Background Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been reported to show socio-communicative impairments which are associated with impaired face perception and atypical gaze behaviour. Attending to faces and interpreting the important socio-communicative cues presented allows us to understand other’s cognitive states, emotions, wants and desires. This information enables successful social encounters and interactions to take place. Children with ASD not attending to these important social cues on the face may cause some of the socio-communicative impairments observed within this population. Examining how children with ASD attend to faces will enhance our understanding of their communicative impairments. Aim The present thesis therefore aimed to use eye-tracking methodology to examine attention allocation to faces for communicative cues in children with ASD. Method The first line of enquiry examined how children with ASD (n = 21; age = 13y7m) attended to faces presented within their picture communication systems compared to typically developing children matched on chronological age, verbal ability age and visuo-spatial ability age. The next investigation was conducted on the same group of children and examined how children with ASD attended to faces of different familiarity including, familiar, unfamiliar and the child’s own face. These faces were also presented with direct gaze or averted gaze to investigate how this would impact on the children’s allocation of attention. The final exploration highlighted how children with ASD (n = 20; age = 12y3m) attended to socially salient information (faces) and non-socially salient information (objects) presented within social scenes of varying complexity, compared to typically developing controls. Again groups were matched based on chronological age, verbal ability age, and visuo-spatial ability age. Results Children with ASD were shown to allocate attention to faces presented within their picture communication symbols similarly compared to their typically developing counterparts. All children were shown to fixate significantly longer on the face images compared to the object images. The children with ASD fixated for similar amounts of time to the eye and mouth regions regardless of familiarity and gaze direction compared to their controlled matches. All groups looked significantly longer at the eye areas compared to the mouth areas of the faces across all familiarity types. The children also fixated longer on the eye and mouth regions of direct gazing faces compared to the regions presented on the averted gazing faces. The children with ASD fixated on the faces and objects presented within social scenes similar to their typically developing counterparts across all complexity conditions. The children were shown to fixate significantly longer on the objects compared to the faces. Conclusions Children with ASD showed typical allocation of attention to faces. This suggests that faces are not aversive to them and they are able to attend to the relevant areas such as eye and mouth regions. This may have been influenced by the inclusion of high functioning children with ASD. However these results may also suggest that attention allocation and gaze behaviour are not the only factors which contribute to the socio-communicative impairments observed in ASD.

Introduction: Young people with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) are particularly vulnerable to developing comorbid depression. It has been suggested that young people with HFASD and comorbid mental health difficulties are likely to experience difficulties during the transition to adulthood. This transition involves significant changes in both services and daily routine, something which people with HFASD often find difficult. Aims: This thesis includes two distinct pieces of work. A systematic review aiming to understand the prevalence of depression in children and young people with HFASD. A qualitative study aiming to explore transition to adulthood from the perspectives of young people with HFASD, who currently attend child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), and their families. Methods: For the systematic review, literature reporting the prevalence of depression in children and young people with HFASD was systematically searched and reviewed. For the qualitative study, data collection and analysis followed the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four dyads of a young person with HFASD and a parent were interviewed. Results: The systematic review identified 18 studies which described results from 17 independent samples. The prevalence reported varied from 0% to 83%. This variation is most likely explained by methodological differences between studies. In the qualitative study, transition to adulthood was described as a process during which the young person is developing independence, while parents continue to have a role in providing support. Current and future support needs were perceived differently by the young people with HFASD than their parents, with the young people reporting less need for support. Conclusions: Further research is needed to better understand how to assess depression in this population, as well as the impact of age, gender, setting, medication use and other comorbidities. Transition is a time of uncertainty and change for young people, during which they become more independent of their families. Services need to consider the impact of these processes and young people’s perceptions about what it means to receive support.

abstract: Over the past two decades, substantial research has documented the increase of students with disabilities enrolling in post-secondary education. The purpose of the study was to examine factors identified as significant in preparing individuals who fall on the autism spectrum for post-secondary experiences. The study was exploratory in nature and designed to identify perceived critical program elements needed to design successful post-secondary transition programs for students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study used archival research and grounded theory to look at expectations of parents with young adults with an ASD and young adults with an ASD on post-secondary transition and to discern whether expectations impact the successful post transition of young adults. More than likely, due to an overall increase in the prevalence of ASDs, many more students with an ASD will be attending a post-secondary educational setting in the near future. Understanding expectations and particular challenges faced by students with an ASD will be necessary for colleges to meet the unique needs of this population. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a prevalent neurological syndrome observed even in childhood stages. Children with autism have a certain range of deficits on social interaction, communication and coordination. Exercise program has been commonly adopted as an intervention for ASD children on developing both of their motor and social skills, as well as maintaining a certain fitness level. This project is a systematic review and meta-analysis study which summarizes the recent fifteen years (2000-2015) of control-trial exercise-based interventions for ASD children and evaluates their effectiveness from three aspects (according to the outcome measures): 1) Exercise Performance & Sport/Skill-related Fitness (EXE); 2) Physiological & Biometric Indicator (PHY); and 3) Social Cognition & Psychological Well-being (SOC). The results showed a positive effect in all three aspects: .763, .412, and .505 respectively. Further studies were recommended on investigating the mechanism explaining the psycho-social and physiological effects of exercise programs on ASD children.

