Floer homology of automorphisms of Liouville domains

We introduce a combination of fixed point Floer homology and symplectic homology for Liouville domains. As an application, we detect non-trivial elements in the symplectic mapping class group of a Liouville domain.Comment: 30 pages, v3: major revisio

Partitions of the set of natural numbers and symplectic homology

We prove Tamura's theorem on partitions of the set of positive integers (a generalization of the more famous Rayleigh-Beatty theorem) using the positive $\mathbb{S}^1$-equivariant symplectic homology.Comment: 8 page

Order of contact and ruled submanifolds

We prove a generalization of the Monge-Cayley-Salmon theorem on osculation and ruled submanifolds using elementary geometric measure theory.Comment: 14 pages, v2: references adde

Exotic symplectomorphisms and contact circle actions

Using Floer-theoretic methods, we prove that the non-existence of an exotic symplectomorphism on the standard symplectic ball, $\mathbb{B}^{2n},$ implies a rather strict topological condition on the free contact circle actions on the standard contact sphere, $\mathbb{S}^{2n-1}.$ We also prove an analogue for a Liouville domain and contact circle actions on its boundary. Applications include results concerning the symplectic mapping class group and the fundamental group of the group of contactomorphisms.Comment: v2: revision; 31 pages; 3 figure

Practitioner Review: Multilingualism and neurodevelopmental disorders – an overview of recent research and discussion of clinical implications

Language and communication skills are essential aspects of child development, which are often disrupted in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Cutting edge research in psycholinguistics suggests that multilingualism has potential to influence social, linguistic and cognitive development. Thus, multilingualism has implications for clinical assessment, diagnostic formulation, intervention and support offered to families. We present a systematic review and synthesis of the effects of multilingualism for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and discuss clinical implications. Methods We conducted systematic searches for studies on multilingualism in neurodevelopmental disorders. Keywords for neurodevelopmental disorders were based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition categories as follows; Intellectual Disabilities, Communication Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, Motor Disorders, Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. We included only studies based on empirical research and published in peer‐reviewed journals. Results Fifty studies met inclusion criteria. Thirty‐nine studies explored multilingualism in Communication Disorders, 10 in ASD and two in Intellectual Disability. No studies on multilingualism in Specific Learning Disorder or Motor Disorders were identified. Studies which found a disadvantage for multilingual children with neurodevelopmental disorders were rare, and there appears little reason to assume that multilingualism has negative effects on various aspects of functioning across a range of conditions. In fact, when considering only those studies which have compared a multilingual group with developmental disorders to a monolingual group with similar disorders, the findings consistently show no adverse effects on language development or other aspects of functioning. In the case of ASD, a positive effect on communication and social functioning has been observed. Conclusions There is little evidence to support the widely held view that multilingual exposure is detrimental to the linguistic or social development of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, we also note that the available pool of studies is small and the number of methodologically high quality studies is relatively low. We discuss implications of multilingualism for clinical management of neurodevelopmental disorders, and discuss possible directions for future research.UK Arts & Humanities Research Council. Grant Number: AH/N004671/

Repetitive behaviours, anxiety and sensory problems in children with autism and correlates of anxiety in their parents

