Showing papers in "Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities in 2006"

The Development of Social Anxiety in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: The present study examined factors contributing to the development of social anxiety in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In particular, the study examined the contribution of socia...

Feeding Problems in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Review

Abstract: Many parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) report that their children have feeding problems. A body of literature targeted toward parents of children with ASD includes information about possible interventions for this problem. Most intervention suggestions within this literature have been only anecdotally reported to be effective; few research studies have addressed maladaptive feeding behaviors in children with ASD. This review synthesizes current research regarding the types of feeding problems and interventions used with children with ASD. In addition, the authors briefly discuss the literature on treating feeding problems in other populations as a means of comparison. They also point out differences in empirically supported treatments and treatments used by parents for aberrant feeding behaviors in children with ASD.

Anxiety in Adolescents With Asperger Syndrome: Negative Thoughts, Behavioral Problems, and Life Interference:

Abstract: This study examined anxiety symptoms in 29 adolescents With Asperger syndrome (AS) aged 12 to 16 years, compared to 30 nonclinical (NC) adolescents and 34 adolescents With anxiety disorders (AD). C...

Increasing Appropriate Social Interactions of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Social Stories

Abstract: To date there are more than one dozen studies that validate the use of Social Stories™ as an effective behavioral intervention. Many of these studies focused on decreasing inappropriate behaviors (...

Increasing Physical Activity in Individuals with Autism.

Abstract: This study investigated the outcomes of an intervention package on participation in tWo physical activities: snoWshoeing and Walking/jogging. Three male secondary school students Who had been diagnosed With autism and Were attending a school for students With intellectual disabilities participated in a 6-month outdoor physical activity program. The authors used a changing conditions design; the program Was divided into six phases by the amount of edible reinforcers provided during sessions. A self-monitoring board, verbal cuing, and edible reinforcers Were used in the study. Distance snoWshoed, Walked, and jogged per 30-min session increased as edible and verbal reinforcement decreased. The results suggest that interventions can be developed to promote sustained participation in physical activity for individuals With autism.

A Comparison of Static Picture Prompting and Video Prompting Simulation Strategies Using Group Instructional Procedures

Abstract: Two groups of three students with moderate mental retardation were instructed using group procedures to compare static picture and video prompting simulation strategies. An alternating treatments design was used to compare individual student task acquisition and maintenance performances of purchasing and banking skills. The results indicated that these two strategies were equally effective and efficient. Individual differences suggest that simulation strategy materials benefit student learning by displaying relevant stimuli for a stationary period time during presentation.

Cardiovascular Arousal in Individuals with Autism.

Abstract: Despite the hypothesized link betWeen arousal and behavior in persons With autism, there is a lack of idiographic research that directly assesses arousal responses to novel stimuli or social situations in this population. The current study used heart rate as a measure of sympathetic activity to compare arousal responses to the presentation of potentially stressful situations in five persons With autism and five age- and sex-matched typically developing individuals. Findings revealed that the group With autism shoWed significant responses to stressors only 22% of the time compared to the typically developing group, Which shoWed significant responses 60% of the time. Interpretation of these results and methodological considerations for future research on arousal in persons With autism are discussed.

Treatment Integrity: A Review of Intervention Studies Conducted with Children with Autism.

Abstract: The purpose of this study Was to assess the degree to Which behavioral intervention studies conducted With children diagnosed With autism operationally defined the independent variables (IVs) and evaluated treatment integrity (TI). The study replicated the criteria from Gresham, Gansle, and Noell (1993) and focused exclusively on research studies conducted With children diagnosed With autism Who Were age 18 years or younger. Results indicated that of the 60 studies that Were critically revieWed, 11 operationally defined the IVs and assessed TI. Conversely, the majority of the studies (n = 41) operationally defined the IVs yet did not assess TI. Last, 3 studies operationally defined the IVs and referred to TI Within the paper but provided no data, and 5 studies did not define IVs or assess TI.

Are the Majority of Children With Autism Mentally Retarded? : A Systematic Evaluation of the Data

Abstract: There are frequent claims in the literature that a majority of children With autism are mentally retarded (MR). The present study examined the evidence used as the basis for these claims, revieWing 215 articles published betWeen 1937 and 2003. Results indicated 74% of the claims came from nonempirical sources, 53% of Which never traced back to empirical data. Most empirical evidence for the claims Was published 25 to 45 years ago and Was often obtained utilizing developmental or adaptive scales rather than measures of intelligence. Furthermore, significantly higher prevalence rates of MR Were reported When these measures Were used. Overall, the findings indicate that more empirical evidence is needed before conclusions can be made about the percentages of children With autism Who are mentally retarded.

