Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characteristically deficient in social awareness and communication skills, while displaying repetitive behaviours. Because of this, integration of individuals with ASD into society is often difficult as people do not know how to respond to their atypical behaviour. Particularly in Asian cultures, this vulnerable group is often subjected to stigmatization. However, recent literature has highlighted some benefits of assistive animal intervention (AAI) for individuals with ASD, which may improve their ability for social interaction. This review examines the effects of AAI in terms of service dogs for individuals with ASD. Methods: Journal articles were identified through a systematic review on psycINFO, Pubmed, Scholars Portal and Web of Knowledge. Additional searches were conducted for inclusion of grey literature and doctoral theses in the review. Results: Of the 170 studies initially found, 7 were selected; 3 cohort studies, 3 case-control studies, and 1 cross-sectional study. Reported outcomes included increased social reciprocity, decreased behavioural problems and decreased stress in individuals with ASD. Despite these positive outcomes, they should be taken with caution, as the designs of the seven studies included in this review show methodological weaknesses, such as small sample sizes and possible information bias from data collection. Conclusions: Additional research focused on varying age groups with ASD, longitudinal studies and standardized outcome measures are required for further research. What this review suggests though is that there is a need to address social services gaps for various disability groups, not just for those with ASD. Some legislative measures are in place in Hong Kong to support the accessibility of assistance dogs in public; however, since there are so few in Hong Kong, their exposure is not enough to gain widespread acceptance. Expansion of assistance dog services to serve other disability groups may help to enhance their quality of life. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Section A: A review of current research literature relating to the impact of child ASD upon non-affected siblings and the utility of sibling group interventions. The first section summarises and critiques studies relating to the social, emotional and behavioural adjustment of siblings, including consideration of potential mediating factors and discussion of methodological issues. The second section considers evidence for one intervention for this group, ASD-specific sibling support groups. The review suggests that inconsistencies remain within the sibling research literature and that there is a clear need for UK-based outcome research. Section B: Background: Having a brother or sister with an ASD can be challenging for non-affected siblings. These children may experience reduced parental attention, isolation from peers and difficult sibling behaviours. This pilot study aimed to investigate the utility of support groups for siblings of children with ASDs. Methods: A within group, mixed methods design was used with a pre-intervention baseline. Participants were 35 children, aged 7-15 years, with an ASD sibling. All were attending ASD-specific sibling group interventions across the South East of England. Sibling rated self-concept, anxiety and anger and parent-rated emotional difficulties were collected at pre group, post group and follow up. One group also participated in a focus group. Results: Results indicated significant improvements in self concept and significant decreases in anger and anxiety following participation in an ASD-specific sibling group. Anxiety continued to decrease at 3 month follow up. Parent-rated sibling emotional difficulties did not change. All siblings valued the groups. Four main themes were identified from qualitative data: Siblings valued the opportunity to meet similar others, have fun, learn new information about ASD and apply this knowledge to their own situation. Conclusions: The present pilot study extends existing literature on ASD-specific sibling groups. This is one of the first studies to combine qualitative data with standardised outcome measures. Participation in an ASD-specific support group may be associated with more positive self concept and decreased anger and anxiety. Given inherent study limitations, further, controlled research studies are warranted. Section C: A critical appraisal of the study conducted in section B and a reflective account of the process. This includes consideration of research skills learnt, future adaptations, clinical implications and ideas for future research.

