Objective Autism spectrum disorder(ASD)is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with communication and social interaction,restricted and repetitive behaviors.Previous studies have indicated that...Objective Autism spectrum disorder(ASD)is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with communication and social interaction,restricted and repetitive behaviors.Previous studies have indicated that individuals with ASD exhibit early and lifelong attention deficits,which are closely related to the core symptoms of ASD.Basic visual attention processes may provide a critical foundation for their social communication and interaction abilities.Therefore,this study explores the behavior of children with ASD in capturing attention to changes in topological properties.Methods Our study recruited twenty-seven ASD children diagnosed by professional clinicians according to DSM-5 and twenty-eight typically developing(TD)age-matched controls.In an attention capture task,we recorded the saccadic behaviors of children with ASD and TD in response to topological change(TC)and non-topological change(nTC)stimuli.Saccadic reaction time(SRT),visual search time(VS),and first fixation dwell time(FFDT)were used as indicators of attentional bias.Pearson correlation tests between the clinical assessment scales and attentional bias were conducted.Results This study found that TD children had significantly faster SRT(P<0.05)and VS(P<0.05)for the TC stimuli compared to the nTC stimuli,while the children with ASD did not exhibit significant differences in either measure(P>0.05).Additionally,ASD children demonstrated significantly less attention towards the TC targets(measured by FFDT),in comparison to TD children(P<0.05).Furthermore,ASD children exhibited a significant negative linear correlation between their attentional bias(measured by VS)and their scores on the compulsive subscale(P<0.05).Conclusion The results suggest that children with ASD have difficulty shifting their attention to objects with topological changes during change detection.This atypical attention may affect the child’s cognitive and behavioral development,thereby impacting their social communication and interaction.In sum,our findings indicate that difficulties in attentional capture by TC may be a key feature of ASD.展开更多
Objective:This study aimed to explore the perceptions of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)and their coping strategies.Methods:The data of the study was collected using face-to-face semi-structured...Objective:This study aimed to explore the perceptions of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)and their coping strategies.Methods:The data of the study was collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews.The participants were purposefully selected from the three schools in Mpumalanga Province because they had children diagnosed with ASD and data was analyzed using thematic content analysis.In this study,primary caregivers were selected.In the end,12 women were interviewed,and the data saturation was reached.Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness were carried out throughout the study.Results:The findings revealed two themes:caregivers’understanding and misconceptions of ASD and coping mechanisms used in dealing challenges of caring for a child with ASD;and five subthemes:lack of knowledge,cultural beliefs,prayer,strong support system,and acceptance.Conclusion:Based on the findings,more awareness campaigns should be done on ASD to increase parents’understanding of the condition.Understanding the cultural beliefs of parents regarding ASD may assist health care professionals in developing care practices that are accepted in their culture,and may enhance parents’coping skills.展开更多
Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture therapy for aphasis in autism children. Methods: Thirty cases of autism children were divided into acupuncture group (n=20) and medication group (n=10). Inte...Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture therapy for aphasis in autism children. Methods: Thirty cases of autism children were divided into acupuncture group (n=20) and medication group (n=10). Intelligence quotient(IQ) and Social adaptive developmental quotient(ADQ) were used to assess the therapeutic effect. Results: After treatment, IQ values increased slightly in medication group and considerably in acupuncture group (P<0.001), and the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment of acupuncture group was significantly bigger than that of control group (P<0.01). ADQ of two groups increased at different degrees, and that of acupuncture and the difference between post- and pre-treatment of acupuncture group were significantly bigger than those of control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Acupuncture treatment is effective in improving autism children’s speaking ability. raising IQ and ADQ.展开更多
