PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF WORKING WITH PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH EARLY CHILDHOOD AUTISM

This article reveals the psychological states of parents of children with childhood autism. Since one of the important conditions for providing assistance to children with childhood autism is the organization of comprehensive support for the whole family. The main tasks of this work are informational and psychological support for parents and improving their competence in the education and upbringing of children with special needs. It is also important to note that when organizing work with parents, it is important to observe ethical norms and rules that promote trust and partnership between parents and a child with childhood autism.

Review of the book by V. E. Pashkovsky "10 lectures on autism" Moscow: medpress-inform. 2021; 136 p. [1]

The problem of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and early childhood autism, in particular, has become one of the most discussed problems of child psychiatry in recent years. For example, a search for publications with the keywords "Autism Spectrum Disorder" in PubMed for 2019 offers 4523 results, and for 2010 1795 links. This is due to a number of reasons.

Tactile cortical responses and association with tactile reactivity in young children on the autism spectrum

Background Unusual behavioral reactions to sensory stimuli are frequently reported in individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Despite the early emergence of sensory features (< age 3) and their potential impact on development and quality of life, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying sensory reactivity in early childhood autism. Methods Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate tactile cortical processing in young children aged 3–6 years with autism and in neurotypical (NT) children. Scalp EEG was recorded from 33 children with autism, including those with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities, and 45 age- and sex-matched NT children during passive tactile fingertip stimulation. We compared properties of early and later somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) and their adaptation with repetitive stimulation between autistic and NT children and assessed whether these neural measures are linked to “real-world” parent-reported tactile reactivity. Results As expected, we found elevated tactile reactivity in children on the autism spectrum. Our findings indicated no differences in amplitude or latency of early and mid-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials (P50, N80, P100), nor adaptation between autistic and NT children. However, latency of later processing of tactile information (N140) was shorter in young children with autism compared to NT children, suggesting faster processing speed in young autistic children. Further, correlational analyses and exploratory analyses using tactile reactivity as a grouping variable found that enhanced early neural responses were associated with greater tactile reactivity in autism. Limitations The relatively small sample size and the inclusion of a broad range of autistic children (e.g., with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities) may have limited our power to detect subtle group differences and associations. Hence, replications are needed to verify these results. Conclusions Our findings suggest that electrophysiological somatosensory cortex processing measures may be indices of “real-world” tactile reactivity in early childhood autism. Together, these findings advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tactile reactivity in early childhood autism and, in the clinical context, may have therapeutic implications.

Tactile Cortical Responses and Association with Tactile Sensitivity in Young Children on the Autism Spectrum

Background: Unusual responses to sensory stimuli are frequently reported in individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Despite the early emergence of sensory features (<age 3) and their potential impact on development and quality of life, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying sensory sensitivities in early childhood autism. Methods: Here, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate tactile cortical processing in young children aged 3-6 years with autism and in neurotypical (NT) children. Scalp EEG was recorded from 33 children with autism, including those with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities, and 45 age- and sex-matched NT children during passive tactile fingertip stimulation. We compared properties of early and later somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) and their adaptation with repetitive stimulation between autistic and NT children and assessed whether these neural measures are linked to “real-world” parent-reported behavioral tactile sensitivity.Results: As expected, we found elevated behavioral tactile sensitivity in children on the autism spectrum. Our findings indicated no differences in amplitude or latency of early and mid-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials (P50, N80, P100), nor adaptation between autistic and NT children. However, latency of later processing of tactile information (N140) differed between young children with and without autism, suggesting faster processing speed in young autistic children. Further, correlational analyses and exploratory analyses using tactile phenotype as a grouping variable found that enhanced early neural responses were associated with greater behavioral tactile sensitivity in autism. Limitations: The relatively small sample size and the inclusion of a broad range of autistic children (e.g., with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities) may have limited our power to detect subtle group differences and associations. Hence, replications are needed to verify these results.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that electrophysiological somatosensory cortex processing measures may be indices of “real-world” tactile sensitivity in early childhood autism. Together, these findings advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tactile sensitivity in early childhood autism and, in the clinical context, may have therapeutic implications.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM: BIOETHICAL PROBLEMS IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE PANDEMIC

Comparison of the opinions working with the children of psychologists of Volgograd region concerning the provision of psychological assistance to children with early childhood autism in the 10-year interval (2009–2019) showed the ongoing institutionalization of this social practice, although not intensive enough. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, made it virtually impossible to provide psychological support to children with the disorder, due to numerous factual and subjective factors. It was concluded that regional medical and social services needed to be particularly proactive in providing support to vulnerable categories of persons (in particular, with regard to psychological support for children with early childhood autism).

Comorbidity between epilepsy and autism from the point of view of ontogenesis

Early childhood autism, or autism spectrum disorders, is an extremely heterogeneous group of conditions that share similar symptoms of dysontogenesis. Epilepsy is the most significant comorbidity in autism. The present article covers various aspects of comorbidity between epilepsy and autism, described in the literature over the last 50 years. This review aims to analyze the development of epilepsy and autism during ontogenesis and to identify causal relationships between these diseases, considering the information on the two age peaks for epilepsy onset in patients with autism.