Context counts

Gesture ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley B. de Marchena ◽  
Inge-Marie Eigsti
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Communicative Gestures ◽  
Social Communicative

Co-speech gestures in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are poorly understood. Historically, all gestures were thought to be reduced in this social-communicative disorder; however, reduced gestures have not been consistently demonstrated in the empirical literature. Just as protodeclarative pointing is reduced in young children with ASD, while protoimperative pointing is not, the varied functions of co-speech gesture may explain these mixed findings. Verbally fluent adolescents with ASD (n = 18) and controls (n = 18) completed a narrative task and a standardized executive function task. Gestures on the narrative task, which serve a wide range of social and cognitive functions, were reduced in ASD. Gestures on the executive function task, which serve primarily cognitive functions, were increased in ASD. Gesture function may be the best predictor of the presence or absence of gesture in ASD. Despite reduced social-communicative gestures, individuals with ASD may benefit from gesture’s internal, cognitive functions.

Executive Function, Social Emotional Learning, and Social Competence in School-Aged Boys With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 265-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Berard ◽  
Lynn Loutzenhiser ◽  
Phillip R. Sevigny ◽  
Dennis P. Alfano
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Social Competence ◽  
Social Emotional Learning ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Child Social Competence ◽  
Children With Asd

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an aetiologically complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social functioning. Children with ASD display a wide range of social competence and more variability in social domains as compared with either communication or repetitive behaviour domains. There is limited understanding of factors that contribute to the heterogeneity of social abilities in ASD. A modified version of McKown and colleagues’ social competence model was used to examine social competence in 49 8- to 13-year-old boys with ASD without cognitive disability. The relations between executive function (EF), social emotional learning (SEL), and parent reports of child social competence were examined. Results showed that EF but not SEL predicted parent-reported child social competence. Although many interventions target SEL skills, these findings support specifically targeting EF in both assessment and interventions of school-aged 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.

Evaluating response to group CBT in young children with autism spectrum disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna Swain ◽  
Haley G. Murphy ◽  
Tyler A. Hassenfeldt ◽  
Jill Lorenzi ◽  
Angela Scarpa
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Treatment Responder ◽  
Group Cbt

AbstractMany children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties with negative affect. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been successfully adapted for individuals with ASD to treat these difficulties. In a wait-list control study, for example, group analyses showed promising results for young children with ASD using a developmentally adapted group CBT approach. This report examined response to group CBT in terms of individual-level change in young children with ASD. Eighteen children with ASD, aged 5–7 years, and their respective parents participated in treatment. Parents completed pre- and post-treatment measures of negative affect and related behaviours. Treatment responders and non-responders were grouped based on significant treatment outcomes as assessed by statistically significant change for lability/negativity and 20% decrease in intensity, duration or frequency of emotional outbursts. Results indicated that 67% of children met criteria as a treatment responder, showing meaningful improvement in at least two outcome measures. No significant group differences emerged for initial characteristics before treatment. Wilcoxon signed rank tests determined pre-/post-treatment change in parental confidence for each treatment responder group. Results indicated statistically significant increase for the treatment responder group in parent-reported confidence in their own ability and in their child's ability to manage the child's anger and anxiety, but these results were not significant for the treatment non-responder group. Results provide additional evidence that CBT can significantly decrease expressions of anger/anxiety in children with ASD as young as 5 years, yet also suggest need for further improvement.

scholarly journals Anomalies in uncinate fasciculus development and social defects in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Li ◽  
Zhengbing Zhou ◽  
Chen Chang ◽  
Lu Qian ◽  
Chunyan Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Deficits ◽  
Uncinate Fasciculus ◽  
Social Deficit ◽  
Children With Asd

