The psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Social Communication Questionnaire

There is a scarcity of diagnostic assessments and screening tools for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Greek. In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the recently developed Greek version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). We used parental responses for 311 children (mean age: 7.54 years old, SD = 1.92), 122 with a diagnosis of ASD (93 boys, 29 girls) and 189 neurotypical children (104 boys, 85 girls), with 167 responses referring to the Lifetime and 144 to the Current form of the SCQ. Both forms presented adequate construct validity based on the four‐factor model, while in both forms, autistic children presented higher SCQ total and subscale scores (four factors) than typical children. The forms had excellent internal reliability. An item‐response‐theory analysis suggested that over 80% of test items fitted adequately a Rasch model, while a preliminary analysis of gender biases suggested that a small number of items (Lifetime: five; Current: six out of 39) were differentially sensitive to autistic symptomatology in boys and girls. A receiver‐operating‐characteristic analysis showed excellent diagnostic performance based on the SCQ total score (Lifetime: area‐under‐the‐curve/AUC = 0.937, Current: AUC = 0.963), and acceptable to excellent discrimination for the four subscales (AUCs between 0.737 and 0.955). Our preliminary results suggest that the Greek SCQ presents satisfactory psychometric properties and can be used for differentiating children with ASD from typical children in initial assessments within clinical and research settings. LAY SUMMARY: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD or autism) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition with a prevalence of ~1.5%–2% and characterized by difficulties in social interaction and communication and repetitive and restricted behaviors. There is increasing concern that research in ASD has focused on a small number of languages and cultural settings and that this bias challenges the identification and diagnosis of the condition in other languages and cultures, which are underrepresented in autism research. One such language is Greek (spoken by ~13.5 million), for which there is a scarcity of standardized instruments for the diagnosis of autism. This study examines the psychometric properties of the recently published Greek version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), a widely used screening tool for ASD. We conduct an in‐depth psychometric analysis of the Greek SCQ, including both forms in which the instrument is available (Lifetime and Current). This analysis shows that the Greek SCQ can be used for differentiating children with ASD from typical children in initial assessments within clinical and research settings. The findings of this study have implications for clinicians, special educators and researchers working with Greek‐speaking individuals with ASD and, more broadly, for cross‐cultural autism research

What is typical language development?

In light of Musolino, Chunyo and Landau’s findings and conclusions regarding syntax comprehension in Williams syndrome (this issue), we review the criteria used to determine whether the development of language is typical or atypical and our current understanding of the causes of language delay. Given a certain set of theoretical assumptions (e.g., generative / modular), fairly poor performance can nevertheless be viewed as indicating typical development. Given other theoretical assumptions (e.g., a neuroconstructivist view of constrained development), the same data can be viewed as indicative of atypicality

The Presence of Background Noise Extends the Competitor Space in Native and Non‐Native Spoken‐Word Recognition: Insights from Computational Modeling

Oral communication often takes place in noisy environments, which challenge spoken-word recognition. Previous research has suggested that the presence of background noise extends the number of candidate words competing with the target word for recognition and that this extension affects the time course and accuracy of spoken-word recognition. In this study, we further investigated the temporal dynamics of competition processes in the presence of background noise, and how these vary in listeners with different language proficiency (i.e., native and non-native) using computational modeling. We developed ListenIN (Listen-In-Noise), a neural-network model based on an autoencoder architecture, which learns to map phonological forms onto meanings in two languages and simulates native and non-native spoken-word comprehension. We also examined the model's activation states during online spoken-word recognition. These analyses demonstrated that the presence of background noise increases the number of competitor words, which are engaged in phonological competition and that this happens in similar ways intra and interlinguistically and in native and non-native listening. Taken together, our results support accounts positing a “many-additional-competitors scenario” for the effects of noise on spoken-word recognition.Multimedia Computin

No rapid audiovisual recalibration in adults on the autism spectrum

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by difficulties in social cognition, but are also associated with atypicalities in sensory and perceptual processing. Several groups have reported that autistic individuals show reduced integration of socially relevant audiovisual signals, which may contribute to the higher-order social and cognitive difficulties observed in autism. Here we use a newly devised technique to study instantaneous adaptation to audiovisual asynchrony in autism. Autistic and typical participants were presented with sequences of brief visual and auditory stimuli, varying in asynchrony over a wide range, from 512 ms auditory-lead to 512 ms auditory-lag, and judged whether they seemed to be synchronous. Typical adults showed strong adaptation effects, with trials proceeded by an auditory-lead needing more auditory-lead to seem simultaneous, and vice versa. However, autistic observers showed little or no adaptation, although their simultaneity curves were as narrow as the typical adults. This result supports recent Bayesian models that predict reduced adaptation effects in autism. As rapid audiovisual recalibration may be fundamental for the optimisation of speech comprehension, recalibration problems could render language processing more difficult in autistic individuals, hindering social communication

The effects of grouping on speed discrimination thresholds in adults, typically developing children, and children with autism.

