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 Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) inclui em seu diagnóstico diversos sintomas, apresentando uma ampla variedade nos níveis de desenvolvimento e funcionamento. Embora não central ao diagnóstico, diversos pesquisadores têm associado déficits motores e dispraxia a esse diagnóstico. Além disso, tem-se associado prejuízos funcionais decorrentes da dispraxia em crianças com TEA. Na literatura são poucos os estudos que avaliam dispraxia em crianças com TEA, nenhum destes estudos no Brasil. Assim, nosso objetivo foi verificar se as crianças com TEA apresentam um perfil de dispraxia característico. Para isso realizamos coleta com 03 grupos distintos, cada um composto por 30 crianças, foram eles: TEA (G-TEA) nível 1, Síndrome de Down (G-SD) e controle (G-C). Para avaliação da praxia, optamos pelo teste Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), que avalia diversas funções de praxia e já foi utilizado em estudos com a população alvo de nosso estudo. Além disso, utilizamos a Escala de Comportamento Adaptativo Vineland (para verificar o nível adaptativo dos indivíduos participantes), escala de Avaliação de Traços Autísticos (ATA) para sustentação diagnóstica do G-TEA e utilizamos a Escala de Classe Social de Pelotas, para verificar se a classe social teria impacto na amostra. Como resultado, as crianças do G-C apresentaram escores dentro da faixa de normalidade, sendo todos os escores positivos, as crianças do G-TEA apresentaram escores mais baixos do que o G-C, no entanto, apenas em 07 dos 17 testes tiveram prejuízos, com desempenho abaixo do normal, sendo estes testes relacionados à praxia (imitação de posturas, movimentos e oral, além de praxia sem indicação visual), função vestibular (equilíbrio e nistagmo) e, estereognosia. As crianças do G-SD apresentaram desempenho abaixo do normal em todos os testes aplicados, possivelmente isso é decorrente da comorbidade da síndrome com deficiência intelectual. Além disso, encontramos uma diferença significativa maior no escore da Vineland relacionado à Atividade de Vida Cotidiana, ao compararmos crianças com TEA com grupo controle. Estudos corroboram o achado em nossa pesquisa, indicando que, crianças com TEA apresentam dispraxia que parece ser característica deste transtorno. Alguns estudos encontraram que as crianças com TEA apresentam prejuízos nas mesmas áreas dos encontrados por nós. Os profissionais embora defendam a intervenção com essas crianças, têm usado poucas avaliações que justifiquem tais intervenções, dessa forma, acreditamos que é importante o uso de instrumentos para avaliação da praxia em crianças com TEA, visando direcionar o planejamento terapêutico e ganhos funcionais para essas crianças / Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) includes in its diagnostic several symptoms, with a wide variety in the levels of development and functioning. Although motor deficits and dyspraxia are not relevant to the diagnosis, several researchers have done this association. In addition, functional impairments due to dyspraxia have been associated in children with ASD. In the literature, there are few studies evaluating dyspraxia in children with ASD none of these studies in Brazil. Our aim was to verify if children with ASD have a characteristic dyspraxia profile. To do this, we performed a collection of three different groups, each composed of 30 children: ASD (G-ASD) level 1, Down Syndrome (G-DS) and control (G-C). In order to evaluate praxis, we decided to use the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT), which evaluates several praxis functions and has already been used in studies with the target population of our study. In addition, we used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (to verify the adaptive level of the participants), Autistic Trait Scale (ATA) for diagnostic support of G-ASD and used the Pelotas Social Class Scale to verify if social class would have an impact on the sample. As a result, G-C presented scores within the range of normal, and all scores were positive, G-ASD children presented lower scores than GC, however, only in 07 of 17 tests with performance below of the normal, being these tests related to praxis (imitation of postures, movements and oral, besides praxis without visual indication), vestibular function (balance and nystagmus) and stereognosis. The G-DS children presented below-normal performance in all applied tests, possibly due to the comorbidity of the syndrome with intellectual disability. In addition, we found a major significant difference in the Vineland score related to Daily Living Activity, when comparing children with ASD with the control group. Studies corroborate the finding in our study, indicating that children with ASD have dyspraxia that appears to be characteristic of this disorder. Some studies have found that children with ASD has same difficulties that we found. Although practitioners advocate intervention with these children, they have used few evaluations instruments to justify such interventions, so we believe that it is important to use instruments to assess praxis in children with ASD, in order to direct the therapeutic planning and functional gains for these children