Repetitive and restricted behaviours have been considered as a core symptom of autism since the first descriptions provided by Leo Kanner (Kanner, 1943) and Hans Asperger (Asperger, 1944), and this view has been supported through all the incarnations of international diagnostic systems. However, when compared with other core features: problems in communication and problems in reciprocal social interaction, repetitive behaviours have been relatively neglected in terms of research. In particular, little is known about the triggers for repetitive behaviours and what functions they might serve for individuals with autism. Early theoretical accounts of autism proposed that sensory problems and anxiety are the key triggers for repetitive behaviours. Research in the field of developmental psychology has also demonstrated that in very young children, repetitive behaviours serve the function of constraining sensory unpredictability and warding of anxiety and this relationship has also been found in individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a condition defined by anxiety and ritualism. However, the three way relationship between repetitive behaviours, sensory problems and anxiety has not been explored in the autism literature before. The main aim of the thesis (Part 1) was to explore this relationship in children with autism. In addition to this main focus, the work of the thesis also included a study of the mothers of the same children (Part 2), investigating mothers‘ own anxiety, sensory correlates of this anxiety and other factors. The main effects of autism are on the individual who is on the autism spectrum, however, impact is also felt by families. Parents of children with autism have been found to have higher prevalence of affective disorders when compared to both parents of typically developing children and parents of children with other disabilities. The second main aim of the thesis was to explore correlates of anxiety in mothers of children with autism. In Part 1, a series of studies are reported using questionnaire data to investigate repetitive behaviours (RRBs), anxiety and sensory problems in children with autism. Part 2, focused on anxiety in the mothers of these children and correlates of their anxiety. The first empirical chapter (Chapter 3) examined RRBs in children with and without autism and validated the Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2; Leekam et al., 2007) for the first time with children with autism. Results indicated that the RBQ-2 provides a highly reliable measure of repetitive behaviours for children with autism aged from 2 to 17 years. Factor analysis revealed that a two-factor structure with the repetitive motor and sensory behaviour (RSM) factor and the insistence on sameness (IS) factor best represented the data. Internal consistency was high for both the total RBQ-2 scale and for each RSM and IS subscale separately. This chapter also explored moderators of repetitive behaviours in children and adolescents with autism and found that while RSM behaviours were negatively associated with lower chronological age, and lower expressive language levels, IS behaviours were not. Further analysis was conducted using a secondary dataset from a longitudinal study of RRBs in typically developing children at age 15, 24 and 72 months old. Results showed that IS and RSM behaviours represent relatively independent classes of behaviours in developmental terms. The second empirical chapter (Chapter 4) examined anxiety in children with autism and provided validation for the school age and preschool version of the Spence Anxiety Scales. Using this scale it was found that as many as 49% of children with autism met the criteria for elevated overall anxiety and that separation anxiety and physical injury fears were the most prevalent anxiety subtypes. Good agreement on total anxiety scores between children‘s and parents‘ reports was found. Analysis on the mediators of anxiety suggested that anxiety was not associated with chronological age, impairments in communication and social interaction, and expressive language levels. The third empirical chapter (Chapter 5) provided evidence that sensory problems in children and adolescents with autism are both multisensory and multimodal in nature. More precisely, only 2 children had problems in a single sensory modality while on the other hand, 40% of children had problems simultaneously across all five primary sensory modalities. Almost 91% of children and adolescents showed mixed types of sensory modulation problems, with 65.3% of children having problems in all four sensory quadrants (sensory hyper- and hypo-sensitivity, seeking, and avoidance). This chapter also explored the mutual relationship between the four sensory subscale (quadrants) of the Sensory Profile. Results indicated that children and adolescents with autism fluctuate between the states of hypo- and hyper-responsiveness; that avoidance behaviours are compensatory strategies related to being over-stimulated, and that seeking behaviours are more related to being over-stimulated rather than hypo-stimulated. The final chapter in Part 1, Chapter 6, examined the interrelations between RRB, sensory problems and anxiety. Results showed that both insistence on sameness (IS) and repetitive motor (RM) behaviours were associated with sensory problems. However, only IS behaviours were associated with anxiety while RM behaviours were not. Meditation analyses models showed that sensory sensitivity and anxiety were reinforcing each other in the relationship with IS behaviours. The two chapters in Part 2 examined the frequency and correlates of anxiety in mothers of children with autism. Findings from these two chapters (Chapters 8 and 9) suggested that anxiety is very prevalent among mothers of children with autism with 46% of mothers meeting the cut-off criteria for clinically significant anxiety. For the first time, sensory problems in mothers were examined, and were also found to be very prevalent in mothers, appearing in 60% per cent of mothers. The frequency of sensory features in mothers was correlated with the frequency of sensory features in their children. Further analysis suggested that higher levels of sensory over-sensitivity, higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty, and the dominant use of escape-avoidance coping style contributed to anxiety levels in mothers. Furthermore, it was found that sensory sensitivity in mothers was related to their higher use of escape-avoidant coping strategy and the mediation analysis suggested that sensory sensitivity, escape-avoidance coping and anxiety reinforced each other. The importance of these findings for future theoretical and clinical work is considered in detail in the general discussion chapter (Chapter 10)

Assessing subtypes of restricted and repetitive behaviour using the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 in autistic adults

Background The majority of previous research into restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) has focussed on children, partly due to a lack of suitable measures for RRBs in adults. This study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2A) in a large sample of autistic adults using a self-report questionnaire method. Methods The RBQ-2A and Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) were administered online. Data from 275 autistic adults aged 18–66 (M = 36.56, SD = 12.24; 100 men and 171 women) were analysed using polychoric principal components analysis (PCA). Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and correlation analyses. Results Background The majority of previous research into restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) has focussed on children, partly due to a lack of suitable measures for RRBs in adults. This study aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2A) in a large sample of autistic adults using a self-report questionnaire method. Methods The RBQ-2A and Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) were administered online. Data from 275 autistic adults aged 18–66 (M = 36.56, SD = 12.24; 100 men and 171 women) were analysed using polychoric principal components analysis (PCA). Reliability and validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and correlation analyses. Result

Interrelationship between insistence on sameness, effortful control and anxiety in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Background Both self-regulation and insistence on sameness (IS) are related to anxiety, which is a common feature of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we aimed to characterise the IS-self-regulation-anxiety interrelationship by investigating the potential contribution made by self-regulation, assessed via effortful control (EC), to the IS-anxiety relationship in a sample of adolescents and young adults with ASD. Method Seventy-one older adolescents and younger adults with ASD (49 males, 22 females; M age = 18.71 years, SD = 2.51, range 14.42–24.81) completed the Adult Repetitive Behaviour Questionnaire-2, Effortful Control Scale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire and the DSM-5 Dimensional Anxiety Scales. Results IS was associated with both EC (r = −.39, p = .001) and anxiety (r = .45, p < .001), and anxiety was in turn associated with EC (r = −.44, p < .001). To characterise the nature of this interrelationship, two mediation analyses were performed using the serial mediation model in PROCESS with 5000 resamples in bootstrapping. There was a significant indirect effect of EC on anxiety, through IS (b = −.06; BCa 95% CI [−.13, −.02]), and indirect effect on anxiety through EC (b = 1.62; BCa 95% CI [.59, 3.24]) with the mediators accounting for 29.07 and 26.04% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions Our study provides the first exploration of the IS-anxiety-self-regulation link in ASD. The finding that lower levels of self-regulation are related both to anxiety and IS behaviours points to self-regulation as a viable intervention target for both anxiety and IS behaviours