Systematic review is a type of review that identifies, assesses, and combines all the published empirical evidence on a specific topic by using explicit, systematic methods. This type of reviews often includes a meta-analysis, a statistical tool used to combine the collected data into a quantitative summary estimate. Guidance documents such as the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) were developed to improve the reporting of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials. Systematic reviews are commonly used in the field of healthcare research and are increasingly being employed in the field of environmental epidemiology. Environmental epidemiology studies examine exposures in populations and their associations with health outcomes. This field contains several unique considerations that require a careful and critical assessment to ensure the validity of results and to make the data or information more useful for the readers. However, to our knowledge, there is currently no guidance document for conducting systematic reviews that comprehensively addresses the specific issues in this field. Therefore, the objectives of this proposal are twofold: (1) to conduct a systematic review of the currently published epidemiology systematic reviews on a specific topic (mercury exposure and children autism spectrum disorder) to identify analytical issues encountered, and (2) use the experience and other potential solution identified in the literature to develop a guidance or recommendation document for conducting systematic reviews of environmental epidemiology studies. Akin to reporting guidelines for randomized controlled trials, a reporting guideline for environmental epidemiology is anticipated to increase the clarity and transparency of publications and enhance the usefulness of systematic reviews for knowledge synthesis.

Dès les descriptions princeps des Troubles du Spectre de l’Autisme (TSA), l’accent a été mis sur les perturbations de l’identité subjective qu’il est possible d’étudier grâce à la conceptualisation de Conway qui fait interagir le self et la mémoire autobiographique. En nous basant sur ce modèle, nous avons exploré les spécificités du self dans les TSA Sans Déficience Intellectuelle (TSASDI) à travers l’étude de ses dimensions subjectives, conceptuelles et structurelles. Nos résultats retrouvent une atteinte du self au niveau structurel mais pas conceptuel ou subjectif. De plus, nous avons montré une atteinte de la fonction sociale de la mémoire autobiographique et que les images de soi sociales appartenant au self étaient associées à des souvenirs qualitativement différents. Nos résultats nuancent l’altération de la composante épisodique de la mémoire autobiographique et invitent à préciser l’influence des relations sociales sur le self et la mémoire autobiographique dans ces troubles. / Since first descriptions of Autism, disorders of self have been seen as key symptoms. The Self-Memory System put forward by Conway describes the reciprocal relationships between the self and autobiographical memory. This model was the theoretical background of our investigations of the specificities of the self in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder without Intellectual Deficiency. We addressed three issues: structural aspects, concepts and subjective characteristics of the self. Our results showed an impairment of structural aspects of self while concepts and subjective characteristics were spared. Indeed, we found that the social function of autobiographical memory was altered and that social self-images belonging to self-concepts were related to qualitatively different memories. Our results challenge the episodic autobiographical memory deficit classically reported and encourage new researches to explore the impact of social relationships on the self and autobiographical memory.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with functional abnormalities of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a brain area that mediates social behavior. Given evidence of a role of inflammation in ASD, markers of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory microglia were studied using postmortem ACC tissues from ASD and age-matched typically developed control donors. Gene expression levels of pro-inflammatory (CD68, HLA-DRA, IL1B, NOS2, PTGS2) and anti-inflammatory (ARG1, IGF1, MRC1, PPARG) microglial genes were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, brain sections were immunohistochemically stained for a microglial marker. Expression levels of IGF1 were modestly higher, while the expression of MRC1 was modestly lower in ASD donors when compared to control donors. No other differences in gene expression levels between the two groups of donors were observed. Statistical significance for changes in expression levels IGF1 and MRC1 did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Further research on anti-inflammatory microglial involvement in ASD is warranted.

Background: Students with ASD are facing challenges in inclusive school settings. Despite some research have explore some components of peer-mediated intervention, there is gap between the practical implementation and current knowledge. Research aim: The research aims to synthesize the knowledge about school-based peer-mediated intervention for children with ASD. Method: The systematic review was applied in this research. Intervention component analysis to identify the component of PMI. Reichow’s evaluation instrument were used to assess the quality of included studies.  Conclusion: The content of peer-mediated intervention includes the PMI types, intervention intent and the combination of phases. Intervention outcome includes the measure methods and the result of outcome. The shared phases of conducting peer-mediated interventions are students recruitment, peer training and students meeting. The components of peer training are training package, deliver method and intensity. The components of students meeting are setting, context and intensity. Three of studies were assessed as strong quality of research, ten studies were assessed as adequate quality of research.

Adults with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HF ASD) are becoming a significant presence on college campuses across the United States. A number of colleges have created programs to provide services to support accommodations for these students under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); the first was created in 2002. The creation of these programs does not guarantee success. The use of the logic model in the formative evaluation process has been found to be a key foundation for the establishment of an effective program. The logic model provides a visual representation of the defined problem, the resources and services, and the data sources which provide documentation of service delivery and the intended outcomes of the program. This study is a formative evaluation that uses a logic model approach conducted during the second year of an Autism Spectrum Support Program. This study analyzed data generated by 25 adult participants (20 male, 5 female) between the ages of 18 and 30 with a diagnosis of HF ASD to determine what changes to the program were required. The logic model served a dual purpose in this evaluation. First, it provided a visual representation of the services provided. Second, it served as a template for the organization of the program data. Methodological problems, suggested program changes, and future research directions are discussed.

