Despite a remarkable need and demand for services, little is known about the family relationships of children with social competency disorders (SCD), defined in this study as children with Asperger’s Disorder and nonverbal learning disabilities (NVLD). Both children with Asperger’s Disorder and children with NVLD exhibit social skill deficits essential to building and maintaining relationships. These social competency impairments are thought to be related to similarities in their neuropsychological profiles. The low prevalence rates of these conditions and the neuropsychological and behavioral similarities supports the combination of Asperger’s Disorder and NVLD as a “social competency disorders” group for purposes of research. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) have been found to be highly comorbid in children with SCD, and were included in this study as clinical control group. The purpose of this study was to examine the relational functioning in the families of children with social competency deficits across different parts of the family system. It was hypothesized that the social competency deficits in children with SCD would result in significantly lower levels of relational functioning across the parent-child subsystem, parenting subsystem and whole family level of the family. Sixty-one children between the ages of 8-12 and their mothers participated in this study. Children were assigned to the SCD, ADHD or typically developing group based on pre-determined criteria. Self-report measures of interpersonal functioning in the parent-child relationship, strength of parenting alliance in the parental relationship and social support in the whole family were collected and compared across the three groups. As predicted, mothers of children with SCD reported significantly higher levels of dysfunction in the parent-child subsystem as compared to mothers of typically developing children; however, no significant differences in parent-child dysfunction were found between the SCD and the ADHD group. Contrary to the hypotheses proposed in this study, the SCD group showed no significant group differences on measures of parenting alliance and social support in the whole family. This study reveals the importance of intervention in the parent-child relationship in these families, and the need for additional research using longitudinal, multi-modal and multiple informant designs. / text

The prevalence of anxiety amongst children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) is reportedly considerably higher than the general population (Ozsivadjian & Knott, 2011). Research considering intervention for children with ASC and anxiety has predominantly been from a clinical perspective, with limited evidence based literature being found that explored the needs of these students in relation to anxiety within the mainstream secondary school educational context. Anxiety can increase during adolescence for children with ASC (White, Ollendick, Scahill, Oswald, & Albano, 2009) and many of the anxiety related worries of children with ASC have been found to be related to school (Ozsivadjian & Knott, 2011). However, there is a dearth of research regarding practical support within an educational setting that can be implemented by schools on a needs basis to support students with ASC and signs of anxiety. Four students with a diagnosis of an ASC who had presented with signs of anxiety were identified from mainstream secondary schools across one English local authority. A parent and an educational practitioner who worked with each student also participated. A qualitative multiple embedded case study design was utilised. Suitably differentiated methods for gaining this cohort of students’ views and engaging them in the research were employed. Data from semi-structured interviews and educational documentation were analysed for main themes using thematic analysis based upon Braun and Clarke's (2006) six phase model. The perceived needs and difficulties of anxious students with ASC and what is considered to be effective practice in supporting them within a mainstream secondary school setting are outlined. The study provides some understanding of the needs of students with ASC and how schools support management of their anxiety. The research intends to extend knowledge of the needs of these students and what works in effectively supporting these students within a mainstream secondary school setting.

Repetitive verbal patterns of speech are a trait associated with high-functioning autism (HFA). For some, this higher-order restricted, repetitive behavior impedes learning, social opportunities, and access to work environments. Despite emerging motivation for establishing social relationships, some individuals with HFA lack the behavioral prerequisites to establish meaningful relationships. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of teaching interaction to decrease higher-order verbal restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) for four adults with HFA. Through a multiple baseline design across participants, individuals were exposed to a function-based intervention (i.e., teaching interaction) that systematically taught and reinforced alternative communicative behaviors while interrupting repetitive speech with specific feedback. Teaching interaction effectively reduced RRBs and increased alternative conversation for all four participants. Three of the four participants elected to participate in post-intervention maintenance sessions that occurred in individualized naturalistic settings. Their conversation behaviors maintained with one participant receiving one booster session.

