The Relationship Between Intolerance of Uncertainty, Sensory Sensitivities, and Anxiety in Autistic and Typically Developing Children

Guided by a recent theory that proposes fundamental differences in how autistic individuals deal with uncertainty, we investigated the extent to which the cognitive construct ‘intolerance of uncertainty’ and anxiety were related to parental reports of sensory sensitivities in 64 autistic and 85 typically developing children aged 6–14 years. Intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety explained approximately half the variance in autistic children’s sensory sensitivities, but only around a fifth of the variance in typical children’s sensory sensitivities. In children with autism only, intolerance of uncertainty remained a significant predictor of children’s sensory sensitivities once the effects of anxiety were adjusted for. Our results suggest intolerance of uncertainty is a relevant construct to sensory sensitivities in children with and without autism

The design and implementation of a CBT-based intervention for sensory processing difficulties in adolescents on the autism spectrum

Background: Unusual reactions to sensory input now form part of the diagnostic criteria for autism. These features are common and can have an often-devastating impact on autistic individuals and their families. Yet there are few validated interventions that help to remediate or support autistic individuals’ adverse sensory experiences. To date, both measurement of sensory experiences and the resulting interventions have been based on assumptions of neurological sensitivities and largely ignored the role of cognition. This study therefore sought to assess the feasibility of a new 8-week CBT-based group intervention for self-regulation of sensory processing difficulties. / Method: Seven cognitively able adolescents diagnosed with autism aged 11–16 years from one mainstream secondary school received the 8-week intervention. Measures of sensory reactivity, anxiety and repetitive behaviours were taken at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up, 8 weeks after the intervention had ceased. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were also conducted with adolescents and their parents to examine further the acceptability of the intervention. / Results: The results showed that the intervention itself was feasible – both in its implementation and its acceptability to participants. Qualitative analysis clearly showed that the intervention was effective in raising meta-conscious awareness and self-regulation in these autistic adolescents. Analysis of outcome variables showed no significant change over the intervention period, although effect sizes were moderate-to-large. / Conclusions: These preliminary results are encouraging and should inform the design of a future pilot randomized controlled trial to test its efficacy with a larger group of participants

Comparing the Executive Function Ability of Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescents with a Manualised Battery of Neuropsychological Tasks

Performance on a single executive function (EF) task (e.g., a card sorting task) is often taken to represent ability on the underlying subcomponent of EF (e.g., set shifting) without accounting for the non-specific and non-executive skills employed to complete the task. This study used a manualised battery of EF tasks to derive individual task scores and latent EF scores. Seventy-nine adolescents aged between 11 and 19 years, including 37 autistic and 42 non-autistic participants, matched on cognitive ability, completed the battery. Autistic adolescents had moderate global EF difficulties and had significantly more difficulties on some individual tasks. However, the samples did not differ on any of the specific individual subcomponents of EF (fluency, cognitive control and working memory)

‘This is what we’ve always wanted’: Perspectives on young autistic people’s transition from special school to mainstream satellite classes

Background & aims According to parents, teachers and policymakers alike, including autistic children and young people in mainstream schools is notoriously difficult – especially so for the significant minority of young people on the autism spectrum with additional intellectual, communication and behavioural needs. The current study sought to understand the perceived impact of one particular, emerging model of education, in which selected students from special schools are transferred to dedicated ‘satellite’ classes in local, mainstream partner schools, while continuing to receive the tailored curriculum and specialist teaching of the originating school. Methods We conducted interviews with London-based young autistic people (n = 19), their parents/carers and teachers to understand their experiences of transitioning from specialist to satellite mainstream provision. Results Participants overwhelmingly welcomed the prospect of transition and its perceived benefits in the short and longer term. Young people and families celebrated achieving access to ‘more normal places and things’, ‘seeing what others are doing’, and greater autonomy, without losing the trusted expert support of their former special school. Young people also felt a deep sense of belonging to their new mainstream school, despite only being minimally included in regular mainstream classes and activities. Teachers were equally positive and felt that their students had responded to higher expectations in their new mainstream schools, reportedly resulting in better behavioural regulation and more sustained attention in the classroom. Conclusions The strikingly positive evaluations provided by all participants suggest that this satellite model of education might have advantages for young autistic people with additional intellectual disability, when appropriate support extends across transition and beyond. Implications These findings shed light on the experiences of an under-researched group of autistic students and a specific model of education – following a needs-based perspective on inclusion – that seeks to extend their participation in local schools. Future research should examine the potential effects of satellite classrooms on the knowledge of, and attitudes toward, autism in non-autistic mainstream peers