No description available.

Self-monitoring involves teaching students to be aware of their own behavior, and be able to record whether the behavior happened or not. The present study uses meta-analysis of single case design (SCD) studies to evaluate the effectiveness of self-monitoring interventions that use electronic devices during implementation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Eligible studies were accessed to determine design quality, and examine the use of self-monitoring for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Studies were evaluated against inclusion-exclusion criteria. The studies that met inclusion criteria (n = 15) were assessed with the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards for methodological rigor. The WWC standards were applied to baseline and intervention phases. There were a total of 12 studies with 32 students diagnosed with ASD that met SCD standards without, and with reservations. The 12 studies were evaluated using the Tau-U effect size metric to quantify the percentage of change that was attributed to the self-monitoring intervention. Overall, omnibus Tau-U was 0.96 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.89, 1.0]). Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects one out of every 68 children in the United States. The disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication, social interaction, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interest, or activities that together limit and impair everyday functioning. Research has shown that the use of visual resources, such as video modeling procedures, can support individuals with ASD to acquire and maintain a variety of daily living skills leading to enhanced levels of independence. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Occupational Therapy is amongst the top three interventions sought for young children with ASD in South Africa. Due to scarce local research on OT for ASD, this study explored the nature as well as perceptions of OTs on intervention for ASD. Using a qualitative exploratory study design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty OTs in public and private health, as well as special needs education. Thematic analysis was used to analyse transcribed data. OTs descriptions and perceptions of assessment, direct and indirect intervention as well as challenges facing families and undergraduate and qualified OTs in South Africa were explored. Assessment for ASD utilised play based skilled observations with limited use of standardised tests. Developmental approaches were preferred to behavioural ones, with the majority of OTs referencing the Sensory Integration (SI) framework for assessment and therapy, even if they were not SI certified practitioners. The value of SI in reframing a child’s behaviour for parents was significant. The South African Model of Creative Ability was a unique local application to practice for ASD. Intervention in education was most ASD specific, including AAC and visual approaches due to a comprehensive programme and greater levels of team collaboration. A family focussed practice was most evident in private and public health. Direct individual therapy was predominant, with all sectors struggling to provide the intensity of therapy recommended for ASD, due to unique contextual challenges. Undergraduate training is insufficient preparation for working with ASD and a need for local OT specialists was identified. Implications for research and practice are discussed. / M.O.T. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

Denna studie har genomförts i syfte att öka kunskapen om psykosocial utvevckling hos barn med autismdiagnos i relation till aktiviteter med hästar. Studien är kvalitativ, baserad på fem intervjuer av föräldrar och det ingår fältobservationer. Intervjuerna har bearbetats enligt induktiv tematisk analys och redovisas under tre teman relaterade till barnens samspel med sin omvärld. Resultatet visar att aktiviteten med hästar inverkar positivt  på barnens vilja och förmåga att samspela och kommunicera med omvärlden. Färdigheterna visar sig i samspel med barn såväl som med vuxna, både inom familjen och i andra sammanhang. Studiens resultat visar överensstämmelse med tidigare forskning, samt att aktivitetens mångfassetterade innehåll och effekter synliggörs. Resultat som överraskar är erfarenheter av barnens annorlunda relation och kommunikation med hästar, samt iakttagelser av ridningens omedelbara effekter på barnen. Forskning föreslås ur ett familjeperspektiv där barnets röst lyfts fram, samt fortsatt forskning på ridningens fysiologiska effekter i relation till socialt interagerande. / This study has been conducted in order to increase knowledge about psychosocial development in children with autism diagnosis in relationship to activities with horses. The study is qualitative, based on five interviews with parents and includes field observations. The interviews have been processed according to inductive thematic analysis and are reported under three themes related to the childrens interaction with their environment. The result shows that the activity with horses has positive impact on the children's desire and ability to interact and communicate with the outside world. The skills manifests in interaction with children as well as with adults, both within the family and in other settings. The result of the study indicates conformity with previous research, and the event's multi-facetted content and effects are made visible. Surprising results are experiences of the children's different relationship and communication with horses, and observations of the immediate impact on the children when riding. Research from a family perspective highligtening the voice of the child is proposed, as well as further research on physiological effects of horseback riding in reltionship to social interacting.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Psychology