scholarly journals Perception and Motion in Real and Virtual Environments: A Narrative Review of Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Valori ◽  
Phoebe E. McKenna-Plumley ◽  
Rena Bayramova ◽  
Teresa Farroni
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
The Body ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Cascading Effect ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Motor Difficulties

Atypical sensorimotor developmental trajectories greatly contribute to the profound heterogeneity that characterizes Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Individuals with ASD manifest deviations in sensorimotor processing with early markers in the use of sensory information coming from both the external world and the body, as well as motor difficulties. The cascading effect of these impairments on the later development of higher-order abilities (e.g., executive functions and social communication) underlines the need for interventions that focus on the remediation of sensorimotor integration skills. One of the promising technologies for such stimulation is Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR). In particular, head-mounted displays (HMDs) have unique features that fully immerse the user in virtual realities which disintegrate and otherwise manipulate multimodal information. The contribution of each individual sensory input and of multisensory integration to perception and motion can be evaluated and addressed according to a user’s clinical needs. HMDs can therefore be used to create virtual environments aimed at improving people’s sensorimotor functioning, with strong potential for individualization for users. Here we provide a narrative review of the sensorimotor atypicalities evidenced by children and adults with ASD, alongside some specific relevant features of IVR technology. We discuss how individuals with ASD may interact differently with IVR versus real environments on the basis of their specific atypical sensorimotor profiles and describe the unique potential of HMD-delivered immersive virtual environments to this end.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor Research Utilising Immersive Virtual Reality: A Pilot Study with Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 259
Author(s):  
Irene Valori ◽  
Rena Bayramova ◽  
Phoebe E. McKenna-Plumley ◽  
Teresa Farroni
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
The Body ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Simulated Environment ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

When learning and interacting with the world, people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) show compromised use of vision and enhanced reliance on body-based information. As this atypical profile is associated with motor and social difficulties, interventions could aim to reduce the potentially isolating reliance on the body and foster the use of visual information. To this end, head-mounted displays (HMDs) have unique features that enable the design of Immersive Virtual Realities (IVR) for manipulating and training sensorimotor processing. The present study assesses feasibility and offers some early insights from a new paradigm for exploring how children and adults with ASD interact with Reality and IVR when vision and proprioception are manipulated. Seven participants (five adults, two children) performed a self-turn task in two environments (Reality and IVR) for each of three sensory conditions (Only Proprioception, Only Vision, Vision + Proprioception) in a purpose-designed testing room and an HMD-simulated environment. The pilot indicates good feasibility of the paradigm. Preliminary data visualisation suggests the importance of considering inter-individual variability. The participants in this study who performed worse with Only Vision and better with Only Proprioception seemed to benefit from the use of IVR. Those who performed better with Only Vision and worse with Only Proprioception seemed to benefit from Reality. Therefore, we invite researchers and clinicians to consider that IVR may facilitate or impair individuals depending on their profiles.

Parent Perceptions of Museum Participation: A Comparison Between Parents of Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders

Inclusion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Antonetti ◽  
Tina Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Art Museum ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
The Body ◽  
Community Activities ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Abstract This study aims to add to the body of knowledge on the experiences of families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with the goal of promoting increased participation in community activities. Five factors associated with participation in activities at an art museum were explored, comparing families of children with and without ASD. These factors included both children's frequency of participation and parents' perceptions of the importance of community activities. The differences between groups were statistically significant. Parents of children without ASD reported their children's frequency of participation in museum activities was three times more than parents of children with ASD. Parents of children with ASD reported experiencing three times as many negative emotions associated with museum activities than parents of children without ASD.

scholarly journals Developmental trajectories of restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests in children with autism spectrum disorders

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Richler ◽  
Marisela Huerta ◽  
Somer L. Bishop ◽  
Catherine Lord
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Insistence On Sameness ◽  
Restricted And Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Over Time

AbstractThis study examined how restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBs) developed over time in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One hundred ninety-two children referred for a diagnosis of autism at age 2, and 22 children with nonspectrum development disorders were evaluated with a battery of cognitive and diagnostic measures at age 2 and subsequently at ages 3, 5, and 9. Factor analysis of the RRB items on the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised revealed two RRB factors at each wave of data collection, one comprising “repetitive sensorimotor” (RSM) behaviors and the other “insistence on sameness” (IS) behaviors. For children with ASD, RSM scores remained relatively high over time, indicating consistent severity, whereas IS scores started low and increased over time, indicating worsening. Having a higher nonverbal intelligence (NVIQ) at age 2 was associated with milder concurrent RSM behaviors and with improvement in these behaviors over time. There was no relationship between NVIQ at age 2 and IS behaviors. However, milder social/communicative impairment, at age 2 was associated with more severe concurrent IS behaviors. Trajectory analysis revealed considerable heterogeneity in patterns of change over time for both kinds of behaviors. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of RRBs in ASD and other disorders, making prognoses about how RRBs will develop in children with ASD as they get older, and using RRBs to identify ASD phenotypes in genetic studies.

scholarly journals Developmental Trajectories in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First 3 Years

2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Landa ◽  
Alden L. Gross ◽  
Elizabeth A. Stuart ◽  
Ashley Faherty
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Clinical features, developmental course, and psychiatric comorbidity of adult autism spectrum disorders

