scholarly journals Sensory Responsiveness Is Linked With Communication in Infant Siblings of Children With and Without Autism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jacob I. Feldman ◽  
Sweeya Raj ◽  
Sarah M. Bowman ◽  
Pooja Santapuram ◽  
Alexandra J. Golden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Communication Skill ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Sensory Responsiveness ◽  
Observational Measure ◽  
Older Sibling

Purpose Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking) may produce “cascading effects” on communication. Evidence for this theory is limited, however, as relations between sensory responsiveness and communication in the earliest stages of development have not been well established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (a) whether infants with a heightened likelihood of autism diagnosis (i.e., infants with an older sibling with autism) differ from infants at general population–level likelihood of autism (i.e., infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) on patterns of sensory responsiveness, (b) whether early sensory responsiveness is correlated with concurrent communication, and (c) whether the aforementioned between-groups differences and associations are moderated by age. Method Participants were 40 infants (20 infants with an older sibling with autism, 20 infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) aged 12–18 months. A series of observational and parent report measures of sensory responsiveness and communication skill were administered. Results Group differences in sensory responsiveness across the 12- to 18-month period were limited (i.e., only observed for one measure of hyporesponsiveness), though selected differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., parent-reported hyperresponsiveness and sensory seeking) emerged between groups over this developmental window. Parent-reported hyporesponsiveness was unconditionally, negatively associated with communication skills. Associations between expressive communication and (a) parent-reported sensory seeking and (b) an observational measure of hyperresponsiveness were moderated by age. Conclusions This study provides new insights into the nature of sensory responsiveness and theorized links with communication skill in infants at elevated and general population–level likelihood of autism diagnosis. Further work is needed to better characterize the effects of interest in a larger sample spanning a wider age range. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14515542

scholarly journals Relations between Sensory Responsiveness and Features of Autism in Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 775
Author(s):  
Jacob Feldman ◽  
Margaret Cassidy ◽  
Yupeng Liu ◽  
Anne Kirby ◽  
Mark Wallace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Sensory Responsiveness ◽  
Ability Groups ◽  
Patterns Of Behavior ◽  
Internalizing Problem ◽  
Core Features

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition defined by differences in social communication and by the presence of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities (RRBs). Individuals with autism also commonly present with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking), which are theorized to produce cascading effects across other domains of development. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in sensory responsiveness in children with and without autism (ages 8–18 years), as well as relations between patterns of sensory responsiveness and core and related features of autism. Participants were 50 children with autism and 50 non-autistic peers matched on age and sex. A comprehensive clinical battery included multiple measures of sensory responsiveness, core features of autism, adaptive behavior, internalizing behaviors, cognitive ability, and language ability. Groups significantly differed on all three patterns of sensory responsiveness. Some indices of core and related autism features were robustly associated with all three patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., RRBs), while others were more strongly associated with discrete patterns of sensory responsiveness (i.e., internalizing problem behaviors and hyperresponsiveness, language and sensory seeking). This study extends prior work to show that differences in sensory responsiveness that are linked with core and related features of autism persist in older children and adolescents on the spectrum.

scholarly journals Children with ASD at heightened risk for maltreatment

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
General Population ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
University Of South Carolina ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The University

A study conducted by researchers at the University of South Carolina is the first to provide empirical evidence from population-level data that maltreatment is elevated in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to the general population.

Caffeine intake reduces incident atrial fibrillation at a population level

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1055-1062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Casiglia ◽  
Valérie Tikhonoff ◽  
Federica Albertini ◽  
Federica Gasparotti ◽  
Alberto Mazza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
General Population ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Caffeine Intake ◽  
General Belief ◽  
The Third ◽  
Chronic Caffeine ◽  
Artery Disease ◽  
Cox Analysis

Background The general belief is that caffeine increases the risk of hyperkinetic arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of chronic caffeine intake on incident atrial fibrillation in general population. Design and methods A population cohort of 1475 unselected men and women observed for 12 years and left free to intake food or beverages containing caffeine was studied. Subjects were stratified into tertiles of caffeine intake both in the whole cohort and after genotyping for the –163C > A polymorphism of the CYP1A2 gene, regulating caffeine metabolism. Results In the whole cohort, the 12-year incidence of atrial fibrillation was significantly lower in the third (2.2%) than in the first (10.2%) or second (5.7%) tertile of caffeine intake ( P < 0.001). The same trend was observed in all genotypes; the apparently steeper reduction of atrial fibrillation in slow caffeine metabolisers found at univariate analysis was proved wrong by multivariate Cox analysis. Age, chronic pulmonary disease, history of heart failure and of coronary artery disease, and systolic blood pressure − but not the genotype or the caffeine ×  CYP1A2 interaction term − were significant confounders of the association between incident atrial fibrillation and being in the third tertile of caffeine intake (hazard ratio 0.249, 95% confidence intervals 0.161–0.458, P < 0.01). Conclusions A higher caffeine intake (>165 mmol/day or > 320 mg/day) is associated with a lower incidence of atrial fibrillation in the 12-year epidemiological prospective setting based on the general population.

