scholarly journals Physiological Profile Assessment of Posture in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 681
Author(s):  
Cecilia Perin ◽  
Giulio Valagussa ◽  
Miryam Mazzucchelli ◽  
Valentina Gariboldi ◽  
Cesare Giuseppe Cerri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Sensorimotor Integration ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Physiological Profile ◽  
Physiological Profile Assessment

A sound postural system requires sensorimotor integration. Evidence suggests that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present sensorimotor integration impairments. The Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) can be used to evaluate postural capacity assessing five physiological subsets (i.e., vision, reaction time, peripheral sensation, lower limb strength, balance); however, no studies applied the PPA in young individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the PPA in children and adolescents with ASD compared with age-matched typically developing (TD) individuals and examine the relationship between the PPA subset within the ASD and TD participants according to different age groups. Percentiles from the PPA were obtained from the TD children and adolescents (n = 135) for each test. Performances of the individuals with ASD (n = 18) were examined relative to the TD percentiles. ASD participants’ scores were above the 90th percentile (i.e., poor performance) in most sensory, motor and balance parameters. Performance in most of the PPA tests significantly improved with older age in the TD group but not in the ASD group. The study findings support the use of the PPA in TD children and adolescents while further research should investigate postural capacity in a larger ASD sample to enhance the understanding of sensorimotor systems contributing to compromised postural control.

Profiles of Autonomic Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder with and without Anxiety

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Parma ◽  
Nicola Cellini ◽  
Lisa Guy ◽  
Alana McVey ◽  
Keiran Rump ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Physiological Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Parasympathetic Activity ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Physiological Profile ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
Advance Research

Objective: Anxiety disorders are common among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Both anxiety and ASD are associated with differences in physiological activity. To date, few studies have investigated the physiological profile of youth with ASD and even fewer have systematically assessed how the co-occurrence of anxiety disorders and ASD modulates resting physiological activity.Method: The aim of the present study was to evaluate sympathetic and parasympathetic activity at rest in 75 school-aged children and adolescents with ASD, with (ASD+Anxiety = 22, 6F) and without co-occurring anxiety (ASD Alone =15, 6F) and to compare their physiological profile with that of matched typically developing controls (TDC) with (Anxiety Alone = 16, 6F) and without co-occurring anxiety disorders (TDC = 22, 8F).Results: Results indicated reduced sympathetic and parasympathetic activity at rest in ASD as compared to TDC youth without anxiety. The ASD+Anxiety and Anxiety Alone groups showed different sympathetic, but similar parasympathetic, activity. Correlational, multivariate, and regression analyses indicated that the four groups differed among several physiological and subjective measures.Conclusion: These findings suggest that ASD and anxiety are associated with distinct profiles of autonomic nervous system activity that cannot be reduced to either the sympathetic or parasympathetic branch alone. An autonomic profile-based approach is more likely to advance research, diagnosis, and treatment of ASD and anxiety than unidimensional, single-modality approaches.

scholarly journals Sex-related patterns of intrinsic functional connectivity in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 2190-2201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay A Olson ◽  
Lisa E Mash ◽  
Annika Linke ◽  
Christopher H Fong ◽  
Ralph-Axel Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

Although a growing literature highlights sex differences in autism spectrum disorder clinical presentation, less is known about female variants at the neural level. We investigated sex-related patterns of functional connectivity within and between functional networks in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, compared to typically developing peers. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data for 141 children and adolescents (7–17 years) selected from an in-house sample and four sites contributing to the Autism Brain Imaging Database Exchange (ABIDE I and II) were submitted to group independent component analysis to generate resting-state functional networks. Functional connectivity was estimated by generating resting-state functional network correlation matrices, which were directly compared between males and females, and autism spectrum disorder and typically developing groups. Results revealed greater connectivity within the default mode network in typically developing girls as compared to typically developing boys, while no such sex effect was observed in the autism spectrum disorder group. Correlational analyses with clinical indices revealed a negative relationship between sensorimotor connectivity and history of early autism symptoms in girls, but not in boys with autism spectrum disorder. A lack of neurotypical sex differentiation in default mode network functional connectivity observed in boys and girls with autism spectrum disorder suggests that sex-related differences in network integration may be altered in autism spectrum disorder. Lay summary We investigated whether children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders show sex-specific patterns of brain function (using functional magnetic resonance imaging) that are well documented in typically developing males and females. We found, unexpectedly, that boys and girls with autism do not differ in their brain functional connectivity, whereas typically developing boys and girls showed differences in a brain network involved in thinking about self and others (the default mode network). Results suggest that autism may be characterized by a lack of brain sex differentiation.

scholarly journals Oral health difficulties in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Parental perception

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 624-628
Author(s):  
Ivana Radovic ◽  
Jelena Juloski ◽  
Uros Josic ◽  
Milos Beloica ◽  
Dusan Kosanovic
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Oral Hygiene ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Daycare Centers ◽  
Dental Appointment ◽  
Dental Appointments ◽  
Adolescents With Asd

