Physical activity (PA) and social interaction (SI) are often challenging for autistic children, especially during recess at school. The aim of this study was to identify the PA levels and social...Show morePhysical activity (PA) and social interaction (SI) are often challenging for autistic children, especially during recess at school. The aim of this study was to identify the PA levels and social interaction and to examine the relationship between the PA levels and SI. Participants included fifty-three children diagnosed with ASD between the ages of 4 and 13 years. Multi-motion receivers measured PA levels and (1) video observations and (2) proximity sensors (RFID) resulted in data for SI. Results showed that, during recess, a significant difference was found between sedentary activity and light-to-moderate and vigorous activity. More time was spent in sedentary activity. Also, according to the proximity sensors, autistic children spent more time in interaction than alone. However, for the video observations, autistic children spent more time alone than in interaction, but this difference was insignificant. A positive correlation was found between vigorous activity and interaction time (RFID). Supporting the notion that PA is positively correlated to SI. Further research is necessary to minimize the limitations and to better understand the needs regarding PA and SA in autistic children during recess.Show less
Peer-mediated interventions (PMI) can be administered to young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This evidence-based intervention is implemented with typically developing peers, who are...Show morePeer-mediated interventions (PMI) can be administered to young people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This evidence-based intervention is implemented with typically developing peers, who are trained on behavioral and social strategies, in order to improve the social, communication, and play skills of children and adolescents with ASD. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of PMI and the moderating effect of peer training strategies, particularly direct instruction and video modeling. Following a systematic search, a meta-regression analysis was conducted, including a total of 12 studies. Overall, PMI was found to be an effective intervention for the social, communication, and play skills of children and adolescents with autism. The present study also found that both direct instruction and video modeling are appropriate peer training strategies to employ in PMI, and that the effectiveness of this intervention is not dependent on the type of training that is delivered to the peer workers. Future research is recommended on this area, as several limitations and data inconsistencies were found. Future studies should consider higher sample sizes, reporting follow-up and generalization data, and exploring potential mediators and moderators.Show less
Socialisation for children and adolescents is fundamental for their well-being and overall development. Schools are where children spend most of their day, so it is important to inquire about their...Show moreSocialisation for children and adolescents is fundamental for their well-being and overall development. Schools are where children spend most of their day, so it is important to inquire about their peer interactions and reciprocal friendships in the schoolyard. Autistic children have shown to have smaller social networks than non-autistic children. Therefore, exploring how reciprocal friendships can be beneficial for their peer interactions may deliver opportunities to create more inclusive environments at schoolyards. The current study was a cross-sectional correlational design. It was part of a longitudinal study which aimed to create an inclusive environment for students outside the classroom. The sample consisted of 99 Dutch speaking participants, 47% autistic and 53% non-autistic children with ages ranging between 8 and 14 years old (M = 10.8, SD = 1.2). The sample included 35% females and 66% males, who attended 21 different classes in two special education primary schools in The Netherlands. Data was collected during break time using proximity sensors (RFID) to measure peer interactions on the playground. The variables analysed were the total interaction time and the number of interaction partners. For measuring reciprocal friendships, a self-report to nominate their best friends was used. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) performed showed that autistic children had lower levels of reciprocal friendships (F(4, 94) = 3.98, p = .049) but a higher number of interaction partners (F(4, 94) = 4.19, p = .043) than non-autistic children. Nonetheless, there were no differences between the interaction time for both groups (F(4, 94) = 0.74, p = 0.391). Also, hierarchical regression analysis conducted showed that reciprocal friendship gave a significant contribution to total interaction time (β = .237, t = 2.35, p =.021), but did not influence the number of interaction partners on the school playground. In conclusion, non-autistic and autistic children were different in reciprocal friendships and peer interactions on the playground. As one of the biggest challenges for autistic children is to engage in social interactions, knowing that friend’s support can increase opportunities to interact with others may contribute to create more inclusive environments that enable their overall development.Show less
