Pilot study of a mobile application-based intervention to induce changes in neural activity in the frontal region and behaviors in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and/or intellectual disability

This study used the Stockholm Youth Cohort, a total population cohort ( N = 364,957), to describe patterns and predictors of qualification for upper secondary education, defined by passing graduation grades in core compulsory school subjects in contemporary young individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders without intellectual disability ( n = 6138). At the expected age for graduation, 16 years, 29% (adjusted rate difference 95% confidence interval (28.0–30.0)) fewer autistic than non-autistic individuals were qualified for upper secondary education (57% and 86%, respectively). Comorbid attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder further increased this difference. Within the group of autistic students without intellectual disability, female sex and lower family income were associated with non-qualification for upper secondary education. The proportion of students with autism without intellectual disability who qualified for upper secondary education increased at age 20. These findings underline the need for improved support for students with a diagnosis of autism without intellectual disability in mainstream education. Lay abstract Obtaining a quality education is important for any individual’s chances of leading a healthy and thriving life. Currently, educational policies in many countries underscore the rights of students with autism to be educated in mainstream schools. While there is some knowledge on school outcomes among students with autism from older studies, little is known about rates of qualification for upper secondary education among children with autism in mainstream schools today. This lack of knowledge is problematic since autism is diagnosed more widely, and prior evidence may not be relevant for individuals with autism and their families today. Using Swedish registers, we therefore examined this in a study including all children and young people in Stockholm County in 2001 through 2011. We found that about two thirds of children with autism without intellectual disability qualified for upper secondary education at the expected age, in comparison with about nine in ten among typically developing peers. We also found that girls with autism had further difficulties obtaining such qualification than boys and that those who were additionally diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder were particularly at risk of non-qualification. Finally, students with autism without intellectual disability had a greater chance of completing compulsory education if given an extended period to graduate. These findings underline the need for supportive interventions for children with autism during compulsory school. They may also challenge the inclusive education policy adopted by majority of western countries, at least in the wake of addressing special needs in mainstream schooling.

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The Neurobiological Basis of Altered Reward Processing and Impaired Learning Mechanisms in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – a Pilot Study to create a suitable fMRI-Paradigm

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/s1053-8119(09)71369-2 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. S138

Author(s):

I Wolf ◽

K Kochendoerfer ◽

T Demirakca ◽

K Roos ◽

M Ruf ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Learning Mechanisms ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder

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Association of maternal diabetes with neurodevelopmental disorders: autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and intellectual disability

International Journal of Epidemiology ◽

10.1093/ije/dyaa212 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Shuyun Chen ◽

Sixian Zhao ◽

Christina Dalman ◽

Håkan Karlsson ◽

Renee Gardner

Keyword(s):

Diabetes Mellitus ◽

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽

Intellectual Disability ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽

Maternal Diabetes ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Spectrum Disorders

Abstract Background Maternal diabetes has been associated with a risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in offspring, though the common co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and intellectual disability (ID) is rarely considered, nor is the potential for confounding by shared familial factors (e.g. genetics). Methods This population-based cohort study used data from Psychiatry Sweden, a linkage of Swedish national registers, to follow 2 369 680 individuals born from 1987 to 2010. We used population-averaged logit models to examine the association between exposure to maternal type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), pre-gestational type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and odds of NDDs in offspring. Subgroup analysis was then performed to investigate the timings of GDM diagnosis during pregnancy and its effect on the odds of NDDs in offspring. We compared these results to models considering paternal lifetime T1DM and T2DM as exposures. Results Overall, 45 678 individuals (1.93%) were diagnosed with ASD, 20 823 (0.88%) with ID and 102 018 (4.31%) with ADHD. All types of maternal diabetes were associated with odds of NDDs, with T2DM most strongly associated with any diagnosis of ASD (odds ratioadjusted 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.84), ID (2.09, 1.53–2.87) and ADHD (1.43, 1.16–1.77). Considering common co-morbid groups, the associations were strongest between maternal diabetes and diagnostic combinations that included ID. Paternal T1DM and T2DM diagnoses were also associated with offspring NDDs, but these associations were weaker than those with maternal diabetes. Diagnosis of GDM between 27 and 30 weeks of gestation was generally associated with the greatest risk of NDDs in offspring, with the strongest associations for outcomes that included ID. Conclusion The association of maternal diabetes with NDDs in offspring varies depending on the co-morbid presentation of the NDDs, with the greatest odds associated with outcomes that included ID. Results of paternal-comparison studies suggest that the above associations are likely to be partly confounded by shared familial factors, such as genetic liability.

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