Esta pesquisa tem como finalidade produzir uma contribuição teórica sobre os processos formativos dos professores para a educação de alunos com diagnóstico de autismo, no âmbito das Políticas de Educação Inclusiva. Delimita-se como objetivo compreender os sentidos pessoais constituídos nesse processo e a sua relação com a organização das práticas pelos professores. O referencial teórico metodológico da pesquisa fundamenta-se nos princípios do materialismo histórico dialético, no que se refere à concepção de homem, de ciência e à perspectiva de explicar a realidade e as possibilidades concretas para a sua transformação. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo sobre os sentidos pessoais atribuídos pelos professores em atividades formativas em uma escola pública de São Bernardo do Campo (SP), durante 2014. O desenvolvimento da pesquisa envolveu: reuniões com a diretora e as coordenadoras pedagógicas da unidade escolar para discussões sobre as ações formativas previstas no Projeto Político-Pedagógico de 2014; entrevistas semiestruturadas, em grupo e individualmente, com quatro professores de alunos com diagnóstico de autismo, visando apreender o sentido pessoal atribuído nas atividades formativas vivenciadas; consulta a documentos referentes à organização dos momentos formativos desenvolvidos no âmbito escolar, às situações de acompanhamento das atividades pedagógicas e acerca de um curso sobre autismo ofertado pela Secretaria de Educação no mesmo período; e, por fim, para a compreensão do fenômeno em sua totalidade, buscaram-se também informações sobre a organização da educação inclusiva no sistema educacional no qual está inserida a escola onde ocorreu a pesquisa e sobre a constituição da conceituação de autismo na sociedade, a fim de tornar possível a discussão das inter-relações vividas no sistema. No movimento final da pesquisa, tendo-se por referência constructos da Teoria Histórico-Cultural sobre a estrutura das atividades humanas, foi possível analisar as ações formativas geradoras de sentido, ainda que parcialmente, para os professores participantes das discussões sobre a educação inclusiva envolvendo alunos com Transtorno do Espectro Autista. Como resultado do estudo, defende-se que os processos formativos desencadeiam transformações nas práticas pedagógicas se ações articuladas possibilitarem a significação da finalidade do ensino envolvendo alunos com TEA, sustentada pela concepção de educação como instrumento mediador do processo de desenvolvimento humano e pela compreensão do papel da constituição da linguagem. Tais ações precisam necessariamente articular a organização do ensino, o conhecimento teórico e a constituição de uma coletividade de estudo. / This research has the purpose to produce a theoretical contribution about the formation processes for teachers of students diagnosed with Autism that has being developed in the Inclusive Education Policies. It is defined as objective for the study understanding the personal senses elaborated in the process and their relationship with the organization of practices by teachers. The referential theoretical methodological of the research is based on the principals of the Dialectical Historical Materialism with regard to the conception of human, of the science and of the prospect of explaining reality and the concrete possibilities for transformation. It was conducted the field research on the personal senses attributed by teachers into formative activities in a public school of São Bernardo do Campo (SP), during 2014. The development of research involved meetings with the director and educational coordinators of school unit for discussions about the formative activities set out in the Pedagogical Political Project of 2014; semi-structured interviews, in groups or individually, with four teachers of students with autism diagnosis in order of apprehending the personal sense attributed during the formative activities; consultation of documents concerning the organization of formative moments developed in the school, on the accompanying situations of educational activities and about a course on autism offered by the Education Department in the same period; and finally, to understanding the phenomenon in its entirety, it were researched information about the organization of inclusive education in the public system in which it operates the school where occurred the research and on the meaning of autism in society, in order to be possible to discuss their interrelations with the teacher\'s personal senses. In the final movement of research, having by reference the constructs of the HistoricCultural Theory about the structure of human activities, it was possible to analyze the activities that generate personal senses, even partially, for the teachers participating in the discussions on inclusive education involving Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a result of the study it is argued that the teacher education processes trigger changes in teaching practice if they have articulated actions that allow the definition of the purpose of educational activity involving students with ASD, supported by a human development conception and for understanding the role of constitution language. Such actions necessarily articulate the organization of teaching, the theoretical knowledge and the formation of a studying collective.

