Using a Newly Developed Computer-Based Program to Evaluate Learning of Visuomotor Procedures in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study

Inspired by the recent literature, we designed a computer-based program that allows, with the aid of a digital tablet, to evaluate learning of visuomotor procedures, similar to the ones involved in handwriting. After extensive trials on children with typical development, we conducted a preliminary study to assess the effectiveness of this program in evaluating these abilities in children with ASD

Electric resistivity of organic conductor K-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3

U ovom radu su proučavana svojstva električne otpornosti u temperaturnom rasponu od ~300K (sobne temperature) do ~20K (do kuda je dostupna aparatura davala pouzdane rezultate), organskog kristala κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3. Na temelju provedenih mjerenja ispitana su slaganja rezultata mjerenja s teorijom, odnosno s Arrheniusovim zakonom i teorijom preskoka promjenjivog dosega. U metodičkom dijelu rada predstavljen je jedan način kako bi se mogao održati istraživački tip nastave na temu električnog otpora u srednoj školi sa četverogodišnjim programom fizike.The subject of this study is electric resistivity in temperature range from ~300K (room temperature) to ~20K (temperature at which available apparatus was giving reliable results), organic crystal κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3. The study examines connection between measured results and the theory, respectively with Arrhenius law and theory of variable range hopping. Educational part shows an exploratory teaching method how to present electric resistance in high school within four year program of physics

Diminished socially selective neural processing in 5-month-old infants at high familial risk of autism

The social and communicative difficulties that characterize autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are considered the most striking fea-ture of the disorder. Research has reported that individuals with ASD show abnormalities in the brain regions associated with theprocessing of social information. Importantly, a recent study using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) found the firstevidence of atypicalities in the neural processing of social information in 4- to 6-month-old infants at high familial risk of ASD.These findings provide an important step in the search for early markers of ASD and highlight the potential for neuroimaging tech-niques to detect atypical patterns of neural activity prior to the manifestation of most behavioural symptoms. This study aimed toextend the findings of reduced neural sensitivity to social stimuli in an independent cohort. Twenty-nine 5-month-old infants (13low-risk infants, 16 high-risk infants) were presented with social and non-social visual stimuli, similar to the previous experiment.Importantly, a non-social dynamic motion control condition was introduced allowing the comparison between social dynamic andnon-social, static, as well as dynamic stimuli. We found that while low-risk infants showed activation to social stimuli in the rightposterior temporal cortex, this activation was reduced in infants at high risk of ASD. Although the current sample size was rela-tively small, our results replicate and extend previous work and provide evidence for a social processing difference in infants atrisk of autism. Future research will determine whether these differences relate to an eventual ASD diagnosis or may rather reflectthe broader autism phenotype

Intention Understanding in Autism

When we observe a motor act (e.g. grasping a cup) done by another individual, we extract, according to how the motor act is performed and its context, two types of information: the goal (grasping) and the intention underlying it (e.g. grasping for drinking). Here we examined whether children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are able to understand these two aspects of motor acts. Two experiments were carried out. In the first, one group of high-functioning children with ASD and one of typically developing (TD) children were presented with pictures showing hand-object interactions and asked what the individual was doing and why. In half of the “why” trials the observed grip was congruent with the function of the object (“why-use” trials), in the other half it corresponded to the grip typically used to move that object (“why-place” trials). The results showed that children with ASD have no difficulties in reporting the goals of individual motor acts. In contrast they made several errors in the why task with all errors occurring in the “why-place” trials. In the second experiment the same two groups of children saw pictures showing a hand-grip congruent with the object use, but within a context suggesting either the use of the object or its placement into a container. Here children with ASD performed as TD children, correctly indicating the agent's intention. In conclusion, our data show that understanding others' intentions can occur in two ways: by relying on motor information derived from the hand-object interaction, and by using functional information derived from the object's standard use. Children with ASD have no deficit in the second type of understanding, while they have difficulties in understanding others' intentions when they have to rely exclusively on motor cues

Beyond The Point: A Basic Guide To Literature On Pointing Abilities In Children With Autism

Research on core behavioral features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has always been a challenging endeavor. Amongst these features pointing abilities have often attracted attention of researchers. Traditional studies on pointing tended to rely mostly on the distinction between imperative and declarative pointing, but research has gradually recognized the importance of developmental trajectories and the relevance of other skills in the acquisition of pointing in children with ASD. The present study aims to offer a basic review of the literature on pointing in children with ASD, in order to explain these changes in research focus and to pinpoint relevant aspects of pointing that have emerged across time which may be of relevance for future studies

A Kaleidoscope of play: a new approach to play analysis in childhood

Play is a frequent and relevant activity during childhood, and developmental psychologists agree that it offers a unique window on development. Play, however, remains a fuzzy concept, and difficulties persist in its definition, often leading to obstacles in building and comparing experimental studies. This may be due to widespread tendencies to define play by referring to non-observable inner states, to consider playing something that occurs in the head rather than in-the-world and to overreliance on developmental stages. Enactive approaches to child play have instead recently stressed the importance of play contexts, considering child play an activity in-the-world rather than a mental state, thereby de-intellectualizing play and pretense. Along these lines, in this paper the authors propose a novel approach to the definition of play types by considering the roles of organism, environment, and task constraints, within the framework of Material Engagement Theory. Focusing on the material world surrounding the child and the interactions which characterize play, we critically review the strategy of resorting to non-observable categories in the study of play, and we propose a new model (the Kaleidoscope Model) for play analysis