Academic literature on the topic 'Low-functioning autism'

The most significant symptoms of autism are abnormal movement patterns that can lead to the decrease of life quality. The purpose of the study was to compare quantitatively the gait strategy of the typical subjects, children with classic high-functioning autism (HFA), and children with low-functioning autism (LFA). Secondly, the comparison and the evaluation of main changes of plantar pressure parameters between groups were presented. The evaluation was carried out on 18 children with HFA, 10 children with LFA, and 30 age-matched children as a control group. A six camera motion capture system, two force plates and a pedobarograph were used to measure gait kinematics, joint kinetics, and pressure distribution under foot during walking. The analysis shows significant differences between children with HFA, LFA, and typical children in velocity, cadence, and magnitude of plantar pressure distribution. The magnitude of plantar pressure was reduced in children with autism under all anatomical masks, which was caused by plano-valgus deformity. Differences were also observed in joint angles and moments during gait cycle. Some of the results can be a source of important information about gait patterns in autistic children. Any exercise treatment prescribed for autistic children should focus on changing the patterns of plantar pressure distribution, which would be similar to patterns of typical children. However, the exercise treatment cannot be generalized due to the high inter-subject variability in children with autism.

Little is known about the validity of Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS), although it is widely used. This study of 199 children with high functioning autism or Asperger's Disorder, 195 with low functioning autism, and 83 with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) showed high classification accuracy (autism vs ADHD) for clinicians' GADS Quotients (92%), and somewhat lower accuracy (77%) for parents' Quotients. Both children with high and low functioning autism had clinicians' Quotients ( M = 99 and 101, respectively) similar to the Asperger's Disorder mean of 100 for the GADS normative sample. Children with high functioning autism scored significantly higher on the Cognitive Patterns subscale than children with low functioning autism, and the later had higher scores on the remaining subscales: Social Interaction, Restricted Patterns of Behavior, and Pragmatic Skills. Using the clinicians' Quotient and Cognitive Patterns score, 70% of children were correctly identified as having high or low functioning autism or ADHD.

This study aims to describe the Mathematics Learning Flow of Students' with Inclusion types of Autism Needs in the Material of Addition and Subtraction of Numbers up to Two Numbers. This type of research is qualitative research. The instrument in this study is the researcher himself. Other instruments that support obtaining data are problem-solving tasks and interview guidelines to reveal the flow of students' mathematics learning inclusion types of autism needs. The subjects in this study were two students who included autism needs type, respectively male and female. Based on the results of the analysis that has been carried out by providing problem-solving problems in the form of mathematical problems and being strengthened by conducting interviews, it was found that the type of autism needed with the category of High Functioning Autism followed every step of Polya’s problem solving and in the student's thinking process occurred assimilated. Meanwhile, children with autism needs with the category of Low Functioning Autism do not follow every step of Polya’s problem-solving, and in the process of thinking, this student is likely to accommodate a scheme about simple data that is clearly stated in the problem.(Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan Alur Belajar Matematika Siswa Inklusi Jenis Kebutuhan Autisme Pada Materi Penjumlahan dan Pengurangan Bilangan Sampai Dua Angka. Jenis penelitian menggunankan metodologi penelitian kualitatif deskriptif. Instrumen utama pada penelitian ini adalah peneliti sendiri. Instrument lainnya yang mendukung dalam mendapatkan data adalah tugas pemecahan masalah dan pedoman wawancara untuk mengungkapkan alur belajar matematika siswa inklusi jenis kebutuhan autisme. Subjek dalam penelitian ini adalah dua orang siswa inklusi jenis kebutuhan autisme masing-masing laki-laki dan perempuan. Berdasarkan hasil analisa yang telah dilakukan dengan memberikan soal pemecahan masalah berupa soal matematika dan diberi penguatan dengan melakukan wawancara didapatkan bahwa anak dengan kebutuhan autism kategori high functioning autism mengikuti setiap langkah pemecahan masalah menurut Polya dan proses berfikir siswa tersebut terjadi secara asimilasi. Sedangkan anak dengan kebutuhan autism kategori Low Functioning Autism tidak mengikuti setiap langkah pemecahan masalah Polya dan proses berfikir siswa ini cendrung mengakomodasi skema tentang data sederhana yang secara jelas dinyatakan dalam soal).

