scholarly journals National Profile of Caregivers’ Perspectives on Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening and Care in Primary Health Care: The Need for Autism Medical Home

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13043
Author(s):  
Sarah H. Al-Mazidi ◽  
Laila Y. Al-Ayadhi
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Medical Home ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intervention Process ◽  
Educational Professionals ◽  
National Profile ◽  
Primary Healthcare Providers

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common developmental disorder, primary healthcare providers show a deficit in providing early diagnosis. To understand parents’ experience and perspective in the diagnosis and intervention process of their children, a survey was deployed through social media to parents’ with at least one child diagnosed with ASD. The survey included parents experience, satisfaction and perception in the diagnosis process and services provided for their children, stigma and type of support received. A total of 223 participants were enrolled. Although 62% of ASD patients were diagnosed by three years old, most diagnoses (66%) were non-physician initiated. Additionally, 40.8% of the parents reported that the services required for their child are available in their area of residence, but only 7.9% were satisfied with these services. Parents who received psychological support (9.9%) started early intervention, and their children have a better prognosis (p ≤ 0.005). Stigmatized parents were more likely to delay intervention (p ≤ 0.005). Parents’ perception is to have qualified healthcare and educational professionals experienced in ASD. Our findings suggest that a specialized family-centred medical home for ASD patients would significantly benefit ASD patients, increase parents’ satisfaction, reduce parents’ stress, and ease their children’s transition to adolescents.

scholarly journals A novel automated autism spectrum disorder detection system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Lih Oh ◽  
V. Jahmunah ◽  
N. Arunkumar ◽  
Enas W. Abdulhay ◽  
Raj Gururajan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Nonlinear Features ◽  
Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽  
Future Work

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person’s life. Autism is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Lack of social interaction, communication problems, and a limited range of behaviors and interests are possible characteristics of autism in children, alongside other symptoms. Electroencephalograms provide useful information about changes in brain activity and hence are efficaciously used for diagnosis of neurological disease. Eighteen nonlinear features were extracted from EEG signals of 40 children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and 37 children with no diagnosis of neuro developmental disorder children. Feature selection was performed using Student’s t test, and Marginal Fisher Analysis was employed for data reduction. The features were ranked according to Student’s t test. The three most significant features were used to develop the autism index, while the ranked feature set was input to SVM polynomials 1, 2, and 3 for classification. The SVM polynomial 2 yielded the highest classification accuracy of 98.70% with 20 features. The developed classification system is likely to aid healthcare professionals as a diagnostic tool to detect autism. With more data, in our future work, we intend to employ deep learning models and to explore a cloud-based detection system for the detection of autism. Our study is novel, as we have analyzed all nonlinear features, and we are one of the first groups to have uniquely developed an autism (ASD) index using the extracted features.

scholarly journals Prenatal Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Fetal Cortisol Exposure Predicts Child ASD Symptoms

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheena Ram ◽  
Mariann A. Howland ◽  
Curt A. Sandman ◽  
Elysia Poggi Davis ◽  
Laura M. Glynn
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Maternal Plasma ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Fetal Exposure ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal Study ◽  
The Social ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

The etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is multifactorial, complex, and likely involves interactions among genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. With respect to environmental influences, a growing literature implicates intrauterine experiences in the origin of this pervasive developmental disorder. In this prospective longitudinal study, we examined the hypothesis that fetal exposure to maternal cortisol may confer ASD risk. In addition, because ASD is four times more prevalent in males than in females, and because sexually dimorphic responses to intrauterine experiences are commonly observed, we examined whether or not any associations differ by fetal sex. Maternal plasma cortisol was measured at 15, 19, 25, 31, and 37 weeks’ gestation in a sample of 84 pregnant women. ASD symptoms were assessed in their 5-year-old children with the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). Fetal exposure to lower levels of maternal cortisol was associated with higher levels of ASD symptoms only among boys. The observed hypocortisolemic profile exhibited by these mothers may indicate a risk factor that precedes the stress of caregiving for a child with ASD and may not be solely a consequence of the stress of caregiving, as previously thought. These findings confirm the value of examining prenatal hormone exposures as predictors of ASD risk and support the premise that altered prenatal steroid exposures may play a role in the etiology of ASD.

Parental Perceptions of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Latinx and Black Sociocultural Contexts: A Systematic Review

2022 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-63
Author(s):  
Karla Rivera-Figueroa ◽  
Nana Yaa A. Marfo ◽  
Inge-Marie Eigsti
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Parental Perceptions ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
White Families ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Related Stigma

Abstract Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face challenges in accessing diagnostic and treatment services; these challenges vary by race, ethnicity, and culture. This systematic review examines parental perceptions of ASD within Latinx and Black American communities. Findings indicate that interconnections with family and religious groups promoted positive coping and describe positive impacts of having a child with ASD. Relative to White families, community members reported reduced access to information and more inaccurate beliefs about ASD, higher levels of ASD-related stigma, and more negative experiences with healthcare providers, which serve to exacerbate healthcare disparities. Conclusions are limited by an underrepresentation of minority groups in research. We call for efforts to address the specific needs of racial and ethnic minorities.