Activity Schedules, Computer Technology, and Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: A review of selected literature suggests that integrating multimedia computer supports With activity schedules can be an effective Way to teach students to manage their Work, play, and skill-buildi...

Parent Perspectives on Role Engagement: An Investigation of Parents of Children With ASD and Their Self-Reported Roles With Education Professionals

Abstract: This exploratory study employed qualitative methodology to analyze intervieW data that emerged from face-to-face intervieWs With eight parents of four children With autism spectrum disorder. The st...

Effectiveness of a Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment on the Social Behaviors of Children With Asperger Disorder

Abstract: The current study presents preliminary data from an ongoing research project evaluating a summer treatment program for children with Asperger disorder (AD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive—behavioral treatment program on the social behaviors of 6- to 13-year-old children with AD. Overall program effectiveness was the focus of analyses at this time, but two treatment configurations were also tentatively compared: social skills instruction only (SS) versus social skills instruction and behavioral treatment (SS+BT). Results of the study indicated significant improvement in social skills for the overall program based on parent and staff reports. In addition, parents reported a significant improvement in adaptability and reduction in unusual behavior for their children. In contrast, staff reports reflected no significant change in adaptability and an increase in unusual behaviors. Comparison of the two treatment configurations indicated no significant difference betwe...

Interventions for Young Children With Autism A Synthesis of the Literature

Abstract: The purpose of this study Was to collect and examine intervention studies conducted With young children With autism. The synthesis looked at inferential studies reported betWeen 1975 and April 2001 that included preestablished criteria such as, for example, at least tWo thirds of the participants ages 3 to 8 years and 50% or more of the participants diagnosed With autism. A total of 24 studies met the inclusion criteria and Were then coded and summarized. Findings revealed that interventions that targeted multiple variables, extended over a long duration, and included parent involvement yielded the most positive outcomes for children.

Can Asperger's Disorder Be Differentiated From Autism Using DSM-IV Criteria?

Abstract: Parents of 26 children With diagnoses of Asperger's disorder completed a symptom checklist to determine Whether the children met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for Asperger's disorder, autism, or pervasive developmental disorder not otherWise specified. Results shoWed that almost all (20) met criteria for autism, and a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of Asperger's disorder could not be confirmed in any child. Further, 95% of the parents Whose children did not have a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of Asperger's disorder agreed With their child's diagnosis of Asperger's disorder. Our findings suggest that the hierarchical DSM-IV-TR criteria are not applied by clinicians to diagnose Asperger's disorder because most children With diagnoses of Asperger's disorder actually met DSM-IV-TR criteria for autism, Which precludes a diagnosis of Asperger's disorder. These findings are consistent With previous studies. Most expert...

The Effects of Presenting High-Preference Items, Paired With Choice, Via Computer-Based Video Programming on Task Completion of Students With Autism:

Abstract: Task completion time Was substantially decreased for tWo middle school students With a diagnosis of moderate mental retardation and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) folloWing the presentation of high-preference items and choice via a computer-based video program. The study used an ABAB design to evaluate the effects of the program compared to tangible high-preference items presented in baseline. Students' time to complete three tasks decreased immediately folloWing the introduction of the computer-based program. Results are discussed in terms of the advantages of this approach as one solution for providing novel and highly reinforcing activities to students With a diagnosis of ASD.

Teaching a Young Child to Appropriately Gain Attention of Peers Using a Social Story Intervention

Abstract: The purpose of this study Was to assess the effectiveness of a Social Story™ intervention in teaching a young child With hyperlexia to appropriately obtain the attention of his peers. The Social St...

Assessing Behavioral Flexibility in Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

Abstract: Researchers associate an insistence of sameness or lack of behavioural flexibility with autism and Asperger syndrome, but few studies have sought to identify specific situations in which individuals insist on sameness. Along these lines, we developed the Behavioural Flexibility Rating Scale (BFRS) and conduted an Internet survey of parents of individuals with autism, Asperger syndrome, and Doen syndrome. A total of 726 respondents submitted usable returns during the 3-month survey period. Parent report indicated that individuals with Asperger syndrome showed the most problems in relation to the insistence on sameness as measured by the BFRS, followed by individuals with autism and Down syndrome, respectively. When diagnosis was controlled, there were no gender or age differences. This preliminary investigation suggests tha the BFRS may be useful in identifying specific situations in which indivudals insist on sameness or show a lack of behavioural flexibility may be useful in planning interventions focused on promoting greater behavioural flexibility.

Sleep Problems in Children With Autism and in Typically Developing Children

Abstract: Although sleep problems are often seen as a clinical feature associated with autism, and children with autism are reported to have more sleep disturbances than typically developing children, there is a paucity of studies in the area and findings are restricted by problematic methodological approaches. The present study addressed these limitations, with parents of children with autism (as defined by two independent indices of the disorder) reporting more difficulties with sleep for their children than did parents of typically developing children on seven of eight sleep problem domains assessed. The methodological advances implemented are seen as supporting the reliability of the findings, and the need for further refinements to advance the understanding of sleep problems in children with autism is discussed.

