Experiences of Affiliate Stigma and Depressive Symptoms in Caregivers of Autistic Children: The Moderating Effect of Social Support.

Caregivers with an autistic child often experience stigma, which can lead to detrimental mental health consequences. Affiliate stigma is the internalization of, and psychological responses to, stigma experienced due to an individual's association with a person who is stigmatized. Social support has been shown to mediate the relationship between affiliate stigma and depression in caregivers of special needs children.

Brief Report: Positive Caregiver Perceptions on Receiving Research Summary Reports in Autism Longitudinal Research.

Purpose: Although participating in research is often presented as something that can 'help others in the future', research participants may also benefit from accessing and understanding their own research data. However, participant attitudes toward receiving individual data via research reports are under researched. This study examined participant perceptions of research reports within the context of the pilot phase of the Pediatric Autism Research Cohort (PARC) Study.

Exploring the association between social skills struggles and social communication difficulties and depression in youth with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social communication difficulties and social skills abilities that are significantly differ from neurotypical populations as well as restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests. Furthermore, many autistic youth experience co-occurring conditions, with one of the most common being depression. This depression is suggested to be, in part, the result of the relative social isolation experienced by autistic youth.

What parents want: A qualitative analysis of a parent-implemented intervention for autistic children.

Background And Aims: Guidelines regarding social cognitive interventions for autistic children suggest incorporating a holistic approach. This includes increasing the family's understanding of difficulties associated with autism, integrations of natural environments, and parents as active agents in the intervention while being supported for their well-being. The current availability of holistic parent-implemented interventions for autistic children is limited, with no qualitative understanding of how parents view the benefits for themselves or their children.

Updated systematic-narrative review on communication intervention in Rett Syndrome: 2010-2022.

Due to loss of spoken language and resulting complex communication needs, people with Rett syndrome are obvious candidates for communication intervention. To advance evidence-based practice and guide future research efforts, we identified and summarized 16 communication intervention studies published since a previous 2009 review on this topic. Studies were summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) dependent variables related to communication, (c) intervention characteristics, (d) outcomes, and (e) certainty of evidence.

Research priorities of the autism community: A systematic review of key stakeholder perspectives.

It has become very important in autism research to ask the autistic community about what kinds of research they think should be done in order to improve the lives of people with autism. Many studies have reported on research goals from people within the autism community, such as parents of people on the autism spectrum, and practitioners and clinicians who support people on the autism spectrum. So far, the research goals from all of these studies have not been considered together, which is important so that all autism research can be working towards the same goals.

Parent perceptions, beliefs, and fears around genetic treatments and cures for children with Angelman syndrome.

Genetic therapies have shown recent promise in alleviating some of the cognitive issues associated with some genetic disorders; however, these therapies may come with significant health and socio-ethical concerns, particularly when they involve child participants. Little is known about what parents of children with genetic disorders think about genetic therapies, or about their knowledge of how genetic-based therapy might treat their child's symptoms. Forty-two parents of children with Angelman syndrome (AS) and 27 parents of a mixed etiology comparison group completed an online survey reporting on their perceptions of, and priorities for, genetic therapy.

Using a Textual Prompt to Teach Multiword Requesting to Two Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social and communication impairment, but some children appear to have relative strength in areas such as reading printed words. The present study involved two children with limited expressive communication skills, but relatively stronger reading ability. Based on this existing strength, we evaluated a textual prompting procedure for teaching the children to produce multiword spoken requests.

Systematic review of the effectiveness of behaviorally-based interventions for sleep problems in people with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.

Sleep problems are prevalent in people with rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorders (RGND) and, in some cases, RGNDs are associated with specific forms of sleep disturbance that appear relatively unique. Although a notable amount of research has focused on behavioral intervention for sleep problems in people with higher incidence developmental disorders, research focused on potentially modifiable learning and environmental factors for people with RGND has received less attention. This review summarizes empirical evidence from studies providing behavioral interventions for sleep problems in RGND.

Routine HIV Screening as a Standard of Care: Implementing HIV Screening in General Medical Settings, 2013-2015.

Objective: We implemented routine HIV screening as part of the 4-year Care and Prevention in the United States Demonstration Project, whose aim was to reduce HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality among racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. We describe the capacity-building efforts to implement routine HIV screening and provide lessons learned and implications for practice.

Methods: From January 2013 through September 2015, the Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC) implemented routine HIV screening in 7 health care systems in Illinois by providing capacity-building assistance focused on systems and operational infrastructure, staff member skills and organizational structure, and clinic culture.

