Research has shown that the majority of young adults with autism achieve poor-fair outcomes. It is known that communication deficits in individuals with autism may persist throughout the lifespan. However, there is a paucity of information in the literature pertaining to the communication needs of adolescents and young adults with autism. To meet the complex needs of these individuals, transition plans and programs must be improved. One way in which transition programs can be improved is by incorporating evidence based assessment and intervention methods designed for this population that target communication skills. Caregivers (n=68) of adolescents and young adults with autism anonymously completed a survey pertaining to outcomes, goals, and communication skills. Outcomes for the young adults were mostly poor and communication skill performance was variable. Results revealed that overall, caregivers perceived some communication skills to be more important than others. Caregivers rated the importance of communication skills differently depending on the social goals of the individual with autism. Results achieved significance for the relationship between developmental language level and the perceived importance of certain communication skills. Findings demonstrate that specific communication skills should be assessed and targeted during transitional planning for individuals with autism. / text

Although much of the current literature in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has focused on illuminating their biological underpinnings or identifying effective treatment approaches, very little research has integrated these two areas of study and examined the neurobiological outcomes associated with various autism interventions. The proposed study will use functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) to measure changes in resting state connectivity associated with an intensive behavioral intervention for young children with ASD. Independent component analysis and t-tests will be used to determine if 20 children receiving a behavioral intervention experience greater changes in connectivity than 20 children (matched for sex and developmental age) in a control group receiving treatment as usual (TAU). / text

Minor physical anomalies (MPA) are mild congenital malformations in external physical abnormalities that are observed in neurodevelopmental disorders such as velocardiofacial syndrome (more commonly known as 22q11.2 deletion syndrome), autism and schizophrenia. It has been reported that about three-quarters of MPAs can be found in the craniofacial region, such as low-seated ears, high-steepled palate, altered interorbital distance. Furthermore, both eye and brain development are tightly linked, and interorbital distance and optic chiasmic angle in adulthood are perinatally fixed. Therefore my study investigated MPAs of the optic system in two neurodevelopmental disorders, 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The four selected MPAs included 1) inter-orbital distance, 2) the optic chiasmic angle, 3) anterior extension of optic nerves ‘a’, and 4) posterior extension of optic nerves ‘b’. They were investigated in two individual studies, the first comprising 17 adults with ASD and 21 controls while the second comprised 27 adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and 28 controls. Their MRI scans were analysed with respect to the MPAs. The main finding was that adults with ASD had significantly larger total brain volume which was positively correlated with the anterior extension of optic nerves ‘a’, but not the other optical MPAs. This suggested that the larger brain volume was more related to frontal brain enlargement. As no relevant significant results were obtained in the controls nor adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, such finding appears pertinent to ASD adults, rather than that to a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. However, this finding is only preliminary, and other neurodevelopmental disorders should be included for comparison with ASD and healthy controls. The use of MRI appears to be a feasible tool to assess MPAs. Future work will focus on whether these observations can be replicated across the life-span by evaluating these parameters in children with ASD, as well as adults with other neurodevelopmental disorders. / published_or_final_version / Psychiatry / Master / Master of Philosophy

Social skill deficits remain a defining feature of autism. One method to explain social behavior in autism is to explore specific antecedent-response relations. People with autism do not attend to social cues as readily as their typically developing peers thereby missing important cues that guide behavior during social interactions. The current study explored how children with autism learn antecedent-response relations using social and nonsocial stimuli as cues for reinforcement. A computerized task comprised pictures of social and non-social stimuli were presented on a computer screen. Participants were asked to respond to each picture by pressing a button if they thought pressing the button in the presence of the picture would earn them a reinforcer or to withhold pressing if they thought the picture would not earn them a reinforcer. Neither typically-developing children nor children diagnosed with ASD were able to reliably discriminate pictures. Developmental implications of these findings are discussed. / October 2015