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Vannucchi ◽  
Gabriele Masi ◽  
Cristina Toni ◽  
Liliana Dell'Osso ◽  
Donatella Marazziti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Clinical Picture ◽  
Psychiatric Comorbidity ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Course Development ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Adult Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The Relationship

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) include a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders with early onset in childhood. ASDs should be considered lifelong clinical entities, although there is a certain variability in developmental trajectories, and therefore should be considered of great interest also for adulthood psychiatrists. A few studies have been carried out to explore the clinical picture and course development of these disorders during adulthood, or their relationship with other mental disorders. Indeed, ASDs often share overlapping features with other disorders, such as schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive, mood, and personality disorders, and as a result misdiagnoses often occur. The aim of this review is to summarize the available literature on ASDs in adulthood with a specific focus on the clinical picture, course, and psychiatric comorbidity. It is proposed that a careful diagnostic screening for ASDs in adults would contribute to clarifying the relationship with comorbid psychiatric disorders, while improving the possibility of treatment and outcome of such conditions.

scholarly journals Trajectories of imitation skills in preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Pittet ◽  
Nada Kojovic ◽  
Martina Franchini ◽  
Marie Schaer
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The Impact

Imitation skills play a crucial role in social cognitive development from early childhood. Many studies have shown a deficit in imitation skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Little is known about the development of imitation behaviors in children with ASD. This study aims to measure the trajectories of early imitation skills in preschoolers with ASD and how these skills impact other areas of early development. For this purpose, we assessed imitation, language and cognition skills in 177 children with ASD and 43 typically developing children (TD) aged 2 to 5 years old, 126 of which were followed longitudinally, yielding a total of 396 time-points. Our results confirmed the presence of an early imitation deficit in toddlers with ASD compared to TD children. The study of the trajectories showed that these difficulties were marked at the age of two years, and gradually decreased until the age of 5 years old. Imitation skills were strongly linked with cognitive, language skills and level of symptoms in our ASD group at baseline. Moreover, the imitation skills at baseline were predictive of the language gains a year later in our ASD group. Using a data-driven clustering method, we delineated different developmental trajectories of imitation skills within the ASD group. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed, particularly the impact of an early imitation deficit on other areas of competence of the young child.

scholarly journals Congruency and phenotypic plasticity of immune and nervous systems in children with autism spectrum disorders compared to schizophrenia spectrum disorders”, Medical Immunology (Russia)

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-716
Author(s):  
A. L. Burmistrova ◽  
Yuliya Yu. Filippova
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Blood Plasma ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
The Body ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
In Blood Plasma ◽  
Neuroendocrine Systems

According to new views on communication ways and  principles in the main  regulatory systems of the  body, i.e.,  immune and  neuroendocrine, there  is a risk for disintegration of pathways  and  structures in these  systems which  may underlie disorders  such as autism-spectrum disorders  (ASD)  and schizophreniaspectrum disorders (SSD). Both disorders are classified as neurodevelopmental disorders, with unclear etiology and partially  overlapping pathophysiological developmental mechanisms. Diagnosis of ASD and SSD is based on patterns of clinical  symptoms/syndromes that  demonstrate high heterogeneity and  similarity.  Therefore, it is very important to find the  ways of discerning children with ASD from  those  with SSD.  Our  aim was to identify peripheral activity indexes for immune and neuroendocrine systems, and their integration for usage as information hubs of congruency and phenotypic plasticity of these systems in children with ASD, as compared to SSD  patients. The  levels of 14 indexes  of the immune and  neuroendocrine systems in blood  plasma  were determined in 82 children with ASD, 9 children with SSD and 45 children with typical neurodevelopment (TD). To assess peripheral activity of the immune and neuroendocrine systems and their relationships, we applied  a multivariate exploratory analysis using a method of nonlinear principal components. The following results were obtained: (1) absence  of differences in proinflammatory cytokines between  ASD and TD children; (2) patients with SSD  have significantly  higher  values of IL-6  and IFNγ, and lower values of IL-1β, TNFα and IL-10  in blood plasma compared to children with ASD and TRD; (3) the level of neurohormones in children with ASD is in accordance with physiological reference values. The children with SSD have lower levels of epynephrine and dopamine compared to ASD and TD,  respectively; (4) integration degree of regulatory systems assessed by principal component analysis has shown  the following:  (4.1)  TD  children have strong  correlations within each of the systems and between  them, thus showing their communicative abilities and plasticity, characteristic of normal values; (4.2) In SSD  children, minimal numbers of strong  relations were demonstrated within  the cytokine system;  (4.3)  The children with ASD exhibited  two clusters:  one of them  had a complete similarity with TDC, in terms of tension and assortment of immune and neuroendocrine indices; the other one presented low coupling between  the parameters of regulatory systems, similar to the children with SSD; (4.4) Analysis of peripheral indices of cytokine and neuroendocrine systems for clusters 1 and 2 in children with ASD compared to children with SSD and TD demonstrated that,  in children with ASD of cluster  1, the indices  did not differ from TDC, except  of epinephrine, ACTH, kynurenine, and tryptophan. In the children with ASD of cluster 2, the values of the indices are equal to children with SSD,  except of dopamine and tryptophan. Thus,  we have shown phenomenon of transdiagnostic clustering, i.e., allocation of two clusters among  ASD children. One of them is similar to levels of indices and connections between the immune and neuroendocrine systems with TD, and another cluster is similar to SSD children. Therefore, they could be potentially useful as diagnostic criteria when discriminating the two disorders.

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