Harvesting Twitter Data for Studying Motor Behavior in Disabled Populations: An Introduction and Tutorial in Python.

Social media platforms are rich and dynamic spaces where individuals communicate on a person-to-person level and to broader audiences. These platforms provide a wealth of publicly available data that can shed light on the lived experiences of people from numerous clinical populations. Twitter can be used to examine individual expressions and community discussions about specific characteristics (e.

#DCD/Dyspraxia in Real Life: Twitter Users' Unprompted Expression of Experiences With Motor Differences.

Little is known about adults' experiences with developmental coordination disorder (DCD; sometimes also referred to as dyspraxia). Social media is an accessible opportunity for those who identify as dyspraxic or as having DCD to provide valuable insight into the lifespan impact of this condition on functional ability, participation, compensatory strategies, and well-being. We used the Twitter research application programming interface to identify users who self-identified with the keywords Developmental Coordination Disorder, #DCD, #dyspraxic (or # dyspraxia), or clumsy in their profile descriptions between October 10 and November 10, 2021.

Identity and Discourse Among #ActuallyAutistic Twitter Users With Motor Differences.

Despite a growing awareness of the prevalence of motor differences in the autistic community, their functional impact is poorly understood. Social media offers the ideal setting to observe this discourse in a less-contrived setting than lab-based structured interviews. The aims of the present study were (a) to determine the proportion of Twitter users who self-identify as autistic and dyspraxic/having developmental coordination disorder, relative to autistic alone, and (b) to identify common themes emerging from two moderated chat threads with motor-related prompts.

Social Media as a Tool for Understanding the Role of Motor Differences in Neurodivergent Identity and Lived Experience.

Social media offers an exciting opportunity for the field of motor development and behavior research. With platforms such as Twitter offering access to historical data from users' public bios and posts, there is untapped potential to examine community perspectives on the role of motor differences in identity and lived experience. Analysis of online discourse offers advantages over traditional qualitative methods like structured interviews or focus groups, including a less-contrived setting, global geographic and cultural representation, and ease of sampling.

The impact for DCD - USA study: The current state of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in the United States of America.

Background: Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is among the most under-recognized and under-supported disorders worldwide.

Aims: To present a preliminary national study that evaluated the unmet needs of children with DCD in the USA using the Impact for DCD survey.

Methods And Procedures: 232 parents of individuals aged 5-18 years provided responses from 36 items in five domains (diagnosis, activity/participation, education, therapy, and social/emotional health).

Motor problems in autism: Co-occurrence or feature?

Motor features of autism have long been acknowledged by clinicians, researchers, and community stakeholders. Current DSM-5 and ICD-11 guidelines allow clinicians to assign a co-occurring diagnosis of developmental [motor] coordination disorder (DCD) for autistic individuals with significant motor problems. DCD is characterized by poor motor proficiency with an onset of symptoms in early development.

Motor differences in autism during a human-robot imitative gesturing task.

Background: Difficulty with imitative gesturing is frequently observed as a clinical feature of autism. Current practices for assessment of imitative gesturing ability-behavioral observation and parent report-do not allow precise measurement of specific components of imitative gesturing performance, instead relying on subjective judgments. Advances in technology allow researchers to objectively quantify the nature of these movement differences, and to use less socially stressful interaction partners (e.

Community-based postural control assessment in autistic individuals indicates a similar but delayed trajectory compared to neurotypical individuals.

Autistic individuals exhibit significant sensorimotor differences. Postural stability and control are foundational motor skills for successfully performing many activities of daily living. In neurotypical development, postural stability and control develop throughout childhood and adolescence.

Movement smoothness during dynamic postural control to a static target differs between autistic and neurotypical children.

Background: Autistic children and adults have known differences in motor performance, including postural instability and atypical gross motor control. Few studies have specifically tested dynamic postural control. This is the first study to quantify movement smoothness and its relationship to task performance during lateral dynamic postural control tasks in autism.

Effects of Intersectionality Along the Pathway to Diagnosis for Autistic Children With and Without Co-occurring Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in a Nationally-Representative Sample.

Children with complex behavioral profiles (e.g., ASD + ADHD) may experience delays in obtaining a final diagnosis.

Autistic Children Use Less Efficient Goal-Directed Whole Body Movements Compared to Neurotypical Development.

Autistic children have differences in their movements which impact their functional performance. Virtual-reality enables researchers to study movement in safe, engaging environments. We used motion-capture to measure how 7-13-year-old autistic and neurotypical children make whole-body movements in a virtual-reality task.

Motor skills predict adaptive behavior in autistic children and adolescents.

It is well-documented that intelligence quotient (IQ) is a poor predictor of adaptive behavior scores in autism, with autistic children having lower adaptive behavior scores than would be predicted based on their IQ scores. Differences in motor skills may explain the variability in their adaptive behavior scores. The current study examined how motor skills might explain autistic individuals' low adaptive behavior scores and which individual components of IQ (i.

