Conclusion. The present study revealed specific memory deficits profile of ASD children associated with ineffective use of organization strategies. Together with their deviated EEG coherence pattern, it has implicated that the memory deficits associated with ASD was possibly subserved by dysfunctional cooperation in frontal and frontal-posterior cortical regions. The potential benefits of explicit cueing and subtle effect of implicit cue on memory performance and neural functional cooperation in ASD were discussed. / Method. Twenty-three children with high-functioning ASD and 39 normal children (NC) aged 5 to 14 years were recruited. In experiment 1, their memory was assessed with the Hong Kong List Learning Test (HKLLT), a memory test of disorganized (DIS) and semantically organized (ORG) words. In experiment 2, their memory of abstract geometric figure (Rey-O) and nameable object (Object Recognition Test, ORT) was tested. The objects in the ORT were presented in DIS or ORG manner. While semantic cue was given explicitly in the HKLLT, it was delivered implicitly in the ORT. In experiment 3, EEG theta coherences connecting anterior, temporal and posterior brain regions were recorded before and during the ORT. / Objective. Some studies found that autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) associated memory deficits were related to frontal lobe dysfunctions, e.g., ineffective organization strategy for memory. Yet, the memory profile of ASD remains inconclusive. The present study aims to examine the memory profile of ASD children based on the information processing model and its association with their organization strategies adopted, and to explore the effect of 'voiced' (with explicit instruction) and 'unvoiced' (without instruction) experimenter-provided organization cueing on memory retrieval. The neuro-physiological basis underlying their memory process was also explored using electroencephalographic (EEG) coherence. / Results. ASD children showed frontal-lobe-related memory problems, with encoding and retrieval deficits, and vulnerability to interference. Their memory deficits were associated with ineffective use of organization strategies. Hyper-coherence at inter-hemispheric anterior-posterior connections and lesser reduction in intra-left anterior coherence correlated with their poorer recognition. Explicit cueing has enhanced semantic clustering and delayed recall of words. Yet, the effect of 'unvoiced' cueing was subtle, with a trend of improving severer memory impairment and suppressing excessive coherence. / Sze, Lai Man. / Adviser: Agnes Sui Yin Chan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 71-01, Section: B, page: 0674. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-85). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

Very little is known about the ability of low-functioning children with autism (LFA) to engage in collaborative activities. Children with autism have deficits in other-awareness, joint attention and imitation, skills considered fundamental in social cognition and associated with the ability to collaborate. Research has focused on identifying the impairments of LFA children's social interactional abilities in controlled experimental contexts with adult partners. However, there is a paucity of research investigating if LFA children can participate in collaborative activity with peers, and if so what form the collaborative behaviour takes. Children with autism are highly motivated to interact with technology and technology is evolving fast offering opportunities to apply it to research. Therefore, we used innovative technology and a novel software architecture called Separate Control of Shared Space (SCoSS) on three types of shareable computer technology to aid our investigation of other-awareness and collaboration in LFA children. Paper 1, describes two studies using a dual-control laptop to present picture-sorting tasks to children paired with an adult and peer. SCoSS was more effective at facilitating other-awareness in TD and LFA children than a standard interface. Crucially, LFA children showed no active other-awareness without the supportive interface. Paper 2 presented two different picture-sorting problems for pairs of LFA children to solve. This yielded a model of collaborative problem-solving based on a sequence of three prerequisite capacities. Paper 3 successfully applied the SCoSS framework to picture-sequencing tasks delivered via tablet technology. As in paper 1, pairs of LFA children were only actively aware of a peer using linked dual-tablets, analogous to SCoSS. In summary, the thesis presents evidence that the other-awareness of LFA children can be facilitated by technology to support collaborative problem-solving, providing a more complete profile of their abilities and offers evidence that LFA are sensitive to the type of collaborative partner.

