scholarly journals Review on Vocational Training and Employment of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Christine K. Syriopoulou Delli ◽  
Ioanna Papavassiliou Alexiou ◽  
Dimitra Karampilia
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Supported Employment ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adults With Asd

<p>Organizations have developed programs for the vocational training of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some programs reflect trends in the labor market. The interest of policy planning is focused on social perceptions and successful social and vocational inclusion.</p><p>Aim is the review of programs for vocational training and education-to-employment transition for adults with ASD and the provision of a critical evaluation of their results.</p><p>The study entailed a review of the relevant literature, starting from the 1980s, since before that time there had been no systematic state provision of vocational training. The inclusion criteria for the study were: (a) the sample included adults diagnosed with ASD, (b) the programs included interventions for vocational training and inclusion, models for teaching vocational and social skills in the context of supported employment.</p><p>Study revealed interesting findings related to vocational training and the inclusion prospects for adolescents and adults with ASD, which could further influence social protection planning and support measures for them. It showed that educational policy in the last ten years has included the vocational training and inclusion of individuals with ASD and, therefore, more flexible programs and alternative forms of independent living are being developed for them.</p><p>Social mentality plays significant role for the social and vocational inclusion of adults with ASD. Some steps might be opportunities for participation in vocational programs, their enrichment, vocational counseling and guidance, opportunities for continuous development of working skills along with INSET and counseling, financial support to employees and a consistent policy towards vocational inclusion.</p>

scholarly journals Sensory Processing and Aggressive Behavior in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Frank van den Boogert ◽  
Bram Sizoo ◽  
Pascalle Spaan ◽  
Sharon Tolstra ◽  
Yvonne H. A. Bouman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sensory Profile ◽  
Sensory Sensitivity ◽  
Aggression Questionnaire ◽  
Adults With Asd

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be accompanied by aggressive behavior and is associated with sensory processing difficulties. The present study aims to investigate the direct association between sensory processing and aggressive behavior in adults with ASD. A total of 101 Dutch adult participants with ASD, treated in outpatient or inpatient facilities, completed the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile (AASP), the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and the Aggression Questionnaire—Short Form (AQ-SF). Results revealed that sensory processing difficulties are associated with more aggressive behavior (f2=0.25), more proactive (f2=0.19) and reactive aggression (f2=0.27), more physical (f2=0.08) and verbal aggression (f2=0.13), and more anger (f2=0.20) and hostility (f2=0.12). Evidence was found for an interaction of the neurological threshold and behavioral response on total aggression and hostility. Participants with higher scores in comparison to the norm group in sensory sensitivity had the highest risk of aggressive behavior. In conclusion, clinical practice may benefit from applying detailed diagnostics on sensory processing difficulties when treating aggressive behavior in adults with ASD.

A review of the literature on vocational training interventions with individuals with autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. Campanaro ◽  
Jason C. Vladescu ◽  
Christopher J. Manente ◽  
Meghan A. Deshais ◽  
Ruth M. DeBar
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Training Interventions

scholarly journals Implicit Semantic Processing of Linguistic and Non-linguistic Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emme O’Rourke ◽  
Emily L. Coderre
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Priming Task ◽  
Adults With Asd

AbstractWhile many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with language processing, non-linguistic semantic processing may be intact. We examined neural responses to an implicit semantic priming task by comparing N400 responses—an event-related potential related to semantic processing—in response to semantically related or unrelated pairs of words or pictures. Adults with ASD showed larger N400 responses than typically developing adults for pictures, but no group differences occurred for words. However, we also observed complex modulations of N400 amplitude by age and by level of autistic traits. These results offer important implications for how groups are delineated and compared in autism research.

scholarly journals Neuropsychiatric profile and psychotropic medication use in adults with autism spectrum disorder: results from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Adults with Autism

BJPsych Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael C. Cvejic ◽  
Samuel R. C. Arnold ◽  
Kitty-Rose Foley ◽  
Julian N. Trollor
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Psychotropic Medication ◽  
Medication Use ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Adults With Asd

BackgroundChildren and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a highly medicated group. Few studies have examined the neuropsychiatric profile and patterns of psychotropic medication use among adults with ASD.AimsTo describe and compare the neuropsychiatric profile and psychotropic medication use in a cohort of adults with ASD and non-autistic controls.MethodBaseline data from a survey-based, longitudinal study of adults with ASD in Australia. Participants were 188 adults with ASD and 115 controls aged 25–80 years.ResultsASD was associated with increased odds of psychotropic medication use even when controlling for the presence of any neurological or psychiatric disorder. There were no corresponding indications for 14.4% of psychotropic medications prescribed to adults with ASD.ConclusionsThis study found substantial psychotropic prescribing for adults with ASD. Patterns of psychotropic medication use may reflect prescribing for behavioural indications despite limited evidence to support this practice.Declaration of interestNone.

scholarly journals Intact context memory performance in adults with autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidni A. Justus ◽  
Patrick S. Powell ◽  
Audrey Duarte
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Memory Accuracy ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Adults With Asd ◽  
Context Memory

