scholarly journals A Pilot Study Using Two Novel fMRI Tasks: Understanding Theory of Mind and Emotion Recognition Among Children With ASD

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Han ◽  
Patricia A. Prelock ◽  
Emily L. Coderre ◽  
Joseph M. Orr
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Neuroimaging Data

AbstractChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) struggle with social interactions due to deficits in theory of mind (ToM). In this study, we collected behavioral and neuroimaging data from 9 children with ASD and 19 neurotypical children between the age of 7 and 14 years old, particularly in the area of emotion recognition to better understand those skills needed for meaningful social interaction. The results suggest impaired abilities in multiple ToM metrics and brain deficits associated with ToM-related emotion recognition and processing among children with ASD. Findings from this study are expected to establish connections between behavior and brain activities surrounding ToM in ASD, which may assist the development of neuroanatomical diagnostic criteria and provide a way to measure intervention outcomes.

scholarly journals Fostering Emotion Recognition in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Vinícius Silva ◽  
Filomena Soares ◽  
João Sena Esteves ◽  
Cristina P. Santos ◽  
Ana Paula Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Robotic Platform ◽  
Children With Asd

Facial expressions are of utmost importance in social interactions, allowing communicative prompts for a speaking turn and feedback. Nevertheless, not all have the ability to express themselves socially and emotionally in verbal and non-verbal communication. In particular, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social communication, repetitive patterns of behaviour, and restricted activities or interests. In the literature, the use of robotic tools is reported to promote social interaction with children with ASD. The main goal of this work is to develop a system capable of automatic detecting emotions through facial expressions and interfacing them with a robotic platform (Zeno R50 Robokind® robotic platform, named ZECA) in order to allow social interaction with children with ASD. ZECA was used as a mediator in social communication activities. The experimental setup and methodology for a real-time facial expression (happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, fear, and neutral) recognition system was based on the Intel® RealSense™ 3D sensor and on facial features extraction and multiclass Support Vector Machine classifier. The results obtained allowed to infer that the proposed system is adequate in support sessions with children with ASD, giving a strong indication that it may be used in fostering emotion recognition and imitation skills.

scholarly journals Theory of Mind Deficit is Associated with Pretend Play Performance, but not Playfulness, in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping-Chen Chan ◽  
Cheng-Te Chen ◽  
Hua Feng ◽  
Ya-Chen Lee ◽  
Kuan-Lin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Internal Control ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pretend Play ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd

Objective/Background This study aimed to examine the relationships of theory of mind (ToM) to both pretend play and playfulness in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods Twenty children with ASD aged between 3 years and 7.11 years were assessed with the ToM test, and then placed in a free play condition and a pretend play condition to assess pretend play and playfulness with the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment and Test of Playfulness, respectively. In addition, the children's symptom severities of ASD and verbal abilities were also assessed with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test—second edition, respectively. Results The results of the regression analysis confirmed that ToM significantly predicted pretend play variables, namely, Number of Object Substitutions (R2 = .158, p = .002) and Number of Imitated Actions (R2 = .175, p = .001), but not playfulness. The CARS score was a significant predictor of the Percentage of Elaborate Pretend Play Actions of pretend play (R2 = .075, p = .034), as well as the internal control (R2 = .125, p = .006) and framing (R2 = .071, p = .039) variables of playfulness. Conclusion The findings support the idea that children with ASD who have better ToM might be able to develop better pretend play, but not better playfulness, which might be more strongly related to their autistic severity.

scholarly journals The Correlation Between the Set of Mental Functions and Emotion Recognition Skills Formation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
K.K. Mesnyankina ◽  
S.I. Anishchenko ◽  
K.B. Kalinin
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Spatial Analysis ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Mental Functions ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis

Research is devoted to revealing the relation of the complex of mental functions and their components with the ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions and with the success of learning this skill in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The set includes characteristics of the visual perception, properties of attention, properties of thinking and visual spatial analysis and synthesis. The study involved 19 children with ASD at the age of 6 to 12 years, including 2 girls and 17 boys. The training consisted of 12 sessions. Research showed that the success of emotion recognition from facial expressions in children with ASD associated with the level of development of visual spatial analysis and synthesis. It is also revealed that the success of emotion recognition training is connected with the level of development of visual spatial analysis and synthesis, abstract reasoning, and a concept formation.