Orientador: Silvia Regina Ricco Lucato Sigolo / Banca: Maria Júlia Canazza Dall'Acqua / Banca: Vera Lucia Messias Fialho Capellini / Resumo: O movimento da inclusão escolar traz muitas dúvidas, principalmente em relação à escolarização e apresenta ainda muitos desafios. No caso de crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA), estes parecem ser maiores diante de suas características específicas (dificuldades de socialização e de comunicação) e de estereótipos predeterminados por concepções equivocadas dos profissionais e familiares que se relacionam com elas. O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever o processo educacional de crianças de quatro anos de idade com TEA nos contextos de desenvolvimento e aprendizagem na Educação Infantil e no Atendimento Educacional Especializado (AEE) da escola comum, bem como na família, buscando entender como se estabelecem as inter-relações entre os diferentes contextos. A fundamentação teórica respaldou-se na Perspectiva Bioecológica do Desenvolvimento Humano proposta por Urie Bronfenbrenner. Participaram da pesquisa três profissionais da Secretaria Municipal de Educação (SME), uma diretora de escola, duas professoras regentes, uma professora itinerante e duas crianças e dois pais, totalizando onze participantes. O estudo se caracteriza como uma pesquisa qualitativa, de natureza descritiva. Foram realizados dois procedimentos de coleta de dados: entrevista com base em roteiros semiestruturados e observação das crianças com TEA com registro em diário de campo. Os principais resultados mostraram que a SME vem atualizando suas propostas para a Educação Infantil e Inclusiva do Município em prol do desenvolvimento e aprendizagem de todas as crianças matriculadas. Ainda, que o conhecimento e as concepções da equipe escolar e dos pais sobre as características de crianças com TEA apoiam-se no entendimento do senso comum. Por fim, sobre o processo de escolarização e de inclusão das crianças com TEA, no contexto da escola comum, tem-se que as professoras o desenvolvem de... / Abstract: The movement of school inclusion brings many questions, especially in relation to education and still presents many challenges. In the case of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), these seem to be higher on their specific characteristics (difficulties in socialization and communication) and predetermined stereotypes by misconceptions of work and family that relate to them. The objective of this study was to describe the educational process of children from four years old with ASD in development contexts and learning in Early Childhood Education and Care Specialized Education (CSE) of the common school as well as in the family, trying to understand how to establish the interrelationships between different contexts. The theoretical framework was endorsed on Bioecological Perspective Human Development proposed by Urie Bronfenbrenner. The participants were three professionals of the Municipal Secretary Education (MSE), a school principal, two teachers regents, an itinerant teacher and two children and two parents, a total of eleven participants. The study is characterized as a qualitative research of descriptive nature. Two data collection procedures were performed: interview based on semi-structured scripts and observation of children with ASD with daily field. The main results showed that the MSE has updated its proposals for Early Childhood and Inclusive Education of the Municipality for the development and learning of all children enrolled. Still, the knowledge and conceptions of school staff and parents about the characteristics of children with ASD rely on the understanding Special Education student audience of common sense. Finally, on the process of education and inclusion of children with ASD, in the context of the common school, it has to be the teachers to develop in order to insert them into society, given that the inclusion should be initiated in the first stage of basic education / Mestre

The general purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effects of minimally intrusive prompting procedures and preferred stimuli on protodeclarative joint attention initiations in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two boys and one girl diagnosed with ASD participated. The experimenter provided attention and social interaction following protodeclarative initiations throughout all phases of the study. During intervention, a model prompt was delivered every 30 s if the participant failed to initiate a bid for joint attention. Results for the first participant show that a model prompt was sufficient to increase the rate of protodeclarative initiations across stimulus sets. Generalization was seen across sets, but not across environments. Subsequently, the model prompt was sufficient to increase the rate of protodeclarative initiations across sets in a second setting (classroom). Results for the second participant are inconclusive. Data collected during the initial baseline condition show that she engaged in an incompatible verbal response across sets. When pictorial stimuli depicting highinterest items and activities were introduced, the rate of protodeclarative initiations increased over time. We then returned to original baseline condition and saw an initial decrease, followed by a steady increase in the rate of protodeclarative initiations. The third participant withdrew prematurely due to medical reasons. The findings of the current study show that minimally intrusive prompts and natural consequences may be sufficient to establish protodeclarative initiations in children. However, this finding may be limited to only those children for whom social interactions already function as reinforcers.

This study compared the relative reinforcing efficacy of high-preferred and low-preferred stimuli, as determined by two types of preference assessments, on acquisition rates in three children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The study also evaluated the indirect effects of preference on students’ stereotypy and problem behavior during instructional periods. Participants were presented with a task and provided high or low-preferred stimuli contingent upon correct responding. Results showed that acquisition occurred more rapidly in the highly preferred condition for some participants. Higher rates of problem behavior occurred in the low preferred condition for all participants. These results highlight the importance of utilizing preference assessment procedures to identify and deliver high-preferred items in skill acquisition procedures for individuals with ASD.