Cette recherche porte sur l’impact et la caractérisation des difficultés socio-affectives dans l’anorexie mentale (AM). Les difficultés intéroceptives et introspectives, telles qu’appréhendées par des mesures d’alexithymie, pourraient être liées à la sévérité des tableaux cliniques des AM et impacter non seulement leur état somatique mais également leur fonctionnement interpersonnel. Par ailleurs l’alexithymie et l’évitement social sont des déficits retrouvés dans les troubles du spectre autistique. L’Institut de Psychiatrie de Londres a d’ailleurs proposé un modèle mettant en cause un partage d’endophénotypes entre ces troubles et l’anorexie mentale qui rendrait compte de leur chevauchement phénotypique. Le manque de flexibilité et de cohérence centrale font l’objet d’une littérature grandissante et semblent bien être commun aux deux pathologies. Des difficultés socio-affectives communes sont aussi discutées, mais encore peu étudiées. Un axe de notre travail a été d’étudier les liens entre l’alexithymie, les facteurs cliniques (e.g âge de début, durée d’évolution, nombre de rechutes, évolution de l’état globlal) et l’anxiété sociale en prenant en compte d’éventuels facteurs de confusion mis en cause dans la littérature (état nutritionnel,, affects anxio-dépressifs). Le deuxième axe de notre travail a porté sur la caractérisation du chevauchement existant entre les troubles du spectre autistique et l’anorexie mentale en comparant les profils socio-affectifs d‘anorexiques et de personnes atteintes du syndrome d’Asperger. Pour répondre au premier axe de recherche, nous avons réalisé deux études : une 1ère auprès de 60 patientes ; une 2ème auprès de 213 patients. Les sujets des deux études étaient des patients hospitalisés pour un épisode d’anorexie dans une unité spécialisée dans la prise en charge des troubles des conduites alimentaires. La première étude a porté sur une population homogène d’adolescentes anorexiques, malades depuis moins de 3 ans et toutes hospitalisées dans le même centre parisien. La participation à la deuxième étude a été proposée à tous les patients âgés de 13 à 65 ans hospitalisés pour un épisode d’anorexie au sein de 11 services spécialisés en France. Pour les deux études, nous avons utilisé les scores à des instruments psychométriques mesurant l’alexithymie (TAS-20 ou BVAQ), la symptomatologie alimentaire (EDI, ou EDE-Q et EAT) et les affects anxio-dépressifs (SCL-90 ou HAD). L’état global des patients, l’anxiété et l’évitement social ont été évalués lors d’entretiens semi-structurés (respectivement Morgan et Russell, LSAS). De ces deux études, il ressort que l’alexithymie semble jouer un rôle péjorant, non seulement sur les symptômes alimentaires, mais également sur l’évitement social. L’impact de l’alexithymie existe au-delà de l’effet de l’état nutritionnel et des affects dysphoriques. Le fonctionnement alexithymique semble par ailleurs influencer négativement l’évolution de l’état clinique des personnes ayant nécessité une hospitalisation pour anorexie mentale dans une unité spécialisée. Pour répondre à notre deuxième axe de recherche, nous avons réalisé une étude psychométrique comparative auprès de 15 personnes présentant un Syndrome d’Asperger, 15 anorexiques et deux groupes de témoins appariés à chaque groupe clinique. Nous avons utilisé des entretiens semi-structurés pour confirmer les diagnostics du Syndrome d’Asperger et d’AM (ADOS et MINI). Les participants ont complété des échelles d’alexithymie (BVAQ), de traits autistiques (AQ), d’empathie (IRI, EQ), de dépression (BDI) ainsi que de symptomatologie alimentaire (EAT). Cette étude comparative montre que les anorexiques se rapprochent des personnes souffrant du Syndrome d’Asperger en ce qui concerne l’alexithymie et certains traits autistiques, notamment cognitifs. (...) / This work concerns the impact and the nature of socio-affective difficulties in Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Interoceptive and introspective difficulties, as apprehended by measures of alexithymia, could be linked to the severity of clinical profiles among AN patients, and have an impact not only on their somatic state but also on their interpersonal functioning.Alongside, alexithymia and social avoidance are deficits that are encountered in disorders in the autistic spectrum. The London Institute of Psychiatry has indeed proposed a model involving shared endophenotypes between these disorders and AN, thus concluding to a phenotype overlap. The lack of flexibility and central coherence among these patients are issues that are being increasingly broached in the literature, and these features do indeed appear common to both pathologies. Socio-affective difficulties are also widely discussed in this respect, but as yet there have been few studies. Our first line of research was the study of the links between alexithymia, clinical factors (such as age at onset, duration of illness, number of relapses, evolution of global state), and social anxiety, taking into account any possible confounders highlighted in the literature (nutritional state, anxious-depressive affects). The second line of research was an exploration of the overlap between disorders in the autism spectrum and AN, by way of a comparison of the socio-affective profiles of AN patients and patients with Asperger's syndrome. To address the first line of research two studies were conducted. The first involved 60 female patients, and the second included 213 male and female patients. The patients in both of these studies were hospitalised for an episode of anorexia in units specialised in the care of eating disorders. The first study explored a homogenous population of anorexic adolescent girls with an illness duration of three years or more, all hospitalised in the same facility in Paris. Participation in the second study was proposed to all patents aged between 13 and 65 years hospitalised for an episode of anorexia across 11 specialised units in France. For both studies the scores used were derived from psychometric measures of alexithymia (TAS-20 or BVAQ), eating disorder symptoms (EDI or EDE-Q and EAT), and anxious-depressive affects (SCL-90 or HAD). Global state, anxiety and social avoidance were assessed in the course of semi-structured interviews (GOAS and LSAS respectively). From these studies it emerged that alexithymia appears to have an aggravating role, not only on eating symptoms, but also on social avoidance. The impact of alexithymia extends beyond that of the nutritional state and dysphoric affects. Alexithymic functioning also appears to have a negative impact on the evolution of clinical state among individuals having required hospitalisation in a unit specialised in AN. To explore the second line of research we performed a comparative psychometric study on 15 individuals presenting Asperger's syndrome, 15 anorexic patients, and two control groups matched to the two clinical groups. Semi-structured interviews were used to confirm the diagnoses of Asperger's Syndrome and AN (ADOS and MINI). The participants completed the scales for alexithymia (BVAQ), autistic traits (AQ), empathy (IRI,EQ), depression (BDI) and eating symptoms (EAT). This comparative study showed that AN subjects exhibited similarities with Asperger subjects for alexithymia and certain autistic traits, in particular cognitive. In contrast, important differences were observed for social skills, with anorexics exhibiting more empathy and greater concern for others that the patients with a disorder in the autism spectrum. From a clinical point of view in the field of the care of AN, this research shows the value of developing new approaches centred on the recognition of emotional states and the improvement of social skills. (...)

