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Query: UMLS:C0004352 (autism)
 32,579 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Within the last decade, researchers and clinicians have reported an increase in the incidence and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Various factors have been proposed for this apparent change including broader diagnostic criteria, greater public awareness, biological and environmental interactions, and earlier detection. However, it has been observed in a certain percentage of children, during the toddler and preschool years and before intervention is introduced, that severe language deficits distort social and self-regulatory behavior to such a degree that they mimic the characteristics of ASD. Professional caution is vital in this regard to describe early functioning and to defer diagnosis until the effects of intervention and treatment can be monitored over time. The case of Nicole, a preschooler with developmental delays and social communication oddities, illustrates what I believe is the most professionally responsible, cautious, family-centered, and data-based diagnostic process that links assessment, intervention, and evaluation for young children with early developmental difficulties.
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PMID:Do actions speak louder than words? The case of the disappearance of social communication oddities. 951 90

The high-functioning Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) is a 27-item checklist for completion by lay informants when assessing symptoms characteristic of Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in children and adolescents with normal intelligence or mild mental retardation. Data for parent and teacher ratings in a clinical sample are presented along with various measures of reliability and validity. Optimal cutoff scores were estimated, using Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis. Findings indicate that the ASSQ is a useful brief screening device for the identification of autism spectrum disorders in clinical settings.
J Autism Dev Disord 1999 Apr
PMID:A screening questionnaire for Asperger syndrome and other high-functioning autism spectrum disorders in school age children. 1038 33

In 1997 in this Journal we published the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test, as a measure of adult "mentalising". Whilst that test succeeded in discriminating a group of adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) from controls, it suffered from several psychometric problems. In this paper these limitations are rectified by revising the test. The Revised Eyes Test was administered to a group of adults with AS or HFA (N = 15) and again discriminated these from a large number of normal controls (N = 239) drawn from different samples. In both the clinical and control groups the Eyes Test was inversely correlated with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (the AQ), a measure of autistic traits in adults of normal intelligence. The Revised Eyes Test has improved power to detect subtle individual differences in social sensitivity.
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PMID:The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test revised version: a study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. 1128 Apr 20

Currently there are no brief, self-administered instruments for measuring the degree to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits associated with the autistic spectrum. In this paper, we report on a new instrument to assess this: the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Individuals score in the range 0-50. Four groups of subjects were assessed: Group 1: 58 adults with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA); Group 2: 174 randomly selected controls. Group 3: 840 students in Cambridge University; and Group 4: 16 winners of the UK Mathematics Olympiad. The adults with AS/HFA had a mean AQ score of 35.8 (SD = 6.5), significantly higher than Group 2 controls (M = 16.4, SD = 6.3). 80% of the adults with AS/HFA scored 32+, versus 2% of controls. Among the controls, men scored slightly but significantly higher than women. No women scored extremely highly (AQ score 34+) whereas 4% of men did so. Twice as many men (40%) as women (21%) scored at intermediate levels (AQ score 20+). Among the AS/HFA group, male and female scores did not differ significantly. The students in Cambridge University did not differ from the randomly selected control group, but scientists (including mathematicians) scored significantly higher than both humanities and social sciences students, confirming an earlier study that autistic conditions are associated with scientific skills. Within the sciences, mathematicians scored highest. This was replicated in Group 4, the Mathematics Olympiad winners scoring significantly higher than the male Cambridge humanities students. 6% of the student sample scored 32+ on the AQ. On interview, 11 out of 11 of these met three or more DSM-IV criteria for AS/HFA, and all were studying sciences/mathematics, and 7 of the 11 met threshold on these criteria. Test-retest and interrater reliability of the AQ was good. The AQ is thus a valuable instrument for rapidly quantifying where any given individual is situated on the continuum from autism to normality. Its potential for screening for autism spectrum conditions in adults of normal intelligence remains to be fully explored.
J Autism Dev Disord 2001 Feb
PMID:The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians. 1143 54

A number of overseas studies have indicated an increase in the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In the Australian Capital Territory, information (number, age, sex, final diagnosis) was gathered on all children referred for suspected ASD to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service during 1997, and the findings were compared with those from a similar study in 1989. It was found that (1) there was a 200% increase in positive diagnoses of ASD in 1997 despite a 0.5% decrease in population, (2) there was a wider age range in the 1997 cohort, (3) there was a 26% increase in milder cases in 1997, and (4) the ratio of boys to girls decreased from 8:1 in 1989 to 3.5:1 in 1997. These findings are compared with those overseas, and questions are raised for further exploration.
J Autism Dev Disord 2002 Apr
PMID:A comparison study of autism spectrum disorder referrals 1997 and 1989. 1205 40