BackgroundMigration has been implicated as a risk factor for autism, but evidence is limited and inconsistent.AimsTo investigate the relationship between parental migration status and risk of autism spectrum disorder, taking into consideration the importance of region of origin, timing of migration and possible discrepancies in associations between autism subtypes.MethodRecord-linkage study within the total child population of Stockholm County between 2001 and 2007. Individuals with high- and low-functioning autism were defined as having autism spectrum disorder with and without comorbid intellectual disability, and ascertained via health and habilitation service registers.ResultsIn total, 4952 individuals with autism spectrum disorder were identified, comprising 2855 children with high-functioning autism and 2097 children with low-functioning autism. Children of migrant parents were at increased risk of low-functioning autism (odds ratio (OR) = 1.5, 95% CI 1.3–1.7); this risk was highest when parents migrated from regions with a low human development index, and peaked when migration occurred around pregnancy (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.7–3.0). A decreased risk of high-functioning autism was observed in children of migrant parents, regardless of area of origin or timing of migration. Parental age, income or obstetric complications did not fully explain any of these associations.ConclusionsEnvironmental factors associated with migration may contribute to the development of autism presenting with comorbid intellectual disability, especially when actingin utero.High- and low-functioning autism may have partly different aetiologies, and should be studied separately.

Literature suggests that music can reduce arousal. Additionally, that reducing arousal has the potential to reduce self-injurious behaviour (SIB). The aim of this research was to determine if salivary biomarkers of arousal could mediate a relationship between music listening and SIB among boys with low functioning autism (LFA) in simulated and natural settings. Results showed that music listening reduced arousal in a simulated setting and SIB in a natural setting despite the heterogeneity of LFA.

Very little is known about the ability of low-functioning children with autism (LFA) to engage in collaborative activities. Children with autism have deficits in other-awareness, joint attention and imitation, skills considered fundamental in social cognition and associated with the ability to collaborate. Research has focused on identifying the impairments of LFA children's social interactional abilities in controlled experimental contexts with adult partners. However, there is a paucity of research investigating if LFA children can participate in collaborative activity with peers, and if so what form the collaborative behaviour takes. Children with autism are highly motivated to interact with technology and technology is evolving fast offering opportunities to apply it to research. Therefore, we used innovative technology and a novel software architecture called Separate Control of Shared Space (SCoSS) on three types of shareable computer technology to aid our investigation of other-awareness and collaboration in LFA children. Paper 1, describes two studies using a dual-control laptop to present picture-sorting tasks to children paired with an adult and peer. SCoSS was more effective at facilitating other-awareness in TD and LFA children than a standard interface. Crucially, LFA children showed no active other-awareness without the supportive interface. Paper 2 presented two different picture-sorting problems for pairs of LFA children to solve. This yielded a model of collaborative problem-solving based on a sequence of three prerequisite capacities. Paper 3 successfully applied the SCoSS framework to picture-sequencing tasks delivered via tablet technology. As in paper 1, pairs of LFA children were only actively aware of a peer using linked dual-tablets, analogous to SCoSS. In summary, the thesis presents evidence that the other-awareness of LFA children can be facilitated by technology to support collaborative problem-solving, providing a more complete profile of their abilities and offers evidence that LFA are sensitive to the type of collaborative partner.

碩士<br>高雄醫學大學<br>心理學系碩士班<br>106<br>Background and Objectives: In past studies, few studies examined the adaptive behavior in high-functioning and low-functioning preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the adaptive behavior of children with ASD and assessed correlates (i.e., cognitive ability and ASD symptomology) of adaptive behavior using the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II (ABAS-II) which is based on Taiwanese norm. Methods: The participants, aged 2-5, were assigned into three groups according to diagnosis and development quotient (DQ), including 72 High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HFASD), 62 Low-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (LFASD), and 41 Development Delay (DD). Children in LFASD group and DD group were matched on chronological age, mental age (MA), and DQ. The ABAS-II was used to assess each child’s adaptive behavior, including Conceptual (CON), Socialization (SOC), and Practical (PRA) domains. The Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) was used to measure cognitive ability. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) was used to assess ASD symptomology. Results: Children with LFASD had significant deficits compared to children with HFASD in every adaptive domain. In CON, children with DD had significant deficits compare to children with HFASD, and there was no significant difference between children with LFASD and with DD. In SOC and PRA, there was no significant difference between children with HFASD and with DD, and children with LFASD had significant deficits compared to children with DD. Children with HFASD had a profile of adaptive behavior in which “SOC = PRA < CON”. There was no significant discrepancy between adaptive behavior and DQ in children with HFASD. Children with LFASD had a profile of adaptive behavior in which “SOC = PRA = CON”. Children with DD had a profile that indicates “CON < SOC = PRA”. The children’s DQ is significantly lower than their adaptive behaviors in both children with LFASD and with DD. In children with HFASD, there was a significant negative relationship between SOC and ADOS social disability, but no other significant relationship was found between adaptive behavior and MA, DQ, and ASD symptomology. In children with LFASD, the relationship between adaptive behaviors and DQ was positive, and negative relationships were found between adaptive behaviors and ASD symptomology. Conclusion: The results indicate as compared to children with DD, children with LFASD exhibited significantly greater deficits in adaptive behavior. The adaptive behaviors in children with HFASD weren’t worse than children with DD. The unique adaptive patterns of HFASD and LFASD reflect the effect of cognitive that especially demonstrate on CON. This study supports the early screening and intervention to clinical workers.