Detta är en studie baserad på tre olika yrkesprofessioners syn på samarbetet kring barn med autism i förskolan. Dessa tre professioner är specialpedagoger, habiliteringspersonal och förskollärare.   Vårt syfte med detta arbete är att både undersöka och öka kunskapen kring det samarbete som sker kring autistiska barn under deras vistelse i förskolan. Samt att belysa samarbetet och de specialpedagogiska insatser som används utifrån de inblandade professionernas perspektiv, samt ge en bild av hur samarbetet manifesteras i verkligheten i förhållande till hur det bör se ut utifrån gällande lagar och regler.   Den metod vi har använt oss av är kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta representanter från de olika yrkesrollerna. Samtliga representanter arbetar inom samma mellansvenska kommun.   Resultatet visar att samarbetet mellan de olika instanserna är mycket viktigt för att barn med autism ska få det stöd de behöver och kunna utvecklas i förskolan. Även hemmet spelar stor roll, både som en del av samarbetet och som bas för att specialpedagogiska insatser ens ska initieras. Samarbetet påbörjas ofta redan under utredningen, innan diagnossättning, och de olika instanserna är därför delaktiga under det tidiga arbetet med barnet. Det dubbla chefsskap som kan uppstå i samband med samarbetet kan skapa vissa motsättningar och problem då beskeden kan vara olika och motsägelsefulla. Även föräldrakontakten visar sig vara en problematisk aspekt, då de olika instanserna ej delade synen kring vems primära ansvar det var. Läroplanens, och därmed förskolans, inkluderingsuppdrag kan ha en negativ inverkan på det autistiska barnets utveckling, beroende på hur det tolkas och framför allt manifesteras.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by a triad of clinical features which include lack of social interaction and communication, behavioral stereotypes, and a range of cognitive deficits. The presence of motor deficits has often been observed in the children with autism who are described as being clumsy or awkward in their movements. There is, however, considerable ambiguity related to universality, severity and exact nature of these motor difficulties. The objective of this study was to assess the movement characteristics of children with ASD and to place their motor dysfunction in the context of their functional independence in the performance of daily living skills. Seventeen children diagnosed with Autism or PDD-NOS in the age range of 5-11 years were recruited and assessed using two standardized tests of motor function; the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency - Second Edition (BOT-2; Bruininks 2005) and the Movement Assessment Battery for children (M ABC-2; Henderson, Sugden, & Barnett 2007) and a third assessment of functional independence in children WeeFIM (WeeFIM System, 1999). Most of the children showed movement characteristics that ranged from mild to severe impairment, though two children showed no motor difficulties. However, when compared, as a group, to age matched norms, it was noted that the motor skill performance of children with ASD was noticeably poorer. Marked impairments were observed in tasks that required manual dexterity, upper limb coordination, strength and agility. Children with ASD also showed greater functional disability compared to age-matched norms, however, their degree of motor dysfunction by itself did not correlate with their performance of daily living skills. This study provides invaluable insights into movement characteristics of children on the autism spectrum and highlights the need for including motor assessment as a routine investigation for children with autism. / text

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Denna uppsats är en utvärdering av en befintlig introduktionsutbildning för föräldrar till barn med autismspektrumstörning som givits i tre varianter – en längre, en kortare respektive en intensiv – i regi av Autismcenter för små barn i Stockholms län. Utvärderingen inkluderar föräldrar till 70 barn och bygger på tidigare insamlade frågeformulär, samt kvalitativa intervjuer med föräldrarna till tio av barnen. Frågeformulären har analyserats statistiskt och intervjuerna tematiskt. Resultaten visar att föräldrarna huvudsakligen var nöjda med utbildningen och kände sig väl omhändertagna. Ibland upplevde de dock viss osäkerhet runt kursens syfte och därmed med vissa kursinslag. Sammanlagt visar resultaten att det fanns en tendens till att den längre kursen gav en bättre mognadsprocess än de övriga kursformaten. Avslutningsvis lämnas rekommendationer inför framtiden, både avseende kursens utformning och fortsatt utvärdering av den.

Personer med autismspektrumtillstånd har en nedsatt social förmåga och tidigare forskning har visat att dessa personer har ett annorlunda sätt att se på och tolka information uttryckt i ansikten jämfört med normalt utvecklade individer. Vi har i vår studie mätt förekomst av autistiska personlighetsdrag mätt med Autism-Spectrum Quotient (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin & Clubley, 2001) och minnesförmåga för ansiktsemotioner genom ett two-alternative forced choice test där bilder på ansiktsemotioner uttryckta i höger- respektive vänsterhalvprofil och uttryckta företrädelsevis i övre respektive nedre delen av ansiktet presenterades för de 71 försöksdeltagarna. Vi har kunnat visa ett negativt linjärt samband (r = -.30, n = 71, p = .013) mellan autistiska personlighetsdrag och minnesförmåga för ansiktsemotioner, där ett större antal autistiska personlighetsdrag var korrelerade med en sämre minnesförmåga. Vi fann också generellt en försämrad minnesprestation för de emotioner som främst uttrycks i övre delen jämfört med nedre delen av ansiktet (Wilks lambda = .494, F (1, 69) = 70.713, p < .0005, effektstorlek = .51), men däremot ingen signifikant skillnad för om emotionerna presenterades i höger eller vänster halvprofil. Inte heller framkom någon interaktionseffekt mellan autistiska personlighetsdrag, halvprofil och var i ansiktet emotionen främst uttrycks.