Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability that exhibits sluggish progress in vocal development, restricted interest in normal activity and repetitive disoriented behavior. ...This syndrome, has gained a lot of attention due to its prevalence among children across all countries and from different economic backgrounds. However, ASD detection and treatment yet remains in its infancy due to the lack of awareness among parents, limited screening of proper developmental milestones and a dearth of diagnostic tools to classify this syndrome with convincing accuracy. Recent studies report that scalable biomarkers for early detection have made little progress in research due to the erraticism of this disorder. Moreover, the study on developing tools or applications for parents, teachers, and healthcare workers to identify children who exhibit any form of autism is still a work in progress. The research work undertaken in this paper presents an analysis of supervised machine learning algorithms on mining interesting details that link the diverse nature of ASD and the possibility of computationally detecting markers for the syndrome. The preliminary findings on the performance of traditional machine learning algorithms in ASD classification is reported with the possibility of integrating deep learning architectures for ASD detection and therapy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Introduction:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. ...Children with ASD are at risk of nutritional problems that could impact growth and anthropometric indices over both the short and long term. The aim of present study was to determine prevalence of malnutrition and other factors related to the malnutrition among children and adolescent with autism disorder.Material and method:To assess the prevalence of malnutrition indicators among preschool children with ASD, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 81 children and adolescents who referred to subspecialized and specialized Autism Akbar Children‘s Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Weight and height measurements were assessed based on standard protocols. The z-score of anthropometric indices was determined for all participants. Participants were asked about nutritional problems by the interview from their parents. Result:In the current study, the mean ± SD of age was 10.1±3.7 years old. Among participants 3.7% were with Diarrhea, 33.3% with Constipation, 4.9% with Reflux, 3.7% with Flatulence, and 1.2% with Steatorrhea. The prevalence of both of food neophobia and food Allergy was 16%. Furthermore, 18.5% had poor appetite, 23.5% had moderate and 58% had good appetite. Based on standardized z-scores, the overall prevalence of under-weight, risk of overweight, overweight, and obese was 1.2%, 22.2%, 12.3%, and 7.4%, respectively. Among participants 4.9% was stunting.Conclusion:Based on aforementioned prevalence, improving nutritional problems and anthropometric indices among ASD children and adolescents are crucial issue.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) frequently receive poorer health care then the general population. Frequently the speech-language pathologist is the only health professional that ...follows the child's everyday life and therefore is the only resource for guidance regarding basic health habits. Poor oral health may result in severe discomfort and other health problems that can be prevented by simple routine habits and adequate professional follow-up. The aim of the present study was to gather information about oral hygiene and dental care habits of children with ASD and their families. The hypothesis was that these children have poorer oral care habits than their families.
Participants were parents of 120 children with autism, aged 4 to 12 years in two different cities of the state of Sao Paulo. They answered to a simple questionnaire about oral hygiene and health care habits.
Indicated that there is a significant difference (
< 0.001) between the children and their families regarding basic oral hygiene habits, such as brushing and flossing, as well as routine visits to the dentist.
This information clearly indicates the need for education programs aiming to encourage the inclusion children with ASD in the basic habits of oral care carried-out by the families.
Autism disorder, oral hygiene habits, oral health.
•Forensic psychiatric patients with ASD and/or ID are willing to use biocueing.•Biocueing may help to recognize changes in arousal (both stress and calmness).•The ability to personalize biocueing ...settings to the patients’ needs is important.•There is a need for embedding biocueing interventions within treatment.•Simple and direct explanations on what biocueing can(not) do must be provided.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) are prevalent in forensic psychiatric samples. People with ASD and/or ID often experience difficulties in emotion processing which can lead to aggressive or self-harming behavior. The use of biocueing (using wearable technology to constantly monitor and provide feedback on bodily changes) shows promise for improving emotion processing and, thus, potentially reducing aggressive behavior in this population. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to examine the feasibility and acceptance of Sense-IT, a biocueing application, in a sample of forensic psychiatric patients with ASD and/or ID and their forensic psychiatric nurses. To our knowledge, the current study is the first to examine first-person experiences with biocueing in forensic psychiatric patients with ASD and/or ID. Results show that, in general, participants experienced the biocueing application as positive and are willing to use biocueing. This is an important finding since forensic patients are often unmotivated to engage with therapeutic techniques. An exploration of trends in aggression and self-harm prior to and during the use of biocueing showed no significant changes. Future research should focus on the way biocueing can be implemented in clinical practice.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
For the first time, we use a longitudinal population-based autism cohort to chart the trajectories of cognition and autism symptoms from childhood to early adulthood and identify features that ...predict the level of function and change with development.