Conclusion: The results suggest that ASD children have deficits in attentional and inhibitory control. Frontal dysfunction and weak ACC engagement in ASD were supported as the underlying neuronal inefficiency. / Methods: 20 children with high-functioning ASD [Mean Age (SD): 10.75 years old (2.07 years); Mean IQ (SD): 101.4 (16.8)] and age- and IQ-matched normal children (NC) [Mean Age (SD): 9.80 years old (1.88 years); Mean IQ (SD): 110.7(17.8)] were investigated electrophysiologically during performance of a visual Go/NoGo task. An electrophysiological source localization method was employed to further analyze the data. Several different neurospsychological tests were also performed to provide behavioral measures on attention and inhibition. / Objectives: To investigate neurophysiologic abnormalities in frontal and anterior cingulate cortex underlying attentional and inhibitory control in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). / Results: ASD children showed a significantly task-related lower frontal theta activity. This effect was associated with a significantly reduced activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Both groups also differ significantly regarding the behavioral aspects of attention and inhibition. / Leung, Shuk Yin Connie. / "November 2009." / Adviser: Chan Sue-Yin Agnes. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-01, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-85). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

O autismo é um transtorno do desenvolvimento com características que prejudicam o funcionamento diário da pessoa que recebe esse diagnóstico. As alterações sociais e de linguagem representam um dos seus distúrbios mais importantes. Considerando os estudos sobre Transtorno do Espectro Autista e a correlação entre linguagem oral e o domínio da leitura e escrita, a interação entre fonoaudiólogo e psicopedagogo é de suma importância, pontuando um elemento indispensável para obtenção de melhores resultados. A maneira de ensinar alunos com Transtorno do Espectro Autista é particularmente específica sendo importante o trabalho interdisciplinar entre escola e terapia. Tendo em vista o exposto, o objetivo desta pesquisa foi descrever o processo de adaptação escolar de gêmeos autistas do ensino infantil ao fundamental, em equipe interdisciplinar. Trata-se de um estudo de caso retrospectivo instrumental e fizeram parte da pesquisa duas crianças gemelares monozigóticas do sexo masculino que, na ocasião do início da coleta de dados, tinham 5 anos e cursavam salas de educação infantil de uma escola privada de ensino regular. Parte da pesquisa foi desenvolvida na escola privada de ensino regular, sendo três fontes de obtenção de dados 1) dados psicopedagógicos; 2) dados fonoaudiológicos; 3) dados da escola. A coleta e análise de dados foram realizadas a partir das avaliações psicopedagógicas, avaliações fonoaudiológicas e dos relatos dos professores com o propósito de intervir quanto à necessidade de adaptações de estratégias pedagógicas realizadas pela pesquisadora durante todo o período. Os resultados foram separados ano a ano e mostram que o trabalho interdisciplinar entre escola, fonoaudióloga e psicopedagoga atuando em conjunto e compartilhando conhecimentos teóricos e práticos resultou no melhor aproveitamento e desenvolvimento dos participantes. Dessa maneira, o trabalho interdisciplinar e a inclusão escolar não são tarefas fáceis, mas são absolutamente possíveis e importantes para que a criança com Transtorno do Espectro Autista esteja inserida no âmbito escolar e social, melhorando em todos os aspectos do desenvolvimento. / Autism is a disorder with features that interfere in autistic people\'s lives. Social and verbal communication changes are the most important disorders. Considering previous researches about autism and the correlation between verbal communication and reading and writing skills, the importance of the interaction between a phonoaudiologist and an educational psychologist is showed. Teaching autistic students demands a specific approach that considers school and therapy interaction as essential. The objective of this study was to describe the adaptation process of twin boys from kindergarten to elementary school through an interdisciplinary team work. It is an instrumental retrospective case study about monozygotic male twins. They were three years old and they were studying at a private regular education school in the beginning of this study. Part of the research was developed at the private regular education school using three data sources: 1) educational psychological data; 2) phonoaudiological data; 3) data from school. All the data was obtained and analyzed from educational psychological and phonoaudiological evaluations and teachers opinions aiming to adapt teaching strategies used by the researcher during the whole period. The results were separated year by year and showed that interdisciplinary work was better to the participants in terms of development. In conclusion, interdisciplinary work and school inclusion are not easy tasks but they are achievable and important, so that autistic children can be part of society and for their global development.

