Difficulties in understanding symbolism have been documented as characteristic of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). In general, virtual reality (VR) environments offer a set of potential advantages for educational intervention in ASD. In particular, VR offers the advantage, for teaching pretend play and for understanding imagination, of it being possible to show these imaginary transformations explicitly. This article reports two case studies of children with autism (aged 8:6 and 15:7, both male), examining the effectiveness of using a VR tool specifically designed to work on teaching understanding of pretend play. The results, confirmed by independent observers, showed a significant advance in pretend play abilities after the intervention period in both participants, and a high degree of generalization of the acquired teaching in one of them.

The aim of this article was to analyze the evidence regarding the effectiveness of intervention programs for children with autism based on the participation of their parents. To obtain the data, a systematic search was carried out in four databases (PsycARTICLES (ProQuest), ERIC (ProQuest), PubMed (ProQuest), and Scopus). The retrieved documents were refined under the inclusion/exclusion criteria, and a total of 51 empirical studies were selected. These studies were first classified according to the function of the intervention objective and, later, by the methodology applied (19 studies were based on comprehensive interventions, 11 focused on the nuclear symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 12 focused on the promotion of positive parenting, and nine interactions focused on child play). Once all of the documents had been analyzed, the evidence indicated scientific efficacy in most studies, mainly in those based on child development and the application of behavioral analysis principles. Moreover, the positive influence of parent participation in such programs was demonstrated.

Studies on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders have shown gender disproportion. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in this investigation area. There are two main research lines; the first is focused mostly on gender-related biological reasons that could account for low ASD prevalence in women (i.e., related to some protective factors related to hormones or the immune system, among others), and the second research line studies possible diagnostic biases. In the present study, a review of the latter line of research is made based on two main objectives: (a) analysis of possible biases in diagnostic tools and (b) other nonbiological ASD prevalence explained by gender differences. As a result of our theoretical review, we found that the articles reviewed showed contradictory results and possible diagnostic biases, not only in their design but also in their assessment standards. We concluded that specific or complementary diagnostic tools and procedures differentiated by gender should be developed in order to reduce these biases.

The COVID-19 pandemic had imposed a variety of containment measures on the general population for prolonged periods. Confinement has had, and still has, social, economic, educational, health, and psychological consequences on the entire population. Objective: In this article, a systematic search has been performed based on studies carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, regarding the impact of these containment measures on the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) population and their caregivers. Method: We consulted six databases (i.e., PubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) and selected ten studies that met the inclusion criteria. The chosen studies have been classified according to their theoretical focus, methodology, and target population. Results: We found an increase in stress and a decrease in psychological well-being among individuals diagnosed with ASD (i.e., parents and caregivers). Additionally, in studies focused on children, youth, and adults with ASD diagnosis, the results are contradictory depending on variables such as age, ASD severity, or type of family structure. Conclusions: The results show that the consequences of quarantine and social confinement are quite contradictory and depend on variables such as age, ASD severity, and family features.

This article introduces the System for Early Detection of Developmental Disorders (referred to as SDPTD for its abbreviation in Spanish), a system developed in previous papers. The SDPTD is a developmental screening test that includes seven questionnaires, one for each cutoff of age (3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months). These questionnaires have been designed to be answered by parents. To study its validity, SDPTD was administered to a sample of 728 children (approximately 100 children in each of the seven cutoff age groups). A development scale known as Merrill-Palmer-Revised (MP-R) was used as a criterion test. The development state of the children was tested again one year later. The results show a high level of agreement between parents and professionals. The concurrent validity is high although it varies by cutoff age. Regarding the diagnostic validity a year after the original evaluation, levels of sensitivity and specificity are high enough to consider the system reliable, valid and suitable for screening purposes.

Recepción: 5 de octubre de 2016 Fecha de aceptación definitiva: 17 de enero de 2017 rEsuMEn: Los datos publicados sobre la prevalencia de los Trastornos del Espectro Autista (TEA) apuntan hacia un incremento significativo de este indicador. Este incremento está siendo objeto de estudio en numerosas publicaciones de análisis, metaanálisis y revisiones sistemáticas. La prevalencia nos indica el porcentaje de personas que en un momento determinado padecen o son diagnosticadas de una enfermedad. Las consecuencias derivadas del incremento de la prevalencia son relevantes tanto desde el punto de vista sanitario, como social y educativo, pero sobre todo son relevantes cuando, como es el caso, no se conoce la causa del trastorno. Es en este sentido donde gana importancia el estudio de la prevalencia con la finalidad de acotar diversas circunstancias que puedan dar pistas sobre la posible causa o causas que generan los TEA. En este artículo se resumen los últimos estudios y revisiones y se reflexiona sobre los mismos y las posibles causas que justifiquen el incremento del que informan. Se analiza cómo estos indicadores epidemiológicos pueden o están influidos por posibles deficiencias metodológicas

Tim Berners-Lee claimed in 2001 that "the power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect". A considerable amount of work has been done to make the web accessible to those with sensory or motor disability, with an increasing number of government and enterprise intranet webs being "accessible", and also with some consortiums and groups seriously approaching this commitment. Some authors, such as Harrysson, have already highlighted the need for a cognitively accessible web. However, in spite of good intentions, there has been little work to date that has tackled this task. At least until now, the existing WAI and NI4 recommendations about cognitive disability are extremely difficult (if not impossible) to test, as they are only general recommendations. This article explains an alternative Web that has been constructed and tested on a sample of participants with cognitive disabilities (N = 20) with positive results encouraging us to dedicate more effort to fine tune their requirements regarding specific cognitive deficits and automating the process of creating and testing cognitively accessible web content. This alternative web implies the use of a simplified web browser and an adequate web design. Discussion of the need to have several levels of cognitive accessibility, equivalent (although not identical) content for this collective and the need for testable protocols of accessibility that support these people's needs is also included. This article finishes with conclusions about the potential impact of accessible pages in the daily life of people suffering from cognitive deficits, outlining the features to be considered within a user profile specification that support cognitive difficulties and with reflections about the suitability of Semantic Web Technologies for future developments in this field.

The increment of prevalence is among the most important changes that have taken place in recent years with regard to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); in the 1970s and 1980s of the 20th century, the prevalence of ASD was estimated to be 4/10,000 [...]