This study examined the extent to which a computer-based social skills intervention called FaceSay was associated with improvements in affect recognition, mentalizing, and social skills of school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). FaceSay offers students simulated practice with eye gaze, joint attention, and facial recognition skills. This randomized control trial included school-aged children meeting educational criteria for autism (N = 31). Results demonstrated that participants who received the intervention improved their affect recognition and mentalizing skills, as well as their social skills. These findings suggest that, by targeting face-processing skills, computer-based interventions may produce changes in broader cognitive and social-skills domains in a cost- and time-efficient manner.
Research has identified early-appearing differences in gross and fine motor abilities in infants at heightened risk (HR) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) because they are the younger siblings of children with ASD, and it suggests that such differences may be especially apparent among those HR infants themselves eventually diagnosed with ASD. The present study examined overall and item-level performance on the Gross (GM) and Fine Motor (FM) subscales of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) administered at 6 months to a large, geographically diverse sample of HR infants with varying developmental outcomes (ASD, Elevated ADOS without ASD, Low ADOS without ASD) and to infants with low ASD risk (Low Risk; LR). We also explored whether motor abilities assessed at 6 months predicted ASD symptom severity at 36 months. FM (but not GM) performance distinguished all three HR groups from LR infants with the weakest performance observed in the HR-Elevated ADOS children, who exhibited multiple differences from both LR and other HR infants in both gross and fine motor skills. Finally, 6-month FM (but not GM) scores significant predicted 36-month ADOS severity scores in the HR group; but no evidence was found of specific early-appearing motor signs associated with a later ASD diagnosis. Vulnerabilities in infants’ fine and gross motor skills may have significant consequences for later development not only in the motor domain but in other domains.
Children with autism have heightened risk of developing oral health problems. Interventions targeting at-home oral hygiene habits may be the most effective means of improving oral hygiene outcomes in this population. This randomized control trial examined the effectiveness of a 3-week video-modeling brushing intervention delivered to patients over the internet. Eighteen children with autism were assigned to an Intervention or Control video condition. Links to videos were delivered via email twice daily. Blind clinical examiners provided plaque index ratings at baseline, midpoint, and endpoint. Results show oral hygiene improvements in both groups, with larger effect sizes in the Intervention condition. The findings provide preliminary support for the use of internet-based interventions to improve oral hygiene for children with autism.
Electrodermal activity was examined as a measure of physiological arousal within a naturalistic play context in 2-year-old toddlers (N = 27) with and without autism spectrum disorder. Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder were found to have greater increases in skin conductance level than their typical peers in response to administered play activities. In the autism spectrum disorder group, a positive relationship was observed between restrictive and repetitive behaviors and skin conductance level increases in response to mechanical toys, whereas the opposite pattern was observed for passive toys. This preliminary study is the first to examine electrodermal activity levels in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder during play-based, naturalistic settings, and it highlights the potential for electrodermal activity as a measure of individual variability within autism spectrum disorder and early development.
Background
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic disorder that is highly comorbid with anxiety and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Elevated negative affect in young children has been associated with increased risk for both anxiety and ASD; however, these relations remain poorly understood in FXS.
Methods
The present prospective longitudinal study examined the trajectory of negative affect from infancy through preschool in males and females with FXS and typical development and its relation to anxiety and ASD.
Results
Results indicate a complex association reflecting group, developmental, and sex effects. Specifically, the group with FXS displayed a trajectory of increasing negative affect across age that was distinct from the typical controls. This atypical trajectory of negative affect in FXS was driven by sex effects in that males showed lower negative affect during infancy followed by steep increases across the toddler and preschool years whereas the females displayed a flatter trajectory. Finally, elevated negative affect predicted anxiety symptoms in males, but not females, with no relationship to ASD in males or females with FXS.
Conclusions
The current work addresses the importance of studying the development of psychopathology in a specific neurogenetic population. Temperamental negative affect was shown to be an important early marker for anxiety in young children with FXS, with subtle differences observed between males and females.
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Sex differences in typical development can provide context for understanding ASD. Baron-Cohen (Trends Cogn Sci 6(6):248–254, 2002) suggested ASD could be considered an extreme expression of normal male, compared to female, phenotypic profiles. In this paper, sex-specific M-CHAT scores from N = 53,728 18-month-old toddlers, including n = 185 (32 females) with ASD, were examined. Results suggest a nuanced view of the “extreme male brain theory of autism”. At an item level, almost every male versus female disadvantage in the broader population was consistent with M-CHAT vulnerabilities in ASD. However, controlling for total M-CHAT failures, this male disadvantage was more equivocal and many classically ASD-associated features were found more common in non-ASD. Within ASD, females showed relative strengths in joint attention, but impairments in imitation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2945-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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