More boys than girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; however, there are conflicting findings about whether they differ in their presentation. This study involved a survey of parents of school-aged children on the autism spectrum (171 parents of girls and 163 parents of boys) that was distributed via social media. The surveys provided insights regarding the characteristics of boys and girls (as perceived by parents) as well as some demographic information. There were very few differences reported regarding communication and social strengths and difficulties of boys and girls with autism. No differences were reported in the number of boys and girls on the autism spectrum with special interests or repetitive behaviours; however, significant differences were found in the types of special interests with boys and girls showing generally interests along traditional gender lines. Qualitative analysis of open comments indicated that some parents of girls on the autism spectrum described their daughter as trying to hide or mask her difficulties more but no parents of boys on the spectrum described this phenomenon.
Background: The World Health Organization recognizes that meaningful participation in one's community empowers individuals. Children and adolescents on the autism spectrum consistently report lower participation than their typical peers in activities, and this appears to continue into adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate the participation of children on the autism spectrum over a 3-year period across home, school, and community. Method: Caregivers of 84 participants aged 9-10 years at Year 1 completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY) at three annual data collection points. The PEM-CY is a 25-question measure of the child's level of involvement in home, school, and community activities. Distribution frequencies were calculated for each time point. Results: Although participation in the majority of items across home, school, and community remained stable, the longitudinal data suggest that children change the types of socializing activities across time. Over the 3 years, there was a decline in physical activity (both organized and unstructured) and in participation in school activities.Conclusion: This decline in participation as children move into adolescence is concerning. Further, reduced participation at this phase of development may potentially limit future participation opportunities throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Further exploration of the participation trajectories of children on the autism spectrum is needed.
Cybersickness embraces a range of clinical symptoms reported in response to simulated motion in a computer generated, virtual reality environment. The Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) has been the standard tool for measuring observed responses; however, many of the observed SSQ variables are highly correlated, so it is not clear which ones are appropriate to use as a basis for building an explanatory model. In this study, responses to the SSQ were analyzed using principal components analysis, and four significant factors-General Cybersickness, Vision, Arousal and Fatigue-were identified. An initial interpretation of these factors is provided in the context of a broader cybersickness model, with a view to constructing a new questionnaire with fewer, more focused questions.
The aim of this experiment was to determine which cybersickness symptoms are associated with simulated motion, by comparing responses to the Simulated Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) between a control and experimental condition. Using non-parametric statistical tests, we found that general discomfort, fatigue, headache, eyestrain, difficulty in focusing eyes, increased sweating, nausea, difficulty in concentrating, stomach awareness and blurred vision were significantly higher in a high simulated motion task compared with a low simulated task. The implications for preventing cybersickness in virtual environments are discussed.
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