AbstractResearch on memory in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) finds increased difficulty encoding contextual associations in episodic memory and suggests executive dysfunction (e.g., selective attention, cognitive flexibility) and deficient metacognitive monitoring as potential contributing factors. Findings from our lab suggest that age-related impairments in selective attention contribute to those in context memory accuracy and older adults tended to show dependence in context memory accuracy between relevant and irrelevant context details (i.e., hyper-binding). Using an aging framework, we tested the effects of selective attention on context memory in a sample of 23 adults with ASD and 23 typically developed adults. Participants studied grayscale objects flanked by two types of contexts (color, scene) on opposing sides and were told to attend to only one object-context relationship, ignoring the other context. At test, participants made object and context recognition decisions and judgment of confidence decisions allowing for an evaluation of context memory performance, hyper-binding, and metacognitive performance for context judgments in a single task. Results showed that adults with ASD performed similarly to typically developed adults on all measures. These findings suggest that context memory performance is not always disrupted in adults with ASD, even when demands on selective attention are high. We discuss the need for continued research to evaluate episodic memory in a wider variety of adults with ASD.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in autism spectrum disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Massaccesi ◽  
Alexander Groessing ◽  
Lisa A. Rosenberger ◽  
Helena Hartmann ◽  
Michela Candini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Effective Connectivity ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Trust Game ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adults With Asd ◽  
Interpersonal Space

AbstractInterpersonal space can be defined as a safety zone immediately surrounding our body, which allows us to feel comfortable during social interactions. Previous studies indicate that the size of interpersonal space at which the other is perceived as intrusive (permeability) and the ability to adapt interpersonal distance based on contextual factors (flexibility) are altered in children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present fMRI study aimed at extending the previous findings by investigating the behavioral and neurophysiological underpinnings of interpersonal space permeability and flexibility in adults with ASD.Individuals with ASD and matched controls (CTR) performed a modified version of the stop-distance paradigm for measuring interpersonal space preferences. Participants observed prerecorded videos of two confederates moving towards them and rated their comfort to the observed distance. The assessment of interpersonal space preferences was performed before and after engaging in cooperative and non-cooperative social interactions with the confederates, experimentally induced by means of a repeated trust game.We observed general lower comfort in response to an approaching confederate in the ASD group compared to the CTR group, indicating preference for larger interpersonal space in autism (altered permeability). This preference was accompanied by reduced activity in bilateral dorsal intraparietal sulcus (dIPS) and left fusiform face area (FFA), regions previously shown to be involved in interpersonal space regulation. Furthermore, we observed differences in effective connectivity among dIPS, FFA, and amygdala in ASDs compared to CTRs, depending on the level of experienced comfort. No differences between ASDs and CTRs were observed in the adaptation of interpersonal space following a cooperative and non-cooperative social interaction, suggesting preserved interpersonal space flexibility in the ASD adult population.The present study provides evidence for impaired permeability of interpersonal space in adults with ASD. The findings suggest that a dysregulation of the activity and connectivity of brain areas involved in the processing of interpersonal space may contribute to preference for larger distance and avoidance of physical proximity in ASDs. Future research is needed to examine whether the observed alteration of interpersonal space processing is an effect of or a contributing factor to the social disabilities characterizing autism.

scholarly journals Electrophysiological signatures of brain aging in autism spectrum disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Dickinson ◽  
Shafali Jeste ◽  
Elizabeth Milne
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Brain Aging ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Alpha Frequency ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Adults With Asd

AbstractEmerging evidence suggests that aging processes may be altered in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear if oscillatory slowing, a key neurophysiological change in the aging brain, manifests atypically in this population. This study sought to examine patterns of age-related oscillatory slowing in adults with ASD, captured by reductions in the brain’s peak alpha frequency. Resting-state EEG data from adults (18-70 years) with ASD (N=93) and age-matched neurotypical (NT) controls (N=87) were pooled from three independent datasets. A robust curve-fitting procedure quantified the peak frequency of alpha oscillations (7-13Hz) across all brain regions. Associations between peak alpha frequency and age were assessed and compared between groups. Consistent with characteristic patterns of oscillatory slowing, peak alpha frequency was negatively associated with age across the entire sample (p<.0001). A significant group by age interaction revealed that this relationship was more pronounced in adults with ASD (p<.01), suggesting that that age-related oscillatory slowing may be accelerated in this population. Scalable EEG measures such as peak alpha frequency could provide insights into neural aging that are crucially needed to inform care plans and preventive interventions that can promote successful aging in ASD.

Self-Management of Daily Life Tasks for Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Disability

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 7512500016p1-7512500016p1
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Munsell ◽  
Wendy Coster ◽  
Gael Orsmond
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Intellectual Disability ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Computer Adaptive Test ◽  
Life Tasks ◽  
Adolescents With Autism ◽  
Intellectual Level

Abstract Date Presented 04/13/21 The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory–Computer Adaptive Test-ASD (PEDI): Responsibility Scale targets limitations in managing daily life tasks. Adolescents (ages 14–22) with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability (N = 125) performed below expectations based on their intellectual level on the PEDI. Eighty-six percent of youth demonstrated borderline or significant delays in management of life tasks. If unaddressed, this challenge may create significant barriers to success in work and independent living. Primary Author and Speaker: Elizabeth Munsell Additional Authors and Speakers: Joshua Wenig, Hannah Cooper Contributing Authors: Alexandra Gunther, Julie Russell, Jordan McNamee, and Samantha Martel

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document