The Effect of Picture Communication Symbols on the Verbal Comprehension of Commands by Young Children With Autism

Abstract: The diagnosis of autism, although a source of discussion and occasional controversy, has consistently included poor communication as an essential component. Both the text revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) and the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (World Health Organization, 1993) cite qualitative impairments in communication as central diagnostic criteria. Some researchers have even indicated that the communication deficits associated With the disability of autism are its most significant deficit (Rutter & Schopler, 1988).

Behavioral Cusps: A Person-Centered Concept for Establishing Pivotal Individual, Family, and Community Behaviors and Repertoires.

Abstract: Cumulative-hierarchical learning (CHL) and behavior, a premise first introduced by Staats in 1975, describes hoW higher-level behavioral patterns and structures can emerge from interactions among a set of loWer-level actions. Proponents of CHL emphasize the importance of pivotal response interventions, behavior repertoires, generative learning, and the development of behavioral cusps, the human equivalent of the computer World's killer application, or “killer app” (Wikipedia, n.d.). Rosales-Ruiz and Baer (1997) defined a behavioral cusp as an entry point for pivotal behavioral change that, once initiated, so profoundly alters, displaces, or transforms one's behavioral repertoire that it renders preexisting behavioral repertoires obsolete. In this article, We demonstrate hoW behavioral cusps can be used to construct CHL behaviors and repertoires of persons With autism and other pervasive developmental disorders Within and across five pivotal behavioral elements. We also describe hoW behavioral cusps could ...

Are the Majority of Children With Autism Mentally Retarded

Abstract: knowledge, a research project has to meet two crucial criteria. First, it must pose a testable hypothesis to an important issue. Second, it must rigorously apply appropriate scientific methods to test this hypothesis. Dr. Edelson’s project not only met these criteria, but also added another important ingredient. Namely, it challenges a long-held and often quoted “belief” (read, “accepted fact”) that the majority of autistic persons are mentally retarded. The author’s careful analysis of all the relevant literature reveals how studies reporting clinical and even “empirically based” impressions are flawed, and how nonscientifically supported “impressions” that the “vast majority” of individuals with autism are also mentally retarded morphed into “accepted doctrine.” Mental retardation is a comprehensive, descriptive term. Our current knowledge of the syndrome and the autistic spectrum can help explain the language and cognitive deficits formerly ascribed to mental retardation. Based on our years of clinical practice and research on autism, we concur with the author’s conclusion that “it seems prudent to obtain additional empirical evidence before making any definitive conclusions regarding the prevalence of MR in children with autism.” We have stated a similar opinion in our forthcoming book Understanding the Nature of Autism and Asperger’s Disorder in a section entitled “IQ and Autism.” Dr. Edelson thoughtfully explains several likely reasons for the origin and perpetuation of the unsubstantiated association of autism and mental retardation; here we wish to emphasize two crucial factors. First, the identification of mild and subclinical forms of autism led to an expanding definition of the phenotypes and established a broader diagnostic category. Second, our new understanding of abnormal programming of brain development in autism has modified our understanding of what we mean by IQ in individuals with autism. A glance at the history of medicine reveals that whenever a new syndrome or disease is described in the medical literature, the most serious cases are portrayed. They then become the templates for diagnosis and research. Recall that a “heart attack” was initially described as “crushing substernal pain radiating down the left arm, shortness of breath, and death.” Diabetes was, “you drank a lot, urinated a lot, lost weight, and died.” Now, of course, we know there are mild heart attacks that go undiagnosed and there are cases of diabetes that are relieved by simple dietary changes. And so it was with autism. Kanner’s original cases (Kanner, 1943), we now know, had the most severe form of autism, and they became the templates for diagnosis for the next 20plus years. These cases met the diagnostic criteria for mental retardation in use at that time because their cognitive and social development was so far behind schedule. Contrast Kanner’s cases with the adults we identified in a 1994 study. They had some symptoms of autism as children, and yet as adults they married, had children of their own, and remained undiagnosed. They came to our attention when we were studying their children with autism (Ritvo & Ritvo, 1994). Today, there is a consensus in the field that autism is a spectrum disorder, with Kanner’s cases representing the most severe and those with Asperger’s disorder representing the mildest (subclinical) form (Segal, 1996). The majority of the mild cases do not meet criteria for mental retardation. Rather, they are amenable to standard tests of IQ, and they function clinically with IQ scores ranging from borderline to superior. In fact, in a 12-year prospective study we found that 50% of children who began in the middle-IQ group had moved to the high-IQ group 12 years later (Freeman, Ritvo, Rhabbar, Yokota, & Ritvo, 1991). Thus, the discovery and counting of mild, high-functioning, and subclinical cases of autism in future prevalence surveys will help the next generation of clinicians and researchers to avoid perpetuating the pejorative and prejudicial stereotype that the vast majority of children with autism are also mentally retarded. Second, we wish to emphasize that over the past 2 decades there has been an exponential explosion of knowledge about the cause(s) and developmental neuropathology underlying autism. Many studies have documented characteristic devel-

