scholarly journals Lived experiences of caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder in Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizahn G. Cloete ◽  
Evans O. Obaigwa
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Occupational Therapy Interventions

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a global public health concern. In African countries such as Kenya, there is a greater need for establishing support services for developmental disorders such as ASD. The emotional, social and economic burden of ASD on caregivers is unknown because of a number of challenges. Citizens of Kenya have a unique view of disability and inclusion.Objectives: To explore the perspectives of caregivers who are responsible for caring for both family and children living with ASD and to highlight the needs of children with ASD as well as the needs of their caregivers.Method: A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study utilising focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted. Verbatim transcription was used. QSR N ’Vivo 10 was used to organise and analyse the data. Content analysis was used to identify important ideas and concepts.Results: One theme, namely ‘the burden of caring for children with ASD’, was identified. Children with ASD and their caregivers experience isolation and stigmatisation.Conclusion: Occupational therapists in Kenya should collaborate with the relevant national and global stakeholders for the promotion of the inclusion of children with ASD and their families. Responsive and context-appropriate occupational therapy interventions may begin to address service barriers.

scholarly journals Perception of Special Teachers on the Evidence based Intervention Strategies for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3S2) ◽  
pp. 427-434
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Graduate Degree ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Children With Asd

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of five developmental disorders, it is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the ability of the person to socialize, communicate along with stereotype behaviours. ASD can affect any person irrespective of the gender, caste, creed or religion. Intervention means doing something, taking action or using a treatment to try to improve a particular condition or a problem. When it comes to ASD, there are many kinds of interventions offered. Depending on the type, they can involve the child, the parent or both. They might be one-off events or involve many sessions spread over years. Interventions are based on different theories about what causes ASD. The current study which is a part of the PhD tries to study the perception of special teachers on the current Intervention strategies for children with ASD. The study was conducted by circulating the questionnaire developed to the special teachers (n=40) working for ASD in the country. The participants consisted of special teachers having Diploma, Degree) and Post Graduate degree in the field of ASD (n=40). Descriptive statistics; frequency, percentages, and chi square tests were done using SPSS. The results indicated that teachers accepted the need for evidence based intervention strategies for training children with ASD.

The Role of Information and Computer Technology for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW)

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rung-Yu Tseng ◽  
Ellen Yi-Luen Do
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Facial Expression ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
Pervasive Developmental Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Information And Computer Technology

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Significant deficits in the children with ASD include lack of social communication skills and cognitive dysfunction. This paper reviews and evaluates the influence of different kinds of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) applications that facilitate intervention and training for children with ASD. This paper also presents a novel design prototype, Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW), to train the children with ASD based on the progressive levels of training under a given background context. This prototype is designed to improve the ability of the ASD children in facial expression recognition.

The Role of Information and Computer Technology for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW)

2012 ◽  
pp. 98-116
Author(s):  
Rung-Yu Tseng ◽  
Ellen Yi-Luen Do
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Facial Expression ◽  
Computer Technology ◽  
Pervasive Developmental Disorders ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Information And Computer Technology

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Significant deficits in the children with ASD include lack of social communication skills and cognitive dysfunction. This paper reviews and evaluates the influence of different kinds of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) applications that facilitate intervention and training for children with ASD. This paper also presents a novel design prototype, Facial Expression Wonderland (FEW), to train the children with ASD based on the progressive levels of training under a given background context. This prototype is designed to improve the ability of the ASD children in facial expression recognition.

scholarly journals Autism Spectrum Disorder and Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Early Language-Related Hallmarks across Structural MRI Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Eugenia Conti ◽  
Alessandra Retico ◽  
Letizia Palumbo ◽  
Giovanna Spera ◽  
Paolo Bosco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Developmental Disorders ◽  
Brain Mri ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Linear Kernel ◽  
Childhood Apraxia Of Speech ◽  
Children With Asd

