scholarly journals Vicarious ratings of social touch the effect of age and autistic traits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor J. Haggarty ◽  
David J. Moore ◽  
Paula D. Trotter ◽  
Rachel Hagan ◽  
Francis P. McGlone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
Effect Of Age

AbstractTactile sensitivities are common in Autism Spectrum Conditions (autism). Psychophysically, slow, gentle stroking touch is typically rated as more pleasant than faster or slower touch. Vicarious ratings of social touch results in a similar pattern of velocity dependent hedonic ratings as directly felt touch. Here we investigated whether adults and children’s vicarious ratings vary according to autism diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits. Adults’ scoring high on the AQ rated stroking touch on the palm as less pleasant than a Low AQ group. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find any effect of autism diagnosis on children’s touch ratings despite parental reports highlighting significant somatosensory sensitivities. These results are discussed in terms of underpinning sensory and cognitive factors.

scholarly journals Vicarious ratings of social touch, the effect of age and autistic traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Haggarty ◽  
David J Moore ◽  
Paula Trotter ◽  
Rachel Hagan ◽  
Francis McGlone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Effect Of Age

Tactile sensitivities are common in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Psychophysically, slow, gentle stroking touch is typically rated as more pleasant than faster or slower touch. Vicarious ratings of social touch results in a similar pattern of velocity dependent hedonic ratings as directly felt touch. Here we investigated whether adults and children’s vicarious ratings vary according to ASD diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits. Adults’ scoring high on the AQ rated stroking touch on the palm as less pleasant than a Low AQ group. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find any effect of ASD diagnosis on children’s touch ratings despite parental reports highlighting significant somatosensory sensitivities. These results are discussed in terms of underpinning sensory and cognitive factors.

scholarly journals Vicarious Ratings of Social Touch, the Effect of Age and Autistic Traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connor Haggarty ◽  
David Moore ◽  
Paula Trotter ◽  
Rachel Hagan ◽  
Francis McGlone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Similar Pattern ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Social Touch ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Effect Of Age

Abstract Tactile sensitivities are common in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Psychophysically, slow, gentle stroking touch is typically rated as more pleasant than faster or slower touch. Vicarious ratings of social touch results in a similar pattern of velocity dependent hedonic ratings as directly felt touch. Here we investigated whether adults and children’s vicarious ratings vary according to ASD diagnosis and self-reported autistic traits. Adults’ scoring high on the AQ rated stroking touch on the palm as less pleasant than a Low AQ group. However, in contrast to our hypothesis, we did not find any effect of ASD diagnosis on children’s touch ratings despite parental reports highlighting significant somatosensory sensitivities. These results are discussed in terms of underpinning sensory and cognitive factors.

scholarly journals Menstruation and menopause in autistic adults: Periods of importance?

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132110597
Author(s):  
Annabeth P Groenman ◽  
Carolien Torenvliet ◽  
Tulsi A Radhoe ◽  
Joost A Agelink van Rentergem ◽  
Hilde M Geurts
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autism Spectrum Condition ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Male Condition ◽  
Spectrum Condition

Autism spectrum conditions were once seen as a predominantly male condition. This has caused a paucity of information on common events in the lives of women, such as menstruation and menopause. Some smaller studies indicate that autistic women might suffer from increased difficulties surrounding these events. This study aims to investigate whether autistic women experience more frequent premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and increased complaints surrounding menopause. In partly overlapping samples (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, n = 70, nASC = 28, ncomparisons = 42; menopause, n = 65, nASC = 30, ncomparisons = 35), we investigated premenstrual dysphoric disorder prevalence and menopausal complaints. In 70 individuals, we did not find an increased prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in autistic women (14.3%) compared with non-autistic women (9.5%). In 65 women aged 40 years and above, we found that autistic women did experience higher levels of menopausal complaints. In autistic women, higher menopausal complaints were associated with higher levels of depression and autistic traits. In non-autistic women, menopausal complaints were associated with increased inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits), and depression. With this work, we show the important role that major reproductive milestones can have in an autistic woman’s life. Lay abstract Autism spectrum conditions were once seen as a predominantly male condition, but this has caused research to have little focus on women. Therefore, little is known about menstruation and menopause in autism spectrum conditions. Some smaller studies indicate that autistic individuals might suffer from increased difficulties surrounding these events. This study aimed to investigate whether autistic women experience more frequent premenstrual dysphoric disorder, causing extreme physical, emotional, and functional impairment. In a partly overlapping sample, we also examined whether women with autism spectrum condition experience increased complaints surrounding menopause. We did not find an increased prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in autism spectrum conditions (14.3%) compared with non-autistic women (9.5%). Those with autism spectrum conditions did experience increased menopausal complaints. These menopausal complaints were associated with higher levels of depression and autistic traits. In non-autistic women, menopausal complaints were associated with increased inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits), and depression. With this work, we show the important role that major reproductive milestones can have in an autistic woman’s life.

scholarly journals How Do We Explain ‛Autistic Traits’ in European Upper Palaeolithic Art?

