As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rises, the demand for services also increases. For individuals on the autism spectrum to access most of these services, a formal diagnosis is necessary. An accurate diagnosis also informs the type of services a child receives and whether that treatment will appropriately address their symptoms. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of professionals trained to recognize the signs of ASD and perform ASD diagnostic assessments. Thus, waitlists for diagnostic assessments can be months to years long. The problem of too few trained professionals is compounded by inappropriate referrals (i.e., children referred for ASD evaluations who do not exhibit signs of ASD). When children are referred to an inappropriate service, waitlists can be unnecessarily lengthened. Long waitlists can delay access to services with limited availability for children who would benefit from them by creating a bottleneck effect. Additionally, it may delay access to services for the incorrectly referred child who waits for inappropriate services (e.g., behavior therapy for ASD) rather than being directed to more appropriate services with potentially shorter waiting times (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for social anxiety). Children are typically referred for ASD-specific diagnostic assessments after failing a screening measure. However, existing screening measures have high rates of false positives. Further, given the misconceptions surrounding ASD, children may be referred based on symptoms that are incorrectly assumed to be symptoms of ASD (e.g., inattention, hyperactivity). Many children receive another diagnosis before being diagnosed with ASD, while other families are told their child does not have ASD before ultimately receiving an ASD diagnosis, suggesting that many referral sources and diagnosticians (e.g., pediatricians) lack proper knowledge of the symptom patterns seen in children on the autism spectrum. Adults who have frequent contact with children (e.g., teachers, parents) are ideally situated to identify signs of ASD as they see children over long periods of time and in a variety of situations. However, research shows that these individuals may lack knowledge and have misconceptions about ASD and the corresponding patterns of behavior and symptoms. Thus, for them to serve as effective early identifiers and accurate referral sources, they will need training in the presentation and diagnostic criteria of ASD. The present study examined whether a brief and specific training increased parents’ and teachers’ knowledge of ASD and their ability to accurately identify children in need of referrals for ASD diagnostic services. Sixty-four parents of children ages 4 to 12 years and 24 teachers and teachers’ aides (referred to collectively as teachers) of pre-k through 5th grade were recruited through social media. Participants were primarily women (81.3% of parents, 83.3% of teachers) and White (81.3% of parents, 75.0% of teachers). All participants completed a demographics questionnaire and baseline measures of ASD knowledge and referral accuracy (assessed using hypothetical case examples). Participants were randomly assigned to view either a 5-minute video about ASD or a short brochure. Both training materials included the same information and wording. After the brief training intervention, post-training ASD knowledge and referral accuracy were assessed. Parents and teachers did not significantly differ in their baseline ASD knowledge nor their baseline referral accuracy. Additionally, there was not a significant increase in ASD knowledge from baseline to post-training for the sample. ASD knowledge was correlated with referral accuracy at baseline and post-training. The gender of the hypothetical case examples did not influence participants’ referral decisions. The majority of the sample had adequate baseline knowledge of ASD. Additionally, referral accuracy was also high at baseline. Therefore, it is possible that the training materials reviewed by the participants did not present information that was new to them. It is unclear if the degree of knowledge and referral accuracy in the present sample is reflective of the general population without replication. Future studies should examine ASD knowledge and referral accuracy in larger and more diverse samples. Additionally, the effect of the training in a sample with inadequate knowledge should also be studied.

Prior research suggested that attentional control plays a role in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders in youth. Research also suggests that youth on the autism spectrum suffer from difficulties in executive functioning, including attentional control. The current study investigated the relationship between attentional control and autism spectrum symptoms. The relationship between attentional control, anxiety, and emotion regulation skills was also explored. Participants were 76 treatment seeking youth between the ages of 7 and 17 (Mage = 11.05, SD = 2.99) who met diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder and had either minimal symptoms of autism spectrum disorder or severe levels of autism symptoms. Results failed to find evidence that those with severe autism symptoms had more attentional control difficulties than those with minimal autism symptoms. The results also failed to show a link between anxiety levels and attentional control variables, as well as a link between emotion regulation and attentional control. Consistent with previous research, poor emotion regulation skills were correlated with higher levels of anxiety. Potential reasons for lack of significant findings are discussed, as well as implications for the present data on current research. / Psychology

The overall aim of this study was to examine the difficulties that students diagnosed with autism come up against when studying history at upper secondary school. The combination of upper secondary school history and autism is not something that have been studied and this research aimed to fill up that void. The questions that aimed to be answered in this study was what kind of difficulties students with autism come across when studying history in upper secondary school, what kind of strategies that have shown to be successful to help these students overcome these obstacles, what tools are available today to teachers to help these students, and what teachers today would want today to help in their work. To attempt to answer these questions five teachers from a school that specializes in helping students with Neuropsychiatric disabilities were interviewed. The result of this study shows that teachers with many years of experience educating students with autism are pointing out two certain areas in which students with autism has difficulties when studying history at upper secondary school. First area is the Theory of mind. People with autism have problems putting themselves in situations they have not been in and imagine other people’s perspectives, which is a major part of studying history. The other area in which the teachers’ point out is the students special interests. People diagnosed with autism tend to have certain areas of interest in which they put a lot of their time into. That results in students having very little interest in learning, and if students have any interests in history, the interests are very concentrated to certain areas. The results show that the major strategy to help students diagnosed with autism overcome these obstacles is to break down the information for the students to easier understand and grasp the material.

