Feasibility of the stress and anger management program on children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder in a sample population from Karachi

IntroductionResearch shows that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, struggle with emotional competence as compared to their typically developing counterparts. This leads to internalizing (stress) and externalizing (anger management) problems in the affected population. The stress and anger management program (STAMP) designed by Scarpa et al. is a manualized treatment protocol with good clinical efficacy.ObjectiveThe objective of the present study is to test the feasibility and suitability of STAMP as a systematized treatment protocol in Karachi and to enable the sample population, to become emotionally competent.AimThe aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of STAMP on the reduction of symptoms in the sample population.MethodTen children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder will be selected from various institutes in Karachi, and randomized to experimental and waitlist control group after pre-intervention assessment. Upon completion of the intervention with the experimental group, the waitlist control group will be offered the intervention. Both the groups will be assessed, immediately after the intervention, followed by a one-month follow up assessment.ResultsIt is expected that STAMP will significantly reduce the incidence of problem behaviours as measured by the standardized assessment questionnaires from the manual; as well as significantly reduce the severity of scores on the internalizing and externalizing components of the strength and difficulties questionnaire, in the experimental group as compared to the control group.ConclusionIt is expected that the results of the present study could be utilized to train mental health professionals in Karachi for systematized treatment of ASD and related problems.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Speech-in-noise recognition and the relation to vocal pitch perception in adults with autism spectrum disorder and typical development

10.31234/osf.io/u84vd ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stefanie Schelinski ◽

Katharina von Kriegstein

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Pitch Perception ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Noise Levels ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Speech In Noise ◽

Vocal Pitch

We tested the ability to recognise speech-in-noise and its relation to the ability to discriminate vocal pitch in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developed adults (matched pairwise on age, sex, and IQ). Typically developed individuals understood speech in higher noise levels as compared to the ASD group. Within the control group but not within the ASD group, better speech-in-noise recognition abilities were significantly correlated with better vocal pitch discrimination abilities. Our results show that speech-in-noise recognition is restricted in people with ASD. We speculate that perceptual impairments such as difficulties in vocal pitch perception might be relevant in explaining these difficulties in ASD.

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Evaluation of carnitine levels in dried blood spot samples in children with autism spectrum disorder

Turkish Journal of Biochemistry ◽

10.1515/tjb-2020-0420 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Ozgur Aslan ◽

Burcu Kardaş ◽

Mehmet Nuri Özbek ◽

Bahadır Ercan

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Treatment Protocol ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Dried Blood Spot ◽

Control Group ◽

P Value ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disease ◽

Glycine Transporter ◽

Blood Spot

Abstract Objectives Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disease with an average diagnosis age of over 3 years. Carnitine levels in ASD are important because they show potential mitochondrial dysfunction and abnormal fatty acid metabolism. In this study, in ASD children carnitine levels in dried blood spot samples were evaluated and compared with the control group. Methods Twentythree children diagnosed with ASD in Research and Training Hospital (19 boys, 4 girls) and age and gender matched 24 children without ASD were enrolled in this study. 17 carnitines in dried blood samples were measured with LC-MS/MS. Results C0, C2, C4-OH, C5, C5-OH, C6, C16, C18 carnitines were lower (p value 0.037, 0.010, 0.005, 0.032, 0.005, 0.003, 0.043, 0.003, respectively) and C18:1 carnitine was higher (p<0.025) in ASD group compared with control group. Conclusions Comprehensive carnitine levels for ASD are important to establish a treatment protocol for the treatment of ASD behavior and severity. C18:1 carnitine, detected for the first time in the cases with ASD, is important for its high levels and for being a glycine transporter two inhibitor. In ASD cases, the molecular analysis might be suggested for enzymes involved in carnitine metabolism and for glycine transporter 2.

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Saccadic eye movements in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽

10.1177/1362361316667057 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 195-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tiziana Zalla ◽

Magali Seassau ◽

Fabienne Cazalis ◽

Doriane Gras ◽

Marion Leboyer

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Eye Movements ◽

Autistic Spectrum Disorder ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Saccadic Eye Movements ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Adults With Autism ◽

Autistic Spectrum

In this study, we examined the accuracy and dynamics of visually guided saccades in 20 adults with autism spectrum disorder, as compared to 20 typically developed adults using the Step/Overlap/Gap paradigms. Performances in participants with autistic spectrum disorder were characterized by preserved Gap/Overlap effect, but reduced gain and peak velocity, as well as a greater trial-to-trial variability in task performance, as compared to the control group. While visual orienting and attentional engagement were relatively preserved in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder, overall these findings provide evidence that abnormal oculomotor behavior in autistic spectrum disorder reflects an altered sensorimotor control due to cerebellar abnormalities, rather than a deficit in the volitional control of eye movements. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence implicating this structure in the physiopathology of autism.

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Teaching emotion regulation to children with autism spectrum disorder: Outcomes of the Stress and Anger Management Program (STAMP)

Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic ◽

10.1521/bumc.2019.83.3.235 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (3) ◽

pp. 235-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Reina S. Factor ◽

Deanna M. Swain ◽

Ligia Antezana ◽

Ashley Muskett ◽

Alyssa J. Gatto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Emotion Regulation ◽

Young Children ◽

Anger Management ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Management Program ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Parental Confidence

Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with emotion regulation (ER), which is developmentally preceded by lability/negative affect (L/N), and their parents face unique challenges to parenting and providing assistance. The Stress and Anger Management Program (STAMP) is a cognitive-behavioral treatment designed to address ER deficits in young children with ASD through child skill-building and parent training. The current study evaluated child L/N, ER, and parental confidence outcomes in 4- to 7-year-old children with ASD (N = 23; 19 boys) and their parents randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 12) or a waitlist control group (n = 11). Child L/N decreased, regulation was not significantly changed, and parental confidence regarding the child's ability to manage anger and anxiety increased from pre- to posttreatment in the treatment group, but not in the waitlist group. Implications for future interventions that address ER in children with ASD and their parents are discussed.

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A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Inference Generation Strategy Intervention for Adults With High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2014_ajslp-13-0012 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 461-473 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kimberly A. Murza ◽

Chad Nye ◽

Jamie B. Schwartz ◽

Barbara J. Ehren ◽

Debbie L. Hahs-Vaughn

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Reading Comprehension ◽

High Functioning Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Inference Generation ◽

High Functioning ◽

Social Inference ◽

Metacognitive Ability

PurposeThe present intervention study investigated the efficacy of the ACT & Check Strategy intervention to improve inference generation when reading, metacognitive ability, general reading comprehension, and social inference ability in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD).MethodTwenty-five adults with HF-ASD were randomly assigned to either a treatment or a control group. Treatment sessions were conducted in 1-hr sessions, twice a week, for a total of 6 weeks. Treatment focused on explicit instruction of components of inference generation, categories of inferences, and increasingly independent strategy use.ResultsThe treatment group demonstrated significantly superior performance on 1 of 2 measures of inference generation in reading and 1 measure of metacognitive ability compared with the control group. Significant differences between groups were not found on measures of reading comprehension or social inference ability.ConclusionThese findings suggest that the ACT & Check Strategy was effective in improving participants' ability to generate inferences in reading and certain metacognitive abilities, but the skills do not appear to generalize to other social communication contexts, such as social inference generation. This research provides a measure of support for explicitly teaching inference generation to address a reading inference deficit in adults with HF-ASD.

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