碩士<br>國立臺北教育大學<br>特殊教育學系碩士班<br>99<br>This study aimed to investigate the immediate and maintain effects of an intervention on the joint-attention behaviors of one low functioning children with autism. A single-subject multiple probe across behaviors was adopted. The independent variable was the joint-attention teaching; the dependent variable was the joint-attention performance, represented by percentage of three joint-attention behaviors—eye gazing, following proximal pointing, and following distal pointing. The five-month instruction experiment were conducted in the children’s residences and consisted of three stages, i.e., baseline, intervention and maintenance stages. Data were documented via videotaping, scored by an independent rater thereafter, and further analyzed mainly by visual analysis. The study showed good process reliabilities and social validity. The findings were summarized below: 1. Joint-attention intervention had effects on increasing the percentage of response to three joint attention behaviors of low functioning children with autism, including ” eye gazing” and “following proximal pointing”, and “following distal pointing”. 2. Joint-attention intervention had effects on maintaining the joint-attention behaviors of low functioning the children with autism, including ” eye gazing” and “following proximal pointing”, and “following distal pointing”. 3. Joint-attention intervention had effects on generalizing the joint-attention behaviors of low functioning children with autism to other setting, including ” eye gazing” and “following proximal pointing”, and “following distal pointing”. Keywords: Joint attention, joint attention intervention, low functioning child with autism

碩士<br>國立臺東大學<br>教育研究所<br>93<br>This research was aimed to investigate the influence of the scaffolding playing group on low functioning children with autism. The method of this research was the time-series experiment, and the participating children were three low functioning children with autism. The independent variable was the scaffolding playing group, and the dependent variable was the communication ability of the three low functioning children with autism, including the MLU, the appearance of functioning language, the improvement of the language content and the speaking ability. This research was based on twelve items in games, proceeded with the playing group activities, three times a week, and forty minutes for each time. After twelve weeks, the researcher got six baselines and twenty-six interventions language samples, and analyzed the data and the language content by the children’s language content analysis and evaluation form. In the end, the researcher concluded from the collected interview content of the parents, teachers, companies, and participators. This research was found that the scaffolding playing group had no immediate and obvious improvement on the MLU and the times of functioning language for the low functioning children with autism, but had few adjustment on the language content. Furthermore, the scaffolding playing group had improvement on the speaking ability of the children with autism. At last, the parents, teachers, and the members of the playing group had positive attitude toward the scaffolding playing group and confirmed the improvement in commucation ability of the participators from the interview after classes. Keywords : scaffolding playing group , low functioning children with autism , communication ability

碩士<br>國立臺南大學<br>特殊教育學系碩士班<br>99<br>This study targeted on elementary school children with low functioning Autism and explored the effectiveness of visual prompts on their everyday problem solving. Three children with autism from Tainan City were involved and a multiple probe across subjects design of the single subject reasearch was adopted. The research process included four phases, namely, baseline, intervention, maintenance, and 2-month-after-follow-up. The independent variable was providing visual prompts; the dependent variable was the change occurred in the children’s performance of everyday problem solving in terms of four indicators--awareness, aggressiveness, appropriateness, and completeness. Target activities included getting an object located high and opening a bag of cracker; generalization activities included getting a ball on the top of the cabinet and opening a bag of toy. Data were collected mainly by video taping and further analyzed with visual analysis. At the end of the study, three caregivers of the three children were interviewed for the social validity of the study. This study showed positive results for the children with low functioning autism on their performance of everyday problem solving; this study had a fair social validity as well. Main findings from this study were listed as follows: 1. Visual prompts effectively improved the performance of the awareness, the appropriateness, and the completeness of the everyday problem solving for the elementary school children with low functioning autism. As to the aggressiveness, although positive changes were shown, the support data were not sufficient for claiming significant effects. 2. The above positive results of the visual prompts on the awareness, the appropriateness, and the completeness of the everyday problem solving were maintained instantly, and 2 months later as well. As to the aggressiveness, the support data were not sufficient for claiming significant effects. 3. The positive results of the visual prompts on the awareness, the appropriateness, and the completeness of the everyday problem solving were generalized. As to the aggressiveness, although positive changes were shown, the support data were not sufficient for claiming significant effects.

