scholarly journals Variability of Coordination in Typically Developing Children Versus Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder with and without Rhythmic Signal

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2769
Author(s):  
Lidia V. Gabis ◽  
Shahar Shefer ◽  
Sigal Portnoy
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Timing Difference ◽  
Simple Protocol ◽  
Accurate Quantification

Motor coordination deficit is a cardinal feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The evaluation of coordination of children with ASD is either lengthy, subjective (via observational analysis), or requires cumbersome post analysis. We therefore aimed to use tri-axial accelerometers to compare inter-limb coordination measures between typically developed (TD) children and children ASD, while jumping with and without a rhythmic signal. Children aged 5–6 years were recruited to the ASD group (n = 9) and the TD group (n = 19). Four sensors were strapped to their ankles and wrist and they performed at least eight consecutive jumping jacks twice: at a self-selected rhythm and with a metronome. The primary outcome measures were the timing lag (TL), the timing difference of the maximal acceleration of the left and right limbs, and the lag variability (LV), the variation of TL across the 5 jumps. The LV of the legs of children with ASD was higher compared to the LV of the legs of TD children during self-selected rhythm jumping (p < 0.01). Additionally, the LV of the arms of children with ASD, jumping with the rhythmic signal, was higher compared to that of the TD children (p < 0.05). There were no between-group differences in the TL parameter. Our preliminary findings suggest that the simple protocol presented in this study might allow an objective and accurate quantification of the intra-subject variability of children with ASD via actigraphy.

scholarly journals Early screening of autism spectrum disorder using cry features

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.

scholarly journals Adaptation to Vocal Expressions and Phonemes Is Intact in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-381
Author(s):  
Patricia E. G. Bestelmeyer ◽  
Bethan Williams ◽  
Jennifer J. Lawton ◽  
Maria-Elena Stefanou ◽  
Kami Koldewyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Adaptation Mechanism ◽  
Identity Recognition ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vocal Expressions

Several recent studies have demonstrated reduced visual aftereffects, particularly to social stimuli, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This putative impairment of the adaptive mechanism in ASD has been put forward as a possible explanation for some of the core social problems experienced by children with ASD (e.g., facial emotion or identity recognition). We addressed this claim in children with ASD and typically developing children by using an established methodology and morphed auditory stimulus set for eliciting robust aftereffects to vocal expressions and phonemes. Although children with ASD were significantly worse at categorizing the vocal expressions compared with the control stimuli (phoneme categorization), aftereffect sizes in both tasks were identical in the two participant groups. Our finding suggests that the adaptation mechanism is not universally impaired in ASD and is therefore not an explanation for the social perception difficulties in ASD.

scholarly journals Salivary Cytokine Profile as a Possible Predictor of Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Samborska-Mazur ◽  
Anna Kostiukow ◽  
Izabela Miechowicz ◽  
Dorota Sikorska ◽  
Rafał Rutkowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1 ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Cytokine Levels ◽  
Factor Α ◽  
Gait Disturbances

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by neurodevelopmental disorders and alterations in immune function and cytokine levels. The aim of this study is to determine the salivary levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), Regulated on Activation, Normal T-cell Expressed and Secreted (RANTES), and Eotaxin in children with ASD and in healthy controlsto assess their predictive potential. We explored correlations between the cytokine levels and the neurodevelopmental disorders related to ASD. The study comprised 19 children with ASD and 19 typically developing (TD) ones. We analyzed salivary levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNFα, MCP-1, RANTES, and eotaxin on Luminex with custom-designed 7-plex kits. The level of RANTES in ASD children was significantly lower than those of TD. In TDs, the salivary levels of IL-1β, MCP-1, and TNFα correlated positively with age. In ASD, the cytokine levels did not correlate with age. There were statistically significant differences between the RANTES level and aggression and gait disturbances, between IL-8 level and fixations/stimulations, and between IL-1β level and no active speech. The levels of the cytokine detected can manifest both systemic and local changes related to ASD. The cytokine pattern cannot be used as a sole ASD predictor, but the salivary levels may be helpful in categorizing the ASD subtype.

