Shared intentionality in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

It is well documented that the ability and motivation to engage with others in collaborative activities with joint goals and shared intentions is the foundation of human uniqueness. However, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show difficulties in sharing their motives, intentions, and emotions with others about topics in the environment and manifest low levels of engagement. The purpose of the present study was to compare the level of intentionality and social engagement in 10 children with ASD and 10 typically developing (TD) children, matched for mental age, during free play interactions with their mothers. Children were video recorded while playing with their mothers in a naturalistic condition with toys provided by the researcher. For the microanalysis of the video recordings the EUDICO Linguistic Annotator was used, which permits the analysis of joint behaviors and captures subtle qualitative differences in social engagement. Results indicated that children with ASD showed deficits in joint attention, exhibited no functional play and employed less communicative gestures than their peers in the comparison group. These differences between the two groups in their mode of communication led to the emergence of two distinct patterns of engagement which depict the different level of intentionality that these groups have in sharing their experiences during mother-child interactions. These representative patterns of interaction can be used as a potential tool for early identification of children at risk of ASD well before other behaviors become fully manifested.

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Theory of Mind Deficit is Associated with Pretend Play Performance, but not Playfulness, in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy ◽

10.1016/j.hkjot.2016.09.002 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 43-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ping-Chen Chan ◽

Cheng-Te Chen ◽

Hua Feng ◽

Ya-Chen Lee ◽

Kuan-Lin Chen

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Internal Control ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Pretend Play ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Free Play ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Asd

Objective/Background This study aimed to examine the relationships of theory of mind (ToM) to both pretend play and playfulness in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods Twenty children with ASD aged between 3 years and 7.11 years were assessed with the ToM test, and then placed in a free play condition and a pretend play condition to assess pretend play and playfulness with the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment and Test of Playfulness, respectively. In addition, the children's symptom severities of ASD and verbal abilities were also assessed with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test—second edition, respectively. Results The results of the regression analysis confirmed that ToM significantly predicted pretend play variables, namely, Number of Object Substitutions (R2 = .158, p = .002) and Number of Imitated Actions (R2 = .175, p = .001), but not playfulness. The CARS score was a significant predictor of the Percentage of Elaborate Pretend Play Actions of pretend play (R2 = .075, p = .034), as well as the internal control (R2 = .125, p = .006) and framing (R2 = .071, p = .039) variables of playfulness. Conclusion The findings support the idea that children with ASD who have better ToM might be able to develop better pretend play, but not better playfulness, which might be more strongly related to their autistic severity.

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Parents’ Perceptions of Early Interventions and Related Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Saudi Arabia

International Education Studies ◽

10.5539/ies.v9n10p128 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 128 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Faihan Alotaibi ◽

Nabil Almalki

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Saudi Arabia ◽

Early Intervention ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Early Interventions ◽

Related Services ◽

Children With Asd ◽

The Government

<p class="apa">The present study sought to examine parents’ perceptions of early interventions and related services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. In this study a survey was distributed to a sample of 80 parents with children who have ASD. Parents also were asked open-ended questions to enable them to provide suggestions. The findings indicate that parents have varying perceptions of early interventions and related services. However, they seem to agree that these services are important in assisting their children. Accordingly, parents have suggested that the government needs to increase these services by providing more centers for children with ASD in Saudi Arabia, providing more specialists to deal with children with ASD, promoting inclusion in regular schools and providing more information on early intervention.</p>

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Implication of the Sensory Environment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Perspectives from School

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18147670 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 7670

Author(s):

Ana Gentil-Gutiérrez ◽

José Luis Cuesta-Gómez ◽

Paula Rodríguez-Fernández ◽

Jerónimo Javier González-Bernal

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sensory Processing ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Sensory Profile ◽

School Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Children With Asd

(1) Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) frequently have difficulties in processing sensory information, which is a limitation when participating in different contexts, such as school. The objective of the present study was to compare the sensory processing characteristics of children with ASD in the natural context of school through the perception of professionals in the field of education, in comparison with neurodevelopmental children (2) Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study as conducted with study population consisting of children between three and ten years old, 36 of whom were diagnosed with ASD and attended the Autismo Burgos association; the remaining 24 had neurotypical development. The degree of response of the children to sensory stimuli at school was evaluated using the Sensory Profile-2 (SP-2) questionnaire in its school version, answered by the teachers. (3) Results: Statistically significant differences were found in sensory processing patterns (p = 0.001), in sensory systems (p = 0.001) and in school factors (p = 0.001). Children with ASD who obtained worse results. (4) Conclusions: Children with ASD are prone to present sensory alterations in different contexts, giving nonadapted behavioral and learning responses.