Duplications of MECP2-containing genomic segments led to severe autistic symptoms in male. Transgenic mice overexpressing the human MECP2 gene exhibit autistic-like behaviors. Neural circuits underlying social defects...Duplications of MECP2-containing genomic segments led to severe autistic symptoms in male. Transgenic mice overexpressing the human MECP2 gene exhibit autistic-like behaviors. Neural circuits underlying social defects in MECP2 transgenic(MECP2-TG) mice remain unknown. To observe neural activity of MECP2-TG mice in vivo, we performed calcium imaging by implantation of microendoscope in the hippocampal CA1 regions of MECP2-TG and wild type(WT) mice. We identified neurons whose activities were tightly associated with social interaction, which activity patterns were compromised in MECP2-TG mice. Strikingly, we rescued the social-related neural activity in CA1 and social defects in MECP2-TG mice by deleting the human MECP2 transgene using the CRISPR/Cas9 method during adulthood.Our data points to the neural circuitry responsible for social interactions and provides potential therapeutic targets for autism in adulthood.展开更多
The evolution of a local fragmented model of services for children with autism in Hong Kong emerged gradually over the past three decades with lack of government funding or support. This had been due to increasing num...The evolution of a local fragmented model of services for children with autism in Hong Kong emerged gradually over the past three decades with lack of government funding or support. This had been due to increasing number of children with autism being detected and referred for earlier assessment. With increasing pressure from parents due to long waiting time for assessment and training services and the increasing polarization by mass media there had been a gradual increasing public awareness over the past five years. Though still highly fragmented in the availability of services, there is a growing "business model" available in the community due to increasing need and lack of public funding for support. There is a lack of strategic planning for medical diagnostic and management issues in Hong Kong. Our University of Hong Kong based Autism Research Program was pioneered in 1985 based on the increasing load of autism cases referred for assessment for other developmental problems and diagnosed as Autism in the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital. As the first author has been the staff of the University of Hong Kong, this program flourished as a research based program. The benefits of early identification and intervention of autism spectrum disorder(ASD) had been increasingly recognized, and with the increased public awareness and increasing trend of earlier diagnosis, there has been a continuously high demand from parents for earlier assessment and training for children suspected to have ASD. This model had not received extra funding for this integrated program for research, teaching and training in autism. We had to apply for various donations and grants to support the development of this pioneer program. The research output and organization of forums for public education and awareness are reviewed. The latter part of the paper reports the summary of clinical profile of autism cases(N=1441) assessed from 1985 to 2010 June under the University of Hong Kong. As the waiting time for initial developmental assessment for any children in Hong Kong is 12?24 months, we also report our preliminary experience with a newly launched triaging service provision for children suspected to be ASD since 2009, including multi-disciplinary assessment and parallel interim training in our university affiliated child assessment centre in Hong(N=89).展开更多
文摘Objective Autism spectrum disorder(ASD)is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with communication and social interaction,restricted and repetitive behaviors.Previous studies have indicated that individuals with ASD exhibit early and lifelong attention deficits,which are closely related to the core symptoms of ASD.Basic visual attention processes may provide a critical foundation for their social communication and interaction abilities.Therefore,this study explores the behavior of children with ASD in capturing attention to changes in topological properties.Methods Our study recruited twenty-seven ASD children diagnosed by professional clinicians according to DSM-5 and twenty-eight typically developing(TD)age-matched controls.In an attention capture task,we recorded the saccadic behaviors of children with ASD and TD in response to topological change(TC)and non-topological change(nTC)stimuli.Saccadic reaction time(SRT),visual search time(VS),and first fixation dwell time(FFDT)were used as indicators of attentional bias.Pearson correlation tests between the clinical assessment scales and attentional bias were conducted.Results This study found that TD children had significantly faster SRT(P<0.05)and VS(P<0.05)for the TC stimuli compared to the nTC stimuli,while the children with ASD did not exhibit significant differences in either measure(P>0.05).Additionally,ASD children demonstrated significantly less attention towards the TC targets(measured by FFDT),in comparison to TD children(P<0.05).Furthermore,ASD children exhibited a significant negative linear correlation between their attentional bias(measured by VS)and their scores on the compulsive subscale(P<0.05).Conclusion The results suggest that children with ASD have difficulty shifting their attention to objects with topological changes during change detection.This atypical attention may affect the child’s cognitive and behavioral development,thereby impacting their social communication and interaction.In sum,our findings indicate that difficulties in attentional capture by TC may be a key feature of ASD.
基金Our sincere gratitude goes to the parents of children diagnosedwith ASD.
