Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Lisa A. Dieker. Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-188).

In the present phenomenological study, mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were interviewed using semi-structured, open-ended interview questions. The purpose of this study was to explore the stressors and joys, and parental coping associated with having a child with ASD, before and after out-of-home placement. A total of 9 mothers, six from British Columbia and three from Alberta, participated in the study. The findings suggest that along with stressors, parents experienced a multitude of joys throughout their caregiving experiences. Also, joys had an impact on caregiver's stress-coping process. This study, therefore, expanded upon current states of knowledge on the adaptational function of joys to caregivers of individuals with chronic conditions. In light of the findings, modified stress-coping process model based on the work of Lazarus and Folkman (1984), Folkman (1997), and Pearlin et al. (1990; 1980) is proposed. Also, findings shed light on mothers' lived-experiences leading up to and after out-of-home placement, illuminating an understudied aspect of caregiving for children with ASD.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the current literature on the use of weighted vests with individuals with autism spectrum disorder. A literature review using the What Works Clearinghouse Standards was conducted. The results of the review show that the use of weighed vests with individuals with autism spectrum disorder is not an evidence-based practice.

The Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a behavioral syndrome whose indicative signs are already perceived in the early years of childhood. Considering the development as sensitive in particular to the early experiences of the child in the environment, early diagnosis and educational interventions are indicated consensus in the literature as catalysts of development in cases of ASD. There fore vocational training geared to the specific disorder that enables those responsible for this intervention is needed. From this, we elaborated this work in order to develop a program for training professionals in the fields of health and education for educational activities with people with ASD and evaluate its effectiveness. For that were identified through the literature review, which the knowledge necessary for teachers to work with students with ASD and from the systematization of this knowledge, built a curriculum for a training course aimed at professionals working in favor education of people with ASD. From the curriculum the study was conducted with a sample of eight professionals in the fields of health and education of a gaucho municipality. This was a survey applied quantitative and qualitative nature which offered and assessed the effectiveness of a training course for 30h with psychopedagogy, special educators, speech therapists and psychologists members of the Center for Specialized care in the city of Santiago/Rio Grande do Sul. The training included knowledge necessary for the care of people with ASD, including explanatory theories, characterization, evaluation of the syndrome, and intervention possibilities. The effectiveness of the course is evaluated both by module, as this as a whole, as well as maintaining knowledge and social validity formation was evaluated. The data coming from the realization of this study were submitted to content analysis and descriptive statistics. The main results was that the course was effective and that there have been important advances in knowledge and perception of participants regarding the person with ASD and, moreover, had a consistent impact in reality it was intended, considered as positive the validity social. / O Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) é uma síndrome comportamental cujos sinais indicativos são percebidos já nos primeiros anos da infância. Considerando o desenvolvimento como sensível de modo especial às primeiras experiências da criança no ambiente, o diagnóstico e intervenções educacionais precoces são consensualmente indicadas na literatura como catalisadoras do desenvolvimento nos casos de TEA. Para tanto é necessária uma formação profissional voltada para as especificidades do transtorno que capacite àqueles responsáveis por essa intervenção. A partir disso, elaborou-se este trabalho com o objetivo de desenvolver um programa para formação de profissionais das áreas da saúde e educação para atuação educacional com pessoas com TEA e avaliar sua efetividade. Para tanto foram identificados, através da revisão da literatura, quais os saberes necessários aos professores para atuarem com alunos com TEA e, a partir da sistematização desses saberes, considerando que são traduzíveis à diferentes áreas, construiu-se uma matriz curricular de um curso de formação destinado a profissionais que atuam em prol da educação de pessoas com TEA. A partir da matriz curricular o estudo foi desenvolvido com uma amostra de oito profissionais das áreas da saúde e da educação de um município gaúcho. Tratou-se de uma pesquisa quanti-qualitativa de natureza aplicada que ofereceu e avaliou a efetividade de um curso de capacitação de 30h com psicopedagogos, educadores especiais, fonoaudiólogos e psicólogos integrantes do Núcleo de Atendimento Especializado da cidade de Santiago/Rio Grande do Sul. A formação contemplou conhecimentos necessários ao atendimento de pessoas com TEA, incluindo teorias explicativas, caracterização, avaliação da síndrome, além de possibilidades de intervenção. Foi avaliada a efetividade do curso tanto por módulo, quanto deste como um todo, assim como foi avaliada a manutenção do conhecimento e a contribuição da formação para os participantes. Os dados advindos da realização desse estudo foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo e estatística descritiva. Como resultados principais teve-se que o curso foi efetivo sendo que houve alterações importantes no conhecimento e percepção dos participantes em relação a pessoa com TEA e, além disso, teve um impacto consistente na realidade a que se destinava, sendo considerado positivo quanto a contribuição para o contexto de atuação dos participantes.