scholarly journals Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Can Attribute False Beliefs in a Spontaneous-Response Preferential-Looking Task

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Glenwright ◽  
Rose M. Scott ◽  
Elena Bilevicius ◽  
Megan Pronovost ◽  
Ana Hanlon-Dearman
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
False Belief ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
False Belief Understanding ◽  
Children With Asd

An established body of literature indicates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty understanding figurative language due to a deficit in theory of mind, or the ability to consider the beliefs of other people. Children with ASD tend to similarly fail traditional theory of mind tasks, which assess their ability to represent false beliefs. Our claim is, however, that these tasks involve cognitive processing demands that might mask false belief understanding because they require elicited responses. We examined whether children with ASD demonstrate false-belief understanding when tested with a spontaneous-response false belief task that measures children’s eye gaze durations. The two child participant groups were composed of 20 males with ASD (aged 3–9 years) and 20 typically developing males (aged 2–5 years) who were individually matched according to verbal mental age. Children with ASD and typically developing children listened to a change-of-location story accompanied by a book with matching and non-matching pictures. The final page showed the character searching for her object in a location that was either consistent or inconsistent with her belief. Both groups of children looked reliably longer at the belief-consistent picture, regardless of whether the character’s belief was true or false, though children with ASD were slower to do so. We suggest that a spontaneous-response assessment technique can potentially reveal figurative language comprehension in children with ASD in future research.

scholarly journals IL-38 inhibits microglial inflammatory mediators and is decreased in amygdala of children with autism spectrum disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (28) ◽  
pp. 16475-16480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Tsilioni ◽  
Harry Pantazopoulos ◽  
Pio Conti ◽  
Susan E. Leeman ◽  
Theoharis C. Theoharides
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
Human Microglia ◽  
Adult Human ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The University

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impaired social interactions and communication. The pathogenesis of ASD is not known, but it involves activation of microglia. We had shown that the peptide neurotensin (NT) is increased in the serum of children with ASD and stimulates cultured adult human microglia to secrete the proinflammatory molecules IL-1β and CXCL8. This process is inhibited by the cytokine IL-37. Another cytokine, IL-38, has been reported to have antiinflammatory actions. In this report, we show that pretreatment of cultured adult human microglia with recombinant IL-38 (aa3-152, 1–100 ng/mL) inhibits (P< 0.0001) NT-stimulated (10 nM) secretion of IL-1β (at 1 ng/mL) and CXCL8 (at 100 ng/mL). In fact, IL-38 (aa3-152, 1 ng/mL) is more potent than IL-37 (100 ng/mL). Here, we report that pretreatment with IL-38 (100 ng/mL) of embryonic microglia (HMC3), in which secretion of IL-1β was undetectable, inhibits secretion of CXCL8 (P= 0.004). Gene expression of IL-38 and its receptor IL-36R are decreased (P= 0.001 andP= 0.04, respectively) in amygdala from patients with ASD (n= 8) compared to non-ASD controls (n= 8), obtained from the University of Maryland NeuroBioBank. IL-38 is increased (P= 0.03) in the serum of children with ASD. These findings indicate an important role for IL-38 in the inhibition of activation of human microglia, thus supporting its development as a treatment approach for ASD.

scholarly journals Virtual Voice Assistant Applications Improved Expressive Verbal Abilities and Social Interactions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Single-Subject Experimental Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed F Safi ◽  
Badriya Al Sadrani ◽  
Ashraf Mustafa
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Baseline Phase ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Interaction Skills ◽  
Interaction Skills