The diploma thesis follows the bachelor thesis "School and Counselling Trajectory of a Child with Asperger's Syndrome", where the experience of children with this diagnosis and their parents with school attendance was described. This time it is viewed from the perspective of primary school teachers who have experience with a pupil with Asperger's syndrome. For data collecting a semi-structured interviews about Asperger's syndrome were used and a qualitative method was chosen. Based on the analysis of the results, the following areas were found: "how it all started", what it means to have a pupil with Asperger's syndrome in the classroom, conflicts, what helps, experiencing inclusion of a child with Asperger's syndrome by his class teacher, "…so one wonders, if it's worth it". The results most often included the individuality of the child and the lack of time and space on the part of teachers in meeting the individual needs of included children, the importance of support from the teaching assistant and also the importance of cooperation with the child's family. The work also includes the theoretical definition of the inclusion of pupils with Asperger's syndrome into regular primary school. KEYWORDS Asperger's syndrome, teachers, primary school, experience, autism spectrum disorders

With a dramatic increase in the prevalence of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including those with high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome, educators are challenged to meet the educational needs of a complex and widely diverse group of exceptional learners. The focus of this research was to gain insight into the experiences of the graduated student with autism and his/her parent(s) during the student's time in public school. This study had three research questions: 1) What were the lived experiences of students with ASD who graduated from an urban public high school in the southeast United States?; 2) What were the lived experiences of the parents of the graduated students with ASD?; and, 3) Were there common themes between the graduated students' lived experiences and the parent's lived experiences? Five graduated students and their parents were interviewed in this qualitative, phenomenological study. Explicitation of the interview data identified three themes for the graduated student group: a) challenges with learning due to having an ASD; b) difficulty making friends; and, c) involvement in their educational process. Four themes were present in the parent group: a) challenges with learning due to having an ASD; b) difficulty making friends; c) establishment of a relationship with the school; and, d) preparation for post-secondary experiences. The graduated student group agreed with the parent group on 16 of the 20 interview questions. Responses for each graduated student were compared to the responses of his/her own parent(s). Recommendations were made for future research.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis we describe the creation of an embodied conversational agent which exhibits the behavioural traits of a child who has Asperger Syndrome. The agent is rule-based, rather than arti cially intelligent, for which we give justi cation. We then describe the design and implementation of the agent, and pay particular attention to the interaction between emotion, personality and social context. A 3D demonstration program shows the typical output to conform to Asperger-like answers, with corresponding emotional responses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis beskryf ons die ontwerp en implementasie van 'n gestaltegespreksagent wat die gedrag van 'n kind met Asperger se sindroom uitbeeld. Ons regverdig die besluit dat die agent reël-gebaseerd is, eerder as 'n ware skynintelligensie implementasie. Volgende beskryf ons die wisselwerking tussen emosies, persoonlikheid en sosiale konteks en hoe dit inskakel by die ontwerp en implementasie van die agent. 'n 3D demonstrasieprogram toon tipiese ooreenstemmende Asperger-agtige antwoorde op vrae, met gepaardgaande emosionele reaksies.

