. Therefore, this study compared communication growth patterns of infants and toddlers with ASD to growth benchmarks of a standardized language assessment. We conducted a retrospective analysis of growth on the Early Communication Indicator (ECI) of 23 infants and toddlers who received an ASD diagnosis in the future. At 42 months of age, children with ASD had significantly lower rates of gestures, single words, and multiple words, but significantly higher rates of nonword vocalizations. Children with ASD had significantly slower growth of single and multiple words, but their rate of vocalization growth was significantly greater than benchmark. Although more research is needed with larger samples, because the ECI was designed for practitioners to monitor children’s response to intervention over time, these findings show promise for the ECI’s use as a progress monitoring measure for young children with ASD. Limitations and the need for future research are discussed.

Validation of Wearable Sensor Technology to Measure Social Proximity of Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
pp. 108835762110282
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Douglas ◽  
Yan Shi ◽  
Saptarshi Das ◽  
Subir Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Sensor System ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Proximity ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to develop appropriate social skills, which can lead to later social rejection, isolation, and mental health concerns. Educators play an important role in supporting and monitoring social skill development for children with ASD, but the tools used by educators are often tedious, lack suitable sensitivity, provide limited information to plan interventions, and are time-consuming. Therefore, we conducted a study to evaluate the use of a sensor system to measure social proximity between three children with ASD and their peers in an inclusive preschool setting. We compared video-coded data with sensor data using point-by-point agreement to measure the accuracy of the sensor system. Results suggest that the sensor system can adequately measure social proximity between children with ASD and their peers. The next steps for sensor system validation are discussed along with clinical and educational implications, limitations, and future research directions.

scholarly journals Acquisition of Verb Meaning From Syntactic Distribution in Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3S) ◽  
pp. 668-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Horvath ◽  
Elizabeth McDermott ◽  
Kathleen Reilly ◽  
Sudha Arunachalam
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Verb Learning ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Syntactic Frames

Purpose Our goal was to investigate whether preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can begin to learn new word meanings by attending to the linguistic contexts in which they occur, even in the absence of visual or social context. We focused on verbs because of their importance for subsequent language development. Method Thirty-two children with ASD, ages 2;1–4;5 (years;months), participated in a verb-learning task. In a between-subjects design, they were randomly assigned to hear novel verbs in either transitive or intransitive syntactic frames while watching an unrelated silent animation or playing quietly with a toy. In an eye-tracking test, they viewed two video scenes, one depicting a causative event (e.g., boy spinning girl) and the other depicting synchronous events (e.g., boy and girl waving). They were prompted to find the referents of the novel verbs, and their eye gaze was measured. Results Like typically developing children in prior work, children with ASD who had heard the verbs in transitive syntactic frames preferred to look to the causative scene as compared to children who had heard intransitive frames. Conclusions This finding replicates and extends prior work on verb learning in children with ASD by demonstrating that they can attend to a novel verb's syntactic distribution absent relevant visual or social context, and they can use this information to assign the novel verb an appropriate meaning. We discuss points for future research, including examining individual differences that may impact success and contrasting social and nonsocial word-learning tasks directly.

Beyond the Motor Domain: Exploring the Secondary Effects of a Fundamental Motor Skill Intervention for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Leanne K. Elliott ◽  
Jonathan A. Weiss ◽  
Meghann Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Motor Skill ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Secondary Effects ◽  
Motor Skill Intervention

Early motor skill interventions have been shown to improve the motor skill proficiency of children with autism spectrum disorder; however, little is known about the secondary effects associated with these types of interventions (e.g., influence on behavior, social skills, family dynamics). The purpose of this qualitative study was to (a) investigate parents’ perceptions of the child-level benefits associated with a fundamental motor skill intervention for their 4-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder and (b) explore how child-level benefits influenced the family unit. Eight parents (N = 8) were interviewed (semistructured) about their experiences with the intervention for their child(ren); the study was grounded in phenomenology. Five main child-level benefits emerged, including improvements with (a) motor skills, (b) social skills, (c) listening skills, (d) turn-taking skills, and (e) transition skills. The child-level benefits then extended to family members in a number of ways (e.g., more positive sibling interactions). These findings highlight several important secondary effects that should be investigated in future research.