Short report: Autistic parents’ views and experiences of talking about autism with their autistic children

Little is known about how parents talk about autism with their autistic children, particularly among families in which both a parent and child are autistic. Using an online survey, we gathered quantitative and qualitative data from 34 autistic parents (most of whom had told their children about their diagnosis) to address this knowledge gap. There was considerable overlap between the views and experiences of the autistic parents in this study and the largely non-autistic parent samples in previous research. Specifically, parents emphasised the importance of being open and honest about the diagnosis, disclosing the diagnosis as early as possible, individualising discussions to children’s needs and framing the diagnosis positively. There were, however, areas in which the views and experiences of the current sample differed from previous research on non-autistic samples. First, our sample of autistic parents outlined the benefits of their own experiential expertise, which they felt resulted in heightened understanding and empathy with their children. Second, our sample tended not to express concerns about disclosure potentially having a negative impact. Finally, our participants did not express a want or need for professional support with disclosure. Instead, they reported feeling well equipped to support their children using their own knowledge and lived experience

The educational experiences of autistic children with and without extreme demand avoidance behaviours

Extreme demand avoidance (EDA) is increasingly described as part of the autism spectrum and is sometimes diagnosed as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Yet little is known, about the educational experiences of children with and without EDA behaviours. Using an online survey collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, 211 parents reported on the school experiences of their autistic children. 57 parents had a child with an additional diagnosis of PDA (AUT-PDA); 91 had a child with no diagnosis of PDA but, according to parent report, displayed EDA behaviours (AUT-EDA); and 63 had a child with neither a PDA diagnosis nor EDA behaviours (AUT). Results demonstrated that there were few group differences in terms of the frequency of failed school placements and exclusions. However, children in the AUT-EDA/-PDA groups had higher levels of behaviour that challenges, which were particularly high in those with a PDA diagnosis. There were no significant differences in school exclusions, but the fact that these occurred across all groups is of concern. Qualitative results suggested overwhelmingly negative school experiences for all groups but especially the AUT-EDA and AUT-PDA groups. Parents attributed such experiences to misunderstanding of their children’s diagnoses and a lack of targeted support

Participatory autism research: early career and established researchers’ views and experiences

Despite more autism research taking place than ever before, there is a disconnect between the current landscape of autism research and what autistic people and their allies want from research. While participatory research has been proposed as a potential solution, we know little about how researchers (particularly, early career researchers) employ this approach. We interviewed 25 researchers (14 early career and 11 established researchers) about their views and experiences of participatory autism research. Through reflexive thematic analysis of interview and focus group data, we identified three themes. First, our participants emphasised the flexible nature of participatory research, and the many forms it can take; yet noted that this flexibility could cause confusion. Second, our participants highlighted the importance of building relationships with research partners, while commenting on the challenges around effective communication and working with diverse groups of people who may have limited research experience. Finally, participants described the challenges of working within academic environments that are not conducive to participatory research (e.g. due to limited time, funding and support). We discuss these issues with regard to changes required at both an individual and systemic level, ensuring that efforts are made to meaningfully involve autistic people and their allies in all stages of the research process

Psychiatric profile of motor subtypes of de novo drug-naïve Parkinson's disease patients

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder. It is well established that different motor subtypes of PD evolve with different clinical courses and prognoses. The complete psychiatric profile underlying these different phenotypes since the very early stage of the disease is debated. Aims of the study: We aimed at investigating the psychiatric profile of the three motor subtypes of PD (akinetic-rigid, tremor-dominant, and mixed) in de novo drug-naïve patients with PD. Methods: Sixty-eight patients with PD, divided into 39 akinetic-rigid (AR), seven mixed (MIX), and 22 tremor-dominant (TD) patients underwent a complete assessment of psychiatric, cognitive, and motor symptoms. Results: No significant differences were found among groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest that a differentiation of the psychiatric symptoms associated with specific motor subtypes of PD is not detectable in de novo drug-naïve patients. Previous evidence that emerges later along the disease progression may be a consequence of the dopaminergic and nondopaminergic damage increase