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 262-279
Author(s):  
Penny Spikins ◽  
Callum Scott ◽  
Barry Wright
Keyword(s):  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Local Processing ◽  
Upper Palaeolithic ◽  
Processing Bias ◽  
Local Processing Bias ◽  
Palaeolithic Art

AbstractTraits in Upper Palaeolithic art which are also seen in the work of talented artists with autism, including most obviously an exceptional realism, remain to be explained. However any association between the famously evocative animal depictions created in the European Upper Palaeolithic and what is commonly seen as a ‘disorder’ has always been contentious. Debate over these similarities has been heated, with explanations ranging from famous works of Upper Palaeolithic art having been created by individuals with autism spectrum conditions, to being influenced by such individuals, to being a product of the use of psychotropic drugs. Here we argue that ‘autistic traits’ in art, such as extreme realism, have been created by individuals with a cognitive extreme of local processing bias, or detail focus. The significance of local processing bias, which is found both as a feature of autism spectrum conditions and in artists with exceptional talent at realistic depiction who aren’t autistic, has implications for our understanding of Upper Palaeolithic society in general, as well as of the roles played by individuals with autism spectrum conditions.

scholarly journals People With Autism Spectrum Conditions Make More Consistent Decisions

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 1067-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
George D. Farmer ◽  
Simon Baron-Cohen ◽  
William J. Skylark
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Contextual Stimuli ◽  
Practical Implications

People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) show reduced sensitivity to contextual stimuli in many perceptual and cognitive tasks. We investigated whether this also applies to decision making by examining adult participants’ choices between pairs of consumer products that were presented with a third, less desirable “decoy” option. Participants’ preferences between the items in a given pair frequently switched when the third item in the set was changed, but this tendency was reduced among individuals with ASC, which indicated that their choices were more consistent and conventionally rational than those of control participants. A comparison of people who were drawn from the general population and who varied in their levels of autistic traits revealed a weaker version of the same effect. The reduced context sensitivity was not due to differences in noisy responding, and although the ASC group took longer to make their decisions, this did not account for the enhanced consistency of their choices. The results extend the characterization of autistic cognition as relatively context insensitive to a new domain, and have practical implications for socioeconomic behavior.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of the Suicide Behaviours Questionnaire – Autism Spectrum Conditions in Autistic, Possibly Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Cassidy ◽  
Louise Bradley ◽  
Heather Cogger-Ward ◽  
Jacqui Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Measurement Properties ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Development And Validation

Abstract Background: Autistic people and those with high autistic traits are at high risk of experiencing suicidality. Yet, there are no suicidality assessment tools developed or validated for these groups.Methods: A widely used and validated suicidality assessment tool developed for the general population (SBQ-R), was adapted using feedback from autistic adults. The adapted tool was refined through 9 interviews, and an online survey with 251 autistic adults, to establish clarity and relevance of the items. Subsequently, 308 autistic, 113 possibly autistic, and 268 non-autistic adults completed the adapted tool online, alongside self-report measures of autistic traits (AQ), camouflaging autistic traits (CAT-Q), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (ASA-A), thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness (INQ-15), lifetime non-suicidal self-injury, and the original version of the suicidality assessment tool (SBQ-R). Analyses explored the appropriateness and measurement properties of the adapted tool between the groups.Results: There was evidence in support of content validity, structural validity, internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, test retest validity, sensitivity and specificity (for distinguishing those with or without lifetime experience of suicide attempt), and hypothesis testing of the adapted tool (SBQ-ASC) in each group. The structure of the SBQ-ASC was equivalent between autistic and possibly autistic adults, regardless of gender, or use of visual aids to help quantify abstract rating scales.Limitations: The samples involved in the development and validation of the adapted tool were largely female, and largely diagnosed as autistic in adulthood, which is not representative of the wider autistic population. The SBQ-ASC has been developed for use in research and is not recommended to assess risk of future suicide attempts and/or self-harm.Conclusions: The SBQ-ASC is a brief self-report suicidality assessment tool, developed and validated with and for autistic adults, without co-occurring intellectual disability. The SBQ-ASC is appropriate for use in research to identify suicidal thoughts and behaviours in autistic and possibly autistic people, and model associations with risk and protective factors.

scholarly journals The Autistic Detective: Sherlock Holmes and his Legacy

2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Freeman Loftis
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Crime Fiction ◽  
Autism Diagnosis ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Sherlock Holmes ◽  
Fictional Character ◽  
The Public ◽  
Television Shows ◽  
Popular Television