Latent growth curve models were fitted to data from the Special Needs and Autism Project cohort at three time points: 12, 16, and 23 years. Outcome measures were IQ and parent-reported Social Responsiveness Scale autism symptoms. Of the 158 participants with an autism spectrum disorder at 12 years, 126 (80%) were reassessed at 23 years. Child, family, and contextual characteristics obtained at 12 years predicted intercept and slope of the trajectories.
Both trajectories showed considerable variability. IQ increased significantly by a mean of 7.48 points from 12 to 23 years, whereas autism symptoms remained unchanged. In multivariate analysis, full-scale IQ was predicted by initial language level and school type (mainstream/specialist). Participants with a history of early language regression showed significantly greater IQ gains. Autism symptoms were predicted by Social Communication Questionnaire scores (lifetime version) and emotional and behavioral problems. Participants attending mainstream schools showed significantly fewer autism disorder symptoms at 23 years than those in specialist settings; this finding was robust to propensity score analysis for confounding.
Our findings suggest continued cognitive increments for many people with autism across the adolescent period, but a lack of improvement in autism symptoms. Our finding of school influences on autism symptoms requires replication in other cohorts and settings before drawing any implications for mechanisms or policy.
Background and Objectives Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which individuals have difficulty in emotional processes related to social cognition and other behavioral ...patterns. The use of technology in therapeutic and educational interventions for people with ASD - who face ongoing challenges - is increasing. Therefore, to select the interventions more appropriately and ensure their effectiveness, such interventions need to be evaluated. Thus, this study is an attempt to develop a framework for evaluating IT-based interventions in people with ASD. Material and Methods The present study is a descriptive-applied study examining the information technology-based intervention studies in the field of ASD. The search and review of studies continued without any restrictions until an appropriate and complete framework of interventions was obtained. The required data were extracted and collected in a table focusing on the evaluation of ASD interventions. The data were then analyzed to determine an appropriate framework for the objectives of the study. Finally, the evaluation framework was prepared using the one-step Delphi method and sent to 15 experts in the field of autism and health information technology to obtain their views on changing, modifying, approving the framework. Results In the framework developed in this study, two aspects of the interventions including the type of information technology interventions and their outcome are generally presented. . Moreover, the technologies used were presented from three main aspects: evaluation methods, technical evaluation cases, and clinical evaluation cases. Conclusion The results revealed that technology-based interventions in the treatment, education and increasing social interactions of people with ASD can be of tremendous help and bring about significant effects. Therefore, according to experts, the prepared assessment framework of interventions based on information technology leads to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of interventions, improving technologies as well as choosing appropriate interventions and ultimately increasing the quality of life of people with autism spectrum disorder. Extended Abstract Background and Objectives Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which individuals have difficulty in emotional processes related to social cognition and other behavioral patterns. The use of technology in therapeutic and educational interventions for people with ASD - who have ongoing challenges - is increasing. Technology-based interventions have demonstrated a variety of skills for people with autism, including the ability to initiate, maintain or end behavior, recognize emotions, improve functional activities of daily living, learn vocabulary, and reading skills. The unique appeal of electronic technology to children and adolescents with autism has greatly motivated their use in clinical and medical services, education and social communication. Therefore, to select interventions better and ensure their effectiveness, they need to undergo an evaluation. Thus, this study develops a framework for evaluating IT-based interventions in people with ASD. Material and Methods The present study is a descriptive-applied study that examines the information technology-based intervention studies conducted in Iran and the world in the field of ASD. The data were extracted from Databases including Pubmed, Scopus, Science Direct, Embase, Google scholar, SID, Web of Science, Magiran without any time limitation. The search continued until a complete framework of IT-based interventions was obtained. The