Sultan Mohammad Manjur, Luis Roberto Mercado Diaz, Irene O Lee, David H Skuse, Dorothy A Thompson, Fernando Marmolejos-Ramos, Paul A Constable, Hugo F Posada-Quintero
{"title":"Detecting Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Using Multimodal Time-Frequency Analysis with Machine Learning Using the Electroretinogram from Two Flash Strengths.","authors":"Sultan Mohammad Manjur, Luis Roberto Mercado Diaz, Irene O Lee, David H Skuse, Dorothy A Thompson, Fernando Marmolejos-Ramos, Paul A Constable, Hugo F Posada-Quintero","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06290-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06290-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are conditions that similarly alter cognitive functioning ability and challenge the social interaction, attention, and communication skills of affected individuals. Yet these are distinct neurological conditions that can exhibit diverse characteristics which require different management strategies. It is desirable to develop tools to assist with early distinction so that appropriate early interventions and support may be tailored to an individual's specific requirements. The current diagnostic procedures for ASD and ADHD require a multidisciplinary approach and can be lengthy. This study investigated the potential of electroretinogram (ERG), an eye test measuring retinal responses to light, for rapid screening of ASD and ADHD.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Previous studies identified differences in ERG amplitude between ASD and ADHD, but this study explored time-frequency analysis (TFS) to capture dynamic changes in the signal. ERG data from 286 subjects (146 control, 94 ASD, 46 ADHD) was analyzed using two TFS techniques.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Key features were selected, and machine learning models were trained to classify individuals based on their ERG response. The best model achieved 70% overall accuracy in distinguishing control, ASD, and ADHD groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The ERG to the stronger flash strength provided better separation and the high frequency dynamics (80-300 Hz) were more informative features than lower frequency components. To further improve classification a greater number of different flash strengths may be required along with a discrimination comparison to participants who meet both ASD and ADHD classifications and carry both diagnoses.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1365-1378"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139931215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sleep Quality and Evening Salivary Cortisol Levels in Association with the Psychological Resources of Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders and Type 1 Diabetes.","authors":"Marija Ljubičić, Sonja Šare, Ivana Kolčić","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06269-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06269-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sleep deprivation can decrease parental well-being and degrade mental and physical health in parents of children with chronic illness. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of sleep quality, psychological stress perception, and evening salivary cortisol concentration with self-esteem, optimism and happiness in parents of children with type 1 diabetes and developmental disorders compared to parents of healthy, typically developing children.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We studied 196 parents of children with chronic conditions, including autistic spectrum disorder (N = 33), cerebral palsy (N = 18), Down syndrome (N = 33), and diabetes mellitus type 1 (N = 40) and parents of healthy children (N = 72). We evaluated parental sleep quality, evening salivary cortisol levels, self-esteem, optimism and happiness. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess associations between variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with those of the control group, the parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders had higher evening cortisol concentrations (β = 0.17; p = 0.038) and lower perceptions of happiness (β=-0.17; p = 0.017), while parents of children with type 1 diabetes had disrupted sleep quality (β = 0.25; p = 0.003). Optimism was negatively associated with the evening cortisol concentration (β=-0.18; p = 0.023) and sleep quality index (β=-0.20; p = 0.012).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Public health programs aimed at lifestyle habit improvement, respite care, and relaxation for parents of children with chronic conditions would be useful for improving parental sleep quality, self-esteem, optimism and happiness.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1481-1494"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139650860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Theory of Mind, Executive Functions, and Central Coherence in Reading Comprehension for Children with ASD and Typical Development.","authors":"Yael Kimhi, Yifat Mirsky, Nirit Bauminger-Zviely","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06272-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06272-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have challenges in reading comprehension, especially when implicit information in narrative texts is involved. Three interrelated factors influencing reading comprehension have been proposed to explain these challenges: Theory of Mind - ToM; executive functions - EF; and central coherence - CC. This study investigated the differential contribution of these cognitive abilities to reading comprehension among cognitively able children with ASD compared to matched peers with typical development (TD). 28 third-grade children with ASD and 28 third-grade children with TD participated in the study. Four measures were administered: ToM, CC, EF (working memory, planning, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility), and reading comprehension. One-way ANOVAs were computed to examine group differences in cognitive characteristics (ToM, CC, EF) and reading comprehension. Regressions were performed to examine the contribution of cognitive characteristics (ToM, CC, EF) to reading comprehension abilities (explicit, implicit, and general score) in ASD and TD. The TD group outperformed the ASD group in ToM and various EF measures but not in CC or reading comprehension. Positive main effects were found for ToM, and EF measures (planning - 3rd level, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility), demonstrating their contribution to reading comprehension abilities in both groups. Interactions revealed positive main effects for EF planning and CC for the ASD group only, showing the contribution of EF planning and CC for better reading comprehension. Our findings suggest different processing mechanisms regarding reading comprehension in each group.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1302-1317"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140131500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joshua Anbar, Maurice Metoyer, Christopher J Smith, Nicole L Matthews
