No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

yes / How well can neurotypical adults’ interpret mental states in people with ASD? ‘Targets’ (ASD and neurotypical) reactions to four events were video-recorded then shown to neurotypical participants whose task was to identify which event the target had experienced. In study 1 participants were more successful for neurotypical than ASD targets. In study 2, participants rated ASD targets equally expressive as neurotypical targets for three of the events, while in study 3 participants gave different verbal descriptions of the reactions of ASD and neurotypical targets. It thus seems people with ASD react differently but not less expressively to events. Because neurotypicals are ineffective in interpreting the behaviour of those with ASD, this could contribute to the social difficulties in ASD.

Previous research on emotion identification in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has demonstrated inconsistent results. While some studies have cited a deficit in emotion identification for individuals with ASD compared to controls, others have failed to find a difference. Many studies have used static photographs that do not capture subtle details of dynamic, real-life facial expressions that characterize authentic social interactions, and therefore have not been able to provide complete information regarding emotion identification. The current study aimed to build upon prior research by using dynamic, talking videos where the speaker expresses emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and excitement, both with and without a voice track. Participants included 10 children with ASD between the ages of four and 12, and 10 gender- and mental age-matched children with typical development between six and 12. Overall, both ASD and typically developing groups performed similarly in their accuracy, though the group with typical development benefited more from the addition of voice. Eye tracking analyses considered the eye region and mouth as areas of interest (AOIs). Eye tracking data from accurately identified trials resulted in significant main effects for group (longer and more fixations for participants with typical development) and condition (longer and more fixations on voiced emotions), and a significant condition by AOI interaction, where participants fixated longer and more on the eye region in the voiced condition compared to the silent condition, but fixated on the mouth approximately the same in both conditions. Treatment implications and directions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

Previous research showed that children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) tend to experience high levels of anxiety and anger. Some of the deficits that children with ASD experience are due their difficulty expressing and understanding their own and others' emotions. Thus, the purpose of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of an intervention to teach young children with high functioning autism (HFASD) to recognize their emotions and use emotion regulation strategies to self-soothe. We implemented a group therapy that emphasized children's understanding and knowledge of emotions and coping strategies related to anger and anxiety. Eleven 5-7 year-old children were randomly assigned to either an experimental or delayed-treatment control group. The Emotion Regulation Checklist, Behavior Monitoring Sheet, What Makes My Child Angry/Anxious Questionnaires, and anger- and anxiety-related emotions vignettes were used to measure children's emotion regulation abilities. Finally, maternal confidence of their own and their child's ability to regulate their emotions were measured by the Self-Confidence Rating Scale. Children in the experimental group demonstrated more knowledge of emotion regulation strategies, had fewer negative emotional responses, and showed lower frequency and intensity ratings of anger and anxiety related episodes after treatment. All mothers reported higher levels of confidence in their own and their child's ability to deal with anger and anxiety related emotions after treatment. These findings suggest that teaching young children with HFASD about emotion regulation strategies to manage anger and anxiety emotional states may increase their knowledge about emotion regulation strategies, and improve their emotion regulation abilities. Training mothers about emotion regulation strategies may increase maternal confidence in their own and their child's ability to deal with emotions related to anger and anxiety. Limitations and implications of this study will be discussed. / Master of Science

Parents of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been shown to experience increases in stress, depression, and anxiety, which are also associated with child behavior problems related to ASD, such as aggressive behaviors and tantrums. Literature examining potential mechanisms that underlie the relationship of child behavior problems and parental anxiety/depression are scarce. The current study seeks to examine the roles of parental stress, parent self-efficacy, and emotion coaching as mediators between child behavior problems and parental anxiety/depression. Using a sample of 134 mothers who completed an online survey, these potential mediators were tested with regression analyses. Parental self-efficacy was found to mediate parental stress and parental depression/anxiety. Parental self-efficacy was also found to moderate child conduct problems and parental emotion coaching. There was a positive relationship between conduct problems and emotion coaching for mothers with high self-efficacy. Implications and future research will be discussed. / Master of Science

