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Lauren V. Usher

Other affiliations: University of Miami
Bio: Lauren V. Usher is an academic researcher from University of Wisconsin-Madison. The author has contributed to research in topics: Autism & Autism spectrum disorder. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 12 publications receiving 146 citations. Previous affiliations of Lauren V. Usher include University of Miami.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The curvilinear association between social anxiety and reciprocity highlights the importance of examining nonlinear relations in individuals with HFA, and emphasizes that discrete profiles of social anxiety in individualswith HFA may necessitate different treatment options.

39 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2019-Autism
TL;DR: Quality of life in friendships and social participation domains was notably low for individuals with fragile X and those with autism.
Abstract: Friendships and social participation are key domains of quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities. This study examined the friendships, social and recreational activities, and family social networks of individuals with intellectual disabilities from two distinct diagnostic groups: individuals diagnosed with fragile X syndrome (n = 81) compared with those diagnosed with autistic disorder (n = 226). Within each diagnostic group, individuals in two developmental stages were compared: adolescence and adulthood. Quality of life in friendships and social participation domains was notably low for individuals with fragile X and those with autism. Individuals with fragile X had more friendships and a less negative social impact on the family than individuals with autism. Across both groups, adolescents spent less time with friends and neighbors, and more time in exercising, than did adults.

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The spectrum hypothesis is supported, highlighting the utility of self-report temperament measures for understanding individual differences in comorbid behavior problems among children and adolescents with HFA.
Abstract: This study tested the spectrum hypothesis, which posits that children and adolescents with high functioning autism (HFA) differ quantitatively but not qualitatively from typically developing peers on self-reported temperament. Temperament refers to early-appearing, relatively stable behavioral and emotional tendencies, which relate to maladaptive behaviors across clinical populations. Quantitatively, participants with HFA (N = 104, aged 10-16) self-reported less surgency and more negative affect but did not differ from comparison participants (N = 94, aged 10-16) on effortful control or affiliation. Qualitatively, groups demonstrated comparable reliability of self-reported temperament and associations between temperament and parent-reported behavior problems. These findings support the spectrum hypothesis, highlighting the utility of self-report temperament measures for understanding individual differences in comorbid behavior problems among children and adolescents with HFA.

28 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that the salience of the self influences the extent to which affective self‐evaluations impact emotional functioning for youth both with and without ASD.
Abstract: Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate atypical processing of, and memory for, self-referenced information, which may contribute to the heightened rates of co-occurring internalizing problems. We assessed affective and cognitive aspects of self-referential processing in verbally-fluent children with ASD (N = 79), and an age-matched comparison sample (COM, N = 73) of children without an autism diagnosis. We examined group differences in these two aspects of the self-system, and their joint contributions to individual differnces in internalizing problems. Using a self-referenced memory (SRM) task, participants indicated whether a series of positive and negative trait adjectives described themselves and a well-known fictional character. Participants were then surprised with a recognition memory test on the same adjectives. Overall, individuals with ASD showed a reduction in the extent to which they preferentially endorsed positive over negative trait adjectives about themselves, and a reduction in their preferential memory for self- over other-referenced information. Across the full sample, these two aspects of self-referential processing jointly predicted self-reported internalizing problems. Specifically, self-evaluations were strongly and inversely associated with internalizing problems but only for children with relatively high SRM. These findings suggest that the salience of the self influences the extent to which affective self-evaluations impact emotional functioning for youth both with and without ASD. Implications for basic (e.g., developmental) and translational (e.g., intervention) research are discussed. Autism Res 2017, 10: 949-960. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Examination of error related negativity (ERN) in relation to behavioral, social cognitive, and emotional presentation in higher functioning children diagnosed with autism and an age- and IQ-matched sample of children without autism found larger ERN amplitudes were associated with better performance on theory of mind tasks.
Abstract: The ability to regulate behaviors and emotions depends in part on the ability to flexibly monitor one’s own progress toward a goal. Atypical patterns of response monitoring have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In the current study we examined the error related negativity (ERN), an electrophysiological index of response monitoring, in relation to behavioral, social cognitive, and emotional presentation in higher functioning children (8–16 years) diagnosed with autism (HFA: N = 38) and an age- and IQ-matched sample of children without autism (COM: N = 36). Both HFA and COM participants displayed larger amplitude responses to error compared to correct response trials and these amplitudes did not differ by diagnostic group. For participants with HFA, larger ERN amplitudes were associated with more parent-reported autistic symptoms and more self-reported internalizing problems. However, across the full sample, larger ERN amplitudes were associated with better performance on theory of mind tasks. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of electrophysiological measures for understanding essential moderating processes that contribute to the spectrum of behavioral expression in the development of ASD.

24 citations


Cited by
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01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: This is an introduction to the event related potential technique, which can help people facing with some malicious bugs inside their laptop to read a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon.
Abstract: Thank you for downloading an introduction to the event related potential technique. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have look hundreds times for their favorite readings like this an introduction to the event related potential technique, but end up in malicious downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some malicious bugs inside their laptop.

2,445 citations

Dissertation
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: High-functioning children with autism were compared with two control groups on measures of anxiety and social worries and high anxiety subscale scores for the autism group were separation anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Abstract: High-functioning children with autism were compared with two control groups on measures of anxiety and social worries. Comparison control groups consisted of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and normally developing children. Each group consisted of 15 children between the ages of 8 and 12 years and were matched for age and gender. Children with autism were found to be most anxious on both measures. High anxiety subscale scores for the autism group were separation anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. These findings are discussed within the context of theories of autism and anxiety in the general population of children. Suggestions for future research are made.

545 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
18 Mar 2021
TL;DR: The authors describe how language used to communicate about autism within much of autism research can reflect and perpetuate ableist ideologies (i.e., beliefs and practices that discriminative of individuals with autism).
Abstract: In this commentary, we describe how language used to communicate about autism within much of autism research can reflect and perpetuate ableist ideologies (i.e., beliefs and practices that discrimi...

349 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors conducted a systematic review to summarise English-language research about relationships between core ASD symptoms and social anxiety in individuals with ASD and found that social anxiety was associated with poorer social skills and functioning, and reduced social motivation.

136 citations