{"title":"An Exploration of Online and In-Person Administration of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition (KBIT-2) in Children and Adolescents Being Evaluated for Autism Spectrum Disorder.","authors":"Joshua Anbar, Maurice Metoyer, Christopher J Smith, Nicole L Matthews","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06323-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06323-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong> Most assessment tools used to diagnose and characterize autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were developed for in-person administration. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the need to adapt traditional assessment tools for online administration with only minimal evidence to support validity of such practices.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The current exploratory study compared scores from online administration of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition (KBIT-2) during the pandemic to scores derived from follow-up testing using traditional in-person administration. Participants were 47 children and adolescents (M age = 9.48 years, SD = 4.06; 68.10% male) who participated in a telehealth diagnostic evaluation for ASD that included online administration of the KBIT-2. Participants were invited to complete the KBIT-2 a second time during an in-person study visit.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Pearson's correlation coefficients suggested acceptable to good reliability between online and in-person administration. Although most participants' online and in-person scores were within one standard deviation of each other, results suggested statistically significant differences between scores derived from the two modalities. Additionally, 19-26% of participants (depending on domain examined) had scores that differed by more than one standard deviation. Notably, all but one of these participants was under the age of 12 years.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings suggest that online administration of the KBIT-2 is likely appropriate for older children and adolescents with ASD. However, additional research is needed to test online administration of intellectual assessments for children with ASD.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1243-1253"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140305778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Comprehension of Grammatical Structures in a Pediatric Population with ASD and Epilepsy: A Comparative Study.","authors":"Alejandro Cano Villagrasa, Nadia Porcar Gozalbo, Beatriz Valles González, Miguel López-Zamora","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06291-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06291-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and epilepsy represent a comorbidity that negatively influences the proper development of linguistic competencies, particularly in receptive language, in the pediatric population. This group displays impairments in the auditory comprehension of both simple and complex grammatical structures, significantly limiting their performance in language-related activities, hampering their integration into social contexts, and affecting their quality of life. The main objective of this study was to assess auditory comprehension of grammatical structures in individuals with ASD and epilepsy and compare the results among the three groups. A non-experimental cross-sectional study was designed, including a total of 170 participants aged between 7 and 9 years, divided into three groups: a group with ASD, a group with epilepsy, and a comorbid group with both ASD and epilepsy (ASDEP). The comprehension of grammatical structures was assessed using the CEG and CELF-5 instruments. Statistical analyses included MANOVA and ANOVA to compare scores between groups to verify associations between study variables. The results indicate that the group with ASD and epilepsy performed worse compared to the ASD and epilepsy-only groups, respectively. Additionally, a significant and directly proportional association was observed among all variables within the measures of grammatical structure comprehension. The neurological damage caused by epilepsy in the pediatric population with ASD leads to difficulties in understanding oral language. This level of functioning significantly limits the linguistic performance of these children, negatively impacting their quality of life and the development of core language skills.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1379-1388"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11933144/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139931219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Autistic People's Perspectives on Functioning Labels and Associated Reasons, and Community Connectedness.","authors":"Nathan Keates, Farradeh Martin, Krysia Emily Waldock","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06316-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06316-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Functioning labels have been used in relation to autistic people and differentiating between support needs. The main purpose of our study was to identify perspectives regarding language about being autistic. In regard to themselves and functioning. Furthermore, we investigated the influential factor of community connectedness on use of language acceptability and functioning labels.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>516 autistic respondents completed our survey. We asked about demographic characteristics, how respondents would like autistic people to be termed in the survey, and their acceptability (person with autism, Aspergers, disorder, conditions, living with autism, autistic). We also asked about respondents? Autistic Community Connectedness, acknowledging the implicit nature of language and identity (Stets & Serpe in New directions in identity theory and research, Oxford University Press, 2016). The main focus of our survey was whether or not to use functioning labels, and the supporting rationale.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>97% of respondents stated that they find the term 'autistic' acceptable. Respondents who did see merit in using functioning labels to describe autistic people also reported not necessarily using them about themselves. Community membership was found to impact the participants' language preferences to describe the support needs of autistic people, including the use of functioning labels.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The proposed best option for language preferences is not to find consensus but instead, opt for the optimal choice that people find the least offensive or disagreeable. This means using identity-first language and not using functioning labels.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1318-1328"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140174815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ronit Saban-Bezalel, Esther Ben-Itzchak, Ditza A Zachor
