Linearly integrating speed and accuracy to measure individual differences in theory of mind:Evidence from autistic and neurotypical adults

It has long been theorised that there is a direct link between individual differences in social cognition and behaviour. One of the most popular tests of this theory has involved examination of Theory of Mind (ToM) difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, evidence for associations between ToM and social behaviour is mixed, both when testing the ToM explanation of ASD and when investigating individual differences in ToM in the general population. We argue that this is due to methodological limitations of many ToM measures, such as a lack of variability in task performance, inappropriate non-ToM control tasks, and a failure to account for general mental ability. To overcome these issues, we designed a novel task, which probed individual differences in ToM fluency through mental state attribution in response to cartoons (Cartoons Theory of Mind [CarToM] task). This task, enabling the linear combination of speed and accuracy, was used to quantify ToM ability and its association with self-reported (a)typical social behaviour in adults with and without ASD. In a large sample (N = 237), we found that having an ASD diagnosis and higher autistic traits predicted lower ToM ability, even after accounting for performance on a well-matched non-ToM condition and general mental ability. Overall, our findings provide fresh support for the existence of a link between individual differences in social cognition (specifically, ToM) and behaviour (specifically, autism). This has implications for social-cognitive theory and research, allowing large-scale, online assessment of individual differences in ToM in clinical groups and the general population

Neurodiversity: Towards an interdisciplinary approach

The concept of neurodiversity is exerting a powerful influence in academia and the real world. There has been a sharp increase in publications referring to ‘neurodiversity’ since 2000 (Figure 1), many people now identify as ‘neurodivergent’, and there are worldwide public initiatives such as Neurodiversity Celebration Week that actively promote the concept. In light of this growth, we are pleased to announce the launch of Neurodiversity – a new journal that will focus on interdisciplinary approaches to improving understanding of neurodiversity and its application in real-world settings. Following in the spirit of the emergence of the neurodiversity concept from the autism rights movement, Neurodiversity represents an exciting new addition to Sage academic journals, like Autism, dedicated to advancing understanding and improving the lives of neurodivergent people

Monitoring of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) and implementation of clinical pharmacy services at a community hospital infusion unit

Background: In 2004, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) published monitoring guidelines for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT), but no assessment of their utilization has been reported. We evaluated adherence to these recommendations by physicians at infusion centers and then piloted a program of supervision of monitoring by pharmacists. Methods: Phase I: We performed a retrospective case-control study of patients who received OPAT over one year at two hospital infusion centers. Controls were patients treated by an infectious diseases (ID) physician, and cases were those without an ID physician. Patients were excluded if they received fewer than 3 days of OPAT. Clinical pharmacy monitoring services were then implemented for patients on OPAT prescribed by non-ID physicians at one hospital’s infusion unit. Two outcomes were measured: adherence to guidelines on monitoring, and attainment of goal vancomycin and aminoglycoside serum concentrations when appropriate. The results for non-ID physicians were compared to both ID physicians and subsequently a pharmacist. Results: Ninety nine patients were included in the retrospective study. Compared with patients who had ID physician supervision, the non-ID physicians who prescribed OPAT for 39 patients had lower adherence to monitoring recommendations (35.9% vs.68.3%, p=0.003). No difference could be detected in achievement of goal vancomycin and aminoglycoside serum concentrations for the 14 cases and 19 controls requiring therapeutic drug monitoring (57.1% vs. 68.4% respectively, p=0.765). Seven patients were enrolled in the study after pharmacy monitoring was implemented. Adherence to monitoring recommendations for these patients was significantly improved compared to the prior patients that lacked ID physician supervision (35.9% vs. 100%, p=0.0065)

Quantifying compensatory strategies in adults with and without diagnosed autism

Background There is growing recognition that some autistic people engage in ‘compensation’, showing few behavioural symptoms (e.g. neurotypical social skills), despite continuing to experience autism-related cognitive difficulties (e.g. difficulties in social cognition). One way this might be achieved is by individuals consciously employing ‘compensatory strategies’ during everyday social interaction. However, very little is currently known about the broad range of these strategies, their mechanisms and consequences for clinical presentation and diagnosis. Methods We aimed to measure compensatory strategies in autism for the first time. Using a novel checklist, we quantified self-reported social compensatory strategies in 117 adults (58 with autism, 59 without autism) and explored the relationships between compensation scores and autism diagnostic status, autistic traits, education level, sex and age at diagnosis. Results Higher compensation scores—representing a greater repertoire of compensatory strategies—were associated with having an autism diagnosis, more autistic traits and a higher education level. The link between autism diagnostic status and compensation scores was, however, explained by autistic traits and education level. Compensation scores were unrelated to sex or age at diagnosis. Limitations Our sample was self-selected and predominantly comprised of intellectually able females; therefore, our findings may not generalise to the wider autistic population. Conclusions Together, our findings suggest that many intellectually able adults, with and without a clinical diagnosis of autism, report using compensatory strategies to modify their social behaviour. We discuss the clinical utility of measuring self-reported compensation (e.g., using our checklist), with important implications for the accurate diagnosis and management of autism and related conditions

Automatic orienting towards face-like stimuli in early childhood

Newborn infants orient preferentially toward face-like or “protoface” stimuli and recent studies suggest similar reflexive orienting responses in adults. Little is known, however, about the operation of this mechanism in childhood. An attentional-cueing procedure was therefore developed to investigate protoface orienting in early childhood. Consistent with the extant literature, 5- to 6-year-old children (n = 25) exhibited orienting toward face-like stimuli; they responded faster when target location was cued by the appearance of a protoface stimulus than when location was cued by matched control patterns. The potential of this procedure to investigate the development of typical and atypical social perception is discussed

Psychological strengths and well-being:Strengths use predicts quality of life, well-being and mental health in autism

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-aut-10.1177_13623613221146440 for Psychological strengths and well-being: Strengths use predicts quality of life, well-being and mental health in autism by Emily C Taylor, Lucy A Livingston, Rachel A Clutterbuck, Mitchell J Callan and Punit Shah in Autism</p

The 20 item prosopagnosia index (PI20):relationship with the Glasgow face-matching test

The 20 item prosopagnosia index (PI20) was recently developed to identify individuals with developmental prosopagnosia. While the PI20’s principal purpose is to aid researchers and clinicians, it was suggested that it may serve as a useful screening tool to identify people with face recognition difficulties in applied settings where face matching is a critical part of their occupation. Although the PI20 has been validated using behavioural measures of face recognition, it has yet to be validated against a measure of face-matching ability that is more representative of applied settings. In this study, the PI20 was therefore administered with the Glasgow face-matching test (GFMT). A strong correlation was observed between PI20 and GFMT scores, providing further validation for the PI20, indicating that it is likely to be of value in applied settings

Simplifying the Measurement of Attitudes towards Autistic People.

There is growing interest in quantifying attitudes towards autistic people, however there is relatively little research on psychometric properties of the only existing measure and its ability to predict engagement with people with autism. To begin addressing these issues, we compared three scales measuring attitudes towards autistic people following the development of two new measures. Exploratory factor analysis, across two datasets, revealed that the factor-structure of an established 16-item scale is unclear. Further, its predictive validity of intended engagement with autistic people was comparable to our novel and psychometrically robust 1- and 4-item measures of attitudes towards autistic people. We therefore conclude that a 1- or 4-item scale is sufficient to measure general attitudes towards autistic people in future research. Equally, we propose that additional research is required to develop measures that are grounded in theoretical models of attitude formation and therefore distinguish between different components of attitudes