The aim of this thesis is to find out chat forms of zoorehabilitation exists and how it can help to people with autism and thein families. The work begins with a brief definitiv of autism and its history. The FIFA charter is devoted to autism spektrum disorders, its influence on social relationships, communication, imagination, games and interests. The sixth charter deals with disorders of the autism spektrum. I describe each disorder separately, its characteristics, even if there are not fixed boundaries between different disordes. The seventh charter is devoted to the diagnosis of autism spektrum disorders, chat are the metod sof diagnosis. Next charter describers chat options do parents of these childern have in education. Following charter describes Civic associations, that arise and hepl parents of childern affected by autism and ether formo f disabilities. In the tenth and in the next five chapters are described different types zoorehabilitation, its origin and use in the Czech Republic. From the seventeenth charter starts the practical part where i described free different stories of families with a child who has one of the autism spektrum disorder. Every child has a different disorder and esch reacts differently to zootherapy, whether at home or specialized facility. From case reports, it...

Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome are entering institutions of higher education at an increasing rate. However, they may not be prepared to meet the academic and social demands of the postsecondary environment. Although studies have evaluated the impact of academic and social interventions for children and adolescents with Asperger’s Syndrome, little research has been conducted on the college population. The current study utilized a multiple baseline across participants design to evaluate the effectiveness of a writing learning strategy on the writing performance of three college students with Asperger’s Syndrome. Results indicated that the quality of the writing performance improved following strategy instruction. In addition, participants were able to generalize the use of the strategy to content specific writing tasks. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo verificar a existência de alterações visopercepto- motoras em pacientes com a síndrome de Asperger ou T.I.D. (Transtorno Invasivo do Desenvolvimento). Para tal, foi desenhado um estudo com dois grupos de trinta sujeitos do sexo masculino entre 12 e 30 anos. Trinta desses sujeitos com a síndrome de Asperger, diagnosticados através dos critérios do DSM-IV-TR, Escala de Traços Autístiscos (ATA), apresentando QS maior ou igual a 70 através das Escalas de Comportamento Adaptativo de Vineland. Os desempenhos nas escalas foram estatisticamente estudados e comparados com os resultados dos trinta sujeitos com desenvolvimento normal. Ambos os grupos foram submetidos às provas de Imitação de Gestos de Bèrges & Lèzine, Piaget-Head, Bender, prova de Cubos das escalas Wechsler e Escala social de Pelotas. Todos os sujeitos foram submetidos aos testes relacionados de maneira padronizada. A escolha dos sujeitos e aplicação dos testes foi efetuada em escolas e centros clínicos especializados. As análises dos resultados demonstram diferenças significantes e déficit na organização perceptivo viso motora dos sujeitos com a síndrome de Asperger. A análise estatística por meio do t-independente, entre os dois grupos aponta para repostas discrepantes no grupo dos Aspergers com nível de significância (p0,05/0.05) evidenciando assim, melhor desempenho global em todas as escalas aplicadas nos sujeitos do grupo controle. A complexidade que envolve as noções de percepção espacial, motricidade e ação, bem como a lateralidade mostraram-se marcantes dificuldades na população estudada, sendo necessários novos estudos, prevenção, tratamento e orientações à família e escola / This study aimed to verify the existence of visual-perceptual-motor function changes in patients with Asperger syndrome or PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder). To that objective, a study was developed with two groups of thirty male between 12 and 30 years old. Thirty of these people with Asperger\'s syndrome, were diagnosed by the DSM-IV-TR, Autistics Stroke Scale (ATA), with QS greater than or equal to 70 through the Adaptive Behavior Scales Vineland. The performance scales were statistically analyzed and compared with the results of thirty people with normal development. Both groups were tested for Imitation of gestures Bèrges & Lèzine, Piaget-Head, Bender, Cubes proof of Wechsler scales and Pelotas social scale. All people were tested in a standardized way. The choice of the people and tests application had been performed in specialized schools and clinical centers. Analyses of results showed significant differences and deficits in visual motor perceptual organization of individuals with Asperger syndrome.Statistical analysis by T-independent between the two groups points to the differing responses of the Aspergers group with significance (p 0.05 / 0.05), thus emphasizing the better overall performance on all scales applied in the control group.The complexities surrounding the notions of spatial perception and motor action as well as the handedness proved remarkable difficulties in the population studied, being necessary new studies, prevention, treatment and guidance to family and school