Bakgrund:  Barn med autismspektrumtillstånd (AST) avstår ofta fysisk aktivitet av anledningen att de har svårt med det sociala samspel som skapas i en grupp med människor. De kan även ha begränsad rörelseförmåga, vilket gör att den motoriska utvecklingen blir försenad eller aldrig utvecklas. Den fysiska aktiviteten bidrar till ökad motorisk utveckling i specifika idrotter som involverar fin och grovmotoriska färdigheter. Studiens syfte är att undersöka i vilken grad fysisk aktivitet påverkar fingrovmotoriska färdigheter och därmed ökar möjligheten för det sociala samspelet hos ett barn med autismspektrumtillstånd. Frågeställningarna lyder: Hur kan det sociala samspelet påverkas hos ett barn med autism genom fysisk aktivitet? Hur kan fysisk aktivitet påverka fin och grovmotorik hos ett barn med AST? Metoden som författarna valt är en systematisk litteraturstudie. De valda artiklarna är i från databaserna Discovery och Taylor & Francis. Hjälpmedel med sökord och övriga begränsningar användes för att hitta relevanta och aktuella vetenskapliga artiklar till denna studie. Artiklarna analyserades, värderades utifrån GRADE-modellen och därefter diskuterades evidensen av författarna. Resultatet påvisar att fysisk aktivitet ökar det sociala samspelet samt de finmotoriska och grovmotoriska färdigheterna förbättras hos barn med AST.  Slutsatsen är att fin och grovmotoriska färdigheter ökar kontinuerligt i samband med fysisk aktivitet. Graden av fysisk aktivitet ökar i specifika motoriska färdigheter beroende på form av aktivitet samt hur frekvent aktiviteten utförs. Deltagandet i fysisk aktivitet ledde till att den sociala förmågan förbättrades samt att det yttrade sig positivt på barnens välmående både fysiskt och psykiskt.

Les troubles schizophréniques et les troubles du spectre autistique (TSA) ont en commun des troubles de la communication, des interactions sociales, des affects et des émotions. Dans le domaine de la cognition sociale, ces similitudes suscitent des questions sur la similarité ou les différences des processus neurocognitifs sous-jacents. Cependant, à l’heure actuelle, très peu d’études expérimentales comparent directement les personnes avec un trouble schizophrénique et les personnes avec un TSA dans les différents domaines de la cognition. Dans cette thèse, ces questions seront abordées à travers 3 domaines : le profil cognitif (évaluation du fonctionnement cognitif général et analyse qualitative de la fluence verbale), le domaine du langage pragmatique : (compréhension du langage figuré en contexte et des métaphores) et le domaine de la cognition sociale (reconnaissance des émotions faciales et style d’attribution). Ainsi, il sera examiné, si les similitudes apparentes entre les troubles schizophréniques et les TSA à ces différents domaines se matérialisent par des performances similaires et si des comportements et des performances similaires résultent de mécanismes neurocognitifs communs, différents, ou diamétralement opposés. Nos résultats ont montré que malgré des similitudes apparentes, le fonctionnement neurocognitif observé dans les troubles du spectre schizophrénique et autistique se caractérise par des différences qualitatives importantes que nous discutons dans le contexte de la littérature internationale et des perspectives cliniques de ces recherches. / Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have similar difficulties in communication, social interaction, affects and emotions. These apparent similarities raise the question whether similar or different neurocognitive processes might underlie similar symptoms and cognitive profiles. However, currently, very few experimental studies directly compare individuals with autism and schizophrenia in different cognition areas.The major aim of the present Doctoral Dissertation was to address these issues by exploring three areas: cognitive profile (the assessment of general cognitive functioning and the quantitative and the qualitative analysis of verbal fluency), pragmatic language (idiom comprehension in context and novels metaphors’ comprehension) and social cognition (facial affect recognition and attributional style). In each of these areas, the major results showed that despite apparent cognitive similarities, neurocognitive functioning observed in patients with schizophrenic disorders and autism were characterized by significant qualitative differences that were examined and discussed in the context of the international literature and in relation to the possible clinical perspectives.