Introduction: Children with autism experience difficulties in daily life due to impairments in social functioning and adaptive functioning. These impairments differ from person to person, as autism...Show moreIntroduction: Children with autism experience difficulties in daily life due to impairments in social functioning and adaptive functioning. These impairments differ from person to person, as autism concerns a spectrum of symptoms. As metacognition (the ability to monitor and control one’s own thought processes) is said to be related to executive functioning and social cognition, impairments in metacognition might explain difficulties in daily functioning of autistic children. Therefore, the relationship between metacognition, emotion recognition and the quality of children with ASD-symptoms was examined. Method: 25 boys and 21 girls between the age of 8-16 (M = 10) from primary- and secondary schools in and around Leiden participated by performing the Thinking Aloud- task (metacognition) and Morphed Face Emotion Recognition Task, as well as completing the Cantril ladder (quality of life. One parent of each participant completed the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 to measure ASD-symptoms. Results: ASD-symptoms did not significantly correlate to metacognition (F(1.39) = 1.911, p = .175, R² = .047). Furthermore, metacognitive skills did not significantly predict emotion recognition skills (,F(1.41) = .073, p = .789, R² = .002). Neither metacognition nor emotion recognition was a significant predictor of the quality of life of children (F(2.40) = .683, p = .511, R² = .033). Conclusion: Due to the small sample, the current findings should be interpreted carefully. However, this study underscores the importance of examining the individual strengths and needs of children to promote their personal development and well-being. Future research within a larger sample should further investigate the role of metacognition in relation to the well-being of children in different contexts to better support pupils according to their neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses. This might not only contribute to the well-being of the individual child, but might also be beneficial for society as a whole.Show less
While a general emotion recognition impairment in autistic individuals has been suggested in the past, more recent findings propose that alexithymia plays a major role in this relationship....Show moreWhile a general emotion recognition impairment in autistic individuals has been suggested in the past, more recent findings propose that alexithymia plays a major role in this relationship. Interoception has been theorized to be a factor explaining interindividual differences in emotion recognition and possibly mediating the relationship between alexithymia and emotion recognition. Both alexithymia and autism, have been found to be negatively related to measures of interoception. Therefore, we investigated whether alexithymia, not autism, would be a significant predictor of emotion recognition performance and hypothesized that trait levels of autism and alexithymia would be negatively related to measures of interoception. Additionally, we explored whether interoception mediates the expected negative relationship between trait levels and emotion recognition. A total of 100 participants completed a naturalistic emotion recognition task, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Cambridge Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (IAS), and the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ) in an online environment. Our hypotheses regarding the relationship between trait levels and emotion recognition, as well as interoception as a mediator, were not supported. However, in line with our expectations, we did observe a marginally significant effect indicating a negative relationship between interoception and alexithymia. Overall, our findings endorse research that links interoception with alexithymia and hence, provide an indication of why alexithymia, not autism, could be a mechanism in emotion recognition impairments. However, to understand the interplay between all factors more thoroughly, further research is necessary. We discuss how an improved understanding could have important implications for the conceptualization of autism.Show less
Children diagnosed with a autism spectrum disorder are dealing with social difficulties in everyday life. They tend to have more problems during social interaction than children without autism....Show moreChildren diagnosed with a autism spectrum disorder are dealing with social difficulties in everyday life. They tend to have more problems during social interaction than children without autism. Also, children with autism experience lower levels of social well-being and higher levels of social anxiety. The current study examines whether the severity of social impairments affects the social well-being of children with autism. A total of 48 Dutch children with autism (38 boys, 7 girls), between age 8 and 17 were included in the current study. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was used to measure the severity of social impairments. To measure the ability to recognize emotions and expressions, the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces-set (KDEF) was used. The Nederlandse Persoonlijkheidsvragenlijst (NPV-J) was used to measure the degree of social anxiety. No significant results were found in the current study, which implies that social impairments has no clear effect on social anxiety.Show less
