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Total Records: 31
List of Research Projects on Autism Spectrum Conditions
Title
A comparative analysis of well-being and coping among mothers of toddlers and mothers of adolescents with ASD
Abstract
The present study examined the impact of autism symptoms and coping strategies on the well-being of mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The sample consisted of 153 mothers of toddlers and 201 mothers of adolescents drawn from two ongoing, longitudinal studies of families of individuals with ASD. For mothers of toddlers, lower levels of emotion-focused coping and higher levels of problem-focused coping were generally associated with better maternal well-being, regardless of the level of child symptomatology. For mothers of adolescents, coping often acted as a buffer when autism symptoms were high. Although there was evidence of maternal distress in both groups, the presence of significant buffering effects reflects adaptation in the face of stress, particularly for mothers of adolescents.
Anxiety, appraisal and coping: Socio-emotional deficits in children with high-functioning autism
Abstract
For her final PhD year, Shilpi Gupta is investigating how children with high-functioning autism cope with emotions and needs to recruit a group of children with high- functioning autism aged 8-12 years for this research. The results are intended to help parents, caregivers and other professionals help children with high-functioning autism to cope better with daily life, social challenges and provide greater insights about the dynamics of emotional experiences of fear and anger.
Asperger syndrome (AS) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder of social interaction, communication, and a restricted range of behaviors or interests. Although not generally associated with intellectual disability, the severe social disability and, in many cases, associated mental health and other medical problems, result in disability throughout life. The diagnosis is often delayed, sometimes into adulthood, which is unfortunate because there are now a range of interventions available, and the current evidence supports intervention starting as early in childhood as possible. The aim of this review is to present a description of AS, an up to date synopsis of the literature pertaining to its etiology, co-morbidity and intervention options, and a discussion of current nosological controversies.
Autism is a common and heterogeneous childhood neurodevelopmental disorder. Analogous to broad syndromes such as learning disabilities, autism has many aetiologies and should be considered not as a single disorder but, rather, as 'the autisms'. However, recent genetic findings, coupled with emerging anatomical and functional imaging studies, suggest a potential unifying model in which higher-order association areas of the brain that normally connect to the frontal lobe are partially disconnected during development. This concept of developmental disconnection can accommodate the specific neurobehavioural features that are observed in autism, their emergence during development, and the heterogeneity of autism aetiology, behaviours and cognition.
Source:
Current Opinions in Neurobiology, 2007, Jan 31 [Epub ahead of print]
Organisation
Department of Neurology and Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles
Autism Spectrum Symptomatology in Children: The Impact of Family and Peer Relationships.
Abstract
This study examines the potential impact of family conflict and cohesion, and peer support/bullying on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While such impacts have been established for a range of non-ASD childhood disorders, these findings may not generalize to children with ASD because of unique problems in perspective-taking, understanding others' emotion, cognitive rigidity, and social reasoning. A structural model-building approach was used to test the extent to which family and peer variables directly or indirectly affected ASD via child anxiety/depression. The sample (N = 322) consisted of parents of children with ASD referred to two specialist clinics. The sample contained parents of children with Autistic Disorder (n = 76), Asperger Disorder (n = 188), Pervasive Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (n = 21), and children with a non-ASD or no diagnosis (n = 37). Parents completed questionnaires on-line via a secure website. The key findings were that anxiety/depression and ASD symptomatology were significantly related, and family conflict was more predictive of ASD symptomatology than positive family/peer influences. The results point to the utility of expanding interventions to include conflict management for couples, even when conflict and family distress is low. Further research is needed on the potentially different meanings of family cohesion and conflict for children with ASD relative to children without ASD.