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) are developmental disorders with distinct diagnostic criteria and different epidemiology. However, a common genetic background as well as overlapping clinical features between ASD and CAS have been recently reported. To date, brain structural language-related abnormalities have been detected in both the conditions, but no study directly compared young children with ASD, CAS and typical development (TD). In the current work, we aim: (i) to test the hypothesis that ASD and CAS display neurostructural differences in comparison with TD through morphometric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-based measures (ASD vs. TD and CAS vs. TD); (ii) to investigate early possible disease-specific brain structural patterns in the two clinical groups (ASD vs. CAS); (iii) to evaluate predictive power of machine-learning (ML) techniques in differentiating the three samples (ASD, CAS, TD). We retrospectively analyzed the T1-weighted brain MRI scans of 68 children (age range: 34–74 months) grouped into three cohorts: (1) 26 children with ASD (mean age ± standard deviation: 56 ± 11 months); (2) 24 children with CAS (57 ± 10 months); (3) 18 children with TD (55 ± 13 months). Furthermore, a ML analysis based on a linear-kernel Support Vector Machine (SVM) was performed. All but one brain structures displayed significant higher volumes in both ASD and CAS children than TD peers. Specifically, ASD alterations involved fronto-temporal regions together with basal ganglia and cerebellum, while CAS alterations are more focused and shifted to frontal regions, suggesting a possible speech-related anomalies distribution. Caudate, superior temporal and hippocampus volumes directly distinguished the two conditions in terms of greater values in ASD compared to CAS. The ML analysis identified significant differences in brain features between ASD and TD children, whereas only some trends in the ML classification capability were detected in CAS as compared to TD peers. Similarly, the MRI structural underpinnings of two clinical groups were not significantly different when evaluated with linear-kernel SVM. Our results may represent the first step towards understanding shared and specific neural substrate in ASD and CAS conditions, which subsequently may contribute to early differential diagnosis and tailoring specific early intervention.

The Influence of Language Context on Repetitive Speech Use in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Gladfelter ◽  
Cassidy VanZuiden
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Social Responsiveness ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Language Context

Purpose Although repetitive speech is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the contributing factors that influence repetitive speech use remain unknown. The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if the language context impacts the amount and type of repetitive speech produced by children with ASD. Method As part of a broader word-learning study, 11 school-age children with ASD participated in two different language contexts: storytelling and play. Previously collected language samples were transcribed and coded for four types of repetitive speech: immediate echolalia, delayed echolalia, verbal stereotypy, and vocal stereotypy. The rates and proportions of repetitive speech were compared across the two language contexts using Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests. Individual characteristics were further explored using Spearman correlations. Results The children produced lower rates of repetitive speech during the storytelling context than the play-based context. Only immediate echolalia differed between the two contexts based on rate and approached significance based on proportion, with more immediate echolalia produced in the play-based context than in the storytelling context. There were no significant correlations between repetitive speech and measures of social responsiveness, expressive or receptive vocabulary, or nonverbal intelligence. Conclusions The children with ASD produced less immediate echolalia in the storytelling context than in the play-based context. Immediate echolalia use was not related to social skills, vocabulary, or nonverbal IQ scores. These findings offer valuable insights into better understanding repetitive speech use in children with ASD.

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

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
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>

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

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.

scholarly journals Review of Cognitive Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Performance on Six Subtests on Four Versions of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mizuho Takayanagi ◽  
Yoko Kawasaki ◽  
Mieko Shinomiya ◽  
Hoshino Hiroshi ◽  
Satoshi Okada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intelligence Scale ◽  
Cognitive Characteristics ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis study was a systematic review of research using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to examine cognitive characteristics of children with ASD beyond the impact of revisions based on WISC and diagnostic criteria changes. The classic “islets of ability” was found in individuals with full-scale IQs < 100. The “right-descending profiles” were observed among high IQ score individuals. High levels on the Block Design and low Coding levels were consistently found regardless of the variation in intellectual functioning or diagnosis. This review identified patterns of cognitive characteristics in ASD individuals using empirical data that researchers may have previously been aware of, based on their experiences, owing to the increased prevalence of ASD.

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