Psychology Commons^™

Autism Awareness Panel Discussion: Finding Hope, Hillary M. Adams, Catherine G. Bailey Ph.D., Ncsp, John Barton, Zach Lewis, Elizabeth Niese, Phyllis White-Sellards, Sabrina Thomas

Phyllis White-Sellards

“Autism Awareness Panel Discussion: Finding Hope,” is the fifth of five in the, “Don’t Call Me Crazy: MU Mental Health Initiative,” panel discussion series, which was held on April 4, 2019. This initiative is comprised of three major components: “Resiliency through Education;” which includes: panel discussions with mental health professionals and a research guide, “Resiliency through Art;” an art exhibition that featured works form MU students, faculty and staff, and community members, and “Resiliency through Community;” an extensive collection of campus, local, state, and national mental health resources. Libraries hold a unique position as places to hold civil conversations on …

Autism Awareness Panel Discussion: Finding Hope, Hillary M. Adams, Catherine G. Bailey Ph.D., Ncsp, John Barton, Zach Lewis, Elizabeth Niese, Phyllis White-Sellards, Sabrina Thomas

Sabrina Thomas

“Autism Awareness Panel Discussion: Finding Hope,” is the fifth of five in the, “Don’t Call Me Crazy: MU Mental Health Initiative,” panel discussion series, which was held on April 4, 2019. This initiative is comprised of three major components: “Resiliency through Education;” which includes: panel discussions with mental health professionals and a research guide, “Resiliency through Art;” an art exhibition that featured works form MU students, faculty and staff, and community members, and “Resiliency through Community;” an extensive collection of campus, local, state, and national mental health resources. Libraries hold a unique position as places to hold civil conversations on …

Age-Related Differences In The Association Between Stereotypic Behaviour And Salivary Cortisol In Young Males With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Linda Agnew, Nicholas Andronicos

Vicki Bitsika

To identify if age influenced the relationship between one of the central symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and physiological stress, the association between stereotypic behaviour (SB) and stress-related cortisol concentrations was examined in a sample of 150 young males with an ASD. Parent-rated SB was significantly correlated with cortisol concentrations for boys aged 6 years to 12 years but not for adolescents aged 13 years to 18 years. This age-related difference in this association was not a function of cortisol concentrations but was related to differences in SB across these two age groups. IQ did not have a significant …

Which Aspects Of Sensory Features Are Associated With Elevated Cortisol Concentrations In Boys With An Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew, Richard Mills

Vicki Bitsika

Difficulties in Sensory Features (SF) have been included in the most recent diagnostic processes for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and are more common in children with an ASD than their non-ASD peers. In addition, these difficulties with SF have been suggested as causing elevated stress and concentrations of salivary cortisol in young people with an ASD. However, previous studies have not examined the specific aspects of SF that are associated with elevated cortisol and that was the focus of this study with 135 boys with an ASD aged 6–18 years. The boys’ mothers assessed their sons’ SF with the Sensory …

Eight-Month Test-Retest Agreement In Morning Salivary Cortisol, Self- And Parent-Rated Anxiety In Boys With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Christopher Sharpley, Vicki Bitsika, Linda Agnew, Nicholas Andronicos

Vicki Bitsika

The agreement over time in morning salivary cortisol concentrations and also self- and parent-rated anxiety was investigated in a sample of 16 boys with an ASD. Cortisol and anxiety data were collected eight months apart. Results indicated that there were significant correlations between each pair of measures from the two occasions, suggesting that cortisol concentrations and anxiety did not vary much at all over that time, challenging the assumption that cortisol needs to be measured over multiple days to obtain reliable data from children with an ASD. Implications for research into the ways these children respond to chronic stressors are …

Agreement Between Self- Vs Parent-Ratings Of General Anxiety Disorder Symptoms And Salivary Cortisol In Boys With An Asd, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew

Vicki Bitsika

To determine the relative validity of parent-assessed and self-assessed symptoms of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 140 boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were assessed for GAD by their parents and by themselves, and gave a sample of cortisol during the afternoon of these assessments. There were significant differences between self-assessments and parents’ assessments for the total GAD score and on four of the eight individual GAD symptoms. Using cortisol concentrations as a validation index, the two key GAD items were most validly assessed via boys’ self-ratings. Key GAD symptoms in boys …

Experiences Of Australian Siblings Of An Individual With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Rebecca Mailli

Vicki Bitsika

The experiences of 75 non-Autism Spectrum Disorder (NASD) children and adolescents who had a sibling with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were investigated. Differences were found according to age and gender for issues such as amount of time spent with their sibling and access to parents. Having a younger sibling with an ASD was associated with a lower level of confidence in being able to live their lives as they wished. Female NASD participants commented that their lives were more influenced than male NASD participants. About half of all NASD participants reported inconsistencies in family rule adherences and parental expectation.

