Aim. The aim of this study was to describe a group of children who lost a diagnosis of autism following participation in early educational programs. Method. This is a descriptive study reporting the characteristics of children (n: 39) who lost their diagnosis of autism and explaining the educational programs that these children followed. The data were collected by reviewing the participants' files and through examinations. Results. All of the children were placed at regular psychiatric follow-ups. The mean age at referral was 2.39±0.75 years, whereas the mean age at the time of optimal outcome reported was 5.11 ± 1.95 years. Two of the children were in early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI), and the rest were in a comprehensive naturalistic behavioral program. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS) total scores at baseline and final were 32.75 ± 3.15 and 18.01 ± 1.76, respectively. The mean IQ of the group at final examination was 116.70 ± 18.88. Conclusion. It could be concluded that a group of children with an autism diagnosis could lose the diagnosis of autism upon early intervention. High IQ and the development of communicative and language skills at an early age could be the most powerful factors contributing to an optimal outcome.

Clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be conceptualized as the extreme end of the distribution of subclinical autistic traits related to genetic susceptibility factors (broad autism phenotype (BAP)) in the general population. Subclinical autistic traits are significantly more common among unaffected first-degree relatives of probands with autism. However, there is a significant heterogeneity of autistic traits in family members of individuals with ASD and severity of autistic traits are not significantly different from controls in the majority of these relatives. The current study investigated the heterogeneity of autistic traits using latent class analysis (LCA) of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) ratings of 673 parents of children with ASD and 147 parents of typically developing children. Two distinct subgroups, including a "low-scoring" and a "high-scorer (BAP)" groups, were found. In comparison to control parents, a significantly larger proportion (21.1% vs. 7.5%) of parents of ASD were members of BAP group. Communication subscale made a distinctive contribution to the separation of high and low-scoring groups (d = 2.77). Further studies investigating neurobiological and genetic biomarkers and stability of these two subgroups over time are important for understanding the nature of autistic traits in the general population. Autism Res 2017, 10: 321-326. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bu araştırmada özel gereksinimli çocuk ebeveynlerinin yaşamda anlamın varlığı ve yaşamda anlamın aranması ile ebeveyn rolüne ilişkin kendilik algılarının psikolojik dayanıklıkları ile ilişkisinin incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın bağımlı değişkeni ile bağımsız değişkenleri arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemek için hiyerarşik regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Araştırma İstanbul'da rehabilitasyon merkezlerine devam eden 406 özel gereksinimli çocuk ebeveyni ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmada veri toplama araçları olarak Yaşamda Anlam Ölçeği (YAÖ), Ebeveyn Rolüne İlişkin Kendilik Algısı Ölçeği (ERKA) ile Yetişkinler İçin Psikolojik Dayanıklılık Ölçeği (PDÖ) kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda YAÖ yaşamda anlamın aranması, YAÖ yaşamda anlamın varlığı, ERKA rol doyumu ve ERKA rol dengelemesi ile PDÖ toplam puan arasındaki ilişkinin anlamlı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmış, adı geçen bu değişkenlerin PDÖ toplam puanının toplam varyansının %18'ini açıkladığı görülmüştür. Ayrıca ERKA rol dengelemesinin anlamlı bir yordayıcı olmadığı, yordayıcı olan diğer değişkenlerin göreli önem düzeyinin sırasıyla YAÖ yaşamda anlamın varlığı, YAÖ yaşamda anlamın aranması ve ERKA rol doyumu olduğu bulgularına ulaşılmıştır.

In this research study, the scores of parents with mentally disabled and autistic children in the alexithymia, self-compassion and humour styles scales are compared and their scores are investigated focusing on the diagnosis of their children variable. Based on the relational screening model, this research study involves 120 mothers and fathers having children diagnosed with alexithymia and autism. As a result of the study, it was found that the comparison of the fathers-mothers' total scores in the alexithymia, selfcompassion and humour styles scales and their sub-scale scores revealed that the only difference is in the over-identification subdimension of the self-compassion scale; moreover, regarding the question whether the scale scores vary depending on the variable of the diagnosis of their children, it was found that there is no statistically significant difference in the scale scores considering this variable.

Problem Statement: Teacher candidates who will soon be responsible for educating the future generations should possess certain characteristics. Specific teacher candidates should have specific characteristics taken into consideration: pre-school and primary teacher candidates should be seen as role models by younger students; psychological counseling and guidance teacher candidates should guide students in terms of choice of profession and provide counseling in case of problems; and special education teacher candidates should be fully equipped with the skills to handle students with special needs and characteristics. Purpose of Study:This study aims to identify the relationship between teacher candidates' humor styles, anxiety, and self-compassion levels, and to investigate these levels from the perspective of gender and grade variables.Method: In this research study, a multiple regression analysis was applied in order to explore the relationship between candidate teachers' humor styles and their anxiety as well as self-compassion levels. The sample of the study is comprised of a total of 1008 students studying in the following departments of the Atatürk Education Faculty at Marmara University: early childhood education, primary school teaching, psychological counseling and guidance, and special education. As data collection instruments, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Humor Styles Questionnaire, and the State and Trait Anxiety Scale were used.