The role of every-day executive function in social impairment and adaptive skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder with intellectual disability

Background: Although executive function (EF) deficits are a recognised component of the cognitive phenotype of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly in children without general intellectual delay, little is known about ecological measures of EF and their outcome correlates among individuals with ASD and co-occurring intellectual disability. This exploratory study examined every-day EF in the classroom among children and adolescents diagnosed with both ASD and intellectual disability (ASD-ID) and their correlations with social impairment anadaptive functioning. Method: Teachers of 40 children and adolescents diagnosed with ASD-ID completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and the Social Responsiveness Scale. Results: A global executive dysfunction profile was found in ASD-ID, with most prominent deficits occurring in shifting. Results also showed that metacognitive executive processes predicted adaptive communication skills above and beyond IQ and social impairment in ASD-ID. Conclusions: Our findings corroborate a specific metacognitive executive function-adaptive communication association in ASD. EF interventions might be important treatment targets for improving functioning, especially in the communicative domain, in ASD-ID

Easing the transition to secondary education for children with autism spectrum disorder: An evaluation of the Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD)

In mainstream education, the transition from primary to secondary school ('school transition') is difficult for children with autism spectrum disorder, being marked by high levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The Systemic Transition in Education Programme for Autism Spectrum Disorder (STEP-ASD) is a new, manualised school transition intervention. We investigated its feasibility and efficacy for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (N = 37; mean age = 11.47 years; mean IQ = 85.24) using an unblinded, non-randomised, controlled design. Teachers found the intervention feasible and acceptable. Children receiving STEP-ASD (n = 17) showed a large (Cohen's d = 0.88) reduction in school-reported emotional and behavioural difficulties, whereas controls (n = 20) showed a slight increase (d = -0.1) (p = 0.010). These encouraging findings suggest the value of STEP-ASD as a low-intensity intervention for reducing problem behaviours and distress in children with autism spectrum disorder as they transition to mainstream secondary school

Mid-childhood outcomes of infant siblings at familial high-risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Almost one-in-five infants at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), due to having an older sibling with an ASD diagnosis, develop ASD themselves by age 3 years. Less is known about the longer-term outcomes of high-risk infants. To address this issue, we examined symptoms of ASD and associated developmental conditions (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); anxiety), language, IQ, and adaptive behaviour at age 7 years in high- and low-risk children studied from infancy. We compared outcomes between high-risk children who met criteria for ASD at age 7, high-risk children without ASD, and low-risk control children. Diagnostic stability between 3 and 7 years was moderate. High-risk siblings with ASD showed elevated levels of ADHD and anxiety symptoms and lower adaptive behaviour than low-risk control children. High-risk siblings without ASD had higher repetitive behaviours, lower adaptive functioning, and elevated scores on one anxiety subscale (Separation Anxiety) compared to low-risk controls. The findings indicate that the difficulties experienced by high-risk siblings at school age extend beyond ASD symptoms. Better understanding of these difficulties may improve models of the development of co-occurring problems seen in children with ASD. Autism Res 2016