data collection tool for data extraction was a table containing items with a focus on evaluating interventions in the field of aASD, which examined any type of technology used in the intervention of people with ASD from two perspectives: evaluation method of intervention and technical and clinical cases. The required data were extracted and collected in a table focusing on the evaluation of ASD interventions. In the third step, the extracted data were examined to determine the appropriate framework for the objectives of the study in two aspects, including the type of interventions based on information technology and the outcome of the interventions. Also, based on the objectives of the study, the technologies were evaluated from three main perspectives including evaluation methods, technical evaluation cases, and clinical evaluation cases. Finally, the prepared evaluation framework was sent to 15 experts in the field of autism and health information technology to get their opinions on changing, modifying, or approving the framework. After obtaining the cooperation of these people through the informed consent form, the opinion poll was conducted in 1 stage of Delphi method by e-mail. In general, the results showed that the most common IT-based interventions used in the field of autism included virtual reality, mobile phones, serious games, telemedicine, robots, respectively, wearable technologies, computer technologies, video conferencing and music integration technologies. Each of these technologies was used to achieve specific goals. The most important clinical goal in the interventions of patients with autism is to improve their social interaction. It is also important to improve educational skills and their performance and duties. The use of technology is very valuable and effective in removing barriers to patients’ access to the required health interventions. The least common use of IT-based interventions is to achieve the goal of creating a business for patients. Evaluation of IT-based interventions is very important in order to determine the effectiveness of each and select the appropriate intervention. Various methods are used to evaluate interventions. Based on the findings of the study, observation and interview were found to be the most commonly used assessment method used to evaluate almost all technologies while the least commonly used methods for evaluating interventions were related to the specific method of each. Evaluation of IT-based interventions was conducted from two perspectives, which included the evaluation of the technical cases of the technology used and the evaluation of the clinical cases of technology-based interventions. From the point of view of clinical evaluation, the greatest emphasis of the interventions was related to the improvement of communication skills, and from the aspect of technical evaluation, the greatest emphasis was related to the confidentiality and privacy of individuals. Conclusion According to the results, technology-based interventions in the treatment, education and increasing social interactions of people with ASD can be of enormous help and bring about significant gains. According to experts, the prepared assessment framework of interventions based on information technology can lead to identifying the strengths and weaknesses of interventions, improving technologies as well as choosing appropriate interventions and ultimately increasing the quality of life of people’ with autism spectrum disorder. Therefore, given the effectiveness of information technology-based interventions in the recovery of patients with autism, it is better to increase their use in the treatment of patients. Based on the framework prepared in this study, the evaluation of these interventions was done properly, in fact, different aspects of the evaluation were considered to ensure their correct evaluation. As a result, proper evaluation may lead to improving the quality of the technologies used. In addition, medical professionals can easily select the most appropriate intervention using this framework. Practical implications of research One of the practical consequences of the present study is to increase the precision of the specialists in selecting an intervention based on appropriate technology to treat patients with autism. Therefore, autism specialists would benefit from the use of the framework presented in this study in the selection of the most appropriate technology. Ethical considerations This article has been licensed by the Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences with ethics code IR.TBZMED.REC.1398.704. Also in the present study, researchers are trustworthy in the use, presentation and publication of scientific materials and all the rights of researchers have been observed. Conflict of interest The authors of this article hereby declare that they have no conflict of interest with each other. Acknowledgement The authors of this article would like to thank all the experts and specialists participating in this research and all the collaborators who contributed in any way tothe implementation of this research.