Statistics show the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a developmental delay disorder, is now 1 in 110 children in the United States (Rice, 2009), nearing 1% of the population. Therefore, this study looked at ways modern technology could assist these children and their families. One deficit in ASD is the inability to respond to gaze referencing (i.e. follow the eye gaze of another adult/child/etc), a correlate of the responding to joint attention (RJA) process. This not only affects the way they appear to society, but it also affects social development, communication skills, and play skills later in life (Whalen & Schreibman, 2003), making early intervention of RJA is an integral part of a successful social skills program. This study developed design guidelines, as well as offered and evaluated a design framework, adding to the limited literature regarding technology and ASD intervention. The game was developed within behavior analytic framework, undergoing several iterations, developing a functional prototype that was analyzed in three parts. The first part identified which elements needed redesign in light of the study population. Second, a collaborative prototyping participatory design group was formed in which the elements from the previous part of the study were assigned guidelines. The final part of the study included an evaluation by those with ABA experience, evaluating if the game correctly encompassed and mirrored traditional face-to-face ABA interventions. The study's contributions were the finalized design guidelines and design framework, as well as additional research on harnessing technology in ASD interventions. / Master of Science

In this study the effectiveness of WatchMinderTM, a vibrating prompt watch, was examined as a component of a self-monitoring intervention package to help students with autism increase on-task behavior during independent seatwork. A multitude of literature since the 1970s has suggested that self-monitoring interventions are integral in increasing task engagement. Tactile prompting devices are a new aspect of self-monitoring interventions, and the limited research has shown that these unobtrusive devices are effective for providing feedback to monitor their behavior. Self-graphing is another component of self-monitoring interventions that has received little attention in the literature. However, many studies recognize the importance for individuals to be active participants in their educational programs by analyzing progress and being a part of the decision making process. This study assessed the use of WatchMinder and self-graphing on the on-task behavior of four elementary students with autism in the special education setting. / Lisa Finn. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Introduction This present research was a cross-sectional study examining the outcome and adjustment of 64 individuals at their early adulthood (18 to 28 years old).They all had normal intelligence but were diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as children. / Method The participants of this study were recruited from a child psychiatric clinic or from the community. All were Chinese living in Hong Kong. All except five were males, aged from 18 to 28, with mean age at 21.7 years (SD=2.5). All had a full IQ score of 75 or above (mean full IQ was 96.4 (SD=13.1, range 75-129), verbal IQ 96.3 (SD=13.7, range 73-128) and performance IQ 97.3 (SD=14.7, range 72-139). They and/or their parents were administered a range of tests or interviews to assess their current outcome and adjustment at early adulthood. / Results and Discussion The participants of this study were under-achieved both in educational attainment and employment when compared to population age peers. 32% (21 out of 64) were found no longer meeting a diagnosis of autism in adulthood, but only seven participants out of the 32% fell below the clinical range in all three domains of autistic deficits. The majority still had impairment in at least one aspect of the triad of autistic deficits. Their intellectual functioning had been stable with a small increase in mean verbal IQ. The overall outcome in terms of a composite score consisting of work, friendship, independence, autistic-type stereotyped repetitive behaviours, and language use was relatively better than those of past studies in Western countries in that 42% had a 'good' outcome. It was argued however that the relatively positive outcome was attributed in part to the results of supportive and facilitative environmental factors such as a large labour market, a buoyant economy, and technological advances, including the mass availability of computers. The participants of this study also experienced more general psychological disturbances other than autism than the general population. Finally, as in previous Western studies, childhood IQ, especially verbal IQ, proved to be a robust predictor of adult outcome in most areas. Results of the present study confirm the findings of Western studies that despite improvement in some individuals at early adulthood, significant impairment still persisted for the majority, reconfirming that ASD as largely a chronic disorder. The need for services tailored to adult problems of autism was called for. / Poon Mak, Sui Man. / Adviser: Patrick Leung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 249-258). / 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, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendices in Chinese.