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Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition Profiles of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Using a Classification and Regression Trees Analysis

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment ◽

10.1177/07342829211025924 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 073428292110259

Author(s):

Brittany A. Dale ◽

W. Holmes Finch ◽

Kassie A. R. Shellabarger ◽

Andrew Davis

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Language Impairment ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Cart Analysis ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Classification And Regression ◽

Pattern Of Performance

The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) are the most widely used instrument in assessing cognitive ability, especially with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous literature on the WISC has demonstrated a divergent pattern of performance on the WISC for children ASD compared to their typically developing peers; however, there is a lack of research concerning the most recent iteration, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V). Due to the distinctive changes made to the WISC-V, we sought to identify the pattern of performance of children with ASD on the WISC-V using a classification and regression (CART) analysis. The current study used the standardization sample data of the WISC-V obtained from NCS Pearson, Inc. Sixty-two children diagnosed with ASD, along with their demographically matched controls, comprised the sample. Results revealed the Comprehension and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests were the most important factors in predicting group membership for children with ASD with an accompanying language impairment. Children with ASD without an accompanying language impairment, however, were difficult to distinguish from matched controls through the CART analysis. Results suggest school psychologists and other clinicians should administer all primary and supplemental subtests of the WISC-V as part of a comprehensive assessment of ASD.

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Comparative Effects of Picture Symbol With Paired Text and Text-Only Augmentative and Alternative Communication Representations on Communication From Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-20-00099 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 584-597

Author(s):

Christine Holyfield

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

School Age Children ◽

Book Reading ◽

Single Subject ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Children With Asd

Purpose Technology features that maximize communicative benefit while minimizing learning demands must be identified and prioritized to amplify the efficiency and effectiveness of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention. Picture symbols with paired text are a common representation feature in AAC systems for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are preliterate, yet little research about their comparative benefit exists. Method Four school-age children with ASD and limited speech who were preliterate participated in two single-subject studies. In one study, communication of high imageability words (e.g., nouns) on an AAC app during a book-reading activity was compared across two representation conditions: picture symbols with paired text and text only. In the second study, communication of low imageability words (e.g., verbs) was compared. Both studies had baseline, intervention, generalization, and maintenance phases. Results Prior to intervention, participants communicated across both representation conditions at low rates except two participants who were relatively successful using picture symbol with paired text representations of high imageability words. In response to intervention, all participants demonstrated increases in communication across representation conditions and maintained the increases. Participants demonstrated generalization in the text-only representation condition. Conclusions Children with ASD who were preliterate acquired communication at comparable rates regardless of whether an AAC app utilized picture symbol with paired text or text-only representation. Therefore, while larger scale research is needed, clinicians and technology developers could consider increasing the use of text in AAC representation given the inherent value associated with learning to recognize written words. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13661357

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Listening to Bedouin fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder

Transcultural Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/1363461518808148 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (2) ◽

pp. 345-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Iris Manor-Binyamini

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Support Services ◽

Cultural Context ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Raising Children ◽

Cultural Perspectives ◽

Children With Asd

Although children across the world experience autism spectrum disorder (ASD), most research on ASD has been conducted using Western cultural perspectives and has focused primarily on mothers, leaving significant gaps in the literature. This study aimed to address these gaps by exploring the experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in a Bedouin community. To this end, a sample of 19 fathers of children (aged 6–15 years) with ASD living in recognized and unrecognized Bedouin settlements in the Negev participated in ethnographic, semi-structured interviews designed to investigate their experiences with raising a child with ASD in their community. Two major themes emerged: the challenges that Bedouin fathers of children with ASD face, and the influence of socio-demographic and cultural characteristics on their experience. Findings reflect the complex experiences of fathers raising children with ASD in the Bedouin community, stemming from their socio-cultural context and the limited knowledge and support services that are available in the community for these children. This article concludes with recommendations on how to enhance professional sensitivity and provide more culturally tailored services for parents of children with ASD.

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The Role of Occupational Therapy in Managing Food Selectivity of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review

Children ◽

10.3390/children8111024 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. 1024

Author(s):

Laura Reche-Olmedo ◽

Laura Torres-Collado ◽

Laura María Compañ-Gabucio ◽

Manuela Garcia-de-la-Hera

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Occupational Therapy ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Food Selectivity ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Journal Citation Reports ◽

Children With Asd

Food selectivity is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It can be defined as the unwillingness to eat common or new foods, resulting in a lack of variety in the diet or limited food consumption for multiple reasons, such as inflexibility or sensory alterations. We conducted a peer scoping review to describe the interventions that are carried out from occupational therapy (OT) in children with ASD with food selectivity. Two authors independently searched the databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE, as well as the OT journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports. Articles exploring OT interventions in children (≤12 years) with ASD and food selectivity, published in Spanish or English, with experimental design, and with full text available were included. Of the 1445 articles identified, 8 articles met the inclusion criteria. Three main intervention categories were identified: sensory–behavioral, family focused, and other interventions. Most of the interventions from OT were aimed at treating sensory–behavioral aspects. Only three articles described interventions led exclusively by occupational therapists, and the rest were led by a multidisciplinary team. Finally, although these interventions are not exclusive to OT, occupational therapists can participate together with other professionals as an essential component in the treatment of food selectivity in children with ASD.