Author Productivity and Publication Trends in Autism-Specific Journals From 1997 to 2004:

Abstract: The 20 most productive authors (in terms of number of articles authored) were identified across three major autism-specific journals ( Autism: An International Journal of Research and Practice, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders ) published between 1997 and 2004. Of the top 20 authors, 11 worked outside the United States, and 9 were women. Most articles included several coauthors, suggesting that most authors were involved in collaborative work. Most of the published research was assessment research, and slightly less than half was funded. Limitations of this study and future research are discussed.

Are the Majority of Children With Autism Mentally Retarded

Abstract: Mentally Retarded? A Systematic Evaluation of the Data” addresses the important issue of the prevalence of mental retardation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and illustrates how folklore can become accepted fact in science. The article systematically reviews studies of autism and mental retardation, and it quickly becomes clear that children who were not able to participate adequately in cognitive testing were considered to have mental retardation. This assumption, Edelson’s analysis suggests, has been passed down from generation to generation, becoming accepted as fact. This is an important article in that it helps us understand the nature of scientific research; it also points to the selfcorrecting nature of science. The role that IQ plays in autism has been greatly overstated and misinterpreted. In fact, it does not matter if children with autism have mental retardation. The real issue is that children with ASD have difficulty functioning in the natural environment. In studies of the relationship between cognitive and social adaptive skills in mental retardation, it is reported that the two areas are directly related. This is also true in typical development. However, children with ASD have demonstrated that they are able to acquire academic skills, but they often do not use these skills day-to-day. Rather than measure cognitive skills alone, the literature now supports the notion of looking at the discrepancy between cognitive skills and the ability to function in the real world (Volkmar, Klin, & Cohen, 1997). This is supported by the fact that with the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994), the concept of autism was broadened to include milder forms of the disorder (i.e., including those with Asperger’s syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified). As the majority of these children score in the normal ranges on cognitive testing, this could be a major factor in the lower prevalence rates now reported. Thus, the population of children identified prior to DSM-IV is different from that described today. According to Chakrabarti and Frombonne (2005), in a group of preschoolers from the town of Strafford, United Kingdom, the co-occurrence of mental retardation and ASD was 29.8%. Still another reason for the change in the number of children with autism and mental retardation is that measures used to assess intelligence have not always been true cognitive measures. The assumption is that if we can administer a test, we can attain an objective measure of something. What we actually have in administering cognitive tests to children with ASD is a measure only of what a child will do on a given day. This is not a measure of intelligence per se. In fact, the assessment of children affected by ASD requires specialized knowledge and experience with the population, as Edelson notes. For example, Koegel et al. (1989) reported that one of the pivotal skills to be taught to children with ASD is motivation. Without motivation the children will not perform, particularly on tasks that are not meaningful for them. In addition, it has been assumed that because children do not respond to tests in the classic manner (often refusing to complete tasks), they have failed the test. This has led to the misclassification of children with autism and to misplaced emphasis in treatment programs. In addition, the literature is replete with examples of the use of measures other than cognitive measures to determine if children with autism have mental retardation (e.g., using parent report of social adaptive skills to determine a developmental quotient). We must remember that the hallmark of autism is difficulty with adaptive and social communication skills. Any measure of social communication skills in the natural environment is going to result in the child scoring lower than on cognitive tests. This does not mean that a child in fact has mental retardation. It simply reflects the core deficit in ASD. Further, even children with ASD who score in the normal ranges on cognitive tests consistently have deficits in these measures of social adaptive skills. The assumption that the majority of children with ASD are mentally retarded has had direct implications for treatment. Until recently treatments primarily focused on improving cognitive and academic skills. It is now recognized that social communication deficits should be the focus of treatment rather than academic skills. IQ scores for those affected by ASD could

A Case Study of Early Development in Smith-Magenis Syndrome

Abstract: The aim of this article is to provide an in-depth description of early development in a young child With Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS). SMS is a multisystem, neurodevelopmental genetic disorder associated With mental retardation that predisposes individuals to a distinct pattern of maladaptive behaviors and other neuropsychological impairments. While there is some research describing outcomes for individuals With SMS in middle childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, very feW descriptions of early development are available in the literature.