Questions have been raised as to whether the patterns of thoughts and behaviours experienced by individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) can be indicative of comorbid obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). The current study aimed to compare the experiences of adults with ASD or OCD and healthy controls (HC) in terms of the symptoms experienced and the associated emotions and responses. Associations between autistic traits and OCD severity were explored. A cross-sectional design utilising MANOVA, ANOVA and correlation was employed. Methods: Eighteen participants with ASD, 20 with OCD and 19 healthy controls completed self-report measures and interviews assessing IQ, comorbid diagnoses, OCD symptoms, autistic traits and emotions and responses associated with obsessional thoughts. Participants with ASD scored significantly higher than healthy controls in terms of OCD severity and also number of obsessions and compulsions and associated distress. While the OCD and ASD groups did not differ significantly on OCD severity, the OCD group reported significantly higher levels of sadness, worry, shame, guilt and disapproval triggered by obsessions. The ASD and healthy control groups were largely comparable on these factors. Associations were found between OCD severity and particular domains which are typically impaired in ASD, including social skills, attention switching, communication and imagination. Findings suggest that OCD symptoms may be common and a source of distress in individuals with ASD, thus perhaps warranting psychological intervention. Further research into the exact nature of this distress and how this can be assessed is required.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Autism upptäcks oftast i tidig ålder. Mindre än en procent i Sverige som har någon form av autismspektrumstillstånd. Att vara förälder till ett autistiskt barn är en daglig kamp där planering och rutiner är viktigt för att kunna få en bra vardag. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att utifrån ett familjeperspektiv beskriva livssituationen av att vara förälder till ett barn med autism. Metod: Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ ansats som baserats på fem stycken självbiografier skrivna av föräldrar till barn med autism. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys där information som svarade an på syftet togs ut. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i känslomässiga reaktioner och livet i vardagen samt tilldelades fyra underkategorier. Resultatet visade att känslomässiga reaktioner var vanliga. Vardagen för föräldrarna påverkades på olika sätt av barnets behov av rutiner och struktur samt konsekvenser i form av minskad delaktighet i vardagens aktiviteter för hela familjen. Vidare visade föräldrarnas relationer till varandra svårigheter. Slutsats: Att få diagnosen autism på barnet, kan innebära en stor chock för föräldrarna och det är bara början på en lång resa. Sjuksköterskan spelar en viktig roll, inte bara för barnet utan även för föräldrarna, för att lugna oroliga föräldrar.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by epilepsy, intellectual disability, and autism. Recent studies have suggested that white matter abnormalities, including hypomyelination, contribute to the cognitive deficits in TSC patients, but the mechanism has remained elusive. I used the neuron-specific Tsc1 knockout mice that display a marked decrease in myelin and show that oligodendrocytes are arrested at immature stages of development in vivo resulting in a reduction in the number of myelinating cells. I established an oligodendrocyte culture system and examined the effect of neuron-conditioned media and found that the Tsc1 mutant phenotype was replicable in vitro using medium collected from Tsc1 knockdown (TSC-KD) neurons, confirming that a secreted signal is responsible for inhibiting differentiation of the oligodendrocytes. I took an unbiased genome-wide approach and identified Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) as a putative candidate for the secreted signal. I confirmed that CTGF was upregulated in Tsc1 mutant neurons and characterized its spatial and developmental expression pattern in our mouse model. In vitro, CTGF was sufficient to inhibit differentiation of oligodendrocytes. The addition of CTGF neutralizing antibody to the TSC-KD neuronal media was able to reverse the suppression of oligodendrocyte maturation, strongly suggesting that CTGF is a major component of the oligodendrocyte inhibitory signal derived from Tsc mutant neurons. Since TSC mutation affects all cells, I investigated the role of TSC in oligodendrocytes. In response to TSC knockdown, oligodendrocytes demonstrate an upregulation of cellular stress marker. I also found a decrease in myelin protein genes, a finding that offers interesting implications for the role of TSC in hypomyelination. Furthermore, I expanded my research into Zellweger disease, a syndrome that involves TSC in its neuropathological manifestations including white matter deficits, and found that localization of TSC to the peroxisome is a critical factor in neuron development. Together, this body of work developed new approaches in Tuberous Sclerosis research in the brain to investigate a previously under-appreciated aspect of TSC pathology - myelination. I have demonstrated that the TSC pathway has important roles in neuron-oligodendrocyte communication and emphasize the critical importance of neuron-derived signals in the establishment of myelination.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex and lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that is widely variable in presentation and intensity of defining features. ASD affects 1 in 94 Canadians and is increasing in prevalence. The variety of professionals who work with children with ASD have an accumulation of experiences that can be instructive and inspiring for other practitioners. This study explored how their wealth of experiences might be encapsulated as short vignettes or stories that could be analyzed and used as resources for educating current and future professionals. Six stories were collected from diverse professionals, and themes were summarized in order to demonstrate the types of lessons that can be learned from a clinician’s story of a significant moment or event in working with a child with ASD. The stories highlighted challenges and breakthroughs in communication and managing the child’s challenging behaviours, as well as skills and techniques that professionals have found effective in practice. The study shows that clinicians’ stories hold valuable information that can be shared with professionals in an interesting and memorable manner. Future research could expand on this study to build larger collections of stories with additional viewpoints and specific professional insights and experiences with a variety of children in their practice. / Graduate / 0518 / 0727 / 0758

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the conditions under which resurgence of appropriate communicative responses (mands) would occur with children with developmental disabilities. The experimental preparation consisted of a sequence of conditions that included (a) the reinforcement of one mand (i.e., microswitch activation or card exchange) on a FR 1 schedule, (b) an extinction condition in which the mand was no longer reinforced, (c) the reinforcement of a second mand (i.e., microswitch activation or card exchange) on a FR 1 schedule, and (d) a test for resurgence of the first mand which consisted of placing the second mand on extinction. The results demonstrated resurgence of mands during 2 out of 3 tests for resurgence for one participant. Resurgence of mands was demonstrated during all three tests for resurgence with the second participant. / text

No description available.

No description available.