Introdução: O Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) é caracterizado por prejuízos na interação social e comunicação, e por comportamentos repetitivos e repertório restrito de interesses. Alterações em diferentes sistemas de neurotransmissores, como o serotoninérgico, GABAérgico e glutamatérgico já foram estudadas e relatadas no TEA. Surpreendentemente, o sistema histaminérgico recebeu pouca atenção e poucos estudos sobre histamina (HA) e TEA estão disponíveis na literatura. Além disso, ligantes do receptor histaminérgico 3 (H3R) são considerados agentes terapêuticos promissores para o tratamento de diferentes desordens neurológicas e prejuízos cognitivos, mas seus efeitos em características do tipo autista ainda não foram determinados. Objetivos: Avaliar o efeito do ciproxifan (CPX), um agonista inverso do H3R, sobre o modelo animal de autismo induzido por exposição pré-natal ao ácido valpróico (VPA, do inglês: valproic acid) e medir a concentração de HA e os níveis do mRNA de H3R e H4R em diferentes estruturas encefálicas desse modelo. Além disso, investigar o papel do H3R no comportamento social e estereotipado. Métodos: Camundongos Swiss sofreram exposição pré-natal ao VPA no dia embrionário 11 e, aos 50 dias de vida pós-natal foram submetidos à avaliação de comportamento social, limiar de nocicepção e comportamento repetitivo, com ou sem tratamento com CPX. Após as avaliações comportamentais, os animais foram eutanasiados por exsanguinação depois de terem sido anestesiados com isoflurano. Córtex cerebral, estriado e hipocampo foram removidos, congelados em nitrogênio líquido e armazenados a -80°C para quantificação de mRNA do H3R e H4R por qPCR e de conteúdo de HA por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (HPLC, do inglês: High Performance Liquide Chromatography). Camundongos H3R KO e WT C57BL/6J, aos 50 dias de vida, foram usados nos testes com o aparato de três câmaras e marble burying para determinação do papel do H3R na sociabilidade e comportamento estereotipado. Resultados: O grupo VPA apresentou menor índice se sociabilidade quando comparado aos animais do grupo Controle, e o tratamento com CPX foi capaz de reverter completamente este efeito. Entretanto, o aumento no limiar de nocicepção observado no grupo VPA não foi revertido pelo tratamento. No teste marble burying, o grupo VPA enterrou um maior número de bolinhas de gude em relação ao grupo Controle, indicando comportamento repetitivo, um efeito também prevenido pelo CPX. Além disso, a análise molecular entre os grupos VPA e Controle mostrou um aumento significativo nos níveis de mRNA do H3R, bem como uma maior concentração de HA no estriado de animais VPA. O H3R pode ter um papel no interesse por novidade social, característica prejudicada no TEA, já que camundongos H3R KO demonstraram comportamento anormal quando testados para este parâmetro no teste com aparato de três câmaras. Conclusões: Uma dose aguda de CPX foi capaz de reverter prejuízo na sociabilidade, bem como comportamento repetitivo apresentados pelo modelo VPA de autismo. Além disso, este é o primeiro relato sobre anormalidades no sistema histaminérgico nesse modelo. Estes achados contribuem para investigações futuras sobre a fisiopatologia do TEA, bem como apontam para um possível novo tratamento para características do tipo autista. Mais estudos são necessários para corroborar e expandir esses dados iniciais. / Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted repetitive behaviors and interests. Alterations in different neurotransmitter systems, such as serotonergic, GABAergic and glutamatergic have been studied and reported in ASD. Surprisingly, the histaminergic system has received less attention and few studies are available on the literature about histamine and ASD. In addition, ligands of histamine receptor 3 (H3R) are considered potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of different brain disorders and cognitive impairments, but its effects on autistic-like features have not been evaluated. Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the actions of ciproxifan (CPX), an H3R inverse agonist, on the animal model of autism induced by prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) and to measure the concentration of histamine and the H3R and H4R mRNA levels in different brain structures of this model. In addition, to investigate the role of H3R in sociability and stereotypic behavior. Methods: Swiss mice were prenatally exposed to VPA on embryonic day 11 and assessed for social behavior, nociceptive threshold and repetitive behavior at 50 days of life after treatment with CPX. After the behavioral tests, animals were killed by exsanguination after being anesthetized with isoflurane. Cerebral cortex, striatum and hippocampus were removed, frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80°C for quantification of H3R and H4R mRNA by qPCR and histamine content by HPLC analysis. H3R KO and WT C57BL/6J mice, at 50 days of life, were used in the three-chamber test and marble burying test to determine the role of H3R in sociability stereotypic behavior. Results: The VPA group presented lower sociability index compared to VPA animals that were treated with CPX. Compared to the Control group, VPA animals presented a significantly higher nociceptive threshold, and treatment with CPX was not able to modify this parameter. In the marble burying test, the number of marbles buried by VPA animals was consistent with markedly repetitive behavior. VPA animals that received CPX buried a reduced amount of marbles. A significant increase in H3R mRNA, as well as higher concentration of histamine were detected in striatal samples from the VPA mice. H3R might influence the search for social novelty, a feature that is impaired in ASD, as H3R KO mice displayed abnormal behavior when tested for this parameter in the three chambers test. Conclusions: In summary, an acute dose of CPX is able to revert sociability deficits and stereotypies present in the VPA model of autism. In addition, this is the first report of abnormalities in the histaminergic system of this model. These findings have the potential to help the investigations of both the molecular underpinnings of ASD and of possible treatments to ameliorate the ASD symptomatology, although more research is still necessary to corroborate and expand this initial data.

