Neurobiological abnormalities in the first few years of life in individuals later diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder : A review of recent data

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Pain sensitivity and observer perception of pain in individuals with autistic spectrum disorder

The peer-reviewed literature investigating the relationship between pain expression and perception of pain in individuals with ASD is sparse. The aim of the present systematic PRIMSA review was twofold: first, to see what evidence there is for the widely held belief that individuals with ASD are insensitive to pain or have a high pain threshold in the peer-reviewed literature and, second, to examine whether individuals with ASD react or express pain differently. Fifteen studies investigating pain in individuals with ASD were identified. The case studies all reported pain insensitivity in individuals with ASD. However, the majority of the ten experimental studies reviewed indicate that the idea that individuals with ASD are pain insensitive needs to be challenged. The findings also highlight the strong possibility that not all children with ASD express their physical discomfort in the same way as a neurotypical child would (i.e., cry, moan, seek comfort, etc.) which may lead caregivers and the medical profession to interpret this as pain insensitivity or incorrectly lead them to believe that the child is in no pain. These results have important implications for the assessment and management of pain in children with ASD

Defendants with intellectual disability and autism spectrum conditions the perspective of clinicians working across three jurisdictions

The treatment of vulnerable defendants by criminal justice systems or correctional systems varies within and between countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine three legal jurisdictions – New South Wales in Australia; Norway; England and Wales – to understand the extent of variation in practice within the court systems for defendants with intellectual disabilities (ID) and/or autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Two of the jurisdictions had a process for screening in place, either in police custody or at court, but this was not universally implemented across each jurisdiction. All three jurisdictions had a process for supporting vulnerable defendants through the legal system. Across the three jurisdictions, there was variation in disposal options from a mandatory care setting to hospital treatment to a custodial sentence for serious offences. This variation requires further international exploration to ensure the rights of defendants with ID or ASC are understood and safeguarde

Broad Perspectives of the Experience of Romantic Relationships and Sexual Education in Neurodivergent Adolescents and Young Adults

Neurodivergent young people tend to struggle with building and maintaining their romantic relationships. Despite this, there appears to be a lack of appropriate sexuality education delivered to them. This review aims to present and discuss the most current literature (conducted between 2015 and current) on romantic relationships and sexuality education in young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and ASD co-occurring with ADHD. Six internet-based bibliographic databases were used for the present review that followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Thirty-one studies were identified in this review. Twenty-six studies investigated the topic in the autistic young population. Four studies explored qualitatively and 11 quantitatively young people’s perspectives of their romantic relationship experiences. One study investigated qualitatively and three quantitatively young people’s perspectives on sexuality education. One study explored qualitatively and five quantitatively young people’s romantic relationship experiences and two explored qualitatively and three quantitatively sexuality education from caregivers’ perspectives. Five studies (all quantitative, self-reports) investigated romantic relationship experiences in the young population with ADHD. The studies conducted on the topic from the educational professionals’ perspectives were absent in the literature. The literature was also non-existent on the topic in the population with ASD co-occurring with ADHD. To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first review exploring romantic relationships and sexuality education in three groups of neurodivergent young people (with ASD, ADHD, and ASD co-occurring with ADHD)

The contributory role of autism symptomology in child pornography offending : why there is an urgent need for empirical research in this area

Purpose As recently highlighted by Creaby-Attwood and Allely (2017) it is crucial that the possible innate vulnerabilities that contributed to sexual offending behaviour in an individual with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taken into consideration for the application of a diversion program to avoid the stigma of a criminal conviction or during sentencing for a non-custodial outcome. Specifically, in those defendants with a diagnosis of what used to be referred to as Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and now is recognised as an ASD and who are charged and convicted of a non-contact sexual offence, education and mental health intervention will best serve the interests of justice. Design/methodology/approach This paper focuses on one particular type of sexual offending behaviour, namely, possession of child pornography. A systematic PRISMA review was conducted. Findings The authors linked examples of child pornography in the research literature to the ASD symptomology and describe how the symptomology explains such behaviour as not reflecting actual sexual deviance. Originality/value Downloading and viewing of child pornography by individuals with ASD has received relatively little research outside the mental health field. This review is of particular importance to those in the criminal justice system who may not have much knowledge and understanding of ASD. It is suggested that diversion programmes and mental health courts should be set up for this particular population charged with this particular crime in mind so that the necessary treatment/intervention/support and care can be given to this particular group. Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Asperger’s syndrome; child pornography; child exploitative material; pretrial diversio

Temporal variability in shell mound formation at Albatross Bay, northern Australia

We report the results of 212 radiocarbon determinations from the archaeological excavation of 70 shell mound deposits in the Wathayn region of Albatross Bay, Australia. This is an intensive study of a closely co-located group of mounds within a geographically restricted area in a wider region where many more shell mounds have been reported. Valves from the bivalve Tegillarca granosa (Linnaeus, 1758) were dated. The dates obtained are used to calculate rates of accumulation for the shell mound deposits. These demonstrate highly variable rates of accumulation both within and between mounds. We assess these results in relation to likely mechanisms of shell deposition and show that rates of deposition are affected by time-dependent processes both during the accumulation of shell deposits and during their subsequent deformation. This complicates the interpretation of the rates at which shell mound deposits appear to have accumulated. At Wathayn, there is little temporal or spatial consistency in the rates at which mounds accumulated. Comparisons between the Wathayn results and those obtained from shell deposits elsewhere, both in the wider Albatross Bay region and worldwide, suggest the need for caution when deriving behavioural inferences from shell mound deposition rates, and the need for more comprehensive sampling of individual mounds and groups of mounds