No / The development in Bradford, England, of specific training materials for parents from Muslim communities of Pakistani origin caring for children with autistic spectrum conditions is outlined, with particular emphasis on challenges arising from non-scientific ‘religious’ explanations for children's conditions and from parents feelings of obligation to ensure that children meet religious requirements. Relevant literature is reviewed and parents’ responses to materials reported and discussed. It is suggested that such parents will benefit from opportunities to explore cultural ideas about causality with each other and with informed and non-judgmental professionals and to share concerns around matters such as washing and prayer.

The Uncinate Fasciculus (UF) is a white matter association tract responsible for connecting the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Its location, general shape, and estimated projections have been visualized and analyzed at low-resolution via diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in many studies, allowing for a basic understanding of the pathway and its potential functions. Despite this, the microstructural properties of this white matter highway are still relatively unknown as we can estimate characteristics such as myelination and pathway density from low-resolution imaging, but we cannot gain a deeper understanding of the fine characteristics that allow the pathway to function in health and how those features are disrupted in disease. To address this gap, we examined six post-mortem tissue samples, featuring approximately 12,000 axons of the temporal segment of the UF (adjacent to the amygdala and hippocampus) from neurotypical controls. We used high-resolution microscopy to systematically sample and study the microstructure of myelinated axons to characterize the UF for future comparisons to disease states, like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We provide novel characterization of the microstructure of the UF in both hemispheres, examining density, size, myelination, and trajectories of axons in healthy adult tissue. Our data revealed hemispheric trends of axon characteristics that align with previous imaging studies, including slight left hemispheric asymmetry in regard to density and myelination and a small increase in trajectory variability in the right hemisphere. In addition, like values found previously in the Corpus Callosum, the distribution of thin and medium axons was much higher than thick axons. Our findings provide a more in-depth understanding of the microstructural characteristics of the UF at the level of single axons, providing context for white matter anisotropy and diffusivity estimates from previous DTI studies through values such as myelin thickness, area fraction, and axon trajectory. This structural framework of this pathway can be used to compare with results from in vivo imaging studies, and to provide a basis for comparison with pathological states in the future. / 2026-06-06T00:00:00Z

Parents, especially mothers, of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely to experience higher levels of stress, and adaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as mindfulness and acceptance, may decrease stress among parents of children with ASD. Research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions reduce perceived stress among parents of typically developing children and improve the parent-child relationship, and similar interventions may be helpful for mothers of children with ASD. However, research has not yet established that mindfulness is related to decreased stress among parents. It is important to first establish this relationship, given the possibility that other factors, such as child behavioral difficulties or parental psychopathology are stronger predictors of maternal stress than the mother's regulation strategies. This study examined the unique contribution of maternal mindfulness to maternal stress in a sample of mothers (n = 154) who completed an online battery of measures. As predicted, maternal mindfulness significantly predicted level of maternal stress, above and beyond child behavior problems and maternal psychopathology, and this relationship was not moderated by child's ASD diagnosis. Maternal emotion regulation and effortful control were also significantly related to maternal stress, and may account for the explained variance of mindfulness. These findings and their implications are discussed. / Master of Science

Designing a school turned out to be far more enriching for me as an architect and as a person; it is a process that investigates the deep connection with one's childhood memories and helps in realizing how much impact the school environment has had on shaping the people we become. (In his book The Child, The City, The Artist) Aldo Van Eyck says: " In my beginning is my end … In my end is my beginning." The design of a school should be addressed as a place where childhood memories are created, where our understanding of play, social interaction, independence and awareness of ourselves and our architectural surrounding starts. It adds responsibility on the architect to make that space a perfect platform for learning, curiosity and creativity. As a child, going to school is a long process that may hold many obstacles. We can't imagine what it is like for someone on the Autism Spectrum. One to every 160 children in the world and one in every 59 children in the US are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder ASD. This high rise in the number of ASD diagnosis should urge architects to think of providing the infrastructure for those children to grow and adequately engage in their communities. This group of schoolchildren have the ability to blend with other neuro-typical children if the school was supportive of this merge both administratively and architecturally. Coming from a country that does not have enough support for such children was a big motivation for my thesis. I felt that we as architects can play a major role in supporting them and even raising awareness about ASD. In my thesis I have designed a school encouraging the inclusivity of students with ASD where the architecture facilitates the co-existence of two groups of children that have different yet complementary capabilities. It is my firm belief that an architecture that can embrace the challenges of such a group of children enriches the social and intellectual growth of both groups simultaneously. / Master of Architecture / This project tackles the question of how architecture can help children on the Autism Spectrum interact with their social and built environment. The project is an elementary school that is designed taking into consideration sensory aspects like color, light, textures and sound. In my thesis I have designed a school encouraging the inclusivity of students with ASD where the architecture facilitates the co-existence of two groups of children that have different yet complementary capabilities. It is my firm belief that an architecture that can embrace the challenges of such a group of children enriches the social and intellectual growth of both groups simultaneously.