Early Vocal Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rett Syndrome, and Fragile X Syndrome: Insights from Studies using Retrospective Video Analysis.

This article provides an overview of studies assessing the early vocalisations of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Rett syndrome (RTT), and fragile X syndrome (FXS) using retrospective video analysis (RVA) during the first two years of life. Electronic databases were systematically searched and a total of 23 studies were selected. These studies were then categorised according to whether children were later diagnosed with ASD (13 studies), RTT (8 studies), or FXS (2 studies), and then described in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) control group characteristics, (c) video footage, (d) behaviours analysed, and (e) main findings.

Response to name and its value for the early detection of developmental disorders: Insights from autism spectrum disorder, Rett syndrome, and fragile X syndrome. A perspectives paper.

Background: Responding to one's own name (RtN) has been reported as atypical in children with developmental disorders, yet comparative studies on RtN across syndromes are rare.

Aims: We aim to (a) overview the literature on RtN in different developmental disorders during the first 24 months of life, and (b) report comparative data on RtN across syndromes.

Methods And Procedures: In Part 1, a literature search, focusing on RtN in children during the first 24 months of life with developmental disorders, identified 23 relevant studies.

A Novel Way to Measure and Predict Development: A Heuristic Approach to Facilitate the Early Detection of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Purpose Of Review: Substantial research exists focusing on the various aspects and domains of early human development. However, there is a clear blind spot in early postnatal development when dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders, especially those that manifest themselves clinically only in late infancy or even in childhood.

Recent Findings: This early developmental period may represent an important timeframe to study these disorders but has historically received far less research attention.

Microswitch Technology for Enabling Self-Determined Responding in Children with Profound and Multiple Disabilities: A Systematic Review.

We reviewed 18 studies reporting on the use of microswitch technology to enable self-determined responding in children with profound and multiple disabilities. Identified studies that met pre-determined inclusion criteria were summarized in terms of (a) participants, (b) experimental design, (c) microswitches and procedures used, and (d) main results. The 18 studies formed three groups based on whether the microswitch technology was primarily intended to enable the child to (a) access preferred stimuli (7 studies), (b) choose between stimuli (6 studies), or (c) recruit attention/initiate social interaction (5 studies).

An evaluation of speech production in two boys with neurodevelopmental disorders who received communication intervention with a speech-generating device.

Background: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often present with little or no speech. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) aims to promote functional communication using non-speech modes, but it might also influence natural speech production.

Method: To investigate this possibility, we provided AAC intervention to two boys with neurodevelopmental disorders and severe communication impairment.

Three children with autism spectrum disorder learn to perform a three-step communication sequence using an iPad®-based speech-generating device.

Background: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have limited or absent speech and might therefore benefit from learning to use a speech-generating device (SGD). The purpose of this study was to evaluate a procedure aimed at teaching three children with ASD to use an iPad(®)-based SGD to make a general request for access to toys, then make a specific request for one of two toys, and then communicate a thank-you response after receiving the requested toy.

Method: A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to determine whether systematic instruction involving least-to-most-prompting, time delay, error correction, and reinforcement was effective in teaching the three children to engage in this requesting and social communication sequence.

Tangible Symbols as an AAC Option for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies.

We reviewed nine studies evaluating the use of tangible symbols in AAC interventions for 129 individuals with developmental disabilities. Studies were summarized in terms of participants, tangible symbols used, communication functions/skills targeted for intervention, intervention procedures, evaluation designs, and main findings. Tangible symbols mainly consisted of three-dimensional whole objects or partial objects.

Teaching multi-step requesting and social communication to two children with autism spectrum disorders with three AAC options.

The present study involved comparing the acquisition of multi-step requesting and social communication across three AAC options: manual signing (MS), picture exchange (PE), and speech-generating devices (SGDs). Preference for each option was also assessed. The participants were two children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who had previously been taught to use each option to request preferred items.

Soluble CD30 and Cd27 levels in patients undergoing HLA antibody-incompatible renal transplantation.

HLA antibody-incompatible transplantation has a higher risk of rejection when compared to standard renal transplantation. Soluble CD30 (sCD30) has been shown in many, but not all, studies to be a biomarker for risk of rejection in standard renal transplant recipients. We sought to define the value of sCD30 and soluble CD27 (sCD27) in patients receiving HLA antibody-incompatible transplants.