Upptäckten av autism hos barn i tidig ålder kan ha stor betydelse för barnens framtid. Förskolan och förskollärarna är därför av stor betydelse i det stöd som barnen kan komma att behöva. För att förskolelärarna ska kunna ge det rätta stödet måste personalen ha kunskap om hur man arbetar och bemöter barn med autism. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur förskolelärare arbetar med barn med autism som är i behov av särskilt stöd. Frågeställningen tar upp vilka kunskaper förskolelärarna anser behövs kring autism och vilka metoder som används i arbetet med barn med autism. Förskolelärarnas bemötande och arbetssätt är av stor vikt för barnens trygghet samt utveckling. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställning har den kvalitativa forskningsmetoden semistrukturerad intervju använts. För att analysera empirin, har Vygotskijs sociokulturella perspektiv använts samt Antonovskys känsla av sammanhang (KASAM). Resultatet visar att största vikten i förskolelärarnas arbete med barn med autism ligger i tydlighet, struktur, lyhördhet och att se till varje barns behov. Det arbetas med att hitta de metoder och verktyg som kan komma att behövas för att göra barnens vardag begriplig, hanterbar och meningsfull. Stöttning, handledning, fortbildning och samverkan lyfts som det som det måste arbetas vidare med i det fortsatta arbetet med barn med autism. Studien belyser även förskolelärarnas uppfattning av sin egen roll i arbetet med barn med autism. / To discover autism at a child's early age can be of great importance for the child's future development. Pre-schools and pre-school teachers are therefore of great importance in the support that the child may need through the coming years. For pre-school teachers to be able to provide the correct support, the staff must have the correct knowledge in how to work and meet the needs of children with autism. The aim of this study is to investigate the way that pre-school teachers work with children with autism. Issues that are brought up in the study involve to see what pre-school teachers consider necessary knowledge concerning children with autism and what methods are used in their daily routines. Pre-school teachers' behaviour and working methods are of great importance for the children's feeling of wellbeing and development. To answer the aim and the issues of the study, the qualitative research method used is semi structured interviews. To analyse the empiricism, Vygotsky's socio-cultural perspective has been used, as well as Antonovsky's sense of coherence (SOC). The results show that pre-school teachers most important work with children with autism are clarity, structure, responsiveness and to cater for each child's individual needs. Work is done to find the methods and tools that may be needed to make the children’s daily life understandable, manageable and meaningful. Support, tutoring, continued education and collaboration are raised as things that must be further worked on in the continued work with children with autism. The study also highlights the pre-school teachers own perception of their role in the work with children with autism.

The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of support a parent with autism spectrum disorder receives from the municipality and further the purpose was investigate which possibilities and difficulties professionals are experience in their work with these parents. To answer this subject empirical material was collected with a qualitative method in form of four semi-structured interviews. Interviews wore made with four people, with three different positions of employment. To analyse the gathered material the method coding and thematization were used. The empirical material was later analysed using current knowledge in the field and Goffman's theory of stigma.The results showed that the professionals often do have a good picture of what type of difficulties the parents have. They all work to support the parents but they have got different possibilities to do so. Further the results show that most parents with autism spectrum disorder can be satisfying in their role as parent as long as they are given the right amount of support in a longer period of time. There is also signs that knowledge about these parent are varied and that there is some confusion about each others task assignments.

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Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly experience reading difficulties, especially in reading comprehension. Children with ASD also commonly experience deficits in cognitive processes, including attention, executive functions, inferencing, among other cognitive abilities. In particular, there is evidence that attention and EF abilities are important for reading proficiency and that such deficits in ASD may contribute to reading difficulties in this population, although this area is understudied. The Integrated Model of Reading Comprehension (IMREC) conceptualizes comprehension as the product (i.e., a coherent mental representation of text in the reader’s mind) of automatic (e.g., the availability of recently processed information in working memory) and strategic (e.g., effort for predicting and monitoring text for meaning) processes. As such, it outlines cognitive contributors to reading comprehension, thus making it potentially valuable in the conceptualization of reading comprehension in ASD. The aim of the current study was to investigate underlying cognitive components associated with reading comprehension in children with ASD, as informed by the IMREC model. A systematic review of the association between cognitive variables and reading comprehension in individuals with ASD was conducted. The review included articles published between 2000 and 2020. 1,430 articles were initially screened, and 22 articles met study inclusion criteria and were included in the final review. Results indicated that working memory, intelligence, and verbal memory are important for reading comprehension in ASD, though there is much research to be done in the area, especially around factors such as inference and attention allocation. Future research should utilize more clearly defined samples, theoretically-based cognitive variables, and theoretically-based study design. / Graduate