Introduction/Objective. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by features that have the potential to make oral hygiene and dental appointments challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate difficulties related to oral hygiene and dental appointments that may be encountered in children and adolescents with ASD, in comparison to their typically developing peers. Methods. A 48-item questionnaire was prepared for the purpose of the study and distributed to parents of children and adolescents with ASD in three specialized daycare centers, as well as to parents of typically developing children and adolescents at the Clinic for Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry in Belgrade, Serbia. Ninety-two questionnaires were considered and statistically analyzed in the SPSS program, using ?2 and Mann?Whitney U-test. Results. The following statistically significant differences were found between children and adolescents with ASD and their typically developing peers: general difficulties in everyday oral hygiene, need of help for basic oral hygiene tasks, tooth brushing frequency, sensory difficulties related to toothbrush and toothpaste, level of anxiety prior to dental appointment, cooperation during appointment, sensory difficulties related to touch, operatory light and sound of dental unit, number of treatments under general anesthesia, and the number of refused dental treatments. Conclusion. Children and adolescents with ASD face significantly more difficulties concerning everyday oral hygiene and dental appointments in comparison to their typically developing peers. Dentists? awareness of issues that are specific to this population of patients is important in order to enable quality dental care.

scholarly journals Developmental Language Disorder and Autism: Commonalities and Differences on Language

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 589
Author(s):  
Natasa Georgiou ◽  
George Spanoudis
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Autism Group ◽  
Developmental Conditions

Language and communication deficits characterize both autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder, and the possibility of there being a common profile of these is a matter of tireless debate in the research community. This experimental study addresses the relation of these two developmental conditions in the critical topic of language. Α total of 103 children (79 males, 24 females) participated in the present study. Specifically, the study’s sample consisted of 40 children with autism, 28 children with developmental language disorder, and 35 typically developing children between 6 and 12 years old. All children completed language and cognitive measures. The results showed that there is a subgroup inside the autism group of children who demonstrate language difficulties similar to children with developmental language disorder. Specifically, two different subgroups were derived from the autism group; those with language impairment and those without. Both autism and language-impaired groups scored lower than typically developing children on all language measures indicating a common pathology in language ability. The results of this study shed light on the relation between the two disorders, supporting the assumption of a subgroup with language impairment inside the autism spectrum disorder population. The common picture presented by the two developmental conditions highlights the need for further research in the field.

Mental health correlates and potential childhood predictors for the wish to be of the opposite sex in young autistic adults

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110240
Author(s):  
Jung-Chi Chang ◽  
Meng-Chuan Lai ◽  
Yueh-Ming Tai ◽  
Susan Shur-Fen Gau
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Item Endorsement ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Autistic Adults

Cross-sectional research has demonstrated the overrepresentation of gender dysphoria in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. However, the predictors and underlying mechanisms of this co-occurrence remain unclear. This follow-up study aimed to explore baseline (childhood/adolescence) predictors for the follow-up (adulthood) self-reported wish to be of the opposite sex and to investigate its mental health correlates in a sample of 88 autistic individuals as compared with 42 typically developing controls. An item on the Adult Self-Report Inventory-4, “I wish I was the opposite sex,” was used. We compared mental health symptoms between adults with and without this item endorsement. We used prediction models to explore family and autism-related predictors in childhood/adolescence to endorse this item in adulthood. There were more adults endorsing the item in the autism spectrum disorder group compared with the typically developing group. Autistic adults who endorsed the item experienced more mental health challenges, more bullying victimization, more suicidal ideations, and worse quality of life. Lower parent-reported family support and more stereotyped/repetitive behaviors during childhood/adolescence predicted the self-reported wish to be of the opposite sex in adulthood in autistic individuals. It is necessary to raise more attention to gender development and related mental health impact in autistic individuals. Lay abstract Autistic people/people with autism spectrum disorder are more likely to experience gender dysphoria. However, the possible longitudinal predictors and underlying mechanisms of this co-occurrence are unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, we assessed 88 people with autism spectrum disorder and 42 typically developing individuals at their average ages of 13.0 (baseline, childhood/adolescence) and 20.2 years old (follow-up, adulthood). At follow-up, their endorsement on the item “I wish I was the opposite sex” was used to evaluate gender dysphoric symptoms. We compared mental health symptoms between adults with and without this item endorsement at the follow-up assessment. We explored parent-reported family and autism characteristics-related predictors in childhood/adolescence to this item endorsement in adulthood. We found that more autistic adults reported the wish to be of the opposite sex than did typically developing individuals. Autistic adults who endorsed this item experienced more mental health challenges, more school bullying and cyberbullying, more suicidal ideation, and worse quality of life. Moreover, parent-reported lower family support and more stereotyped/repetitive behaviors during childhood/adolescence predicted the self-reported wish to be of the opposite sex in adulthood in autistic individuals. More attention and support should be provided to autistic people regarding gender development and related mental health and quality of life impact, especially during the transition period to young adulthood.

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