Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions Of Guilt Of Individuals With A Visible Communication Disorder Versus An Invisible Communication Disorder, Zoe Hochberg

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explored how communication disorders may impact listeners’ perception of guilt. More specifically, it looked at how visible communication disorders (e.g., stuttering) and invisible communication disorders (e.g., high functioning autism) are judged by the general public. 51 adults (18-71 years) participated in the study which asked them to view video recordings of narrative samples produced by an individual who stuttered (PWS), an individual with high-functioning autism (PHFA), and an individual with no communication disorder (PNCD). Participants were not informed of the individuals’ communication abilities (PWS, PHFA, or PNCD), but were told that one of the individuals had committed a …

Maternal Immune Activation (Mia) In Mice: A Study To Phenotype Asd-Related Communication Behaviors And Analyze Maternal Health Outcomes In The Us, Komalpreet Gulati

Honors Scholar Theses

Core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) include deficits in social/communicative behaviors, and repetitive/stereotyped behaviors. Mouse models are a highly established paradigm used to study the phenotypic deficits that result from various inducible genotypic or environmental risk factors for ASD. Previous studies have demonstrated a link between maternal immune activation (MIA) and ASD-like behaviors in mouse models. In this model, the maternal immune system is activated during pregnancy by injecting the viral mimic poly(I:C). The resulting offspring are phenotyped and analyzed with regards to their communicative behaviors.

Previous studies have demonstrated that male pups born to dams with immune activation …

Social Support And Adherence To Recommendations Following Asd Diagnosis, Morgan Reiss

Honors Scholar Theses

This experiment aimed to look at how social supports effected adherence to recommendations following a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. We hypothesized that families with higher levels of structural social support, as defined as more adults living in the home, help with child care, presence of a co-parent, and day care utilization, would also report higher levels of adherence to intervention recommendations. The participants (n=8) were caregivers of children diagnosed with ASD at either the University of Connecticut or Drexel University. These children were screened for ASD during a well-visit to their pediatrician, and upon failing the M-CHAT-R, were eligible …

Familial Depression And Adhd In Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Melissa Smith

Honors Scholar Theses

This study explored the relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in toddlers and familial depression, specifically maternal depression. The data on toddlers in this study were collected from the Early Detection of Autism Study at the University of Connecticut. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship between toddlers’ ASD diagnoses and familial depression compared to families with non-ASD toddlers. More specifically, it was hypothesized that there would be a significant relationship between ASD diagnoses and maternal depression, due to the challenges and stressors that result from taking care of toddlers with ASD. This study’s findings did not …

Behavioral And Neuroanatomical Outcomes Of Early And Late Preterm Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury And The Neuroprotective Effects Of Whole-Body Hypothermia: An Animal Model, Haley C. Garbus

University Scholar Projects

The overarching aims of this research were: first, to characterize the anatomical and behavioral effects of preterm hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in rodent models; and second, to explore the method of passively induced whole-body hypothermia as a neuroprotective intervention following HI. Clinical research of preterm injured infants has shown a large range of behavioral deficits, including delays in language learning, spatial and non-spatial memory, visual attention, and motor coordination. The current studies focused on these behavioral abnormalities, using HI rodent models. Specifically, we explored a model for early preterm HI (HI induced on postnatal day (P) 3 in rats), and compared …

The Effect Of Robot-Child Interactions On Social Attention And Verbalization Patterns Of Typically Developing Children And Children With Autism Between 4 And 8 Years, Sudha Srinivasan, Anjana Bhat

Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles

Background: There is anecdotal evidence for the use of robots to facilitate prosocial behaviors such as joint attention and verbalization in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). However, there have been no normative data in typically developing children to evaluate the effects of robot-child interactions on social and communication skills. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the changes in social attention and verbalization skills of 15 typically developing (TD) children, using a structured 8-session imitation protocol within a robot-adult-child context. We further extended this imitation protocol to two children with ASDs. Methods: Pretest, session1, session 4, session …

Anxiety Symptoms In Individuals With High Functioning Autism, Jane C. Kelleher

Honors Scholar Theses

Research indicates a complicated relationship between anxiety disorders and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The current study examined the relationship between anxiety symptoms and ASD in 30 Optimal Outcome (OO) individuals, 33 High Functioning Autism (HFA) individuals, and 34 Typically Developing (TD) individuals. The groups were compared on the K-SADS measure of anxiety symptoms. The HFA group presented greater anxiety than both the OO and TD groups, and the OO and TD groups only differed on one anxiety symptom. Across all three groups, there was a significant association between greater anxiety symptoms and a higher level of social and communicative impairment. …

Joint Attention In Young Children With Autism, Sabrina Jara

Honors Scholar Theses

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are classified as pervasive developmental disorders characterized by social, communicative, and behavioral impairments. According to formal and informal reports, children with ASD present with receptive and expressive language delay. Joint attention (JA: the behavior that occurs when two individuals focus on the same object or event) has been identified as a possible marker of delayed language development in children with ASD. In this study, the JA behaviors in children with ASD were contrasted with initially language-matched typically developing (TYP) children across three visits.

Measures of language, the frequency, duration, and source of initiation of JA episodes, …

Season Of Birth Effects In Autism Spectrum Disorders, Kastley Marvin

Honors Scholar Theses

One factor that is investigated as a possible clue to etiological factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is season of birth. Season of birth effects could be the result of temperature, toxins, dietary changes, viral infections, and cultural or social factors that change seasonally (Bolton, Pickles, Harrington, Macdonald, & Rutter, 1992). A number of studies have looked for season of birth effects in ASD with no conclusive results. The current study analyzed season of birth effects in a sample of 441 children diagnosed with ASD. Analysis was also repeated after excluding prematurely born children from the data. Level of functioning …