Parents’ gesture adaptations to children with autism spectrum disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanako YOSHIDA ◽  
Paul CIRINO ◽  
Sarah S. MIRE ◽  
Joseph M. BURLING ◽  
Sunbok LEE
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Bayesian Estimation ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Early Learning ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Mechanism ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Cue Use

AbstractThe present study focused on parents’ social cue use in relation to young children's attention. Participants were ten parent–child dyads; all children were 36 to 60 months old and were either typically developing (TD) or were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children wore a head-mounted camera that recorded the proximate child view while their parent played with them. The study compared the following between the TD and ASD groups: (a) frequency of parent's gesture use; (b) parents’ monitoring of their child's face; and (c) how children looked at parents’ gestures. Results from Bayesian estimation indicated that, compared to the TD group, parents of children with ASD produced more gestures, more closely monitored their children's faces, and provided more scaffolding for their children's visual experiences. Our findings suggest the importance of further investigating parents’ visual and gestural scaffolding as a potential developmental mechanism for children's early learning, including for children with ASD.

scholarly journals The attitudes of typically developing adolescents towards their sibling with autism spectrum disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Van der Merwe ◽  
Juan Bornman ◽  
Dana Donohue ◽  
Michal Harty
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Sibling Relationship ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Friedman Analysis ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Positive Attitudes

Background: Understanding how the cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of sibling attitudes interact with one another at various stages of a sibling’s lifespan will allow clinicians to provide better support to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. However, no research exists which focusses on describing the attitudes of adolescent siblings of children with ASD within the South African context towards their sibling with an ASD. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how typically developing adolescents recall their past attitudes and describe their present attitudes towards their sibling with an ASD.Methods: Thirty typically developing adolescents who have siblings with ASD were selected to complete the survey instrument, the Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale, using a cross-sectional design.Results: Results indicate that the measure has internal consistency within this sample. Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests were used to test for significant differences between the mean values for the two self-reported time periods. Friedman analysis of variances (ANOVAs) was used to test for significant differences in the three components of attitudes, namely affect, behaviour and cognition. Results indicate that participants held more positive attitudes towards their siblings with ASD as adolescents compared with when they were younger and that adolescents rated their current emotions towards and beliefs about their sibling with ASD to be more positive than their current interaction experiences.Conclusion: As siblings’ attitudes appear to change over time, clinicians should use a lifespan approach to sibling attitudes when designing and implementing supports for siblings of children with ASD.

scholarly journals Identifying Areas of Overlap and Distinction in Early Lexical Profiles of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Late Talkers, and Typical Talkers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Jiménez ◽  
Eileen Haebig ◽  
Thomas T. Hills
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Late Talkers ◽  
Lexical Composition ◽  
Noun Bias

Abstract This study compares the lexical composition of 118 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 12 to 84 months with 4626 vocabulary-matched typically developing toddlers with and without language delay, aged 8 to 30 months. Children with ASD and late talkers showed a weaker noun bias. Additionally, differences were identified in the proportion of nouns and verbs, and in the semantic categories of animals, toys, household items and vehicles. Most differences appear to reflect the extent of the age differences between the groups. However, children with ASD produced fewer high-social verbs than typical talkers and late talkers, a difference that might be associated with ASD features. In sum, our findings identified areas of overlap and distinction across the developing lexical profiles.

The Use of Hand Gestures to Communicate About Nonpresent Objects in Mind Among Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wing-Chee So ◽  
Ming Lui ◽  
Tze-Kiu Wong ◽  
Long-Tin Sit
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Children With Asd

Purpose The current study examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in comparison with typically developing children, perceive and produce gestures to identify nonpresent objects (i.e., referent-identifying gestures), which is crucial for communicating ideas in a discourse. Method An experimenter described the uses of daily-life objects to 6- to 12-year-old children both orally and with gestures. The children were then asked to describe how they performed daily activities using those objects. Results All children gestured. A gesture identified a nonpresent referent if it was produced in the same location that had previously been established by the experimenter. Children with ASD gestured at the specific locations less often than typically developing children. Verbal and spatial memory were positively correlated with the ability to produce referent-identifying gestures for all children. However, the positive correlation between Raven's Children Progressive Matrices score and the production of referent-identifying gestures was found only in children with ASD. Conclusions Children with ASD might be less able to perceive and produce referent-identifying gestures and may rely more heavily on visual–spatial skills in producing referent-identifying gestures. The results have clinical implications for designing an intervention program to enhance the ability of children with ASD to communicate about nonpresent objects with gestures.

