Normocentric biases taint cognitive neuroscience and intervention of autism

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Mottron
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Social Motivation ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Autistic People

Abstract Stepping away from a normocentric understanding of autism goes beyond questioning the supposed lack of social motivation of autistic people. It evokes subversion of the prevalence of intellectual disability even in non-verbal autism. It also challenges the perceived purposelessness of some restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, and instead interprets them as legitimate exploratory and learning-associated manifestations.

scholarly journals Is social camouflaging associated with anxiety and depression in autistic adults?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Hull ◽  
Lily Levy ◽  
Meng-Chuan Lai ◽  
K. V. Petrides ◽  
Simon Baron-Cohen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Anxiety Depression

Abstract Background There is inconsistent evidence for a clear pattern of association between ‘camouflaging’ (strategies used to mask and/or compensate for autism characteristics during social interactions) and mental health. Methods This study explored the relationship between self-reported camouflaging and generalised anxiety, depression, and social anxiety in a large sample of autistic adults and, for the first time, explored the moderating effect of gender, in an online survey. Results Overall, camouflaging was associated with greater symptoms of generalised anxiety, depression, and social anxiety, although only to a small extent beyond the contribution of autistic traits and age. Camouflaging more strongly predicted generalised and social anxiety than depression. No interaction between camouflaging and gender was found. Limitations These results cannot be generalised to autistic people with intellectual disability, or autistic children and young people. The sample did not include sufficient numbers of non-binary people to run separate analyses; therefore, it is possible that camouflaging impacts mental health differently in this population. Conclusions The findings suggest that camouflaging is a risk factor for mental health problems in autistic adults without intellectual disability, regardless of gender. We also identified levels of camouflaging at which risk of mental health problems is highest, suggesting clinicians should be particularly aware of mental health problems in those who score at or above these levels.

scholarly journals SOCIAL STATUS AND GUT MICROBIAL DYSBIOSIS IN ADULTS AND CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS: A PROFOUND REVIEW OF THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE SOURCES

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 3939-3946
Author(s):  
Sevginar Ibryamova ◽  
◽  
Veselin Petkov ◽  
Tsveteslava Ignatova-Ivanova ◽  
Georgi Kolev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Microbial Dysbiosis ◽  
Gastrointestinal Problems ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Autism is a complex disorder without a specific diagnosis, so the disease is defined by its specific characteristics described in the literature as cognitive defects, social, communication and behavioral problems, repetitive behaviors, unusual sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, restricted interests, and self stimulation. There are many models in the literature explaining the biology of autism, which are based on genetics, immunity, various environmental factors and diet. There is a lot of literature data that people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often have gastrointestinal problems that also affect their behavior. ASD suffer developmental disabilities from an early age, which can be both physical and psychological. Often people suffer these problems even throughout their lives. This review aims to provide basic information on definitions, historical data, diagnostic methods, behavioral etiology, gastrointestinal and social problems in adults and children with ASD.

scholarly journals Complete Dental Management of an Autism and Intellectual Disability Patient under General Anaesthesia: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Nadia Firsty ◽  
Nailur Rahmy Wahdany ◽  
Dian Lupita Sari ◽  
Yesri Sasmita Purba ◽  
Tania Saskianti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
General Anaesthesia ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Recurrent Pain ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Posterior Teeth ◽  
Dental Management ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
Patient Cooperation

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviours. Comorbidities following ASD, such as seizure, intellectual disability, and sensory impairment worsen patients’ ability to care for themselves. We present the case of a 22-year-old man with autism, intellectual disability and visual impairment who had recurrent pain in his upper and lower left posterior teeth that had cavities. On the first visit, the patient was observed and had panoramic x-ray. Clinical examination could not be done properly due to lack of patient cooperation. Restoration, pulp capping, tooth extraction, and odontectomy were planned under general anaesthesia.

scholarly journals Linking Autism Risk Genes to Disruption of Cortical Development

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2500
Author(s):  
Marta Garcia-Forn ◽  
Andrea Boitnott ◽  
Zeynep Akpinar ◽  
Silvia De Rubeis
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Cortical Development ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Risk Genes ◽  
Whole Exome

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and social interaction, and the presence of repetitive behaviors and/or restricted interests. In the past few years, large-scale whole-exome sequencing and genome-wide association studies have made enormous progress in our understanding of the genetic risk architecture of ASD. While showing a complex and heterogeneous landscape, these studies have led to the identification of genetic loci associated with ASD risk. The intersection of genetic and transcriptomic analyses have also begun to shed light on functional convergences between risk genes, with the mid-fetal development of the cerebral cortex emerging as a critical nexus for ASD. In this review, we provide a concise summary of the latest genetic discoveries on ASD. We then discuss the studies in postmortem tissues, stem cell models, and rodent models that implicate recently identified ASD risk genes in cortical development.