Medicalization Of Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Adhd, Childhood Bipolar Disorder And Tantrums: Scientific Breakthrough, Or Broad-Based Delusion?, W. Wyatt

W. Joseph Wyatt

Clearly, a number of psychological and behavioral disorders arise within our biology. These include autism, Down’s syndrome, those due to toxin exposure, metabolic and endocrine difficulties, and several others. In contrast, there is minimal research evidence to support biological origins of the vast number of common disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia or child problems such as conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), childhood bipolar disorder, oppositional behaviors or tantrums. These disorders have been medicalized when, in the absence of supportive research evidence, they are said to be caused by genetic defects, chemical imbalances or other biological phenomena. …

Hypothalamus–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis Daily Fluctuation, Anxiety And Age Interact To Predict Cortisol Concentrations In Boys With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Nicholas Andronicos, Linda Agnew

Vicki Bitsika

There is considerable evidence of a confound between symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children who have an ASD. Although there have been several attempts to describe how these two disorders overlap and interact to influence the assessment and diagnosis of children with an ASD, principally by reference to cortisol assayed from these children's saliva, the overall evidence is inconsistent. Because previous models of these relationships have focused upon cortisol and GAD to the exclusion of age, diurnal fluctuation in the HPA axis and the source of GAD data, these variables were examined in …

Shared And Idiosyncratic Cortical Activation Patterns In Autism Revealed Under Continuous Real-Life Viewing Conditions, Uri Hasson, Galia Avidan, Hagar Gelbard, Ignacio Vallines, Michal Harel, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

Although widespread alterations in cortical structure have been documented in individuals with autism, the functional implications of these alterations remain to be determined. Here, we adopted a novel inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) and intra-subject correlation (intra-SC) technique to quantify the reliability of the spatio-temporal responses of functional MR activity in adults with autism during free-viewing of a popular audio–visual movie. Whereas these complex stimuli evoke highly reliable shared response time courses in typical individuals, cortical activity was more variable across individuals with autism (low inter-SC). Interestingly, when we measured the responses within an autistic individual across repeated presentations of the movie, …

Practice Makes Improvement: How Adults With Autism Out-Perform Others In A Naturalistic Visual Search Task, Cleotilde Gonzalez, Jolie Martin, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit superior performance in visual search compared to others. However, most studies demonstrating this advantage have employed simple, uncluttered images with fully visible targets. We compare the performance of high-functioning adults with ASD and matched controls on a naturalistic luggage screening task. Although the two groups were equally accurate in detecting targets, the ASD adults improve in their correct elimination of target-absent bags faster than controls. This feature of their behavior is extremely important for many real-world monitoring tasks that require sustained attention for long time periods. Further analyses suggest that this improvement …

Endogenous Spatial Attention: Evidence For Intact Functioning In Adults With Autism, Michael Grubb, Marlene Behrmann, Ryan Egan, Nancy Minshew, Marisa Carrasco, David Heeger

Marlene Behrmann

Rapid manipulation of the attention field (i.e. the location and spread of visual spatial attention) is a critical aspect of human cognition, and previous research on spatial attention in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has produced inconsistent results. In a series of three psychophysical experiments, we evaluated claims in the literature that individuals with ASD exhibit a deficit in voluntarily controlling the deployment and size of the spatial attention field. We measured the spatial distribution of performance accuracies and reaction times to quantify the sizes and locations of the attention field, with and without spatial uncertainty (i.e. the lack …

The Anatomy Of The Callosal And Visual-Association Pathways In High-Functioning Autism: A Dti Tractography Study, Cibu Thomas, Kate Humphreys, Kwan-Jin Jung, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

There is increasing recognition that many of the core behavioral impairments that characterize autism potentially emerge from poor neural synchronization across nodes comprising dispersed cortical networks. A likely candidate for the source of this atypical functional connectivity in autism is an alteration in the structural integrity of intra- and inter-hemispheric white matter (WM) tracts that form large-scale cortical networks. To test this hypothesis, in a group of adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and matched control participants, we used diffusion tensor tractography to compare the structural integrity of three intra-hemispheric visual-association WM tracts, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), the inferior fronto-occipito …

Aberrant Functioning Of The Theory-Of-Mind Network In Children And Adolescents With Autism., Rajesh Kana, Jose Maximo, Diane Williams, Timothy Keller, Sarah Schipul, Vladimir Cherkassky, Nancy Minshew, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) On Response Perseveration And Ultrasonic Vocalization Emission In Rat During Development, Howard Cromwell