Abstract Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have social interaction deficits and difficulties in emotional regulation. The neural substrates for these socio-affective deficits are not yet clear, but one potential candidate is maldevelopment of the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a white matter tract thought to be involved in socio-affective processing. However, the developmental trajectory of the UF in young children with social interaction deficits has not been examined. The present study was designed to describe the developmental growth trajectory of the UF and the relationships between UF development and social deficits in ASD. Methods Eigenvalues of the UF were measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-based tractography in 37 children with ASD and 27 matched 2–3-year-old subjects with developmental delay (DD) at baseline (time 1) and at 2-year follow-up (time 2). Growth rates of the UF were compared between groups and associations with social deficit scores according to the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) analyzed by Pearson’s correlations. Results At time 1, axial diffusivity (AD) of the left UF was significantly larger in the ASD group than the DD group. At time 2, left UF fractional anisotropy (FA) was significantly higher and radial diffusivity (RD) significantly lower in the ASD group than the DD group. The rate of UF growth during this 2-year interval was faster in children with ASD than DD. Significant negative correlations were found between the rise in ADI-R social deficit measures and both right UF RD and left UF mean diffusivity (MD). Conclusions Young children with ASD demonstrate UF overgrowth during the 2-year development period between 2 and 3 and 4–5 years of age, and this white matter abnormality is directly associated with the progression of social deficits. Trial registration World Health Organization class I registered international clinical trial platform, ChiCTR-ROC-17012877.

Play and Communication in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca G. Lieberman ◽  
Paul Yoder
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intentional Communication ◽  
Object Play ◽  
Children With Asd

The association between object play and intentional communication was examined in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Meta-analysis of concurrent and longitudinal correlational studies revealed significant associations between object play and intentional communication in young children with ASD. One well-conducted and internally valid, randomized, controlled trial suggests a bidirectional causal relationship between object play and intentional communication. Further experiments are needed to replicate these findings and test a play-as-stronger-cause hypothesis. Findings of the review have implications for development and implementation of effective interventions for young children with ASD when communication is the target and play serves as the context for intervention strategies. One model for conceptualization of treatment is proposed.

scholarly journals Young children with autism spectrum disorder use predictive eye movements in action observation

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terje Falck-Ytter
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Mirror Neuron System ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Human Agent ◽  
Children With Asd

Does a dysfunction in the mirror neuron system (MNS) underlie the social symptoms defining autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Research suggests that the MNS matches observed actions to motor plans for similar actions, and that these motor plans include directions for predictive eye movements when observing goal-directed actions. Thus, one important question is whether children with ASD use predictive eye movements in action observation. Young children with ASD as well as typically developing children and adults were shown videos in which an actor performed object-directed actions (human agent condition). Children with ASD were also shown control videos showing objects moving by themselves (self-propelled condition). Gaze was measured using a corneal reflection technique. Children with ASD and typically developing individuals used strikingly similar goal-directed eye movements when observing others’ actions in the human agent condition. Gaze was reactive in the self-propelled condition, suggesting that prediction is linked to seeing a hand–object interaction. This study does not support the view that ASD is characterized by a global dysfunction in the MNS.

scholarly journals Fathers' and Mothers' Verbal Responsiveness and the Language Skills of Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Flippin ◽  
Linda R. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Child Cognition ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Young Children With Autism ◽  
Verbal Responsiveness

Purpose In this observational study, we examined the interactions of 16 young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their parents to investigate (a) differences in verbal responsiveness used by fathers and mothers in interactions with their children with ASD and (b) concurrent associations between the language skills of children with ASD and the verbal responsiveness of both fathers and mothers. Method Parent verbal responsiveness was coded from video recordings of naturalistic parent–child play sessions using interval-based coding. Child language skills were measured by the Preschool Language Scale–Fourth Edition (Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002). Results For both fathers and mothers, parent verbal responsiveness was positively associated with child language skills. Mothers' responsiveness was also significantly associated with child cognition. After controlling for child cognition, fathers' verbal responsiveness continued to be significantly related to child language skills. Conclusions Although other studies have documented associations between mothers' responsiveness and child language, this is the 1st study to document a significant concurrent association between child language skills of children with ASD and the verbal responsiveness of fathers. Findings of this study warrant the inclusion of fathers in future research on language development and intervention to better understand the potential contributions fathers may make to language growth for children with ASD over time as well as to determine whether coaching fathers to use responsive verbal strategies can improve language outcomes for children with ASD.