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Identification of social engagement indicators associated with autism spectrum disorder using a game-based mobile application

10.1101/2021.06.20.21259187 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Maya Varma ◽

Peter Washington ◽

Brianna Chrisman ◽

Aaron Kline ◽

Emilie Leblanc ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Social Engagement ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Computational Techniques ◽

Visual Scanning ◽

Gaze Fixation ◽

Healthcare Needs ◽

Children With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a widespread neurodevelopmental condition with a range of potential causes and symptoms. Children with ASD exhibit behavioral and social impairments, giving rise to the possibility of utilizing computational techniques to evaluate a child's social phenotype from home videos. Here, we use a mobile health application to collect over 11 hours of video footage depicting 95 children engaged in gameplay in a natural home environment. We utilize automated dataset annotations to analyze two social indicators that have previously been shown to differ between children with ASD and their neurotypical (NT) peers: (1) gaze fixation patterns and (2) visual scanning methods. We compare the gaze fixation and visual scanning methods utilized by children during a 90-second gameplay video in order to identify statistically-significant differences between the two cohorts; we then train an LSTM neural network in order to determine if gaze indicators could be predictive of ASD. Our work identifies one statistically significant region of fixation and one significant gaze transition pattern that differ between our two cohorts during gameplay. In addition, our deep learning model demonstrates mild predictive power in identifying ASD based on coarse annotations of gaze fixations. Ultimately, our results demonstrate the utility of game-based mobile health platforms in quantifying visual patterns and providing insights into ASD. We also show the importance of automated labeling techniques in generating large-scale datasets while simultaneously preserving the privacy of participants. Our approaches can generalize to other healthcare needs.

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When Will He Talk? An Evidence-Based Tutorial for Measuring Progress Toward Use of Spoken Words in Preverbal Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2020_ajslp-20-00206 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 1-18

Author(s):

Jena McDaniel ◽

C. Melanie Schuele

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Progress Monitoring ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Therapeutic Setting ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Spoken Words ◽

Sampling Procedures

Purpose Professionals face substantial challenges determining whether and when children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who are not yet using spoken words will use spoken language as their primary means of communication. This tutorial provides speech-language pathologists with practical guidance on how to measure expressive language predictors for progress monitoring and making intervention decisions for children with ASD who are preverbal. Method This tutorial is a repackaging effort that seeks to make the research accessible to clinicians wishing to implement evidence-based practice. Results We describe intentional communication, consonant inventory in communication acts, and responding to joint attention as particularly valuable prelinguistic skills to measure. We explain how and when to efficiently assess progress using published assessments periodically and using brief (5-min) communication samples for more frequent progress monitoring. Conclusions Communication samples can be used to show how a child performs within a therapeutic setting during teaching (treatment data) and outside of the therapeutic setting (generalization probe data). Both types of data are critical for determining whether the child is exhibiting progress and which aspects of intervention are facilitating progress toward use of spoken words. These recommendations also balance the evidence for best practices for progress monitoring and the demands on clinicians' time and effort. To encourage the measurement of prelinguistic skills of children with ASD who are preverbal in clinical practice, we include (a) example data collection documents, (b) examples with hypothetical data and interpretation, and (c) guidance on communication sampling procedures. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.13557836

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Early screening of autism spectrum disorder using cry features

10.1101/2019.12.28.19016022 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Aida Khozaei ◽

Hadi Moradi ◽

Reshad Hosseini ◽

Hamidreza Pouretemad ◽

Bahareh Eskandari

Keyword(s):

Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽

Children With Autism ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Spectrum Disorder ◽

Typically Developing ◽

New Classification ◽

Early Screening ◽

Classification Approach ◽

Children With Asd ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

AbstractDue to the importance of automatic and early autism screening, in this paper, a cry-based screening approach for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is introduced. During the study, we realized that the ASD specific features are not necessarily observable among all children with ASD and among all instances of each child. Therefore, we proposed a new classification approach to be able to find such features and their corresponding instances. We tested the proposed approach and found two features that can be used to distinguish groups of children with ASD from Typically Developing (TD) children. In other words, these features are present in subsets of children with ASD not all of them. The approach has been tested on a dataset including 14 boys and 7 girls with ASD and 14 TD boys and 7 TD girls, between 18 to 53 months old. The sensitivity, specificity, and precision of the proposed approach for boys were 85.71%, 100%, and 92.85%, respectively. These measures were 71.42%, 100%, and 85.71% for girls, respectively.

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