All mainstream primary schools in Cardiff were invited in July 1998 to participate in a prevalence survey of autistic spectrum disorder. Teachers of each class filled in a questionnaire based on ICD-10 criteria for autistic disorders. The Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) was completed on children identified with problems identified by the questionnaire. A total of 11692 children born between 1 September 1986 and 31 August 1990 were screened: 234 (2%) children were identified as requiring an ASSQ; 151 of 234 (65%) ASSQs were returned. Of the 151, 60 children (52 male, 8 female; 40%) scored 22 or more. Their notes and the involved professionals were consulted. Thirty-five children, unknown to specialist services or with complex features, required additional assessment. Seventeen children (all male) were found to be on the autistic spectrum. When the overall rubric was disentangled we found a diverse population of affected children including a handful who did not fit easily into ICD-10 classification. Correcting for incomplete ascertainment we found a minimum prevalence of 20.2 out of every 10 000 (SE = 4.5) for autistic spectrum disorder in this population.
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PMID:Prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder in children attending mainstream schools in a Welsh education authority. 1278 38

Patients with adult autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to suffer from impairment in socialization and communication skills, and a proportion of them may develop psychiatric symptoms. It is thus likely that physicians in adult psychiatric departments may see a number of patients with ASD. Identification of patients with ASD is helpful and important for rehabilitation. This study estimated the prevalence of ASD among adult psychiatric outpatients in a Taiwanese medical center. A total of 660 patients were screened with Nylander and Gillberg's "Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adult Screening Questionnaire." Patients with high scores then underwent a diagnostic clinical interview conducted by child psychiatrists. Four patients (0.6%) were found to have ASD.
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PMID:Screening for autism spectrum disorder in adult psychiatric outpatients in a clinic in Taiwan. 1285 Jun 61

There has been considerable recent interest in the cognitive style of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). One theory, that of weak central coherence, concerns an inability to combine stimulus details into a coherent whole. Here we test this theory in the case of sound patterns, using a new definition of the details (local structure) and the coherent whole (global structure). Thirteen individuals with a diagnosis of autism or Asperger's syndrome and 15 control participants were administered auditory tests, where they were required to match local pitch direction changes between two auditory sequences. When the other local features of the sequence pairs were altered (the actual pitches and relative time points of pitch direction change), the control participants obtained lower scores compared with when these details were left unchanged. This can be attributed to interference from the global structure, defined as the combination of the local auditory details. In contrast, the participants with ASD did not obtain lower scores in the presence of such mismatches. This was attributed to the absence of interference from an auditory coherent whole. The results are consistent with the presence of abnormal interactions between local and global auditory perception in ASD.
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PMID:Absence of auditory 'global interference' in autism. 1293 74

Understanding of regression in autism has been hampered by variability in parental and clinical recognition and reporting of lost skills. This study introduced an instrument, the Regression Supplement Form, intended to supplement the Autism Diagnosis Interview-Revised and yield precise information about the types and timing of regression and events concurrent with loss and regain of skills. Data were collected from parents of 44 children (38 male, 6 female; mean age = 6 years) with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (37 Autistic Disorder, 7 Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified). Parental responses on the Autism Diagnosis Interview-Revised indicated loss of skills during early development. The profile of regression that emerged included loss of skills between 18 and 21 months, on average, with language-only regression less common than loss of other, nonlanguage skills only or of full regression (loss of language and other skills). The onset of regression typically was gradual in nonlanguage areas and split between gradual and sudden loss for language skills. Some of the children were developing atypically before they lost other, nonlanguage skills, that is, their age at first words was delayed until age 2 years or older. Parents tended to attribute loss to medical factors such as immunizations. Many of the children regained some of the lost skills when they were 3.5-5 years of age, with therapeutic and instructional interventions given credit for the regain.
J Autism Dev Disord 2003 Dec
PMID:Language and other regression: assessment and timing. 1471 30

Maintaining upright posture is a complex process involving multiple afferent systems. The aim of this study was to measure the postural stability of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared with children with typical neurodevelopment and to measure the relative contributions of the visual, somatosensory, and vestibular afferent systems in each group. Eight boys with ASD and eight age-, race-, and gender-matched controls participated in this study using force platform technology with customized software to measure postural sway under conditions designed to eliminate or modify visual and somatosensory input. Children with ASD had significantly larger sway areas under all test conditions in which afferent input was modified. These results are consistent with a deficit in the integration of visual, vestibular, and somatosensory input to maintain postural orientation.
J Autism Dev Disord 2003 Dec
PMID:Postural stability in children with autism spectrum disorder. 1471 33


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