Most research on autism and coping is focused on parents of children with autism. There is a lack of understanding how individuals with autism cope themselves and how it may relate to their mental...Show moreMost research on autism and coping is focused on parents of children with autism. There is a lack of understanding how individuals with autism cope themselves and how it may relate to their mental health. Every year more people with autism enroll into higher education, which calls for a better understanding of the potential difficulties they may face. This study focused on the relationship between autism, primary coping style and depressive symptoms in a sample of university students with and without a diagnosis of autism. A cross-sectional online survey (n = 222) was administered to explore how these factors relate by using multiple questionnaires measuring coping style, depressive symptoms, autism diagnosis and autism symptoms. Results showed that primary coping style was associated with depressive symptoms. Avoidant coping in particular was related to more depressive symptoms. However, there was no significant link between autism diagnosis and depressive symptoms. The study also found that students with autism were more likely to use avoidant and emotion-focused coping styles compared to problem-focused coping. Furthermore, coping style seems to be responsible for higher levels of depressive symptoms in students with autism, and not the autism diagnosis itself. Implications and alternative explanations for these results are discussed, together with suggestions for future research.Show less
While a general emotion recognition impairment in autistic individuals has been suggested in the past, more recent findings propose that alexithymia plays a major role in this relationship....Show moreWhile a general emotion recognition impairment in autistic individuals has been suggested in the past, more recent findings propose that alexithymia plays a major role in this relationship. Interoception has been theorized to be a factor explaining interindividual differences in emotion recognition and possibly mediating the relationship between alexithymia and emotion recognition. Both alexithymia and autism, have been found to be negatively related to measures of interoception. Therefore, we investigated whether alexithymia, not autism, would be a significant predictor of emotion recognition performance and hypothesized that trait levels of autism and alexithymia would be negatively related to measures of interoception. Additionally, we explored whether interoception mediates the expected negative relationship between trait levels and emotion recognition. A total of 100 participants completed a naturalistic emotion recognition task, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Cambridge Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), the Interoceptive Accuracy Scale (IAS), and the Body Perception Questionnaire (BPQ) in an online environment. Our hypotheses regarding the relationship between trait levels and emotion recognition, as well as interoception as a mediator, were not supported. However, in line with our expectations, we did observe a marginally significant effect indicating a negative relationship between interoception and alexithymia. Overall, our findings endorse research that links interoception with alexithymia and hence, provide an indication of why alexithymia, not autism, could be a mechanism in emotion recognition impairments. However, to understand the interplay between all factors more thoroughly, further research is necessary. We discuss how an improved understanding could have important implications for the conceptualization of autism.Show less
The medical model defines autism as disorder and disability which includes deficits in social communication, repetitive behaviour, abnormalities in sensory processing and cognition. The definition...Show moreThe medical model defines autism as disorder and disability which includes deficits in social communication, repetitive behaviour, abnormalities in sensory processing and cognition. The definition implies a need for a cure and alleviating autistic traits. However, the medical model has been challenged by the neurodiversity model, which understands autism as a neurological difference rather than a disorder. The neurodiversity movement started in English speaking autistic online communities and aims to embrace the differences, reduce stigma and create autistic culture. This thesis aims to find out if, and in what ways, do Japanese autistic Youtubers challenge the medical model. There is a lack of studies on Japanese autistic communities, neurodiversity movement and first-person views. Ten YouTube videos made on autism by Japanese autistic or other neurodivergent people were selected for qualitative narrative analysis. While most YouTubers presented a conception similar to the medical model, they also subtly challenged it by presenting themselves as an authority on autism, showing the positive sides of autism, critiquing universal applicability of stereotypes, using labels for autism created in autistic communities and suggesting changes in the socio-cultural environment as a way to mitigate challenges. While there were no direct references to the neurodiversity movement, there has been an increase in online content made by autistic people, which enables changes in discourse in future.Show less
Since its inception, many changes to the concept of ‘autism’ have been suggested, by both autistic people and researchers. Recently, the number of people diagnosed with a form of autism has...Show moreSince its inception, many changes to the concept of ‘autism’ have been suggested, by both autistic people and researchers. Recently, the number of people diagnosed with a form of autism has increased, and a contemporary topic of discussion is whether it should be defined as a disorder, a mere human variation, or something else. As society is inclined to stigmatise eccentricity, it is important that the definition used does not harm autistic people, or misrepresent the large variety of their experiences. This thesis argues that the fifth Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders’ (DSM-5) current conceptualisation of autism as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’ is both inaccurate and dangerous. Definitions from all DSMs are described, and the motivations behind the changes between DSMs are considered, alongside arguments from a collection of philosophers. The conclusion is that the components ‘Spectrum’ and ‘Disorder’ in ‘ASD’ risk inciting stigmatisation and suggest a more uniform expression than autism actually has. Thus, an alternative definition much be found. This alternative, which could be pursued through further research, should give autistic people a way to think about their identity, and non-autistic people a way to accurately understand and describe the diverse autistic experiences, both negative and positive.Show less
