Research on the neural bases of cognitive deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown that working memory (WM) difficulties are associated with abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, few studies have examined the impact of cognitive load on WM and its neural underpinnings in children and adolescents. We used fMRI and an n-back task with four levels of difficulty to compare the cortical activation patterns associated with WM in children with and without ASD across cognitive load. Findings revealed impaired modulated activity as a function of cognitive load in prefrontal and parietal cortices in children with ASD relative to typical controls. Results suggest that children with ASD rely mainly on posterior brain regions associated with lower-level visual processing, whereas controls showed activity in frontal lobes related to the classic WM network. Findings will help guide future longitudinal work by localizing areas of vulnerability to developmental disturbances.

Research on the neural bases of cognitive deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has shown that working memory (WM) difficulties are associated with abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex. However, few studies have examined the impact of cognitive load on WM and its neural underpinnings in children and adolescents. We used fMRI and an n-back task with four levels of difficulty to compare the cortical activation patterns associated with WM in children with and without ASD across cognitive load. Findings revealed impaired modulated activity as a function of cognitive load in prefrontal and parietal cortices in children with ASD relative to typical controls. Results suggest that children with ASD rely mainly on posterior brain regions associated with lower-level visual processing, whereas controls showed activity in frontal lobes related to the classic WM network. Findings will help guide future longitudinal work by localizing areas of vulnerability to developmental disturbances.

Selective eating (SE) refers to an individual narrowing their range of preferred foods, resulting in a restricted food intake, high levels of rigidity and food refusal (Bryant-Waugh, 2000). SE is encompassed in the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-V) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) category avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Such difficulties are common in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Raiten & Massaro, 1986) and neuropsychological differences have been found in children with ASD (Hill, 2004). This research aimed to be the first to investigate whether a distinct neuropsychological profile exists in children and adolescents with SE and furthermore, whether aspects of the profile vary depending on whether the child or adolescent displays elevated autistic traits. A case series of 10 children between the ages of 8 to 13 years old were recruited. A well-established neuropsychological test battery, the Ravello Profile (Rose, Frampton & Lask, 2012), was modified and administered to assess visuospatial processing, central coherence, executive functions (including cognitive flexibility, inhibition and planning) and theory of mind abilities. The results demonstrated a high degree of variability across the group in terms of visuospatial processing and theory of mind, weak central coherence across all participants and otherwise relatively intact abilities in executive function domains. There were no substantive findings in relation to those children with elevated autistic traits although a trend toward visuospatial processing differences did emerge. This exploratory case series was the first attempt to describe a neuropsychological profile in SE, however the small sample size and high variability in the data meant that a distinct neuropsychological profile did not emerge. The results did however provide an initial indication of possible trends in strengths and weaknesses across neuropsychological domains in SE. These findings have implications for the assessment and treatment of SE difficulties.

Syftet med föreliggande examensarbete är att undersöka och kritiskt granska hur specialpedagogisk handledning används för att skapa en inkluderande skola för elever med Autsimspektrumtillstånd (Autism Spectrum Disorder - ASD).  Studien avser att särskilt undersöka hur fyra specialpedagoger arbetar med handledning som syftar till att bidra till att lärare utvecklar strategier/arbetssätt som skapar förutsättningar för lärande och delaktighet hos elever med ASD.    Resultaten i den tidigare forskning som granskas i föreliggande examensarbete hänvisar till att lärare generellt har sämre attityder gentemot elever med ASD ju högre upp i skolålder de undervisar. Samtidigt pekar andra studier på att lärares attityder och förhållningssätt gentemot sina elever och i synnerlighet de med ASD, är essentiellt för elevens akademiska framgång och sociala inkludering i gruppen. De visar även betydelsen av ett systematiskt tänk i lärande organisationer och de positiva effekterna av att ha ett mångfaldsperspektiv (som exempelvis i Universal Design for Learning).   Det teoretiska perspektiv jag utgår från är systemteorin med utgångspunkt i Antonovskys begrepp Känsla av sammanhang, KASAM, och i komplexitetsteorin. Metoden är kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer med fyra specialpedagoger i form av en kombination av samtal och intervju. Resultaten visar att den specialpedagogiska handledningen spelar en central roll i ett förändringsskapande av attityder och förhållningssätt gentemot elever. Resultaten visar även vikten av ett systematiskt helhetstänk i en organisation för att kunna arbeta framgångsrikt med inkludering av elever med ASD och deras förutsättningar för en tillgänglig undervisning.

Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) per DSM-5 criteria are characteristically limited in their ability to interact socially due to conversational speech delays. Typically, children with ASD experience a more constrained number of appropriate initiations and responses in conversations with peers. Previous research has shown the benefits of using scripted language to increase verbalizations in these children. However, limited research has been conducted on the use of technology to increase social interactions between children with ASD. This study will be based on hypotheses and results from the dissertation, “Teaching Conversational Speech to Children with Autism Using a Text Message Intervention” by Denise Grosberg. Grosberg evaluated the performance of a text message intervention (TMI) procedure using scripted language to teach conversational speech with typically developing peers. The present study used a multiple baseline design across dyads to again assess the efficacy of a text message intervention between dyads of children with ASD, including younger and lower-functioning participants. Results demonstrated an increase in appropriate conversational speech through the TMI and an increase in unscripted language following the intervention. Seven of the participants generalized the behavior across peers and settings as well as after a two-week follow-up period. Data are discussed in terms of the percentage of appropriate phrases used, as a function of appropriate phrases, inappropriate phrases, and the number of times a participant did not respond.