Howard Casey Cromwell

The 3 major symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders include 1) social behavioral alterations, 2) problems in communication and 3) higher-order motoric deficits of perseveration and stereotyped movements. Previous work has shown that early developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alters rat pup social motivation and juvenile rat social recognition/investigation. The present work extends this previous research by examining how perinatal PCB exposure alters motoric functions and communication abilities at different stages of development. Action perseveration was examined using performance measures from a T-maze environment. Communication abilities were evaluated by monitoring ultrasound emission in rat pups during a brief isolation from …

Dsm-5: Rethinking Asperger’S Disorder, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Relationship – The Fourth “R” In Our Schools, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Best Practice News: School Psychologist Wins Book Award, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Florida Association Of School Psychologists 38th Annual Conference, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in Schools: Evidence-Based Screening and Assessment

Epidemiological studies indicate a progressively rising prevalence trend for ASD over the past decade. Yet, compared to population estimates, identification rates have not kept pace in our schools. Many children with ASD are overlooked, misdiagnosed with another psychiatric condition, or present with coexisting psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. School psychologists must be prepared to recognize the presence of risk factors and/or early warning signs of ASD, engage in case finding, and be familiar with screening and assessment tools in order to ensure that students are being identified and …

How Many Doctors Does It Take To Diagnose An Autism Spectrum Disorder?, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Pragmatics, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Mindblindness, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Capella University Sponsors Autism Event, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Consequences Of Interest-Based Learning On The Social-Affective Behavior Of Young Children With Autism, Carol M. Trivette, Carl J. Dunst

Carol M. Trivette

A Multi-Step Screening Strategy For Identifying Children With Autism Spectrum Conditions In The School Setting, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

School-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Screening And Identification, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Epidemiological studies indicate a worldwide increase in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) over the past decade. ASDs are no longer considered rare conditions. Although the reason(s) for this rise are uncertain, research indicates that specialised intervention at an early age is vital for optimising the outcomes of children with ASD. However, not all children with milder forms of autism will be identified prior to school entrance. Hence, it is essential for educators and school-based support professionals to ensure that children who have risk factors and/or warning signs of ASD are identified and provided with special educational services as …

Facilitating The Identification Of Autism Spectrum Disorders In School- Age Children, Lee A. Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Recent special education trends suggest that students with autism spectrum disorders are underrepresented in our schools’ special education programs. The increased awareness and prevalence of autism, together with the clear benefits of early intervention and special education, have created an urgent need for school-based professionals to identify children who may have an autism spectrum disorder. Screening is an important first step for securing the appropriate educational services. The aim of this article is to provide school professionals with a review of five screening instruments that hold promise for identifying school-age children in need of a more in-depth diagnostic assessment.

A Best Practice Guide To Assessment And Intervention For Autism And Asperger Syndrome In Schools, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Filling a critical void in the autism literature, this authoritative yet accessible book provides expert guidance to psychologists, advocates, consultants, support professionals, and parents. Grounded in the latest research, special features include an index to 50 evidence-based best practice recommendations and real world case examples to illustrate best practice in the field. This book is certain to become a widely used resource in the field of special education.

Diane Adreon, Associate Director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) comments that “Dr. Lee Wilkinson has produced a well-written, user-friendly, comprehensive guide to the …

An Exploratory Analysis Of The Use Of Cognitive,Adaptive And Behavioural Indices For Cluster Analysis Of Asd Subgroups, Vicki Bitsika, Christopher Sharpley, Sharon Orapeleng

Vicki Bitsika

Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes symptoms that vary in severity and frequency between children. Consequently, multiple psychometric assessment procedures are recommended to detect an ASD, including scales which asses the presence and nature of ASD-related behaviour. However, to date, few studies have examined the relative and specific contribution which such behaviourally oriented scales can make to the diagnosis of individual children with ASD. Method Cluster analysis was used to explore the common characteristics of a group of 53 preschool and elementary school children with an ASD, based upon scores on tests of cognitive ability, adaptive behaviour and behavioural checklists …

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurobiology And Current Assessment Practices, Ryan Allen, Diana Robins, Scott Decker

Ryan A. Allen

This study reviews recent research related to the neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and provides an empirical analysis of current assessment practices. Data were collected through a survey of 117 school psychologists. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS), and Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS) were the most frequently used measures. Among the less popular, but more intensive instruments, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) appears to be gaining popularity within school-based evaluations. Generally, respondents approached the assessment of ASDs from a traditional psychoeducational perspective and reported the use of a very narrow range of …