scholarly journals A ‘choice’, an ‘addiction’, a way ‘out of the lost’: exploring self-injury in autistic people without intellectual disability

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Moseley ◽  
N. J. Gregory ◽  
P. Smith ◽  
C. Allison ◽  
S. Baron-Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Autistic People

Epilepsy in adulthood: Prevalence, incidence, and associated antiepileptic drug use in autistic adults in a state Medicaid system

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132094298
Author(s):  
Lauren Bishop ◽  
Kiley J McLean ◽  
Eric Rubenstein
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Antiepileptic Drug ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Antiepileptic Medications ◽  
Incident Cases

Although epilepsy commonly presents with autism in children, it is currently unknown whether established estimates represent the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in autistic adults. Our objective was to use population-level Medicaid data to determine prevalence, incidence, and antiepileptic drug use associated with epilepsy in a unique population of autistic adults aged 21+ with (N = 2738) and without (N = 4775) intellectual disability and to compare results to adults with intellectual disability alone (N = 18,429). We found that 34.6% of autistic adults with intellectual disability and 11.1% of autistic adults without intellectual disability had epilepsy, compared to 27.0% of adults with intellectual disability alone. New incidence of epilepsy was 23.6 incident cases per 1000 person years (95% confidence interval: 21.3, 26.2) in autistic adults with intellectual disability, 7.7 incident cases per 1000 person years (95% confidence interval: 6.6, 8.9) in autistic adults without intellectual disability, and 15.9 incident cases per 1000 person years (95% confidence interval: 15.2, 16.7) in adults with intellectual disability alone. Female sex and intellectual disability were associated with increased risk of prevalent and incident epilepsy in autistic adults. Findings underscore the importance of treating prevalent epilepsy and screening and preventing incident epilepsy in autistic adults as they age. Lay abstract Epilepsy is more common in autistic children compared to children without autism, but we do not have good estimates of how many autistic adults have epilepsy. We used data from a full population of 7513 autistic adults who received Medicaid in Wisconsin to figure out the proportion of autistic adults who have epilepsy, as compared to 18,429 adults with intellectual disability. We also wanted to assess how often epilepsy is first diagnosed in adulthood. Finally, we wanted to see whether antiepileptic drugs are being used to treat epilepsy in autistic adults. We found that 34.6% of autistic adults with intellectual disability and 11.1% of autistic adults without intellectual disability had epilepsy, compared to 27.0% of adults with intellectual disability alone. Autistic women and autistic adults with intellectual disability were more likely than autistic men and autistic adults without intellectual disability to have both previous and new diagnoses of epilepsy. Finally, we found that antiepileptic medications are commonly prescribed to autistic people who do not have epilepsy potentially to treat mental health conditions or behavior problems, and that antiepileptic medications are not always prescribed to autistic people with epilepsy even though they are indicated as a first-line epilepsy treatment. The findings of this study highlight the need to effectively treat and prevent epilepsy in autistic adults.

scholarly journals Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children and Adolescents With Fragile X Syndrome: Within-Syndrome Differences and Age-Related Changes

2010 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea McDuffie ◽  
Leonard Abbeduto ◽  
Pamela Lewis ◽  
Sara Kover ◽  
Jee-Seon Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Fragile X Syndrome ◽  
Fragile X ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Autism Symptoms ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Reciprocal Social Interaction ◽  
Age Related Changes

Abstract The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) was used to examine diagnostic profiles and age-related changes in autism symptoms for a group of verbal children and adolescents who had fragile X syndrome, with and without autism. After controlling for nonverbal IQ, we found statistically significant between-group differences for lifetime and current autism symptoms for the Communication and Restricted Interests/Repetitive Behaviors domains, but not the Reciprocal Social Interaction domain. Effect sizes for differences in Reciprocal Social Interaction also were smaller than effect sizes for the other domains, with one exception. Overall, severity of autism symptoms improved with age for all participants, with the least improvement noted for Restricted Interests and Repetitive Behaviors. FMRP did not account for unique variance in autism symptoms over and above nonverbal IQ.

scholarly journals Translational animal models of autism and neurodevelopmental disorders

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-305 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Models ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Gene Mutations ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Restricted Interests ◽  
Homologous Genes ◽  
Biological Outcomes

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose diagnosis is based on three behavioral criteria: unusual reciprocal social interactions, deficits in communication, and stereotyped repetitive behaviors with restricted interests. A large number of de novo single gene mutations and chromosomal deletions are associated with autism spectrum disorders. Based on the strong genetic evidence, mice with targeted mutations in homologous genes have been generated as translational research tools. Mouse models of autism have revealed behavioral and biological outcomes of mutations in risk genes. The field is now poised to employ the most robust phenotypes in the most replicable mouse models for preclinical screening of novel therapeutics.

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