Studies examining impaired emotion recognition and perceptual processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show inconsistent results (Harms, Martin, & Wallace, 2010; Jemel, Mottron, & Dawson, 2006), and many of these studies include eye tracking data. The current study utilizes a novel task, emotion recognition of a dynamic talking face with sound, to compare children with ASD (n=8; aged 6-10, 7 male) with mental age (MA) and gender matched controls (n=8; aged 4-10, 7 male) on an emotion identification and eye tracking task. Children were asked to watch several short video clips (2.5-5 seconds) portraying the emotions of happy, sad, excited, scared, and angry and identify the emotion portrayed in the video. A mixed factorial ANOVA analysis was conducted to examine group differences in attention when viewing the stimuli. Differences in emotion identification ability were examined using a t-test and Fisher's exact tests of independence. Findings indicated that children with ASD spent less time looking at faces and the mouth region than controls. Additionally, the amount of time children with ASD spent looking at the mouth region predicted better performance on the emotion identification task. The study was underpowered; however, so these results were preliminary and require replication. Results are discussed in relation to natural processing of emotion and social stimuli. <i>[revised ETD per Dean DePauw 10/25/12 GMc]</i> / Master of Science

This research compares the relationship satisfaction and mental health of parents of children diagnosed with Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and parents of normative children. The analytical sample was obtained from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, and ANOVA statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. Results indicate that significant differences exist in relationship satisfaction and mental health between mothers of children with Autism or ASD and mothers of either children with ADHD or ADD or normative children. No significant differences were found between fathers. Implications for clinicians working with this population, as well as suggestions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

A total of 42,500 cases of autism are estimated to exist in Saudi Arabia. Many children displaying signs of autism spectrum disorder are concealed by their parents, resulting in an undiagnosed condition due to parental concealment. Many parents are concerned that their child will be stigmatized if others discover he or she has autism. Saudi Arabian culture does not display any signs of autism. Children who are displaying signs of autism spectrum disorder are often hidden by their parents, leading to undiagnosed cases of autism spectrum disorder. In Saudi Arabia, specifically in Riyadh, you will not find any autistic children or adults. Parents are concerned about the negative social consequences of others learning that their child has autism. They typically hide autistic children in separate rooms even when visiting other people's homes. In a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, 37.7% of families report being embarrassed by their autistic child. Further, 63.9% report experiencing difficulties because of society's treatment of autistic people. According to the study, 31.1% of areas do not have autism centers. A number of parks, schools, and malls are currently being constructed in the Al-Hamra neighborhood in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. This facility will provide neighborhood residents with a safe, supportive, and socially aware environment. It will provide a portion of land near Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Park. It is crucial to establish a place where neurodivergent people can study, relax, and interact in a social setting. This will break down the stigma associated with neurodivergent people. This will create an open and accepting atmosphere, which will allow neurodivergent people to develop their skills and engage in meaningful activities while feeling safe and secure. This will be beneficial to not only the neurodivergent people but also to the whole community that will benefit from their inclusion. / Master of Architecture / A total of 42,500 cases of autism are estimated to exist in Saudi Arabia. Many children displaying signs of autism spectrum disorder are concealed by their parents, resulting in an undiagnosed condition due to parental concealment. Many parents are concerned that their child will be stigmatized if others discover he or she has autism. Saudi Arabian culture does not display any signs of autism. Children who are displaying signs of autism spectrum disorder are often hidden by their parents, leading to undiagnosed cases of autism spectrum disorder. In Saudi Arabia, specifically in Riyadh, you will not find any autistic children or adults. Parents are concerned about the negative social consequences of others learning that their child has autism. They typically hide autistic children in separate rooms even when visiting other people's homes. In a study conducted by the American Psychological Association, 37.7% of families report being embarrassed by their autistic child. Further, 63.9% report experiencing difficulties because of society's treatment of autistic people. According to the study, 31.1% of areas do not have autism centers. A number of parks, schools, and malls are currently being constructed in the Al-Hamra neighborhood in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. This facility will provide neighborhood residents with a safe, supportive, and socially aware environment. It will provide a portion of land near Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mohammed Park. It is crucial to establish a place where neurodivergent people can study, relax, and interact in a social setting. This will break down the stigma associated with neurodivergent people. This will create an open and accepting atmosphere, which will allow neurodivergent people to develop their skills and engage in meaningful activities while feeling safe and secure. This will be beneficial to not only the neurodivergent people but also to the whole community that will benefit from their inclusion.