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Knowledge of the literature pertaining to patterns of performance in normal individuals is essential if we are to understand intraindividual variability in neurocognitive test performance in neuropsychiatric disorders. Twenty-five healthy individuals with a high-level of education were evaluated on a short neuropsychological battery which spanned several cognitive domains. ---Results indicated that cognitive abilities are not equally distributed within a sample of healthy, high-level functioning individuals. This may be of interest to neuropsychologists who might base clinical inference about the presence of cerebral dysfunction, at least in part, on marked variation in a patient’s level of cognitive test performance. The practice of deductive reasoning in clinical neuropsychology may be prone to false-positive conclusions about cognitive functioning in neuropsychiatric disorders where base-rates of cognitive impairments are low and pre-existing educational achievements are high.

Knowledge of the literature pertaining to patterns of performance in normal individuals is essential if we are to understand intraindividual variability in neurocognitive test performance in neuropsychiatric disorders. Twenty-five healthy individuals with a high-level of education were evaluated on a short neuropsychological battery which spanned several cognitive domains. ---Results indicated that cognitive abilities are not equally distributed within a sample of healthy, high-level functioning individuals. This may be of interest to neuropsychologists who might base clinical inference about the presence of cerebral dysfunction, at least in part, on marked variation in a patient’s level of cognitive test performance. The practice of deductive reasoning in clinical neuropsychology may be prone to false-positive conclusions about cognitive functioning in neuropsychiatric disorders where base-rates of cognitive impairments are low and pre-existing educational achievements are high.

This study investigated the experience of humour of people with Asperger’s syndrome. It aimed to explore the lived experience of this phenomenon. A literature review was undertaken which revealed that people with Asperger’s syndrome are thought not to have a sense of humour and a number of theories are proposed to explain the difficulties that may be experienced in regard to humour. In order to gain insight into the lived experience a qualitative approach was adopted using semi structured research interviews with eight, adult, male participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was then used to illuminate the “insider perspective”. The analysis highlighted four main themes, the experience of difference, the experience of learning, what I find amusing and how I use humour. It was suggested that people with Asperger’s syndrome do have a sense of humour but they may need to put in extra effort to develop it. The importance of individuality and acceptance of differences was also recognised. The report highlighted a number of clinical implications such as the role humour plays in social interactions and the importance of asking questions rather than making assumptions when working with people with Asperger’s syndrome.

Using qualitative methods, this study is about the attitudes and daily practices of parents who genuinely want the best for their children who have been diagnosed with autism. The study examined the everyday realities of living with autism from a parent's perspective. The purpose of this study was to describe the range of specific behaviors, practices, attitudes, and ways of being that families adopt when they engage in the world of autism. Three families were interviewed in these case studies. A content analysis of the interviews identified five thematic clusters that are described and examined in close detail. The five thematic clusters include (1) managing the diagnostic process, (2) child's behavior and educational needs, (3) impact on parent's well-being, (4) impact on the family as a whole, and (5) full integration into mainstream society. These themes were further categorized according to the "challenges" facing the families and the specific "strategies" families used to face these challenges. Parents shared their stories with the researcher with the hopes that their life experiences could be beneficial to other families facing the same challenges as they navigate complex educational, health, and social systems. The research presents a set of recommendations that were embedded in the participants' stories. These recommendations represent advice from the parents in the study to other parents with children diagnosed with autism. Their recommendations are based on what the participants have learned as they raised their own child with autism.

Depression is among the most prevalent comorbid conditions in children with Asperger’s Syndrome. Little research has examined the variables that may contribute to depression among such children. Children with Asperger’s show social skill deficits and are often subjected to peer victimization, including isolation and teasing by their peers. It is hypothesized that peer victimization experienced by children with Asperger’s will, in part, explain their self-perceived social competence. It is also hypothesized that self-perceived social competence and peer victimization will help explain depression among such children. Multiple regression will be used to examine these presumed effects. / text