Os Transtornos do Espectro Autista (TEA) são categorizados como um transtorno do neurodesenvolvimento caracterizados por demonstrar anormalidades no desenvolvimento social e na comunicação e padrões restritos de comportamentos e interesses desde idades muito precoces. Considerado um transtorno com causas multifatoriais e um quadro clínico bastante característico, tem despertado o interesse de profissionais de diversas áreas do conhecimento, com o propósito de entender e identificar as prováveis causas que ocasionam as mudanças na estruturação, organização e funcionamento durante todo o processo de desenvolvimento. O autismo seria uma desordem da empatia, aliada a uma capacidade média ou mesmo superior de sistematização, o que traria como consequência um cérebro extremamente masculino. O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar se as crianças com TEA apresentam um cérebro com características extremamente masculinas, como proposto pela teoria anteriormente citada, avaliando as diferenças existentes na formação da identidade de gênero em crianças com Transtorno do Espectro Autista, em crianças normais e em crianças com Retardo Mental. O estudo empírico foi desenvolvido com delineamento transversal numa amostra de 99 crianças do sexo masculino e idades entre quatro e seis anos e 6 meses, provenientes de cidades dos Estados de São Paulo e da Bahia. As crianças foram divididas em três grupos, considerando suas características clínicas: Grupo Controle crianças com desenvolvimento considerado normal (n=33); Grupo Clínico crianças com Transtornos do Espectro Autista TEA (n=33) e Grupo Clínico crianças com Retardo Mental RM (n=33). Os instrumentos utilizados foram a Escala de Traços Autísticos ATA, a Escala Mental Colúmbia e o Teste de Apercepção de Gênero - TAG. Foram identificadas diferenças significativas nos resultados apresentados pelos três grupos, em relação à aquisição da identidade de gênero, com o grupo controle apresentando um maior índice de escolhas de itens masculinos, seguido pelo grupo clínico TEA e o grupo clínico RM. As diferenças identificadas estão diretamente relacionadas às características clínicas das crianças que compuseram os grupos. Ao lado disso, observou-se que o grupo clínico com TEA além de não ter obtido o melhor desempenho, em relação ao grupo controle, também apresentou diferenças em relação ao processo de aquisição de identidade de gênero quando comparadas ao grupo clínico RM / The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are categorized as a neurodevelopmental disorder in which an individual demonstrates abnormalities in social development, communication, and in restricted patterns of behaviours and interests from very early ages. Considered to be a disorder with multifactorial causes and a clinical picture quite characteristic, it has aroused the interest of professionals from various fields of knowledge with the purpose to understand and identify the causes that are most likely involved in changes of structure, organization, and functioning during the whole process of development. This implies the consideration of different theoretical, methodological, and practical positions that contribute to advance our understanding of the phenomenon. Autism would be a disorder of empathy, allied to an average capacity or even superior of systematization, which would bring, as consequence, a brain extremely masculine. Then, this study aimed to verify whether the children with ASD present a brain with extremely masculine characteristics, as proposed by the theory aforementioned, through the assessment of differences regarding the formation of gender identity in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, in children with typical development, and in children with Mental Retardation. The empirical study was developed as a cross-sectional design, with a sample of 99 male children and aged four to six years and 6 months, from cities of the states of Sao Paulo and Bahia. This sample was divided into three groups, considering their clinical features: Control group children in typical development (n=33); Clinical group children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders ASD (n=33) and Clinical group children with Mental Retardation RM (n=33). The instruments used were the Assessment Scale of Autistic Traits ATA, the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale and the Gender Apperception Test GAT. Significant differences were identified in the results provided by the three groups regarding the gender acquisition, with the Control Group presenting a higher score in masculine items, followed by the group with TEA and then the MR group. The identified differences are directly related to the clinical features of the children that composed the groups. Furthermore, the ASD group besides not having obtained the best performance, in relation to the control group, it also presented differences as to the process of the gender identity acquisition when compared to the MR group

In the tradition of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), cognitive fusion is a transdiagnostic risk factor and occurs when one becomes overly attached to or "caught up" in their thoughts, leading to a more narrowed behavioral repertoire and difficulty taking effective action in response to life's demands. Cognitive defusion is ACT's curative answer to fusion, and denotes the process of taking a step back, seeing thoughts as "simply thoughts," thereby reducing the negative impact of distressing or anxiety-provoking thoughts. While these components have been widely studied in neurotypical (NT) samples, the purpose of this study was to extend findings to people diagnosed on the autism spectrum (AS). Specifically, this study aimed to examine the impact of cognitive fusion in this population and the effectiveness of a brief defusion technique. Forty-two AS participants and fifty-five neurotypical participants were given a battery of questionnaires measuring psychological distress and dispositional levels of cognitive fusion. Participants were then randomized into either a brief cognitive fusion technique or a brief active distraction technique. In both conditions participants chose a distressing thought and rated it on a visual analogue scale (VAS) in terms of thought discomfort and believability. They were then read a rationale regarding their assigned technique, practiced the technique, and applied the technique to their chosen distressing thought. After the intervention participants immediately re-rated the thought on the same VAS. Throughout the study, participants' heart rate and skin conductance were monitored to determine physiological effects of the conditions. Finally, a follow-up survey was sent at a one-week and two-week follow-up, where participants re-rated the believability and discomfort of their thoughts. Results of this study showed that the AS group had higher overall levels of fusion than the NT group, and that fusion was moderately to strongly related to psychological distress in the AS group and the NT group. In terms of the intervention effects, all interpretation statements must be taken with caution, as there were significant pre-group differences despite randomization. Both defusion and distraction worked equally well in immediately reducing thought believability and thought discomfort for AS and NT groups. Furthermore, treatment effects were maintained at the two-week follow-up period for all groups except for the AS group in the defusion condition. There were no treatment effects for physiology. The current study provides evidence that cognitive fusion may be an important factor in the psychiatric comorbidity that people with AS experience, and a brief technique can be effectively used.

Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often perform better than typically developing (TD) individuals in simple, albeit difficult, visual search tasks. This ability is often attributed to a lack of drive for coherence or superior local processing. We compare thirty adults with ASD with forty-nine TD individuals and twenty-seven adults with anxiety (ANX) across two real-world visual search tasks. Individuals had to find either a number superimposed over a real-world scene ("œno context" condition) or an object located in a contextually relevant location ("œcontext" condition). Each participant completed forty-one trials in each condition, each with a unique scene. Eye movements were recorded using an SR Research EyeLink 1000 eyetracker. All groups performed better in the context condition. However, the ASD group was less accurate than both groups, across conditions. All groups were quicker to find the target in the context condition but the ASD group was slower than the TD group. Furthermore, the ASD group took longer to initiate their search, fixate on the target, and decide that they had found the target than the TD group. These results suggest that individuals with ASD are able to integrate contextual information to aid the search but that their previously seen visual search advantage may not transfer to visual searches of real-world scenes.

Families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in developing countries may not have as much access to needed behavioral services as families living in developed countries. Caregivers of children with ASD in developing countries would benefit from an affordable, efficient parent training to teach them behavior techniques to use with their children. Pyramidal training is a cost-efficient method of training individuals through peers and would be a supportive intervention for families in developing countries. This study used a repeated acquisition design across three variables to examine whether a caregiver could train another caregiver on three behavioral interventions. These interventions were appropriately redirecting repetitive behaviors, using praise, and requesting eye contact. The study also examined if the caregivers could acquire the three skills and the extent caregivers were receptive to this training model based on their comments about the training. The participants were six ethnic Macedonians or Albanians between the ages of 38 and 43 who were caregivers of a child with ASD. The results indicate the caregivers were able to train another caregiver on three skills for working with their child with autism, all the caregivers were able to acquire the three skills, and the training model's goals were socially appropriate based on participants' comments. This implicates professionals such as doctors, social workers, behavioral therapists, or school psychologists could use this form of parent training to share information throughout a family in order to benefit children with disabilities and their families.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) now affects 1 in 68 children in the United States. Disorders within this spectrum share hallmark deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication, repetitive behavior, and social interaction. The cause of ASD is still unknown. Even though hundreds of genetic abnormalities have been identified in ASD, these markers account for less than 1% of all ASD cases. Researchers continue to search for pathological markers common to all or most cases of ASD. The research presented in this dissertation used a novel combination of state-of-the-art methods to investigate brain pathology in ASD. Postmortem anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) from ASD and typically developing brain donors was obtained from 2 national brain banks. The ACC was chosen for study because of its documented role in influencing behaviors characteristically disrupted in ASD. An initial study revealed elevated glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in ACC white matter from ASD brain donors compared to typically developing control donors. Laser capture microdissection was then employed to isolate specific cell populations from the ACC from ASD and control brain donors. Captured cells were used to interrogate potential gene expression abnormalities that may underlie biological mechanisms that contribute behavioral abnormalities of ASD. The expression of 4 genes associated with synaptic function, NTRK2, GRM8, SLC1A1, and GRIP1, were found to be significantly lower in ACC pyramidal neurons from ASD donors when compared to control donors. These expression abnormalities were not observed in ACC glia. Given robust evidence of neuronal and glial pathology in the ACC in ASD, a novel method for whole transcriptome analysis in single cell populations was developed to permit an unbiased analysis of brain cellular pathology in ASD. A list of genes that were differentially expressed, comparing ASD to control donors, was produced for both white matter and pyramidal neuron samples. By examining the ASD brain at the level of its most basic component, the cell, methods were developed that should allow future research to identify common cellular-based pathology of the ASD brain. Such research will increase the likelihood of future development of novel pharmacotherapy for ASD patients.

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