Conference proceedings: Inaugural meeting of the consortium for autism, genetic neurodevelopmental disorders, and digestive diseases.

Objectives: Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often experience a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms but have complex medical and behavioral comorbidities that make diagnosis and treatment difficult. A multi-stakeholder conference was convened to (a) determine patient and family experiences related to GI symptoms in NDDs, (b) review the clinicians' and researchers' perspectives, and (c) determine actionable steps for future research.

Methods: The Consortium for Autism, Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Digestive Diseases (CANDID; www.

Food, nutrition, and autism: from soil to fork.

Food and nutrition-related factors have the potential to impact development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and quality of life for people with ASD, but gaps in evidence exist. On 10 November 2022, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute hosted a 1-d meeting to explore the evidence and evidence gaps regarding the relationships of food and nutrition with ASD. This meeting report summarizes the presentations and deliberations from the meeting.

Diagnostic certainty during in-person and telehealth autism evaluations.

Background: Many diagnostic evaluations abruptly shifted to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, little is known about the impact on diagnosis patterns for children evaluated for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this clinical research study was to examine (1) the frequency of diagnoses evaluated beyond ASD; (2) the frequency of diagnoses made, including ASD; and (3) clinician diagnostic certainty for all diagnoses evaluated for children who received an evaluation due to primary concerns about ASD via telehealth during the pandemic compared to those evaluated in person before the pandemic at an ASD specialty clinic.

Methods: The sample included 2192 children, 1-17 years ( = 6.

A pilot, single-arm feasibility study of an integrated cognitive-behavioral treatment for anxiety in young autistic children.

Objective: Anxiety is prevalent in young autistic children under 7 years of age. Yet there is a paucity of empirically based interventions for this age group. DINO Strategies for Anxiety and Uncertainty Reduction (DINOSAUR) is an innovative cognitive behavioral intervention that seeks to optimize treatment response in young autistic children by targeting anxiety and the contributing mechanisms of intolerance of uncertainty and parental accommodation using a telehealth delivery model.

Accelerometer-assessed sleep and decline in physical function in older men.

Objectives: Assess the prospective association of actigraphically measured sleep with self-report and objective measures of physical function among community-dwelling older men.

Methods: Participants were (n = 1496) men aged ≥65 years from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study and ancillary sleep study who were followed up at 4 years for physical function outcomes. Sleep predictors included baseline total sleep time (<6, 6-8 hours [reference], >8 hours), sleep efficiency (<80% or ≥80% [reference]), wake after sleep onset (<90 [reference] or ≥90 minutes), and sleep onset latency (<30 [reference] or ≥30 minutes), measured by wrist actigraphy.

Self-Report Measurement of Well-Being in Autistic Adults: Psychometric Properties of the PERMA Profiler.

Background: Studies of positive psychology and emotional well-being have broadened our understanding of mental health. However, mental health research involving autistic adults has been largely deficit-focused. Few studies have examined well-being using established positive psychological frameworks.

Association of Time in Bed, Social Jetlag, and Sleep Disturbances With Cognitive Performance in Children With ADHD.

Objectives: Children with ADHD commonly exhibit sleep disturbances, but there is limited knowledge about how sleep and sleep timing are associated with cognitive dysfunction in children with ADHD.

Methods: Participants were 350 children aged 5 to 12 years diagnosed with ADHD. Three sleep-related constructs-time in bed, social jetlag (i.

Alcohol Use Patterns Among Underage Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth.

Purpose: We explored factors predicting repeated or hazardous alcohol use among autistic and non-autistic U.S. youth ages 16 to 20 years.

Caregiver perspectives on the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted caregivers, especially those raising a child with an intellectual/developmental disability (IDD). While research has shown substantial disruption to the family, school, and occupational lives of the IDD community, little is known about the long-term impacts of COVID-19. To address this question, 249 caregivers were surveyed via an online questionnaire, between April and August of 2022 (more than 2 years into the pandemic) about potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their child's access to health- and school-based therapeutic services, caregiver mental health, and family life.

Gastrointestinal Dysfunction in Genetically Defined Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in most forms of neurodevelopment disorders (NDDs) such as in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current patient-reported outcome measures with validated questionnaires used in the general population of children without NDDS cannot be used in the autistic individuals. We explore here the multifactorial pathophysiology of ASD and the role of genetics and the environment in this disease spectrum and focus instead on possible diagnostics that could provide future objective insight into the connection of the gut-brain-microbiome in this disease entity.

Genetic liability for gastrointestinal inflammation disorders and association with gastrointestinal symptoms in children with and without autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a greater prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms than children without ASD. We tested whether polygenic scores for each of three GI disorders (ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and Crohn's disease) were related to GI symptoms in children with and without ASD. Using genotyping data (564 ASD cases and 715 controls) and external genome-wide association study summary statistics, we computed GI polygenic scores for ulcerative colitis (UC-PGS), inflammatory bowel disease (IDB-PGS), and Crohn's disease (CD-PGS).

Prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms among autistic individuals, with and without co-occurring intellectual disability.

Gastrointestinal symptoms (GI) are very common among individuals on the autism spectrum. Prior research reports mixed findings regarding whether individuals with autism and co-occurring intellectual disability (ID) have elevated risk of gastrointestinal symptoms relative to individuals with autism alone. GI symptoms can be challenging to assess in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or ID given challenges with language, communication, and interoception.

Association of common infections with cognitive performance in the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area study follow-up.

Introduction: Growing evidence suggests that some common infections are causally associated with cognitive impairment; however, less is known about the burden of multiple infections.