文摘Objective:This study aimed to explore the perceptions of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)and their coping strategies.Methods:The data of the study was collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews.The participants were purposefully selected from the three schools in Mpumalanga Province because they had children diagnosed with ASD and data was analyzed using thematic content analysis.In this study,primary caregivers were selected.In the end,12 women were interviewed,and the data saturation was reached.Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness were carried out throughout the study.Results:The findings revealed two themes:caregivers’understanding and misconceptions of ASD and coping mechanisms used in dealing challenges of caring for a child with ASD;and five subthemes:lack of knowledge,cultural beliefs,prayer,strong support system,and acceptance.Conclusion:Based on the findings,more awareness campaigns should be done on ASD to increase parents’understanding of the condition.Understanding the cultural beliefs of parents regarding ASD may assist health care professionals in developing care practices that are accepted in their culture,and may enhance parents’coping skills.
文摘Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of acupuncture therapy for aphasis in autism children. Methods: Thirty cases of autism children were divided into acupuncture group (n=20) and medication group (n=10). Intelligence quotient(IQ) and Social adaptive developmental quotient(ADQ) were used to assess the therapeutic effect. Results: After treatment, IQ values increased slightly in medication group and considerably in acupuncture group (P<0.001), and the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment of acupuncture group was significantly bigger than that of control group (P<0.01). ADQ of two groups increased at different degrees, and that of acupuncture and the difference between post- and pre-treatment of acupuncture group were significantly bigger than those of control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Acupuncture treatment is effective in improving autism children’s speaking ability. raising IQ and ADQ.
基金This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2017YFA0103303)Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB32010100,XDB02050400,XDB02050005,XDA16020601)+2 种基金National Basic Research Program of China(2017YFA0102601,2019YFA0110100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(91732301,31671072,31771140,81891001,91432111,81527901,31400977,31625013)Grants of Beijing Brain Initiative of Beijing Municipal Science&Technology Commission(Z181100001518004).
文摘Duplications of MECP2-containing genomic segments led to severe autistic symptoms in male. Transgenic mice overexpressing the human MECP2 gene exhibit autistic-like behaviors. Neural circuits underlying social defects in MECP2 transgenic(MECP2-TG) mice remain unknown. To observe neural activity of MECP2-TG mice in vivo, we performed calcium imaging by implantation of microendoscope in the hippocampal CA1 regions of MECP2-TG and wild type(WT) mice. We identified neurons whose activities were tightly associated with social interaction, which activity patterns were compromised in MECP2-TG mice. Strikingly, we rescued the social-related neural activity in CA1 and social defects in MECP2-TG mice by deleting the human MECP2 transgene using the CRISPR/Cas9 method during adulthood.Our data points to the neural circuitry responsible for social interactions and provides potential therapeutic targets for autism in adulthood.
文摘The evolution of a local fragmented model of services for children with autism in Hong Kong emerged gradually over the past three decades with lack of government funding or support. This had been due to increasing number of children with autism being detected and referred for earlier assessment. With increasing pressure from parents due to long waiting time for assessment and training services and the increasing polarization by mass media there had been a gradual increasing public awareness over the past five years. Though still highly fragmented in the availability of services, there is a growing "business model" available in the community due to increasing need and lack of public funding for support. There is a lack of strategic planning for medical diagnostic and management issues in Hong Kong. Our University of Hong Kong based Autism Research Program was pioneered in 1985 based on the increasing load of autism cases referred for assessment for other developmental problems and diagnosed as Autism in the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital. As the first author has been the staff of the University of Hong Kong, this program flourished as a research based program. The benefits of early identification and intervention of autism spectrum disorder(ASD) had been increasingly recognized, and with the increased public awareness and increasing trend of earlier diagnosis, there has been a continuously high demand from parents for earlier assessment and training for children suspected to have ASD. This model had not received extra funding for this integrated program for research, teaching and training in autism. We had to apply for various donations and grants to support the development of this pioneer program. The research output and organization of forums for public education and awareness are reviewed. The latter part of the paper reports the summary of clinical profile of autism cases(N=1441) assessed from 1985 to 2010 June under the University of Hong Kong. As the waiting time for initial developmental assessment for any children in Hong Kong is 12?24 months, we also report our preliminary experience with a newly launched triaging service provision for children suspected to be ASD since 2009, including multi-disciplinary assessment and parallel interim training in our university affiliated child assessment centre in Hong(N=89).