Psychopharmacological treatment of ADHD symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Handen ◽  
Johanna Taylor ◽  
Rameshwari Tumuluru
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Adhd Symptoms ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Psychopharmacological Treatment ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Appropriate Treatment

Abstract One of the most frequently reported behavioral concerns among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is high rates of activity and inattention, symptoms that are often associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although there is a considerable body of research regarding the appropriate treatment of ADHD symptoms among typically developing children, the research among children with ASD is more limited. The evidence to date suggests that medication response rates among children with ASD are considerably lower than among typically developing children and that children with ASD tend to be at greater risk for experiencing side effects. The purpose of the present paper is to review the available research on the treatment of ADHD symptoms in children with ASD. This paper summarizes the data on a range of pharmacological options and provides specific recommendations for how best to clinically manage these symptoms.

scholarly journals Superior temporal sulcus hypoperfusion in children with autism spectrum disorder: an arterial spin-labeling magnetic resonance study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Saitovitch ◽  
Elza Rechtman ◽  
Hervé Lemaitre ◽  
Jean-Marc Tacchella ◽  
Alice Vinçon-Leite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Arterial Spin Labeling ◽  
Spin Labeling ◽  
Superior Temporal Sulcus ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Children With Asd

AbstractAdvances in neuroimaging techniques have significantly improved our understanding of the neural basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several attempts have been made to label the main neuroimaging phenotype of ASD, mostly by anatomical and functional activation studies, but none of the frameworks have been without controversy. Over the past decade, a renewed interest for rest brain functioning has emerged in the scientific community, reflected on a large number of resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) studies, but results remain heterogeneous. It is possible today to investigate rest brain functioning by measuring rest cerebral blood flow (CBF) with MRI using arterial spin labeling (ASL). Here, we investigated rest CBF abnormalities using non-invasive ASL-MRI in 18 children with ASD without cognitive delay (10.4 ± 2.8 y) and 30 typically developing children (10.6 ± 3.0 y). Following quality control, images from a final sample of 12 children with ASD (11.2 ± 2.9 y) and 28 typically developing children (10.1 ± 2.5 y) were analyzed. Whole brain voxel-by-voxel analysis showed significant rest CBF decrease in temporal regions, mainly in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), in children with ASD. This hypoperfusion was individually detected in 83% of children with ASD. Finally, negative correlation was observed between ASD severity scores and rest CBF in the right posterior STS. Strikingly, despite the small sample studied here, our results are extremely similar to previous PET and SPECT findings describing decreased rest CBF in the same superior temporal regions at group and individual levels, as well as correlation with symptoms severity. The congruence between these results, with different methods and in different ASD profiles, reinforce the strength of rest functional abnormalities within these superior temporal regions in ASD and strongly indicates it might be a core characteristic of the disorder. Identifying a core dysfunctional region in ASD bears direct implications to the development of novel therapeutic interventions, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. In addition, if confirmed in a larger sample, rest temporal hypoperfusion could become a reliable brain imaging biomarker in ASD.

Preliminary Evidence That Motor Planning Is Slower and More Difficult for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During Motor Cooperation

Motor Control ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-149
Author(s):  
Breanna E. Studenka ◽  
Kodey Myers
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Sequence Versus

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairment in helping someone else with a motor action, which may arise from impairment in selecting and preparing motor responses. Five children with ASD and five typically developing children performed a cooperative motor planning task that required them to reach for, lift, and hand an object (hammer or stick) to a researcher. The response, movement, and grasp time were measured. Children with ASD grasped the object longer on trials where they helped, indicating that the action was planned in sequence versus as a whole (i.e., prior to the onset of movement). The hammer object elicited a quicker response than the stick, suggesting the facilitation of planning by tools with inherent action properties. Finally, the increased helping of children with ASD was not mirrored by changes in the response, movement, or grasp time.

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