ABSTRACT Autism Spectrum Disorder is not an adverse condition for cochlear implantation, but the goals and expectations about the effects on hearing and language outcomes are different from the group ...of children without other impairments. The objective of this study was to analyze the development of auditory and oral language skills of a child with autism who underwent early cochlear implantation surgery and was included in an auditory (re)habilitation program using the aural-oral method. There was no benefit from the device for the development of oral language, and the child was referred to another communicative method. After 2 years and 9 months using the cochlear implants, there was little benefit from the use of the device for the development of auditory skills, with the child evolving to recognize only his own name. The patient quit using the device after three years of its activation.
RESUMO O transtorno do espectro autista não é uma contraindicação para o implante coclear, mas as metas e expectativas sobre os efeitos nos resultados da audição e da linguagem são diferentes em relação ao grupo de crianças sem outros comprometimentos. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar o desenvolvimento das habilidades auditivas e de linguagem falada de uma criança com transtorno do espectro autista submetida precocemente à cirurgia de implante coclear e inserida em um programa de (re)habilitação auditiva no método aurioral. Observou-se que não houve benefício do dispositivo para o desenvolvimento da linguagem falada, tendo a criança sido encaminhada para outro método comunicativo. Em 2 anos e 9 meses de uso do implante coclear, observou-se pouco benefício do uso do dispositivo para o desenvolvimento das habilidades auditivas, havendo a evolução para o reconhecimento somente do próprio nome. A criança deixou de fazer uso dos dispositivos após três anos da ativação.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Introduction: Executive dysfunction has shown to be the shared property of many cognitive symptoms seen in autism. The Home Playtime Program (HPP) is a home-based tele-cognitive rehabilitation for ...targeting executive dysfunction in children with autism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility and effectively of this intervention. Materials and Methods: This study followed a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design without group control. Seventeen parents of children with autism aged 24-55 months (Mean=37, SD=9.1) were selected from Tehran Autism Center using available sampling method. Correspondingly, they received the HPP for 10 weeks. Preschool Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-parent form and A-Not-B test were used to measure executive function in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. Also, the Therapy Attitude Inventory (TAI) was completed by parents to assess their satisfaction with therapy. Persian version of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test was applied to the children at the onset of the study. The data were analyzed using repeated measures analyses. Results: The findings indicated that the components of executive functions: inhibition, working memory, planning/organizing, inhibition self-control, flexibility and metacognition were significantly improved at post-test (P<0.05). These positive changes, were not only sustained until follow-up, but also, some emotional control and change were even improved during the follow-up stage (P<0.05). The parents were highly satisfied with the intervention. Conclusion: The current work provides some evidence in favor of the acceptability, feasibility and affectivity of the HPP on the executive functions of children with autism. In addition, it can easily be used under the current Coronavirus outbreak. Our service is ongoing, while the center is closed. Like many home-based interventions, the HPP shown to be ecologically valid and economically affordable. Thus, the HPP could be considered as a valuable inversion for executive dysfunction seen in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
The detection of mental disorders through social media has received significant attention. With the growing prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and the inherent difficulties in diagnosing ...adults, researchers have attempted to identify undiagnosed adults. Previous studies have primarily concentrated on analyzing ASD characteristics rather than directly detecting ASD. The current study aims to propose a novel framework to assist in identifying the “lost generation” of ASD adults using their social media posts. Combining traditional and deep learning methods makes it possible to model complex aspects of ASD diagnostic characteristics, which have been relatively overlooked in previous studies. To accomplish this, specific formalizations for users’ patterns of interest as a main ASD diagnostic characteristic are proposed first. The latent linguistic and semantic features of ASD users’ postings are then modeled using deep and transformer-based language models. Finally, all these different aspects are considered together to train a detection model by employing the multi-view learning approach. The experiments show that the feature of idiosyncratic interests has more discriminative power than limited and repetitive interests. The results also indicate that the early fusion of interest-related features along with deep linguistic features outperforms the other examined feature combinations. Additionally, the proposed ‘if−iuf’ fusion model demonstrates improved performance in capturing patterns of interests, compared to baselines. These findings suggest the potential application of the proposed framework towards indirectly identifying ASD users on social media, as evidenced by achieving precision and recall rates of 85% and 82% respectively on the used sampled dataset.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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