碩士<br>國立臺南大學<br>特殊教育學系重度障礙碩士班<br>106<br>This study explored the life experiences of the parents of a child with low-functioning Autism on Increasing their child’s Community Inclusion. Investigation was made regarding the various opportunities for social inclusion facilitated by the parents of a child with low-functioning Autism during his growth stages, from childhood through adolescence until his current stage of early adulthood, in order to understand the parents’ predicaments as they used various tactics to help their child integrate into the community. Furthermore, the significance of social inclusion experience in the lives of people with autism was discussed. This study chosed narrative inquiry for its research strategy. In-situ sampling was used when the parents of a child with low-functioning Autism with rich experience in ushering their child in social inclusion were invited for an in-depth interview. In the data analysis section, a holistic analysis of the content of the narrative inquiry presents the life story of how the parents guided their child to enter society and be with other people. Supplemental non-intrusive measures were used to collect relevant information. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with neighbors and relatives to understand the experience and emotional state of the autistic person during integration. The main findings of this study were as follows: I. Social inclusion environment and opportunity during each stage of Da-Shing’s development 1. The Christian belief and his hyperactive autistic traits opened for Da-Shing opportunities for social inclusion. 2. The social inclusion experiences provided by Da-Shing’s parents during each stage of his development can be summarized as (1) church activities, (2) family daily activities and travel, as well as (3) community activities. 3. Da-Shing’s social inclusion activities during the various stages of his development were carried out continuously through the support of church activities and ongoing encouragement of his parents. II. The difficulties encountered by Da-Shing during social inclusion and the support that he needed 1. His parents observed that Da-Shing mainly encountered two dilemmas during social inclusion: (1) the nature of Da-Shing’s autism and (2) the general public’s ignorance of autism. 2. Three responses used by the parents to respond to the dilemmas encountered during social inclusion: (1) use strategies to teach Da-Shing to interact with people, (2) adjust the time of participating in activities and consider the space of the site, and (3) , continue exposing Da-Shing to people. 3. The support needed by the parents in their plight is the understanding and acceptance of the public regarding autism. III. The significance of social inclusion experience of Da-Shing’s life 1. The experience of social inclusion helped Da-Shing to become more and more stable. 2. Social inclusion experience enhances Da-Shing’s ability to interact with others. 3. The experience of social inclusion improves the adaptability of Da-Shing’s environment. 4. Da-Shing’s participation in the social integration of the community is a pleasure. 5. Da-Shing’s parents are more and more satisfied with the inclusion life of his sociality