Prediction of 7-year psychopathology from mother-infant joint attention behaviours: a nested case-control study

Abstract Background: To investigate whether later diagnosis of psychiatric disorder can be predicted from analysis of mother-infant joint attention (JA) behaviours in social-communicative interaction at 12 months. Method: Using data from a large contemporary birth cohort, we examined 159 videos of a mother-infant interaction for joint attention behaviour when children were aged one year, sampled from within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Fifty-three of the videos involved infants who were later considered to have a psychiatric disorder at seven years and 106 were same aged controls. Psychopathologies included in the case group were disruptive behaviour disorders, oppositional-conduct disorder, attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder, pervasive development disorder, anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychiatric diagnoses were obtained using the Development and Wellbeing Assessment when the children were seven years old

Identification and support of autistic individuals within the UK Criminal Justice System: a practical approach based upon professional consensus with input from lived experience.

Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (hereafter referred to as autism) is characterised by difficulties with (i) social communication, social interaction, and (ii) restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours. Estimates of autism prevalence within the criminal justice system (CJS) vary considerably, but there is evidence to suggest that the condition can be missed or misidentified within this population. Autism has implications for an individual’s journey through the CJS, from police questioning and engagement in court proceedings through to risk assessment, formulation, therapeutic approaches, engagement with support services, and long-term social and legal outcomes. Methods: This consensus based on professional opinion with input from lived experience aims to provide general principles for consideration by United Kingdom (UK) CJS personnel when working with autistic individuals, focusing on autistic offenders and those suspected of offences. Principles may be transferable to countries beyond the UK. Multidisciplinary professionals and two service users were approached for their input to address the effective identification and support strategies for autistic individuals within the CJS. Results: The authors provide a consensus statement including recommendations on the general principles of effective identification, and support strategies for autistic individuals across different levels of the CJS. Conclusion: Greater attention needs to be given to this population as they navigate the CJS

Prediction of 7-year psychopathology from mother-infant joint attention behaviours: a nested case–control study

<br>Background: To investigate whether later diagnosis of psychiatric disorder can be predicted from analysis of mother-infant joint attention (JA) behaviours in social-communicative interaction at 12 months.</br> <br>Method: Using data from a large contemporary birth cohort, we examined 159 videos of a mother-infant interaction for joint attention behaviour when children were aged one year, sampled from within the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort. Fifty-three of the videos involved infants who were later considered to have a psychiatric disorder at seven years and 106 were same aged controls. Psychopathologies included in the case group were disruptive behaviour disorders, oppositional-conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pervasive development disorder, anxiety and depressive disorders. Psychiatric diagnoses were obtained using the Development and Wellbeing Assessment when the children were seven years old.</br> <br>Results: None of the three JA behaviours (shared look rate, shared attention rate and shared attention intensity) showed a significant association with the primary outcome of case–control status. Only shared look rate predicted any of the exploratory sub-diagnosis outcomes and was found to be positively associated with later oppositional-conduct disorders (OR [95% CI]: 1.5 [1.0, 2.3]; p = 0.041).</br><br>Conclusions: JA behaviours did not, in general, predict later psychopathology. However, shared look was positively associated with later oppositional-conduct disorders. This suggests that some features of JA may be early markers of later psychopathology. Further investigation will be required to determine whether any JA behaviours can be used to screen for families in need of intervention.</br&gt

Chick Embryo Partial Ischemia Model: A New Approach to Study Ischemia Ex Vivo

Background: Ischemia is a pathophysiological condition due to blockade in blood supply to a specific tissue thus damaging the physiological activity of the tissue. Different in vivo models are presently available to study ischemia in heart and other tissues. However, no ex vivo ischemia model has been available to date for routine ischemia research and for faster screening of anti-ischemia drugs. In the present study, we took the opportunity to develop an ex vivo model of partial ischemia using the vascular bed of 4th day incubated chick embryo. Methodology/Principal Findings: Ischemia was created in chick embryo by ligating the right vitelline artery using sterile surgical suture. Hypoxia inducible factor- 1 alpha (HIF-1a), creatine phospho kinase-MB and reactive oxygen species in animal tissues and cells were measured to confirm ischemia in chick embryo. Additionally, ranolazine, N-acetyl cysteine and trimetazidine were administered as an anti-ischemic drug to validate the present model. Results from the present study depicted that blocking blood flow elevates HIF-1a, lipid peroxidation, peroxynitrite level in ischemic vessels while ranolazine administration partially attenuates ischemia driven HIF-1a expression. Endothelial cell incubated on ischemic blood vessels elucidated a higher level of HIF-1a expression with time while ranolazine treatment reduced HIF-1a in ischemic cells. Incubation of caprine heart strip on chick embryo ischemia model depicted an elevated creatine phospho kinase-MB activity under ischemic condition while histology of the treated heart sections evoked edema and disruption of myofibril structures. Conclusions/Significance: The present study concluded that chick embryo partial ischemia model can be used as a novel ex vivo model of ischemia. Therefore, the present model can be used parallel with the known in vivo ischemia models in understanding the mechanistic insight of ischemia development and in evaluating the activity of anti-ischemic drug.status: publishe