Fostering Inclusion of Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Daily Settings Through Technological Supports

2021 ◽  
pp. 224-245
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Stasolla ◽  
Alessandro O. Caffò ◽  
Viviana Perilli
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Challenging Behaviors ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Third ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

This chapter emphasizes a selective overview of the newest empirical contributions available in the literature within the last decade (i.e., 2008-2019) regarding the use of assistive technology for the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in daily settings. According to the including and excluding criteria, 40 studies were retained and grouped in five main categories, namely (1) communication skills, (2) adaptive and/or social skills, (3) life skills, (4) challenging behaviors, and (5) academic performance. The first aim of the chapter was to outline strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned studies. The second objective of the chapter was to provide some practical and illustrative examples of assistive technology-based programs aimed at the integration of children with ASD in daily settings. Finally, the third purpose was to discuss the findings pointing out some useful guidelines for future research and practice. Results were fairly positive, although some failure occurred. Clinical, educational, psychological, and rehabilitative implications were critically discussed.

Robots and Autism Spectrum Disorder

2016 ◽  
pp. 905-924
Author(s):  
Amie Senland
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Technological Intervention ◽  
Educational Applications ◽  
Potential Use

Technology featuring robots is a promising innovative technological intervention for treating and educating children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This chapter reviews, critiques, and presents future directions for research on clinical and educational applications of robots for these children. Specifically, this chapter reviews current research on: (1) robots that act as social mediators for children with ASD and (2) robots that assist them in developing social skills such as joint attention and imitation. A critical review of the research suggests that robots may have the capacity to assist some of these children, but additional rigorous studies are necessary to demonstrate their efficacy and effectiveness. Future research must (1) examine whether robots have differential effects for specific subgroups of children with ASD and (2) contribute to a deeper understanding of robots' potential use in educational settings.

scholarly journals Risk Factors for Unhealthy Weight Gain and Obesity among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khushmol K. Dhaliwal ◽  
Camila E. Orsso ◽  
Caroline Richard ◽  
Andrea M. Haqq ◽  
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Lifestyle Factors ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Unhealthy Weight

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by social and communication deficits and repetitive behaviors. Children with ASD are also at a higher risk for developing overweight or obesity than children with typical development (TD). Childhood obesity has been associated with adverse health outcomes, including insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. Importantly some key factors that play a mediating role in these higher rates of obesity include lifestyle factors and biological influences, as well as secondary comorbidities and medications. This review summarizes current knowledge about behavioral and lifestyle factors that could contribute to unhealthy weight gain in children with ASD, as well as the current state of knowledge of emerging risk factors such as the possible influence of sleep problems, the gut microbiome, endocrine influences and maternal metabolic disorders. We also discuss some of the clinical implications of these risk factors and areas for future research.

Stability of Variables Derived From Measures of Multisensory Function in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kacie Dunham ◽  
Jacob I. Feldman ◽  
Yupeng Liu ◽  
Margaret Cassidy ◽  
Julie G. Conrad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Mcgurk Effect ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Listening In Noise ◽  
The Stability

Abstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display differences in multisensory function as quantified by several different measures. This study estimated the stability of variables derived from commonly used measures of multisensory function in school-aged children with ASD. Participants completed: a simultaneity judgment task for audiovisual speech, tasks designed to elicit the McGurk effect, listening-in-noise tasks, electroencephalographic recordings, and eye-tracking tasks. Results indicate the stability of indices derived from tasks tapping multisensory processing is variable. These findings have important implications for measurement in future research. Averaging scores across repeated observations will often be required to obtain acceptably stable estimates and, thus, to increase the likelihood of detecting effects of interest, as it relates to multisensory processing in children with ASD.

Parent-Implemented Trial-Based Functional Analysis for Young Children With ASD

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Gerow ◽  
Mandy Rispoli ◽  
Emily Gregori ◽  
Lisa Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Challenging Behavior ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Function Based Intervention ◽  
Multiple Probe

There is growing support for the use of trial-based functional analysis (TBFA) in applied settings. The purpose of the present study was to assess the accuracy and social validity of parent-implemented TBFAs. The participants were three young children (ages 3–7 years old) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their mothers. Each mother implemented the TBFA with coaching from a behavior consultant. Following the TBFA, parent-implemented function-based interventions were evaluated using a multiple-probe across parent–child dyads design. Child challenging behavior decreased and communication increased following the implementation of the function-based intervention. TBFAs required approximately 5 to 7 hr of consultant time, and each mother rated the TBFA as socially valid. The results of this study indicate parent-implemented TBFAs may be an accurate and socially valid method to evaluate the function of challenging behavior in homes. The discussion includes implications for practice and directions for future research.

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