Background: Current literature reports the frequent co-occurrence of psychiatric disorders (PDs) in adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disorders (IDD), such as Intellectual Disability (ID) and Low-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (LF-ASD). Unfortunately, the adaptations of diagnostic criteria for PDs as well as the standardization of the psychiatric diagnostic process in this population still represent an unmet need, with relevant implications for both the management of mental health issues and the research in this field. In fact, the assessment of PDs in people with IDD requires appropriate modifications in respect to the general population, to adjust for cognitive dysfunctions, language and communication limitations, sensory impairments, skill deficits, impairment of adaptive behavior, and physical disabilities. Moreover, research and clinical experience highlight the interpretation of problem behaviors (PBs) to interfere with the psychiatric diagnostic process. Among PDs, depressive and bipolar disorders (DDs and BDs, respectively), seem to be very common and associated to a variety of behavioral, medical and treatment issues in these populations. Indeed, the prevalence rates of DDs and BDs in large ID population-based studies are estimated to be about 5% and 2.5%, respectively. The prevalence rates are at least doubled in the overall ASD population and even higher rates can be found in clinical studies. These data indicate the co-occurrence of mood disorders (MDs) in intellectually disabled persons to be a relevant clinical issue, but some difficulties may arise as far as a certain number of patients, mostly those with lower cognitive and adaptive functioning, have atypical presentations. To implement the validity of clinical diagnosis and in order to operationalize the adaptations and descriptions of MDs in ID, the design and experimentation of specifically addressed assessing tools is required. Aim: The main objective of the present study was to develop and to validate the version for DDs and BDs of the Systematic Psychopathological Assessment for persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (SPAIDD-M). Secondary aims of the present study were the investigation of the prevalence and clinical features of MDs in people with ID and LF-ASD, including demographic, anamnestic, familial, and clinical variables as well as the course and clinical specificities of MDs in this population. Method: 233 adults with ID and with an eventual co-occurrence of ASD, aged 16-65 years, were recruited among those attending the residential and clinic-rehabilitative facilities of the San Sebastiano Foundation in Florence and of the wide network of the Research and Clinical Center (CREA). The sample underwent a complex anamnestic evaluation implying the collection of demographics, psychosocial, familial, medical and psychiatric information via a semi-structured interview developed ad hoc. The SPAIDD-M 1.2 was completed for all the participants. For the evaluation of concurrent validity, 197 participants (85.3%) were administered with the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped (DASH-II), and 141 (68.4%) were assessed with DSM-5 criteria for Major Depressive Episode, Mania and Hypomania, adapted according to the definition of DM-ID-2. Mixed features of major depressive episode (MDE) and (hypo)manic episode were evaluated in 110 probands. The overall sample was stratified based on ID severity as described by the following three groups: 1. Borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) and mild ID; 2. Moderate ID; 3. Severe and profound ID. The test-retest reliability was evaluated in reference to three study participants (one for each ID level) through VII the administration of the tool to the same informants at baseline and after two-to-three months. The inter-rater reliability was evaluated through a special session which included eight different professionals rating for the same study participant. χ² for categorical variables, ANOVA and F-variance for continuous variables tests were used for comparisons between groups. The psychometric properties evaluated were: internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, face validity, criterion validity, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity. To explain the variance, a factorial analysis was performed. For other clinical variables, stepwise backward procedure logistic regression models were elaborated. Results: SPAIDD-M 1.2 showed good psychometric properties. The face validity, which underwent two revisions, resulted to be comprehensible for most evaluators. Some difficulties remained about the completion of the items relative to mixed features. The internal consistency was very good, with a Cronbach’s  of .937, as well as an acceptable inter-rater reliability expressed by a Cohen’s K coefficient ranging from .870 to .575. Criterion validity was also good for both the major depressive and the (hypo)manic episodes. The concurrent validity was found to be high with moderate correlations between SPAIDD-M and DASH-II scores, and strong correlations between SPAIDD-M and DSM-5 diagnoses. A factor analysis identified four main factors explaining about the 38% of the score variance. The sample was very homogeneous regarding all the demographic, socio-economic, familial, medical and psychiatric variables explored. The comparisons of the psychiatric diagnoses indicated the rates of MDs to be equally distributed across the three ID groups, whereas this homogeneity was not evident before the assessment provided in the study protocol. Indeed, before the study, the severe/profound group had been correctly diagnosed only in the half of the cases as well as other participants in the other groups had to be diagnostically reviewed. In our sample, MDs were associated to a higher number of mental health issues in the personal and family history as well as a higher use of psychotropics. LF-ASD resulted to be at higher risk for MDs, mostly BD type I, and the affective illness was more frequently associated to catatonia, mixed features and rapid cycling. The analyses of differences between DDs and BDs as presented in ID did not identify any statistically significant feature, and both clinical conditions resulted to be equally associated to high rates of psychotic, catatonic and mixed symptoms in a more frequent way than it is reported in the general population. The diagnosis of BD was associated to a complex pattern of comorbidities including ADHD, impulse control disorders, binge eating and the presence of a familial psychiatric burden. By the contrary, DDs were associated to anxiety disorders and family history of ASD. Limitations of the study: Sample size, selection, referral and recall biases. Concerns regarding the use of behavioral equivalence. Difficulties in the differential diagnosis with other psychiatric and iatrogenic conditions beyond DDs and BDs. Conclusions: The study provides preliminary information regarding the psychometric properties and the effectiveness of specifically addressed assessment in the ID and LF-ASD population. The prevalence data are not generalizable to the overall ID population. Some clinical information has been drawn regarding the peculiar presentations of MDs in persons with ID pointing towards a pathoplastic effect of the basal neurodevelopmental condition. Further research is needed to operationalize the assessment of DDs and BDs in ID and LF-ASD.

Characteristics of teens on the autism spectrum have been changing over the past decade, driving the need for updated statistics to provide a current picture of the population. This report presents updated statistics on indicators of demographics, disability, education, and health. For many of the indicators, we highlight the experiences of low income and minority youth, examining differences in functioning, health, and experiences by household income and race/ethnicity.