Adult observers show elevated speed discrimination thresholds when comparing the speeds of objects moving across a boundary compared to those moving parallel to a boundary (Verghese &amp; McKee, 2006)-an effect that has been attributed to grouping processes in conjunction with a prior for smooth motion. Here, we extended Verghese and McKee's (2006) paradigm to typically developing children (n = 35) and children with autism (n = 26) and compared their performance with that of typical adults (n = 19). Speed discrimination thresholds were measured in three conditions: (a) with dots moving parallel to a boundary, (b) with dots moving perpendicular to a boundary, and (c) with dots in each stimulus half moving in orthogonal, oblique directions. As expected, participants had higher speed discrimination thresholds when dots appeared to cross a boundary compared to when dots moved parallel to the boundary. However, participants had even higher thresholds when dots moved in oblique, orthogonal directions, where grouping should be minimal. All groups of participants showed a similar pattern of performance across conditions although children had higher thresholds than adult participants overall. We consider various explanations for the pattern of performance obtained, including enhanced sensitivity for shearing motions and reduced sensitivity for discriminating different directions. Our results demonstrate that the speed discrimination judgments of typically developing children and children with autism are similarly affected by spatial configuration as those of typical adults and provide further evidence that speed discrimination is unimpaired in children with autism.</p

A Systematic Review of the Contribution of Dance Movement Psychotherapy Towards the Well-Being of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: The present review provides an original examination of published literature on the use of Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP) as an intervention for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Method: The review was systematically conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. A protocol consisting of four phases: identification; screening and selection; data extraction and synthesis; quality assurance was developed and registered with the PROSPERO. A search strategy was developed using population and intervention as the key concepts and ten databases were searched between 6.1.2018 to 4.4.2018 and 10.07.2021 to 20.07.2021. The intervention characteristics were extracted based on the TIDieR template for intervention description and replication checklist. Quality assessment and level of evidence of all the included studies were evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) for treatment criteria. Results: Nine research studies with a total of 133 participants were identified through a systematic search process. There was only one mixed-methods study with the component of randomisation found during the literature search. Collected information was synthesised in relation to (a) ways in which dance movement psychotherapists work with children; (b) data collection methods and findings. Results from the reviewed literature suggest that DMP can potentially promote various aspects of well-being in children with ASD. Eight out of nine studies mentioned the effects of DMP on improving different social and communication skills. However, results from quality assessments and synthesised outcomes indicate that research in DMP is still in its infancy. Conclusions: We conclude that further large-scale, high-quality studies are required to generate further evidence that explains the processes involved in DMP, the effectiveness of DMP, the relationship between therapeutic factors of DMP, and research findings for children on the autism spectrum. Systematic Review Protocol Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42018087912

A technology-enhanced learning intervention for statistics in higher education using bite-sized video-based learning and precision teaching

Adjustments to life and learning following the COVID-19 pandemic have transformed user acceptance of online learning methods. It is, therefore, imperative to analyse factors relating to user performance and preferences for such interactions. In this study, we combined video-based learning with precision teaching to reinforce previously learnt statistics skills in university students without a mathematical background. We developed a learning design consisting of eight ‘bite-sized’ online learning episodes. Each episode started with a brief learning video followed by a practice phase and an end-of-episode assessment. The practice phase differed in two groups of participants, matched on statistics attainment pre- intervention. A precision-teaching intervention group (N = 19) completed practice guided by a frequency-based approach aiming at building fluency in statistics. A control group (N = 19) completed self-directed practice for the same amount of time as the intervention group. All participants completed a statistics attainment test and a questionnaire on their attitudes towards statistics pre- and post- intervention, and a review of the learning materials post-intervention. The intervention group achieved, consistently, higher scores in all end-of-episode assessments compared to the control group. Both groups showed significant and comparable improvements in statistics attainment post-intervention. Both groups also reported more positive feelings towards statistics post-intervention, while the review of the learning materials suggested that the video-based learning design was well-received by students. Our results suggest that video-based learning has great potential to support, as a supplementary teaching aid, university students in learning statistics. We discuss future research directions and implications of the study

Children on the autism spectrum update their behaviour in response to a volatile environment

Typical adults can track reward probabilities across trials to estimate the volatility of the environment and use this information to modify their learning rate (Behrens et al., 2007). In a stable environment, it is advantageous to take account of outcomes over many trials, whereas in a volatile environment, recent experience should be more strongly weighted than distant experience. Recent predictive coding accounts of autism propose that autistic individuals will demonstrate atypical updating of their behaviour in response to the statistics of the reward environment. To rigorously test this hypothesis, we administered a developmentally appropriate version of Behrens et al.'s (2007) task to 34 cognitively able children on the autism spectrum aged between 6 and 14 years, 32 age- and ability-matched typically developing children and 19 typical adults. Participants were required to choose between a green and a blue pirate chest, each associated with a randomly determined reward value between 0 and 100 points, with a combined total of 100 points. On each trial, the reward was given for one stimulus only. In the stable condition, the ratio of the blue or green response being rewarded was fixed at 75:25. In the volatile condition, the ratio alternated between 80:20 and 20:80 every 20 trials. We estimated the learning rate for each participant by fitting a delta rule model and compared this rate across conditions and groups. All groups increased their learning rate in the volatile condition compared to the stable condition. Unexpectedly, there was no effect of group and no interaction between group and condition. Thus, autistic children used information about the statistics of the reward environment to guide their decisions to a similar extent as typically developing children and adults. These results help constrain predictive coding accounts of autism by demonstrating that autism is not characterized by uniform differences in the weighting of prediction error