A literatura sobre Transtorno do Espectro do Autismo (TEA) menciona as alterações de linguagem como uma das características mais importantes do transtorno. O vocabulário expressivo é um aspecto importante da linguagem verbal e um tema ainda pouco explorado no TEA. Seu conhecimento e descrição podem auxiliar tanto no diagnóstico quanto no processo terapêutico desta população. Por essa razão, foi realizado um estudo transversal com 24 crianças e adolescentes com TEA de idade entre sete e 17 anos com objetivo de caracterizar o vocabulário expressivo descrevendo o tipo de substituição, quando ocorrer. A avaliação do vocabulário expressivo foi realizada com a utilização do Subteste 1A (Vocabulário) do Teste 1: Compreensão Verbal e Conhecimento da Bateria Woodcock-Johnson III, na versão brasileira. No total de 40 figuras, a média de respostas corretas foi de 14,2±4,9, de respostas com substituição foi de 15±6,1 e que não souberam responder foi de 10,6±6,6. Quanto às respostas com substituição, encontraram-se 361 episódios: 112 (31%) por semelhança visual, 82 (22,7%) por perífrase, 69 (19,1%) por co-hipônimo, 31 (8,6%) por vocábulo não pertinente, 25 (6,9%) por merônimo, 22 (6,1%) por associação entre dois objetos, 9 (2,5%) por perseveração, 6 (1,17%) por hiperônimo, 4 (1,1%) por holônimo, 1 (3%) por designação não verbal e nenhum vocábulo foi substituído por hipônimo. Houve uma tendência de acertos decrescente, sugerindo que o teste cumpre seu objetivo de rastrear o nível de vocabulário. Crianças e adolescentes com autismo, que conseguiram alcançar a linguagem verbal, têm condições de adquirir um vocabulário expressivo adequado. / Literature about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) mentions language alterations as one of the most important characteristics of the disorder. The expressive vocabulary is an important aspect of verbal language and it is not much explored in ASD. Its knowledge and description may help in the diagnosis and the therapeutic process of this population. For this reason, it was performed a cross-sectional study with 24 children and adolescents with ASD, aged between seven and 17 years, with the aim of characterizing the expressive vocabulary, describing the type of substitution, when it is presented. The assessment of expressive vocabulary was performed using the 1A subtest (Vocabulary) Test 1: Verbal Comprehension and Knowledge Battery Woodcock-Johnson III. In a total of 40 pictures, the average number of correct answers was 14.2±4.9, answers with substitution 15±6.1 and without answer was 10.6±6.6. About answers with substitution, 361 episodes were found: 112 (31%) by visual similarity, 82 (22.7%) by periphrasis, 69 (19.1%) by co-hyponym, 31 (8.6%) by non-pertinent word, 25 (6.9%) by meronym, 22 (6.1%) by association between two objects, 9 (2.5%) by perseveration, 6 (1,17%) by hyperonym, 4 (1.1%) by holonym, 1 (3%) by non-verbal designation and no word was substituted by hyponym. There was a tendency of decreasing items, suggesting that the test accomplished its objective of tracking the level of vocabulary. The data show that subjects in the sample had an appropriate expressive vocabulary.