Methods: We investigated the cross-sectional association of positive antibody tests for herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), and Toxoplasma gondii (TOX) with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and delayed verbal recall performance in 575 adults aged 41-97 from the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area Study.

Results: In multivariable-adjusted zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) regression models, positive antibody tests for CMV (p = .

Exploring the Symptom Profiles of Intolerance of Uncertainty in Autistic Children.

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a multidimensional construct involving maladaptive responses to uncertainty. IU is strongly associated with autism and anxiety, yet no studies have examined its symptom profile in autistic children. This study compares IU symptom profiles in autistic and NT children and in autistic children with and without anxiety using the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children.

Profiles and correlates of language and social communication differences among young autistic children.

Delays in early language development are characteristic of young autistic children, and one of the most recognizable first concerns that motivate parents to seek a diagnostic evaluation for their child. Although early language abilities are one of the strongest predictors of long-term outcomes, there is still much to be understood about the role of language impairment in the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of autism. Using a person-centered, Latent Profile Analysis, we first aimed to identify distinct patterns of language and social communication ability in a clinic-based sample of 498 autistic children, ranging in age from 18 to 60 months ( = 33 mo, = 12 mo).

Replication study for ADOS-2 cut-offs to assist evaluation of autism spectrum disorder.

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) has been widely used for ASD assessment. While prior studies investigated sensitivity and specificity of ADOS-2 Modules 1-3, there has been limited research addressing algorithm cut-off scores to optimize ADOS-2 classification. The goal of this study was to assess algorithm cut-off scores for diagnosing ASD with Modules 1-3, and to evaluate alignment of the ADOS-2 classification with the best estimate clinical diagnosis.

Sex Hormones, Sleep, and Memory: Interrelationships Across the Adult Female Lifespan.

As the population of older adults grows, so will the prevalence of aging-related conditions, including memory impairments and sleep disturbances, both of which are more common among women. Compared to older men, older women are up to twice as likely to experience sleep disturbances and are at a higher risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). These sex differences may be attributed in part to fluctuations in levels of female sex hormones (i.

Influences of the Immune System and Microbiome on the Etiology of ASD and GI Symptomology of Autistic Individuals.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental condition associated with impairments in communication and social interactions, and repetitive and restricted behavior or interests. Autistic individuals are more likely to experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms than neurotypical individuals. This may be partially due to dysbiosis of the gut microbiome.

Sluggish cognitive tempo profiles in survivors of childhood cancer as compared to children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Purpose: Neurocognitive late effects including problems with attention have been reported in pediatric oncology survivors. While some researchers have characterized these late effects as similar to symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, inattentive presentation (ADHD-I), there remains some controversy as to whether these concerns in oncology patients are best conceptualized according to an ADHD-I or sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) framework. The aim of this study was to describe SCT symptoms in children with ADHD-I or oncology diagnoses; identify groups of SCT symptoms among children with brain tumors (BT), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), or ADHD-I; and identify whether specific SCT profiles are associated with these diagnoses.

Analysis of Race and Sex Bias in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2).

Importance: There are long-standing disparities in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across race and sex. Surprisingly, few studies have examined whether these disparities arise partially out of systematic biases in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), the reference standard measure of ASD.

Objective: To examine differential item functioning (DIF) of ADOS-2 items across sex and race.

Diagnostic Stability and Phenotypic Differences Among School-Age Children Diagnosed With ASD Before Age 2.

Given the importance of early detection, it is critical to understand the non-linearity in manifestation of ASD before age 24 months, when ASD symptoms are beginning to consolidate, through the age of 36 months when stability of ASD diagnosis is reportedly high into school-age when increased demands may challenge previously successful compensatory processes and permit first ASD detection. We employed a prospective, longitudinal design focused on children with an older sibling with ASD ( = 210) who received diagnostic evaluations at mean ages of 15.4 months (Time 1), 36.

Characteristics of the autism spectrum disorder gastrointestinal and related behaviors inventory in children.

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are one of the prevalent co-occurring issues in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), though the range of symptom frequency estimates varies dramatically across studies, which can limit the further research of GI issues in ASD as well as potential treatment strategies. The wide range of prevalence estimates is partly due to the lack of standardized, validated measures of GI symptoms among people with ASD. The goal of this study was to (1) develop a measure, which included non-verbal and mealtime behaviors, to assess for GI symptoms and (2) evaluate its psychometric characteristics.

Understanding educators' perspectives and experiences of COVID-19 in schools serving children with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted educators, both personally and professionally. However, very little is known about the extent of these impacts among educators' serving children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The present study surveyed 230 educators (teachers, staff, and administrators) to assess their wellbeing, concerns during the pandemic, and perceived importance of various COVID-19 school mitigation strategies.

Associations of household structure and presence of children in the household with mental distress during the early stages of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: The objectives of the current study were to (1) assess associations between household structure (i.e., living with spouse compared to living alone, with children, or with a spouse and children), presence of children, and mental distress in April 2020 and change in mental distress (between April and August 2020); and (2) determine whether these associations are moderated by income or sex.

Gastrointestinal concerns in children with autism spectrum disorder: A qualitative study of family experiences.

Gastrointestinal problems are common in the autism spectrum disorder community and may affect both the person with autism spectrum disorder and their families. However, little research is available on the experiences of families who have a child with both autism spectrum disorder and gastrointestinal symptoms. We held one-on-one interviews with 12 parents of children who had both autism spectrum disorder and gastrointestinal symptoms.