{"title":"Friendship in Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Related to Diverse Developmental Changes Between Toddlerhood and Adolescence.","authors":"Ronit Saban-Bezalel, Esther Ben-Itzchak, Ditza A Zachor","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06284-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06284-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Follow-up studies of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in early childhood that focus on friendship formation during adolescence are scarce. The present study focused on exploring characteristics possibly related to the ability to establish friendships during adolescence among children diagnosed with ASD in toddlerhood.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The cohort included 43 participants who underwent comprehensive assessments during toddlerhood and adolescence. Participants were divided into two groups [Friendship(+)/Friendship(-)] based on (1) adolescent social insight as assessed by professionals and (2) parental and adolescent self-reports regarding having or not having friends. No differences in IQ, ASD symptoms, or adaptive behavior during early childhood were found between the two groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Different and better changes in social communication, adaptive socialization, and daily living skills were observed for the Friendship(+) group. Adolescents with ASD in the Friendship(+) group exhibited greater social independence. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder incidence, anxiety symptom severity, and placement in mainstream or special education classes did not differ between the two groups.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This long-term study highlights that for children with ASD, longitudinal growth in social communication and adaptive functioning is possible, highly important for and related to the development of the complex ability to establish friendship.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1341-1352"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11933135/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140059471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Brief Report: Longitudinal Trajectory of Working Memory in School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum: Period of High Plasticity and \"Late Bloomers\".","authors":"Sohyun An Kim, Connie Kasari","doi":"10.1007/s10803-023-05960-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-023-05960-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>While working memory (WM) is a powerful predictor for children's school outcomes, autistic children are more likely to experience delays. This study compared autistic children and their neurotypical peers' WM development over their elementary school years, including relative growth and period of plasticity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using a nationally-representative dataset, latent growth models were built to examine periods of high plasticity and the relationship between children's performance upon school entry and their relative growth.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>While both groups made steeper gains during the early school years, autistic children's period of highest plasticity was prolonged by 1 year, which suggests a larger window for interventions. Further, autistic children who started kindergarten with poorer WM were more likely to make rapid growth during the last 3 years of elementary school, which is when their neurotypical peers' development started to plateau.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Findings should prompt various stakeholders to examine interventions and instructions to maximize autistic children's growth in WM. Further, the continued support and monitoring by educators throughout autistic children's late childhood can be particularly beneficial for the \"late-bloomers.\"</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1537-1546"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9307283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chui Mae Wong, Nurhafizah Mohd Zambri, Hui Hua Fan, Lily H S Lau, L Mary Daniel, Hwan Cui Koh
{"title":"A Direct Comparison of Three Screening Methods for Autism Spectrum Disorder in a High-Likelihood Sibling Population.","authors":"Chui Mae Wong, Nurhafizah Mohd Zambri, Hui Hua Fan, Lily H S Lau, L Mary Daniel, Hwan Cui Koh","doi":"10.1007/s10803-024-06294-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10803-024-06294-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Targeted screening of children at increased likelihood of autism is recommended. However, autism screening tools are usually validated for use mainly in low-likelihood populations. This study compared the accuracy of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F), the ASDetect app, and the Social Attention and Communication Surveillance, Revised (SACS-R). Siblings of autistic children underwent autism screening at 12, 18 and 30 months old. At each visit, caregivers completed the M-CHAT-R/F and ASDetect while trained nurses tested the siblings using the SACS-R. At 36 to 48 months, the siblings underwent an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) assessment. 189 siblings were screened, 141 completed the study, and 32 were confirmed to have autism. Although not validated for use at 12 months, the M-CHAT-R/F had the best sensitivity among the three tools for this age group, suggesting that early signs are already apparent to caregivers. The M-CHAT-R/F had overall better sensitivity (0.72-0.83) across all age groups, but with overall lower specificity (0.55-0.77). The SACS-R and ASDetect had better positive predictive values at 18 and 30 months (0.60-0.68), while the M-CHAT-R/F was 0.43-0.48. Negative predictive values were generally high across all three tools across all age groups (0.78-0.93). Targeted screening of children at high likelihood of autism yielded a detection rate of 22.7% and should therefore be implemented routinely to facilitate early detection and intervention. The performance of autism screening tools should be examined in higher-likelihood populations for targeted screening of these children.</p>","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":"1274-1285"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140305750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yavuz Meral, Alperen Bıkmazer, Abdurrahman Cahid Örengül, Süleyman Çakıroğlu, Esra Altınbilek, Fulya Bakır, Bilgihan Bıkmazer, Ayman Saleh, Vahdet Görmez
{"title":"Correction to: The Psychometric Properties of Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE) in Turkish Sample.","authors":"Yavuz Meral, Alperen Bıkmazer, Abdurrahman Cahid Örengül, Süleyman Çakıroğlu, Esra Altınbilek, Fulya Bakır, Bilgihan Bıkmazer, Ayman Saleh, Vahdet Görmez","doi":"10.1007/s10803-025-06813-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-06813-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":15148,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752854","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}