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a public health concern due to the possible lifelong physical and cognitive effects in offspring. Prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEP) should begin preconceptionally, either by preventing unintended pregnancies or by discouraging alcohol consumption in women who are at-risk for pregnancy. The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize the Theory of Planned Behavior's construct of perceived behavioral control (PBC)--including perceived power and control beliefs--to guide the measurement and understanding of two behaviors related to AEP among non-pregnant women: birth control use and binge drinking. For the first specific aim--to estimate the prevalence of alcohol-exposed pregnancies--a secondary data analysis was conducted using surveillance data from North Dakota and South Dakota women who have had a child with FAS. The FAS prevalence estimates (per 1,000 live births) in both states (ND=0.8/1,000; SD=0.9/1,000) were found to be higher than that calculated from national averages (0.7/1,000) using a comparable surveillance methodology. The goal of Specific Aim 2 was to determine risk for AEP among a random group of women, while Specific Aim 3 determined the control beliefs and perceived power to using birth control and decreasing binge drinking levels, and Specific Aim 4 focused on relating PBC of these two behaviors to behavioral intentions. Data for aims 2-4 were derived from a mailed, cross-sectional survey of 190 non-pregnant women randomly chosen from an electronic health records system in the upper Midwest. Of the 190 women included in the analyses, eight (6.6%) were binge drinking while being at-risk for pregnancy (i.e., being sexually active but not always using an effective form of birth control) (Specific Aim 2). This is lower than national estimates. For Specific Aim 3, there were high direct PBC scores for both birth control and binge drinking, and there was a positive correlation between birth control direct and indirect scores (although a negative correlation between binge drinking direct and indirect scores). Finally, Specific Aim 4 uncovered high intentions to both use birth control and to not binge drink. Also, the direct birth control PBC measure was significantly associated with birth control intention when controlling for other variables, although neither PBC nor intention appeared to be associated with actual birth control behavior. For binge drinking, the intention score and the direct measure of PBC were significantly associated with one another; as well, the direct measure of PBC and intention were both significantly associated with actual binge drinking behavior. Therefore, the relationship between PBC and intention was validated for both behaviors, and the association between PBC, intention, and actual behavior was indicated for binge drinking. Overall, the study both supported and disagreed with previous research, indicating that additional research with this theory and topic matter is necessary.

This study was a nonexperimental correlational study that took a strengths-based approach and utilized family systems theories to examine parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the relationship between the two constructs. The study was conducted with a national sample of 136 maternal caregivers of transition-age youth on the autism spectrum (ASD), ages 14 to 22 years, recruited through social media, flyers, and referrals. Participants were primarily biological mothers (83.9%), White (87.5%), and resided in the South (68.4%); the mean age of the adolescent with ASD was 17.16 years. Descriptive statistical findings showed that caregivers had normal levels of parenting stress and high levels of PTG. Results from one-sample t tests showed that the sample parenting stress mean score (M = 51) was similar to the population mean score of 50 while the sample PTG mean score (M = 56) was significantly higher than the population PTG mean score of 52.5. The third research question examined if parenting stress was significantly associated with PTG, controlling for pertinent covariates. Hierarchical multiple linear regression findings indicated that, after controlling for the place of residence, parenting stress was significantly associated with PTG: as parenting stress increased, PTG decreased. Parenting stress explained 7% of the variance in PTG, a small effect size. Findings from this study denote the positive aspects of parenting an adolescent with ASD. Results can inform the development of parent interventions aimed at reducing parenting stress and enhancing PTG.

The present study examined the relationships between anxiety, cognitive functioning, weak central coherence, and social skills in a group of 102 children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; Autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, and PDD-NOS). The results indicated that children diagnosed with Asperger's disorder had significantly higher cognitive functioning and Block Design scores (i.e., weaker central coherence) compared to those diagnosed with autism or PDD-NOS. Regression analyses results showed that anxiety and cognitive functioning moderated the association between weak central coherence and social skills. For children with low cognitive functioning and high anxiety, weak central coherence was associated with poorer social skills than those with low cognitive functioning, high anxiety, and strong central coherence. For children with high cognitive functioning and high anxiety, weak central coherence was associated with better social skills than those with high cognitive functioning and strong central coherence. Implications of these findings are discussed. / acase@tulane.edu