Personal pronouns are deictic terms which, unlike most other words, are characterized by the lack of a stable reference. They shift the referent with every change of speaker in a conversation. In...Show morePersonal pronouns are deictic terms which, unlike most other words, are characterized by the lack of a stable reference. They shift the referent with every change of speaker in a conversation. In the process of language acquisition, children have to discover how to comprehend and produce personal deixis correctly, which demands knowledge of speech roles. To study this process, researchers have focused mainly on pronoun analysis. In this thesis, we suggest that turn taking can also be used for this purpose, since this interactional system constitutes the context where language is learned. We analysed turn taking competence, role reversing competence and correct personal deixis production in typically developing and autistic children. Our results showed different performance between groups, and suggest that turn taking competence is positively correlated with correct deixis production. To sum up, this is the first study to point out the importance of children's competence in turn taking to measure and study personal deixis acquistion.Show less
Background: Several studies have shown that problems in the executive functions (EF) underlie social deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The 'Socio-cognitive integration of abilities model’...Show moreBackground: Several studies have shown that problems in the executive functions (EF) underlie social deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The 'Socio-cognitive integration of abilities model’ has shown that there is an interaction between cognitive functions and the factors which influence social behaviour. Aim: This research focuses on the predictive value of executive functions (inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory) and receptive language on the social behaviour of typically developing young children. Method: 38 children between 3 and 6 years (M = 4.2, SD = .99) of age participated in this study. In a quantitative study the results of the receptive language test and questionnaires about social deficits and executive functioning were analysed. The ‘Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III-NL’ was used to assess receptive language and parent-report questionnaire measures ‘Social Responsiveness Scale’ and ‘Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functions Preschool version’ were used to assess social problems and executive functions, respectively. Results: This study shows that receptive language and executive functions (subtests: inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) were related to social problems. Higher levels of problems in working memory and cognitive flexibility were associated with more social problems. However, higher levels of problems in inhibition were related to less social problems. Higher levels of receptive language were related to less social problems. Discussion: Results and suggestions for future research are discussed.Show less
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by limitations of social communication, limitations of social interaction and rigid patterns of activities and interests. Various studies have...Show moreAutism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by limitations of social communication, limitations of social interaction and rigid patterns of activities and interests. Various studies have shown that children with ASD have a lower extrinsic motivation. They are less motivated to take action when someone is requesting to perform a task. Due to the lower extrinsic motivation, children with ASD are more dependent on the intrinsic motivation to accomplish a task successfully. The main question of this study: does a relationship between intrinsic motivation and the degree of ASD characteristics exist? The study was conducted on a sample of 32 children, six of them are diagnosed with ASD. Correlation analysis showed a significant relation between intrinsic motivation and the degree of ASD characteristics. In addition a significant relation between affective intrinsic motivation and degree of ASD characteristics were found. There was no significant relation found between instrumental intrinsic motivation and degree of ASD characteristics. The results of the present study are consistent with previous studies which suggested an association between intrinsic motivation and ASD characteristics. Further research about the development of intrinsic motivation for children with ASD is necessary, so that interventions can be aligned.Show less