In this case study, we explored how an adolescent with social-emotional and cognitive disabilities and her parent came to a shared understanding of transition goals and a vision for the future. We interviewed a 20 year-old woman with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety and her mother separately about their hopes and how they discussed the future. Directive content analysis was used to identify themes and subthemes from the interviews. The findings indicated that the mother’s and daughter’s hopes for the future differed slightly, with the daughter’s hopes being more ambitious, narrow and concrete, while the mother had a more fluid and abstract vision. We found that the mother used a person-centered approach in speaking with her daughter about the future by having a good understanding of her daughter’s hopes, following her daughter’s lead, and sharing control over decision-making. They discussed the future in small naturally occurring increments. The mother constantly evaluated when to push her daughter, when to step back, and when to gently make suggestions about the future. She also tried to balance her hopes for her daughter’s future independence with the reality of keeping her daughter safe. Implications include the need for communication between student, parent, and school personnel, and for supporting person-centered transition planning. / 2017-07-01T00:00:00Z

With the growing number of children who receive a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), there is an increasing need to identify risk markers that will allow for earlier diagnosis of this disorder. Since no single atypical behavior has been found that is shared by all 12-month-old infants who are later diagnosed with ASD, it is likely that a constellation of markers combine in a way that is more predictive of outcome at this age. Establishing a Cumulative Risk Index (CRI) is one way to investigate which combination of early risk markers is most predictive of later ASD diagnostic outcome. Temperament is one construct of behavior that could act as an early risk marker for ASD and therefore, could add predictive power to a CRI for this disorder. Temperament is defined as a "behavioral style" that includes individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation and emphasizes emotional, attentional and activity related characteristics. Another important aspect of temperament is that it exerts bidirectional influences upon the social environment. Therefore, the study of temperament could provide a method for understanding how children with ASD influence and are influenced by the environment of a testing session. Though important information has been collected about early temperament in children with ASD, much of the data is limited due to its dependence on retrospective and parent-report measures. One measure that allows for direct assessment of temperament during a controlled testing session is the Infant Behavior Record (IBR). The purpose of this study is to investigate early temperament in ASD by using the IBR as an assessment of temperament behaviors in high-risk 12-month old infants. Through this, we hope to reveal group differences in IBR scores, establish a relationship between temperament scores and cognitive test performance, and increase predictive value of the CRI when IBR scores are included. For this study, a revised version of the IBR was filled out while watching video record of the administration of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) at an infant's 12-month lab visit. Scores for the IBR reflected the examiner's impressions of the infant's orientation to objects and people and emotional state. Through using the IBR to study task orientation (TO), affect/extraversion (AE) and activity level (AL) in high-risk infants, this study found that only decreased AE behaviors distinguished high-risk infants who went on to develop ASD (HRA+ASD) from high-risk infants who did not receive an ASD diagnosis (HRA-ASD) (p=.08). To determine the relationship of temperament and cognitive assessment performance, IBR scores were compared to MSEL scores. This study found that across all participants, TO and AE behaviors were positively correlated with MSEL scores (AE rs=.27, p<.001; TO rs=.37, p<.001). This relationship remained true for both the high-risk (AE rs=.20, p<.001; TO rs=.23, p<.001) and the low risk groups (AE rs=.32, p<.001; TO rs=.54, p<.001), as well as for the HRA-ASD infants (AE, trend, p=.057; rs=.24, p<.001; TO rs=.459, p<.001), and the low-risk infants who did not go on to receive a diagnosis of ASD (AE rs=.35, p<.001; TO rs=.47, p<.001). The only group in this study that was found to have no correlations between temperament scores and MSEL scores was HRA+ASD. Since only AE behaviors distinguished HRA+ASD infants, this was the only IBR factor added to a pilot model of the CRI. This study found that the inclusion of AE to a pilot model of the CRI did not add significant predictive value to the model (p=.15). Through using the IBR to investigate temperament in HRA infants, the findings of this study suggest that there are some important differences in temperament behaviors for HRA+ASD infants. Specifically, reduced AE behaviors seem to distinguish the HRA+ASD infants from the other outcome groups. Also, this study found that increased TO and AE behaviors were associated with better performance on a cognitive assessment for all groups except HRA+ASD. These two findings are important, as they differentiate this outcome group from all others, suggesting that there may be a different set of mechanisms employed during a testing session for HRA+ASD infants. This study also found that AE risk did not contribute predictive value to a CRI for this disorder. Taken together these findings suggest that though temperament profiles appear to differ in HRA+ASD infants during the first year of life, this construct of behavior is not a valuable early behavioral risk marker for identifying ASD.