Autism

Parents of children with pervasive developmental disorders (n = 494) were surveyed to determine their level of satisfaction with the process of getting an autism spectrum diagnosis. Participants in this web-based study (mean age = 37.8 years) came from five countries and reported on children with an average age of 8.3 years (range = 1.7 to 22.1). All children had a diagnosis of either autism (59.9%), Asperger syndrome (23.5%), or PDD-NOS (16.6%). Higher levels of parental education and income were associated with earlier diagnosis and greater satisfaction with the diagnostic process. Parents were more satisfied with the diagnostic process when they saw fewer professionals to get the diagnosis and when the children received the diagnoses at younger ages.

This study investigated parental beliefs about the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Sixty-two families of affected children completed a questionnaire asking when the parent first noticed developmental or behavioral problems, when they were told the diagnosis, how confident they were about the ability of their child's physician to recognize autism, whether they believed anything specific might have caused their child's autism, and what medications and complementary or alternative therapies they had tried. Two-thirds of parents suspected a specific cause, and three-quarters questioned their physician's ability. Parents who perceived a greater delay in diagnosis or who had tried more different therapies both tended to have less confidence in their physician (p = 0.20 and p = 0.07, respectively). Physicians should inquire about parental beliefs concerning etiology, learn what treatments the children are receiving, perform screening at the 18 month visit, and make referrals for further evaluation as soon as a child begins to exhibit signs suggestive of autism.

Although the impact of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) on the family is well recognized, the way mothers attempt to make sense of the diagnosis is largely unexplored. However, in other disabilities, attributions have been shown to predict a variety of outcomes including maternal wellbeing and engagement in treatment. Using Weiner's (1985) three-dimensional model, 16 mothers were interviewed to examine the nature and impact of their beliefs about their child's ASD using semi-structured interviews and measures of depression, parenting stress and expectations for their child's future. The findings suggested that mothers made a diverse and complex range of attributions that were consistent with Weiner's dimensions of locus of cause, stability and controllability. The nature of their attributions reflected particular difficulties associated with ASDs, such as uncertainties regarding cause and prognosis. Taking account of mothers' search for meaning will better enable professionals to support families following diagnosis.

The study was undertaken to evaluate the nature of sensory dysfunction in persons with autism. The cross-sectional study examined auditory, visual, oral, and touch sensory processing, as measured by the Sensory Profile, in 104 persons with a diagnosis of autism, 3–56 years of age, gender-and age-matched to community controls. Persons with autism had abnormal auditory, visual, touch, and oral sensory processing that was significantly different from controls. This finding was also apparent when the high and low thresholds of these modalities were examined separately. At later ages for the group with autism, lower levels of abnormal sensory processing were found, except for low threshold touch, which did not improve significantly. There was a significant interaction in low threshold auditory and low threshold visual, suggesting that the two groups change differently over time on these variables. These results suggest that sensory abnormalities in autism are global in nature (involving several modalities) but have the potential to improve with age.

A computer-animated tutor, Baldi, has been successful in teaching vocabulary and grammar to children with autism and those with hearing problems. The present study assessed to what extent the face facilitated this learning process relative to the voice alone. Baldi was implemented in a Language Wizard/Tutor, which allows easy creation and presentation of a vocabulary lesson involving the association of pictures and spoken words. The lesson plan included both the receptive identification of pictures and the production of spoken words. A within-subject design with five children with autism followed an alternating treatment in which each child continuously learned to criterion sets of words with and without the face. The rate of learning was significantly faster and the retention was better with the face. The research indicates that at least some children with autism benefit from the face in learning new language within an automated program.

Although the concept of quality of life has increasingly been used in the field of intellectual disabilities over the past three decades, the factors contributing to quality of life of persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have received relatively little attention. In this study, disability and support characteristics associated with variations in the level of quality of life among adults with ASD are identified, using self-report measures. Fifty-eight high-functioning adults with ASD participated in the study. The results of a multiple linear regression analysis reveal that support characteristics are related to quality of life in adults with ASD, whereas disability characteristics are not. The R² effect size (0.620) is large and significant. The results reinforce the significance of an available supportive social network, the importance of a substantial needs assessment and effective professional support.