Attention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Program

Abstract

Trend effects of the MBP on the attention systems of children with ASD were revealed, as well as minor differences between children with ASD and TD children in their attention systems.

Attention Network Tests in ASD

“…Although reaction times tend to be similar in ASD and TD individuals, there is some evidence that ASD individuals show significantly reduced accuracy on incongruent trials relative to congruent trials, resulting in larger accuracy difference scores. Mutreja et al (2016) reported this effect in children (ages 5-11) using the ANT-C; a similar finding that did not reach statistical significance was reported in a larger sample of slightly older group of individuals aged 8-23 (Ridderinkhof et al 2018). Using the ANT-R, Fan et al (2012) demonstrated poorer executive control accuracy in adults with ASD; further, they found that less accurate performance on the flanker component of the task was associated with reduced activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and more severe language and communication symptoms in the ASD group.…”

“…Furthermore, using fMRI, they found that alerting errors were associated with reduced brain activity in the medial frontal gyri and caudate. As with orienting network scores, some research reported no significant group differences in alerting networks in ASD (Ip et al 2017;Mutreja et al 2016;Ridderinkhof et al 2018;Samyn et al 2017).…”

“…In general, studies of both children and adults measuring reaction time differences between congruent and incongruent flanker conditions on various versions of the ANT have found similar executive control networks in typical development and ASD (Fan et al 2012;Hames et al 2016;Ip et al 2017;Keehn et al 2010;Mash et al 2018;Mutreja et al 2016;Ridderinkhof et al 2018;Samyn et al 2017). One of these studies described an inverse relationship between IQ and the size of the executive control network in children and adolescents with ASD (Keehn et al 2010), suggesting that inefficient executive processes (i.e., slower reaction time on incongruent trials) may be directly related to general cognitive ability.…”

Implications of Sensory Processing and Attentional Differences Associated With Autism in Academic Settings: An Integrative Review

“…Although this has been found to be effective in TD students (153), the effectiveness for individuals with ASD has had mixed reports. Juliano et al (154) implemented an 8-week school-based mindfulness program with 24 students with ASD and found significant improvements in response inhibition and overall selective attention; however, Ridderinkhof et al (155) failed to demonstrate a significant beneficial effect of the program, although showed trends suggesting improvement in orienting and executive function.…”

Therapeutic Riding or Mindfulness: Comparative Effectiveness of Two Recreational Therapy Interventions for Adolescents with Autism

“…As a result of mindfulness interventions, a person learns to direct their attention internally and avoid the “automatic pilot” that takes over the brain when stressed (Cachia et al, 2016 ). Some research exists with the use of modifications of mindfulness interventions (EASE, MyMind) to improve emotional regulation, impulse control, emotional acceptance (Conner & White, 2018 ; Conner et al, 2019 ; Salem-Guirgis et al, 2019 ), anxiety and rumination (Spek et al, 2013 ), quality of life (Ridderinkhof et al, 2018 ), attention (Ridderinkhof et al, 2020 ); and aggression (Singh et al, 2011 ). While some studies did modify the mindfulness intervention to decrease the use of metaphors and shorter sessions for people with autism (Conner & White, 2018 ; Kiep et al, 2015 ; Sizoo & Kuiper, 2017 ), it is unclear what improvement these modifications made for participants.…”