scholarly journals Methodology of Natsal-COVID Wave 1: a large, quasi-representative survey with qualitative follow-up measuring the impact of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health in Britain

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Emily Dema ◽  
Andrew J Copas ◽  
Soazig Clifton ◽  
Anne Conolly ◽  
Margaret Blake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
The Impact

Background: Britain’s National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) have been undertaken decennially since 1990 and provide a key data source underpinning sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policy. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of sexual lifestyles, triggering an urgent need for population-level data on sexual behaviour, relationships, and service use at a time when gold-standard in-person, household-based surveys with probability sampling were not feasible. We designed the Natsal-COVID study to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s SRH and assessed the sample representativeness. Methods: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 data collection was conducted four months (29/7-10/8/2020) after the announcement of Britain’s first national lockdown (23/03/2020). This was an online web-panel survey administered by survey research company, Ipsos MORI. Eligible participants were resident in Britain, aged 18-59 years, and the sample included a boost of those aged 18-29. Questions covered participants’ sexual behaviour, relationships, and SRH service use. Quotas and weighting were used to achieve a quasi-representative sample of the British general population. Participants meeting criteria of interest and agreeing to recontact were selected for qualitative follow-up interviews. Comparisons were made with contemporaneous national probability surveys and Natsal-3 (2010-12) to understand bias. Results: 6,654 participants completed the survey and 45 completed follow-up interviews. The weighted Natsal-COVID sample was similar to the general population in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, rurality, and, among sexually-active participants, numbers of sexual partners in the past year. However, the sample was more educated, contained more sexually-inexperienced people, and included more people in poorer health. Conclusions: Natsal-COVID Wave 1 rapidly collected quasi-representative population data to enable evaluation of the early population-level impact of COVID-19 and lockdown measures on SRH in Britain and inform policy. Although sampling was less representative than the decennial Natsals, Natsal-COVID will complement national surveillance data and Natsal-4 (planned for 2022).

scholarly journals Effects of pivotal response treatment on reciprocal vocal contingency in a randomized controlled trial of children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1566-1571
Author(s):  
Jena McDaniel ◽  
Paul Yoder ◽  
Madison Crandall ◽  
Maria Estefania Millan ◽  
Christina Mich Ardel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Pivotal Response Treatment ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Parent Child Interaction ◽  
Treatment Package

A pivotal response treatment package consisting of clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies was recently found to be effective in improving language and social communication deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder. Reciprocal vocal contingency, an automated measure of vocal reciprocity, may provide stronger and complementary evidence of the effects of the pivotal response treatment package. Reciprocal vocal contingency is derived through an automated process from daylong audio samples from the child’s natural environment. Therefore, reciprocal vocal contingency is at lower risk for detection bias than parent report and brief parent–child interaction measures. Although differences were non-significant at baseline and after 12 weeks of intervention for the 48 children with autism spectrum disorder who were randomly assigned to the pivotal response treatment package or a delayed treatment control group, the pivotal response treatment package group had higher ranked reciprocal vocal contingency scores than the control group after 24 weeks ( U = 125, p = .04). These findings are consistent with results from parent report and parent–child interaction measures obtained during the trial. The participants in the pivotal response treatment package exhibited greater vocal responsiveness to adult vocal responses to their vocalizations than the control group. Findings support the effectiveness of the pivotal response treatment package on vocal reciprocity of children with autism spectrum disorder, which may be a pivotal skill for language development. Lay abstract A recent randomized controlled trial found that children with autism spectrum disorder who received a pivotal response treatment package showed improved language and social communication skills following the intervention. The pivotal response treatment package includes clinician-delivered and parent-implemented strategies. Reciprocal vocal contingency is an automated measure of vocal reciprocity derived from daylong audio samples from the child’s natural environment. It may provide stronger and complementary evidence of the effects of the pivotal response treatment package because it is at lower risk for detection bias than parent report and brief parent–child interaction measures. The current study compared reciprocal vocal contingency for 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the pivotal response treatment package group and 24 children with autism spectrum disorder in the control group. The pivotal response treatment package group received 24 weeks of the pivotal response treatment package intervention. The control group received their usual intervention services during that time. The groups did not differ in reciprocal vocal contingency when the intervention started or after 12 weeks of intervention. However, after 24 weeks the pivotal response treatment package group had higher ranked reciprocal vocal contingency scores than the control group. These findings are consistent with results from parent report and parent–child interaction measures obtained during the trial. The participants in the pivotal response treatment package exhibited greater vocal responsiveness to adult vocal responses to their vocalizations than the control group. Findings support the effectiveness of the pivotal response treatment package on vocal reciprocity of children with autism spectrum disorder, which may be a pivotal skill for language development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document