scholarly journals Neural oscillation coupling selectively predicts speech reception in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyue Wang ◽  
Jaime Fernando Delgado Saa ◽  
Silvia Marchesotti ◽  
Nada Kojovic ◽  
Holger Franz Sperdin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Beta Activity ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Very Young Children

Communication difficulties in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involve a speech reception deficit, whose biological causes are not yet identified. This deficit could denote atypical neuronal ensemble activity, as reflected by neural oscillations. Atypical cross-frequency oscillation coupling in particular could disrupt the possibility to jointly track and predict dynamic acoustic stimuli, a dual process that is essential for speech comprehension. Whether such oscillation anomalies can already be found in very young children with ASD, and with what specificity they relate to individual language reception capacity is unknown. In this study, neural activity was collected using EEG in 64 very young children with and without ASD (mean age 3) while they were exposed to naturalistic-continuous speech via an age-appropriate cartoon. EEG power typically associated with phrase-level chunking (delta, 1-3Hz), phonemic encoding (low-gamma, 25-35Hz) and top-down control (beta, 12-20Hz) was markedly reduced in ASD relative to typically developing (TD) children. Speech neural-tracking by delta and theta oscillations was also weaker in ASD than TD children. Critically, children with ASD exhibited slightly atypical theta/gamma coupling (PAC) involving a higher-than-normal gamma frequency, and markedly atypical beta/gamma PAC. Even though many oscillation features were atypical in our sample of 31 very young children with ASD, the beta/gamma coupling anomaly was the single best predictor of individual speech reception difficulties. These findings suggest that early interventions targeting the normalization of low-gamma and low-beta activity, might help young children with ASD to engage more in oral interactions.

scholarly journals Cognitive Underpinnings of Symbolic Pretend Play and Impossible Entity Drawings:  Imaginative Ability in Typical Development and Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Steven Den-Kaat
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Pretend Play ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Belief Theory

<p>The individual differences in imagination ability in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were tested in a sample of 14 children with ASD and 14 matched typically developing (TD) children. Analysis was conducted on the extent of imagination in symbolic pretend play and impossible entity drawings. Aside from difficulties with imagination, children with ASD showed significant group deficits in executive function (generativity, visuospatial planning and cognitive flexibility) and false belief theory of mind understanding. Amongst children with ASD, executive function abilities (generativity and visuospatial planning) related to imaginative play and drawings. In contrast, amongst participants in the TD group, a mixture of both executive function (cognitive flexibility) and false belief theory of mind understanding predicted imaginative ability. These results are discussed in terms of how executive control plays a broad and important role in imaginative ability across groups, but the contributions appear to be expressed and routed differently in ASD. The discussion also highlights the theoretical implications of not having theory of mind that underpin imagination in ASD.</p>

scholarly journals Social Communication and pragmatic skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder

CoDAS ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Vasconcelos Rocha Hage ◽  
Lidiane Yumi Sawasaki ◽  
Yvette Hyter ◽  
Fernanda Dreux Miranda Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Pragmatic Language ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Social Communicative

ABSTRACT Purpose to assess the pragmatic and social communicative abilities of children with Typical Language Development (TLD), Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Methods Participants were 40 parents and 29 teachers of 40 children ages between 3 and 6 years. Ten children had DLD, ten had ASD and 20 had typical development. All participants answered to the questionnaire of the “Assessment of Pragmatic Language and Social Communication – APLSC – parent and professional reports – beta research version. Data were submitted to statistical analysis. Results The assessment tool was useful in identifying the difference in performance of children with different social communicative profiles. Conclusion Children with ASD presented social and pragmatic impairments that were more significant than those presented by children with DLD. However, both children with ASD and with DLD presented more social pragmatic difficulties than children with TLD.

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