The aim of this study was to procure knowledge about how members of families, where one of the members is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, described the mutual relationships, and also how the same family members experienced the response of the society. The study is qualitative and based on ten Swedish autobiographical texts written by different family members. The texts have been analysed through theories by both Salvador Minuchin and Erving Goffman. The result of the study showed that family members, regardless of if it was a sibling, a child, a parent or the person that was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder itself, described a quantity of different emotions about the family relationships in which they were part of. The emotions were described in both positive and negative terms. The family members described the response of the society as varying, they met both condemnatory comments and lack of understanding but also helpfulness, openness and love.

ABSTRACT Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often accompanied by atypical attention to faces. Some previous studies have suggested that children with ASD demonstrate strengths when processing visual information from cartoons, whereas others have argued that photographic stimuli confer benefits. No previous studies have compared photograph and cartoon images of faces (i.e., Boardmaker [BM] images) in the context of a Social Story™ (Gray, 2010): a common intervention to support behavior and social cognition in children with ASD. In this study, we examined visual attention to static face stimuli in the context of Social Stories™. Participants were 19 typically developing (TD) children and 18 age-matched children with ASD. We addressed two questions: 1) Is there a difference between TD children and children with ASD in how they attend to cartoon and photographic stimuli in the context of a Social Story™? and 2) Do group differences in visual attention to BM and/or photographic stimuli correlate with age and indices of autism severity, executive function, intellectual functioning, and weak central coherence? With regard to question 1 and with one exception, we found no differences between groups when viewing images of faces. The exception involved our cartoon and photograph images that differed in content from the other face images in that they represented a person's full body as well as a range of objects (i.e., it was a more complex scene). For these images an interaction was observed such that the TD and ASD groups were no different in their looking patterns in the BoardMaker condition but they were different in the photograph condition. More specifically, we found that a shift toward more mouth-looking in the photograph condition among children with ASD was negatively associated with attention shifting and verbal IQ and that a shift toward more "other"-looking (i.e., looking that occurred outside the eye and mouth region of the face) was negatively associated with attention shifting, age, and central coherence. These findings suggest that children with ASD demonstrate typical visual attention patterns to both cartoon and photographic stimuli representing faces but that children with ASD employ an atypical scanning strategy when presented with photographic stimuli representing more complex social scenes. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

Adolescence is challenging time for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who generally exhibit a myriad of psychosocial difficulties. While this developmental period represents an important window for intervention, few evidence-based programs exist. Recent research suggests that interventions targeting emotion regulation (ER) skill deficits in ASD may represent a promising approach to promoting more favourable outcomes for these youth (Mazefsky et al., 2014). Nurturing mindfulness has been shown to be an effective means of improving ER and wellbeing in diverse child and adult populations, although research in ASD is limited. This pilot study evaluated the impact of a 9-week mindfulness intervention on the ER and socioemotional functioning of 14 adolescents (13-17 years) with high functioning ASD using a pre-test post-test design. Parents reported statistically significant changes of small to medium effect size in adolescents’ overall problem behaviours and social skills, ER, adaptability, hyperactivity, and withdrawal behaviours. Additionally, parents reported changes of small effect size that approached significance for adolescents’ anxiety symptoms and atypicality. Adolescents reported changes of small effect size that were statistically significant for anxiety symptoms and interpersonal functioning, and non-significant for depression and social stress symptoms. Changes in many parent-reported outcome variables showed moderate to strong correlations with home practice adherence and parent-reported changes in ER. Qualitative observations of program impact and social acceptability were positive and supported the quantitative findings. The results provide promising evidence for mindfulness training with youth with ASD. Implications for assessment, intervention, and future research are discussed. / October 2016

Currently there is extensive literature on evidence-based practices (EBP) for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is limited research on whether or not these practices are implemented in the classroom by teachers serving students with ASD. Special education teachers are responsible for the learning outcomes of students across a range of ages and disabilities. This study investigated teachers' self-reported use of EBP and what factors influence implementation. Participants included 129 special education teachers in Texas public schools. Data utilizing descriptive statistics and logistic regression was conducted to determine what factors (i.e., education, employment, teaching experience and training methods) predicted implementation of a particular practice. Although 67% of teachers reported using EBPs, teachers' employment and training experiences did not predict the implementation of a particular practice. Information from this study can be used to enhance professional development for teachers serving students with ASD.

Facial motion provides an abundance of information necessary for mediating social communication. Emotional expressions, head rotations and eye-gaze patterns allow us to extract categorical and qualitative information from others (Blake & Shiffrar, 2007). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by a severe impairment in social cognition. One of the causes may be related to a fundamental deficit in perceiving human movement (Herrington et al., 2007). This hypothesis was investigated more closely within the current thesis. In neurotypical controls, the visual processing of facial motion was analysed via EEG alpha waves. Participants were tested on their ability to discriminate between successive animations (exhibiting rigid and nonrigid motion). The appearance of the stimuli remained constant over trials, meaning decisions were based solely on differential movement patterns. The parieto-occipital region was specifically selective to upright facial motion while the occipital cortex responded similarly to natural and manipulated faces. Over both regions, a distinct pattern of activity in response to upright faces was characterised by a transient decrease and subsequent increase in neural processing (Girges et al., 2014). These results were further supported by an fMRI study which showed sensitivity of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) to perceived facial movements relative to inanimate and animate stimuli. The ability to process information from dynamic faces was assessed in ASD. Participants were asked to recognise different sequences, unfamiliar identities and genders from facial motion captures. Stimuli were presented upright and inverted in order to assess configural processing. Relative to the controls, participants with ASD were significantly impaired on all three tasks and failed to show an inversion effect (O'Brien et al., 2014). Functional neuroimaging revealed atypical activities in the visual cortex, STS and fronto-parietal regions thought to contain mirror neurons in participants with ASD. These results point to a deficit in the visual processing of facial motion, which in turn may partly cause social communicative impairments in ASD.