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, which causes qualitative impairments in various aspects of the social development. Pregnancy onset at a higher age of the mother and a higher exposure...Show moreAutism is a pervasive developmental disorder, which causes qualitative impairments in various aspects of the social development. Pregnancy onset at a higher age of the mother and a higher exposure to prenatal testosterone can have a negative association with the social development of children. However, it’s unknown if children develop even more negatively when both factors are present. This study focuses on the impact of both factors independently and the interaction of both factors on the social development of normally developed children. The impact of the age of pregnancy onset on the social development of children, was measured with the Social Responsiveness Scale in 245 mothers (M = 30.34, SD = 4.75) and their children (M = 3.46, SD = 0.51). Exposure to prenatal testosterone was studied with the 2D:4D ratio in a subsample of 47 mothers and children (M = 3.46, SD = 0.22). First the age of pregnancy onset of the mother was studied and second the exposure to prenatal testosterone. Third, the impact of both factors on the social development was studied in 46 three year old normally developed children. Results showed no significant effects for the age of pregnancy onset and only a negative tendency for prenatal testosterone exposure. Thereby, results showed an interaction effect with both factors present on the social development of children. We concluded that the social development in three year old normally developed children was more impaired when both factors were present. These insights bring more understanding to the impact of various prenatal factors on the social development in normally developed children.Show less
The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the degree youngsters with ADHD and/or autism are able to use psychosocial skills, so as to offer active aid to teach these missing...Show moreThe purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the degree youngsters with ADHD and/or autism are able to use psychosocial skills, so as to offer active aid to teach these missing skills. A possible connection to gender and age was also investigated. In this study four basal psychosocial skills were investigated, namely: ‘relational skills’, ‘affective skills’, ‘selfcontrol’ and ‘self-awareness’. By means of a questionnaire filled in by parents and guardians data was collected of 408 youngsters aged four to eighteen years old. The research questions have been answered by means of multiple variance analyses. Youngsters with ADHD and/or autism have less developed psychosocial skills compared to youngsters without a developmental disorder. In this case youngsters with only ADHD and youngsters with only autism have better social skills than youngsters with both ADHD and autism. Between youngsters with ADHD and youngsters with autism there were no noticeable differences, but girls have developed better psychosocial skills than boys. These results can be used by parents, teachers and social workers to offer extra support to youngsters with ADHD and/or autism with regard to the development of their psychosocial skills. This way youngsters with ADHD and/or autism can hopefully develop these skills in a better way, which could contribute to their performance and wellbeing.Show less
Almost all children with ASD show impaired language development, probably due to deficits in joint attention skills. This study examines the role of joint attention and parental sensitivity in the...Show moreAlmost all children with ASD show impaired language development, probably due to deficits in joint attention skills. This study examines the role of joint attention and parental sensitivity in the development of expressive and receptive language skills of children with AD and PDD. Sixty-nine children between 16 and 61 months of age and diagnosed with ASD were observed during joint attention tasks and parent-child interactions by using the ESCS and the EAS. Language development was measured with the Dutch versions of the Reynell, the Schlichting and the CDIs. An independent samples t-test show differences in all variables between children with AD and children with PDD. Hierarchical regression analyses show that according to children with PDD, parental sensitivity is the most important predictor of language production and language comprehension; joint attention doesn’t play any role. However, according to children with AD joint attention is a stronger predictor than parental sensitivity, with a more important role for reactive joint attention. Sensitivity predicts the joint attention level in this group. These results could provide handles for developing more specific interventions to foster language development of children with different types of ASD.Show less
This research has been conducted with the objective to study the role of executive functions (EF); inhibition, working memory and flexibility in the prediction of behavior problems in children with...Show moreThis research has been conducted with the objective to study the role of executive functions (EF); inhibition, working memory and flexibility in the prediction of behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The children in the research group were selected via different centers in the Netherlands and consists of 29 boys and 4 girls. The ages vary between 8.2 and 14.1 years. The different EF have been measured by three different tasks out of the ANT (STS, SSV, GoNoGo) and with the help of the DEX questionnaire, which has been filled in by the parents. The behavior problems; emotional problems, hyperactivity, conduct disorder and pro-social behavior have also been measured by using the questionnaire filled in by the parents (SDQ). From within the SSV the results show that it turns out that inhibition is a predictor for hyperactivity. Furthermore only the DEX questionnaire turns out to be a predictor for different behavioral problems. It is found that emotional problems cannot be predicted from executive dysfunctions. The current study reveals that executive dysfunctions are a predictical factor for behavioral problems. Distinction in which EF are predictive for a certain type behavior problems cannot be made.Show less