名古屋大学博士学位論文 学位の種類 : 博士(医学)(課程) 学位授与年月日:平成25年3月30日 川上ちひろ氏の博士論文として提出された

Children and adolescents with autism commonly struggle with social interactions. In particular, it has been found that children and adolescents with autism struggle with verbal irony in face-to-face interactions where there are many competing cues that require their attention (i.e., body language, facial expressions, intonation). This study made use of Bubble Dialogue (Cunningham et al., 1992), a form of computer-mediated communication, to examine how children and adolescents with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome (HFA/AS) comprehended verbal irony when these competing cues were removed from social interactions. Speaker attribute information has been shown to be beneficial in aiding typically developing children with successful verbal irony comprehension. In this study, participants with HFA/AS and matched typically developing participants were presented with Bubble Dialogue scenarios where speaker attribute was manipulated such that speakers were labelled as a peer, an adult, or without a speaker attribute label. Participants were presented with scenarios where the speaker made either an ironic criticism or a literal compliment in order to assess whether or not the information about the speaker influenced their comprehension and interpretation of speaker belief, speaker intent and speaker humour. Participants with HFA/AS provided responses along similar themes to their typically developing counterparts for both literal compliments and ironic criticisms in each speaker attribute condition. Participants with HFA/AS performed similarly to typically developing participants on their interpretations of speaker belief, speaker intent, and speaker humour. These findings suggest that, within the context of computer-mediated communication, children with HFA/AS are able to perform as well as typically developing participants on measures of verbal irony comprehension.

Children and adolescents with autism commonly struggle with social interactions. In particular, it has been found that children and adolescents with autism struggle with verbal irony in face-to-face interactions where there are many competing cues that require their attention (i.e., body language, facial expressions, intonation). This study made use of Bubble Dialogue (Cunningham et al., 1992), a form of computer-mediated communication, to examine how children and adolescents with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome (HFA/AS) comprehended verbal irony when these competing cues were removed from social interactions. Speaker attribute information has been shown to be beneficial in aiding typically developing children with successful verbal irony comprehension. In this study, participants with HFA/AS and matched typically developing participants were presented with Bubble Dialogue scenarios where speaker attribute was manipulated such that speakers were labelled as a peer, an adult, or without a speaker attribute label. Participants were presented with scenarios where the speaker made either an ironic criticism or a literal compliment in order to assess whether or not the information about the speaker influenced their comprehension and interpretation of speaker belief, speaker intent and speaker humour. Participants with HFA/AS provided responses along similar themes to their typically developing counterparts for both literal compliments and ironic criticisms in each speaker attribute condition. Participants with HFA/AS performed similarly to typically developing participants on their interpretations of speaker belief, speaker intent, and speaker humour. These findings suggest that, within the context of computer-mediated communication, children with HFA/AS are able to perform as well as typically developing participants on measures of verbal irony comprehension.

Background: Autism Spectrum Conditions are associated with difficulties in core social communication and social interaction (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) and comorbid psychopathology (Simonoff, Pickles, Charman, Chandler, Loucas & Baird, 2008). These problems are often exacerbated in middle childhood and adolescence owing to the increased complex social milieu for children on the spectrum. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a short-term LEGO®-based therapy for children and adolescents with high functioning Autism Spectrum Conditions. Another interesting and novel aspect of this study is the application of repertory grid technique (Kelly, 1955) to explore psychological changes in construing over the course of the LEGO®-based therapy. Methods: Twenty-five high functioning children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Conditions (M =12.40, SD = 2.02) took part in an eight-week, clinic based LEGO®-based therapy sessions within an outpatient, mental health setting. Baseline, pre- and post-intervention outcome measures, including parent- and self-reports and repertory grid technique, were administered to assess changes during the eight-week baseline period with that during the eight-week intervention period in the area of autism specific social behaviours, adaptive functioning, psychopathology, and construing. Results: On average, participants made significant gains across autism specific social behaviours, adaptive social and maladaptive behaviour, psychopathology, and coping following LEGO®-based therapy but not during the baseline period. In addition, participants also showed some changes in construing, including the way they viewed themselves and person with ASC, a loosening of construing and an overall change in construing from pre- to post- intervention. Effect sizes (Pearson's r) for these statistical significant results ranged from medium to large. Correlations between construing and psychopathology were also noted but not for autism-specific social behaviours or adaptive functioning. Conclusions: Overall, LEGO®-based therapy was a highly attended group (M = 89.5%) and well received by participants and their parents. These findings suggest that LEGO®-based therapy is feasible, cost-effective and can be set up in mental health services as part of the treatment plan for children and adolescents with high functioning Autism Spectrum Conditions. Future studies should focus on the effectiveness of LEGO®-based therapy with girls on the spectrum or children with social related conditions and conduct large scale randomised controlled trials.