scholarly journals Inversion effects in the perception of the moving human form: A comparison of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing adolescents

Autism ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 943-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Cleary ◽  
Kathy Looney ◽  
Nuala Brady ◽  
Michael Fitzgerald

The “body inversion effect” refers to superior recognition of upright than inverted images of the human body and indicates typical configural processing. Previous research by Reed et al. using static images of the human body shows that people with autism fail to demonstrate this effect. Using a novel task in which adults, adolescents with autism, and typically developing adolescents judged whether walking stick figures—created from biological motion recordings and shown at seven orientations between 0° and 180°—were normal or distorted, this study shows clear effects of stimulus inversion. Reaction times and “inverse efficiency” increased with orientation for normal but not distorted walkers, and sensitivity declined with rotation from upright for all groups. Notably, the effect of stimulus inversion was equally detrimental to both groups of adolescents suggesting intact configural processing of the body in motion in autism spectrum disorder.

Autism ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M McCoy ◽  
Kristen Morgan

Decreased engagement in beneficial physical activity and increased levels of sedentary behavior and unhealthy weight are a continued public health concern in adolescents. Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder may be at an increased risk compared with their typically developing peers. Weekly physical activity, sedentary behavior, and body mass index classification were compared among adolescents with and without autism spectrum disorder. Analyses included 33,865 adolescents (autism spectrum disorder, n = 1036) from the 2016–2017 National Survey of Children’s Health (United States). After adjustment for covariates, adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were found to engage in less physical activity and were more likely to be overweight and obese compared with their typically developing peers ( p’s < 0.05). As parent-reported autism spectrum disorder severity increased, the adjusted odds of being overweight and obese significantly increased and physical activity participation decreased ( p-for-trends < 0.001). The findings suggest there is a need for targeted programs to decrease unhealthy weight status and support physical activity opportunities for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder across the severity spectrum.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (02) ◽  
pp. 45-55
Author(s):  
Nevzat DEMİRCİ ◽  
Diajeng Tyas Pinru Phytanza

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be at higher risk compared to their typically developing peers. In this study, it was aimed to compare individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder affected by the Covid-19 pandemic process with their peers in terms of obesity, physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Methods: 64 individuals with ASD and 78 healthy individuals were included in the study. An online questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic data, BMI, physical activity and sedentary behavior habits was applied to the participants. Results: Adolescents with autism spectrum disorders were found to be less physically active and more likely to be overweight and obese compared to their typically developing peers (0.001***). BMI (kg/m2) increased compared to before Covid-19. Sedentary behavior increased during quarantine (0.001***). Participation in physical activity decreased in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. As a result: shows the need for targeted programs to reduce unhealthy weight status and support physical activity opportunities for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, COVID-19, Obesity, physical activity, Sedentary Behaviors


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Peprah Opoku ◽  
William Nketsia ◽  
J-F ◽  
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah ◽  
Elvis Agyei-Okyere ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study is to assess the intention of typically developing peers towards learning in the classroom with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In developing countries, such as Ghana, the body of literature on the relationship between students with disabilities and typically developing peers has been sparsely studied. Using Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical framework for this study, 516 typically developing students completed four scales representing belief constructs, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural controls (self-efficacy), hypothesised to predict behavioural intention. The data were subjected to a t-test, analysis of variance, and structural equation modelling. The modelling confirmed the combining ability of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural controls to predict intention. We conclude by revealing the need for policymakers to consider designing programmes aimed towards promoting social relationships between students with ASD and typically developing peers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liron Lamash ◽  
Gary Bedell ◽  
Naomi Josman

Introduction Although participation is an important outcome of rehabilitation interventions and a critical indicator of quality of life, few studies have focused on the participation patterns of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in their daily activities or the environmental factors that influence such participation. This study aims to describe the participation characteristics of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder compared with typically developing peers in home, school and community and to identify supporting or hindering environmental features. Method The Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth was administered to 59 parents of adolescents ( M = 14.51 years) with autism spectrum disorder and a control group of 188 parents of typically developing adolescents in Israel, and the results were compared. Results Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder showed lower participation levels at home and school, and much lower levels in the community, preferring solitary activities that involve technology. Their typically developing peers participated in more activities that involved social interaction skill. In addition, parents of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder rated more environmental factors as barriers in all environments. Conclusion Participation gaps between adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and their typically developing peers should be considered when developing interventions, allocating services and creating policies to meet the unique needs of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Stanish ◽  
Carol Curtin ◽  
Aviva Must ◽  
Sarah Phillips ◽  
Melissa Maslin ◽  
...  

The authors compared physical activity enjoyment, perceived barriers, beliefs, and self-efficacy between adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) adolescents. A questionnaire was verbally administered to 35 adolescents with ASD and 60 TD adolescents. Compared with TD adolescents, fewer adolescents with ASD enjoyed team sports (65% vs. 95%, p < .001) and physical education (84% vs. 98%, p = .02). A greater proportion of adolescents with ASD perceived that physical activities were too hard to learn (16% vs. 0%, p < .01), and fewer believed that physical activity was a way to make friends (68% vs. 97%, p < .001). Fewer adolescents with ASD preferred to do physical activity in their free time (25% vs. 58%, p < .01). Most adolescents with ASD felt that physical activity is fun (84%), but the proportion was lower than in TD adolescents (98%, p = .03). Some perceptions about physical activity were similar between the 2 groups, but differences identified may inform program development.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 239694151876123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Jensen de López ◽  
Kristen Schroeder ◽  
Anna Gavarró

Background and aims Language abilities vary greatly across children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In the present study, we investigate passive sentence comprehension, which has been underexplored among individuals with autism spectrum disorders and found to be delayed among other clinical populations. This study is the first to assess grammatical comprehension among Danish-speaking adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Methods Fifteen Danish-speaking adolescents with autism (mean age: 14.9 years; age range: 13–18 years) participated in a picture selection task assessing comprehension of passive sentences relative to active sentences. We compared our findings for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders to those of 15 typically developing Danish-speaking adolescents matched for age and nonverbal reasoning as measured by the Matrix subtest of the WISC-IV/WAIS-IV. We also analyzed associations between passive comprehension and nonverbal reasoning. Results The results showed ceiling effects for both groups on all sentence types indicating that Danish adolescents with autism spectrum disorders do not face problems comprehending passive sentences. However, when considering variation within the autism spectrum disorder group, correct passive comprehension was highly significantly associated with nonverbal reasoning for the autism spectrum disorder group ( r = .75), while this was not the case for the typically developing adolescents. Analyses of the few errors produced showed a preference for Theta-role reversal errors in the autism spectrum disorder and the typically developing groups. Conclusions Danish-speaking adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders do not show impairment in passive sentence comprehension. Correlation analyses however show that for adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, passive sentence comprehension is associated with nonverbal reasoning. We discuss how these results can be viewed as consistent with the few previous studies on passive comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Implications Our study provides additional cross-linguistic evidence that passive comprehension is not problematic for individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. The finding of the relationship between nonverbal reasoning and passive sentence comprehension may inform clinical best practices as children with autism spectrum disorders who underperform in measures of nonverbal reasoning may benefit from additional receptive language screening.


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