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: 200%;"><span>Sherlock Holmes has long been rumored to be on the autism spectrum. Yet the significance of the great detective's autism "diagnosis" has been largely overlooked. While it would be impossible to diagnose a fictional character with a neurological difference, it says something about the way that the public imagines autism that Holmes is consistently imagined and described as a person on the spectrum. Indeed, Conan Doyle's character popularized the stereotype of the detective with autistic traits, thus perpetuating several common tropes about autism. Emulating Conan Doyle's famous tales, contemporary crime fiction frequently creates detective characters with autistic characteristics. For example, popular television shows such as&nbsp;</span><span>Criminal Minds</span><span>&nbsp;present detectives with autistic traits who are clearly constructed to remind audiences of Holmes. While figures such as Spenser Reid (and other crime fighters following in Holmes's shadow) may seem to counteract fears of people with cognitive disabilities as deviant, criminal, or dangerous, they may actually reinforce those stereotypes.</span></p> </span>

scholarly journals Menstruation and Menopause in autistic adults: Periods of importance?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabeth Groenman ◽  
Carolien Torenvliet ◽  
Tulsi Radhoe ◽  
Joost Agelink van Rentergem ◽  
Hilde Geurts
Keyword(s):  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Autistic Adults

Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) were once seen as a predominantly male. This has caused a paucity of information on common events in the lives of women, such as menstruation and menopause. Some smaller studies indicate that autistic individuals might suffer from increased difficulties surrounding these events. This study aims to investigate, whether autistic individuals experience more frequent premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and increased complaints surrounding menopause. In 70 individuals (ASC n=28, comparisons n= 42) we did not find an increased prevalence of PMDD in autistic individuals (14.3%) compared to non-autistic individuals (9.5%) . Autistic individuals 40 (n=75, ASC n=30, comparisons n= 35) did experience higher levels of menopausal complaints. In autistic individuals, higher menopausal complaints were associated with higher levels of depression and autistic traits. In non-autistic individuals, menopausal complaints were associated with increased inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (i.e., ADHD traits), and depression. With this work, we show the important role that major reproductive milestones can have in an autistic woman’s life.

scholarly journals Comparison of Autistic Traits between Iranian Students with Different Ethnical Background: A Cross-Cultural Study ​

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Elhami Athar ◽  
Ali Ebrahimi ◽  
Sirvan Karimi ◽  
Roya Esmaeili ◽  
Esmaeil Mousavi Asl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Autism Spectrum Quotient ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Student Sample ◽  
Number Pattern

Abstract Background: Autistic traits (ATs) include symptoms associated with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), which are assumed to be continuously distributed across the general population. Studies had indicated the cultural differences in the expression ATs. To our knowledge, this is the first study designed to compare the expression of autistic traits between different ethnicities from the same country. Methods: Using the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ-28), we examined the possible cultural differences in the expression of autistic traits from four groups of students with different ethnicities backgrounds, including Turkish (n = 262), Persian (n = 290), Kurdish (n = 300), and Luri (n = 307) students. Results: Behaviors associated with autistic traits were reported overall higher for males than females. Also, significant cultural differences in autistic traits were found that were different for males and females. Furthermore, while the medical sciences student group scored significantly than the humanities group in the Imagination dimension, the humanities group had significantly high scores in Number/Pattern dimensions than the engineering and medical sciences groups. Limitations: First, other ethnicities (e.g., Arabs, Baloch) were not studied because of the lack of access. Second, for data gathering, we used only the self-report method. Third, our study included only a student sample but not the community and clinical samples from different ethnicities. Finally, our study sample included only students who are not representative of their entire ethnicity.Conclusions: Altogether, our results provide further support for the idea that the expression of ATs is significantly influenced by culture.

scholarly journals Extreme Male Brain Theory of Autism

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Erin Y Liu ◽  
Anne TM Konkle
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Impairment ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
Cognitive Profiles ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Extreme Type ◽  
Extreme Male Brain ◽  
Better Than

Autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) are a category of neurodevelopmental disorders with symptoms of communication and social impairment, and the exhibition of restrictive and repetitive behaviours. Their occurrence is greater in males than females and this sex difference has played an important part in hypothesizing their etiology. The Extreme Male Brain (EMB) theory is a cognitive model proposed by Simon Baron-Cohen to explain the aforementioned sex differences and potential cause of ASCs. It is based upon his Empathizing Systemizing theory, which classifies individuals into one of five cognitive profiles (Type S, Type E, Type B, Extreme Type S and Extreme Type E). These cognitive profiles determine an individual’s ability to systemize and empathize. Systemizing is the ability to understand and derive the rules of a system, and requires deductive and analytical skills. Empathizing relates to understanding human emotion and behaviour, thus requires social and communication skills. Males tend to systemize better than empathize while females have an opposite profile. Based upon the EMB theory, autistic individuals would possess an Extreme Type S profile as their impairments in social communication can be explained by a deficit in empathizing, while their preoccupation with patterns and detail-oriented behaviour can be related to their high systemizing. Together, these cognitive models have resulted in the Foetal Testosterone (fT) Theory, which implicates high prenatal testosterone as a risk factor for the associated hypermasculinized cognitive profile of individuals with ASCs. This review paper assesses the validity of the EMB and fT theories by reviewing the literature relating fT with autistic traits in the general population. The seven studies confirmed a correlation between higher fT levels and an increase in autistic traits, but limitations need to be considered when generalizing this information to an ASC sample. 

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