What Can We Do to Promote Mental Health Among Individuals With Developmental Coordination Disorder?

Purpose Of The Review: It is well-documented that individuals with DCD experience mental health problems, in both psychosocial and psychiatric domains. In this review, we propose a series of diverse options to improve mental health among individuals with DCD.

Recent Findings: Despite recognition of mental health problems in DCD, relatively little work has been done to develop effective interventions.

Post-processing integration and semi-automated analysis of eye-tracking and motion-capture data obtained in immersive virtual reality environments to measure visuomotor integration.

Mobile eye-tracking and motion-capture techniques yield rich, precisely quantifiable data that can inform our understanding of the relationship between visual and motor processes during task performance. However, these systems are rarely used in combination, in part because of the significant time and human resources required for post-processing and analysis. Recent advances in computer vision have opened the door for more efficient processing and analysis solutions.

Shared Features or Co-occurrence? Evaluating Symptoms of Developmental Coordination Disorder in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Motor differences are common in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but rarely evaluated against diagnostic criteria for Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). We aimed to determine whether motor problems in ASD represent the possible co-occurrence of DCD. We retrospectively reviewed standardized assessments and parent-reports to evaluate motor ability in 43 individuals with ASD against diagnostic criteria for DCD, and compared to 18 individuals with DCD.

Preliminary Improvements in Dynamic Postural Control after A Group-based Intervention Program for Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Brief Report.

Objective: To determine the value of a traditional (easy to implement) group-based intervention program on both static and dynamic postural control in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD).

Methods: Sway and stability indices were measured with the Clinical Test of Sensory Integration in Balance (CTSIB) and efficiency of goal-directed movement was measured during a Limits-of-Stability (LoS) task, before and after the intervention program. The intervention involved a total of 10 one-hour group sessions, administered once per week for 10 weeks.

Plasma trimethylamine N-oxide, a gut microbe-generated phosphatidylcholine metabolite, is associated with autism spectrum disorders.

Objective: The compositions of the gut microbiota and its metabolites were altered in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The aim of this study was to assess whether plasma levels of gut-derived metabolite trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) were associated with ASD and the degree of symptom severity.

Methods: From September 2017 to January 2019, a total of three hundred and twenty-eight Chinese children (164 with ASD and 164 their age-sex matched control subjects) aged 3-8 years were included.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder, and typical development differ in characteristics of dynamic postural control: A preliminary study.

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are developmental disorders with distinct definitions and symptoms. However, both conditions share difficulties with motor skills, including impairments in postural control. While studies have explored postural sway variables in children with DCD and ASD as compared to typical development (TD), few have used kinematic data to assess the magnitude of differences between these two neurodevelopmental conditions.

Behavioral comparisons in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Coordination Disorder: A systematic literature review.

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) are developmental disorders that, since the DSM-5, can be diagnosed as co-occurring conditions. While some recent studies suggest that ASD and DCD have similar traits, others show clear behavioral distinctions between the two conditions. By gathering all studies that included (1) an ASD group and a DCD group, (2) an ASD+DCD group and a DCD group, or (3) ASD, ASD+DCD, and DCD groups, we aimed to identify similarities and differences in behaviors between the two disorders.

Development of a novel visuomotor integration paradigm by integrating a virtual environment with mobile eye-tracking and motion-capture systems.

Visuomotor integration (VMI), the use of visual information to guide motor planning, execution, and modification, is necessary for a wide range of functional tasks. To comprehensively, quantitatively assess VMI, we developed a paradigm integrating virtual environments, motion-capture, and mobile eye-tracking. Virtual environments enable tasks to be repeatable, naturalistic, and varied in complexity.

Human-like object tracking and gaze estimation with PKD android.

As the use of robots increases for tasks that require human-robot interactions, it is vital that robots exhibit and understand human-like cues for effective communication. In this paper, we describe the implementation of object tracking capability on Philip K. Dick (PKD) android and a gaze tracking algorithm, both of which further robot capabilities with regard to human communication.

Level of Immersion in Virtual Environments Impacts the Ability to Assess and Teach Social Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Virtual environments (VEs) may be useful for delivering social skills interventions to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Immersive VEs provide opportunities for individuals with ASD to learn and practice skills in a controlled replicable setting. However, not all VEs are delivered using the same technology, and the level of immersion differs across settings.

Cognitive set shifting deficits and their relationship to repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorder.

The neurocognitive impairments associated with restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not yet clear. Prior studies indicate that individuals with ASD show reduced cognitive flexibility, which could reflect difficulty shifting from a previously learned response pattern or a failure to maintain a new response set. We examined different error types on a test of set-shifting completed by 60 individuals with ASD and 55 age- and nonverbal IQ-matched controls.