Abstract Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have communication and social interaction deficits. Their impaired communication is derived from difficulties in acquiring language. The use of interactive technologies has been demonstrated to enhance verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as the social interaction tendencies of children with ASD. Artificial intelligence has played a growing role in the habilitation of children with ASD. However, little research exists on the possible roles and effectiveness of virtual voice assistants in developing language and social skills in children with ASD. This study examined the effects of using a voice assistant in children with ASD on two outcomes: speech skills (expressive verbal vocabulary and production of short phrases) and social interaction skills (playing/sharing). Methods: An interventional single-case design study was used to explore this concept using three children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 11 years. The participants used an accessible virtual voice assistant, Apple’s Siri, for three months. Pre- and post-intervention questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with mothers were administered to measure the communication and social interaction skills of the participating children. Results: Participant One, Two and Three showed a notable improvement in the total number of correct words produced with fewer attempts during the VVA intervention compared with the baseline phase. Further, all participants showed increases in the social interactions in the intervention phase, compared with the baseline phase. Finally, all the mothers noted improvement in their children’s speech intelligibility and social interactions. Conclusions: Results showed that the virtual voice assistant had positive effects on the speech and social interaction skills of children with ASD. The findings of this study implied that children with ASD can use readily available voice assistant software to improve their speech and social interaction skills. Furthermore, this study’s findings could be used to develop strategies to increase the availability of artificial intelligence infrastructure in schools and homes to help children with ASD.

scholarly journals EFFECT OF VISUAL-CUEING ON TWO-LEGGED HOPPING VARIABILITY IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A PILOT STUDY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Lidstone ◽  
Janet S. Dufek
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Motor Output ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Motor Variability ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Visual Cueing

ABSTRACTBackgroundMotor deficits in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are highly prevalent. High variability of motor output is commonly reported in children with ASD. Visual cueing using an exergame may be an effective intervention to reduce motor variability in children with ASD.AimTo examine the effect of visual cueing on two-legged hopping variability in children with ASD.MethodsFour children with ASD and six age-matched TD controls performed three 20-s hopping trials with no visual cueing (no cue = NC) and with a 2 Hz visual cue (visual cue = VC). Three-dimensional kinematic data of the sacrum marker and ground reaction force were collected during each hopping trial. Variability was determined using the intra-trial coefficient of variation (CoV) of hopping frequency, hop height, and negative sacral displacementResultsA marginally significant interaction between GROUP (ASD/TD) and CUE type (NC/VC) was observed for hopping frequency variability (p = 0.06) indicating greater impairment in the ASD group vs. TD group with visual vs. no-cueing. The main effect of group showed a statistically significant difference in hopping frequency (p = 0.037), hopping frequency variability (p = 0.008), and negative sacrum displacement variability (p = 0.04).ConclusionThis pilot study confirmed high motor variability in the amplitude and frequency of repetitive movements in children with ASD. However, visual cueing was ineffective at reducing the variability of motor output in children with autism.

Remote Microphone System Use in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Language Disorder in the Classroom: A Pilot Efficacy Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Mary Alice Keller ◽  
Anne Marie Tharpe ◽  
James Bodfish
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Preschool Children ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Data Points

Purpose The present pilot study aimed to provide estimates of the feasibility and efficacy of a remote microphone (RM) system as an augmentative intervention to improve the functional listening performance of preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and language disorder. Method Eight children with ASD and language disorder participated. Efficacy of the RM system was determined by evaluating participants' functional listening performance, as measured by an observational measure in RM-off and RM-on conditions. Responses were evaluated at the individual level using an alternating conditions design. Results Adequate feasibility was demonstrated as all participants were able to complete tasks in the RM-on condition. A subset of participants showed significant improvements in their functional listening performance in the RM-on condition, as demonstrated by visual inspection and effect sizes (nonoverlapping data points and percentage of data points exceeding the mean), indicating that there may be important sources of individual differences in responses to RM use in children with ASD. Conclusion The results of this pilot study provide support for future research on RM systems to target functional listening performance in children with ASD and language disorder.

Parent Report of Communication Skills of Jamaican Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny M. Burton ◽  
Karla N. Washington ◽  
Maureen Samms-Vaughan
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Early Literacy ◽  
Communication Skills ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Home Literacy Environment ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd

Most research related to communication skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been obtained from monolingual English-speaking children from high-income countries. Based on questionnaires completed by parents, this pilot study aimed to describe the communication characteristics of six children with ASD living in Jamaica. Parents had concerns about their child’s speech intelligibility, expressive language, and social communication. All children were reported to speak using Standard Jamaican English (SJE). Exposure to SJE and Jamaican Creole (JC) was reported by half of the parents. Emergent literacy was considered a relative strength. All parents reported that their child could recite the alphabet and identify some letters and that family members also helped their child print and read letters or words. Other aspects of the home literacy environment and early literacy skills were varied. Information from this group provides some insights into communication skills in children with ASD from Caribbean backgrounds.

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