scholarly journals The Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Pre- and Postnatal Antibiotic Exposure in Childhood—A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (20) ◽  
pp. 4042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunmi Lee ◽  
Jeonghyun Cho ◽  
Ka Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Antibiotic Exposure ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Meta Analyses

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that begins in early childhood and has been associated with several environmental and genetic factors. We aimed to conduct two-side meta-analyses to determine the association between ASD and pre- and postnatal antibiotic exposure in childhood. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library for articles published up to February 2019. We evaluated observational studies that assessed the association between ASD and antibiotic exposure. Of 1459 articles, nine studies were used in the meta-analysis. We found that early antibiotic exposure, including pre- and postnatal, significantly increased the ASD risk in children. Furthermore, early antibiotic exposure, including pre- and postnatal, was significantly increased in children with ASD. Specifically, prenatal antibiotic exposure was significantly increased in children with ASD; however, postnatal antibiotic exposure was not. Our results indicate an association between ASD and early antibiotic exposure; specifically, that prenatal antibiotic exposure is an important risk factor of ASD in children.

scholarly journals Neonatal jaundice in association with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Cordero ◽  
Laura A. Schieve ◽  
Lisa A. Croen ◽  
Stephanie M. Engel ◽  
Anna Maria Siega-Riz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Neonatal Jaundice ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

scholarly journals Parent Training Program for Autism Spectrum Disorder During The Covid-19 Pandemic Period in Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Ina Dewi Ardiyani ◽  
Nining Febriyana ◽  
Yunias Setiawati ◽  
Royke Tony Kalalo
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Parent Training ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Primary Caregivers ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Treatment Service ◽  
Parent Training Program

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder that shows difficulties in communication, social interaction, behavior, interests and activities that are limited and repetitive. The prevalence of ASD also continues to increase worldwide, followed by an increase in the need for early intervention in ASD children. The limited services available make early intervention a challenge in itself. The long Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in limited therapy, because therapy in treatment service facilities cannot be carried out as before. In this case it is important to involve parents as the primary caregivers for ASD children in interventions to anticipate the limited interventions due to a pandemic situation. Parent Training can be done as an effort to provide information, education, and skills to parents so that they can provide intensive, comprehensive, sustainable, and early intervention.

Assistive technology to support people with autism spectrum disorder in their autonomy and safety: A scoping review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Lukas Wohofsky ◽  
Philip Scharf ◽  
Sandra Lattacher ◽  
Daniela Krainer
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Developmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Need Support ◽  
Balanced Distribution

BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder with increasing prevalence rates. People affected by ASD do often need support in various activities of daily living mainly provided by formal or informal caregivers. Assistive technology can help to increase autonomy and safety of people on the autism spectrum and thus decrease the burden of care. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the state of the art of assistive technology (AT) that supports autonomy, self-reliance comfort and wellbeing of people with ASD or aiming to prevent dangerous situations or shutdowns, caused by stressful (environmental) situations. Another aim is to analyze the fields of application and type of the proposed technologies and to explore the evaluations conducted. METHODS: A scoping review was carried out where the databases MEDLINE, IEEE and ACM Digital Library were searched. The identified articles were grouped according to the objective of the technology – the supported area of life that is assisted by the proposed systems. Furthermore, the conducted evaluations of the ATs in the papers were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 40 articles were included in this review with a balanced distribution in the different fields of application (Communication & Social Life; Daily Living Assistants; Safety & Security). Eighteen studies conducted an evaluation of the proposed technology with people with ASD, mainly testing the functionality of the systems. CONCLUSION: The proposed technologies support people in the autism spectrum according to the main outcomes and symptoms of ASD. Further research is needed to determine the usefulness and acceptance of the ATs.

Problems managed and medications prescribed during encounters with people with autism spectrum disorder in Australian general practice

Autism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 995-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael C Birch ◽  
Kitty-Rose Foley ◽  
Allan Pollack ◽  
Helena Britt ◽  
Nicholas Lennox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Prescribing Practices ◽  
Medication Prescription ◽  
Prescription Rates ◽  
Health Programme

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with high rates of co-occurring health conditions. While elevated prescription rates of psychotropic medications have been reported in the United Kingdom and the United States, there is a paucity of research investigating clinical and prescribing practices in Australia. This study describes the problems managed and medications prescribed by general practitioners in Australia during encounters where an autism spectrum disorder was recorded. Information was collected from 2000 to 2014 as part of the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health programme. Encounters where patients were aged less than 25 years and autism spectrum disorder was recorded as one of the reasons for encounter and/or problems managed ( n = 579) were compared to all other Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health programme encounters with patients aged less than 25 years ( n = 281,473). At ‘autism spectrum disorder’ encounters, there was a significantly higher management rate of psychological problems, and significantly lower management rates of skin, respiratory and general/unspecified problems, than at ‘non-autism spectrum disorder’ encounters. The rate of psychological medication prescription was significantly higher at ‘autism spectrum disorder’ encounters than at ‘non-autism spectrum disorder’ encounters. The most common medications prescribed at ‘autism spectrum disorder’ encounters were antipsychotics and antidepressants. Primary healthcare providers need adequate support and training to identify and manage physical and mental health concerns among individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

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