An Initial Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Word Processing in Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment.

PubMed

Haebig, Eileen; Leonard, Laurence; Usler, Evan; Deevy, Patricia; Weber, Christine

2018-03-15

Previous behavioral studies have found deficits in lexical-semantic abilities in children with specific language impairment (SLI), including reduced depth and breadth of word knowledge. This study explored the neural correlates of early emerging familiar word processing in preschoolers with SLI and typical development. Fifteen preschoolers with typical development and 15 preschoolers with SLI were presented with pictures followed after a brief delay by an auditory label that did or did not match. Event-related brain potentials were time locked to the onset of the auditory labels. Children provided verbal judgments of whether the label matched the picture. There were no group differences in the accuracy of identifying when pictures and labels matched or mismatched. Event-related brain potential data revealed that mismatch trials elicited a robust N400 in both groups, with no group differences in mean amplitude or peak latency. However, the typically developing group demonstrated a more robust late positive component, elicited by mismatch trials. These initial findings indicate that lexical-semantic access of early acquired words, indexed by the N400, does not differ between preschoolers with SLI and typical development when highly familiar words are presented in isolation. However, the typically developing group demonstrated a more mature profile of postlexical reanalysis and integration, indexed by an emerging late positive component. The findings lay the necessary groundwork for better understanding processing of newly learned words in children with SLI.

Food Variety as a Predictor of Nutritional Status among Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmer, Michelle H.; Hart, Laura C.; Manning-Courtney, Patricia; Murray, Donna S.; Bing, Nicole M.; Summer, Suzanne

2012-01-01

The frequency of selective eating and nutritional deficiency was studied among 22 children with autism and an age matched typically developing control group. Children with autism ate fewer foods on average than typically developing children. (33.5 vs. 54.5 foods, P less than 0.001) As compared to typical controls, children with autism had a higher…

Word-initial /r/-clusters in Swedish speaking children with typical versus protracted phonological development.

PubMed

Lundeborg Hammarström, Inger

2018-01-01

The present study investigated word-initial (WI) /r/-clusters in Central Swedish-speaking children with and without protracted phonological development (PPD). Data for WI singleton /r/ and singleton and cluster /l/ served as comparisons. Participants were twelve 4-year-olds with PPD and twelve age- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) controls. Native speakers audio-recorded and transcribed 109 target single words using a Swedish phonology test with 12 WI C+/r/-clusters and three WI CC+/r/-clusters. The results showed significantly higher match scores for the TD children, a lower match proportion for the /r/ targets and for singletons compared with clusters, and differences in mismatch patterns between the groups. There were no matches for /r/-cluster targets in the PPD group, with all children except two in that group showing deletions for both /r/-cluster types. The differences in mismatch proportions and types between the PPD group and controls suggests new directions for future clinical practice.

Sequence-specific procedural learning deficits in children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Hsu, Hsinjen Julie; Bishop, Dorothy V M

2014-05-01

This study tested the procedural deficit hypothesis of specific language impairment (SLI) by comparing children's performance in two motor procedural learning tasks and an implicit verbal sequence learning task. Participants were 7- to 11-year-old children with SLI (n = 48), typically developing age-matched children (n = 20) and younger typically developing children matched for receptive grammar (n = 28). In a serial reaction time task, the children with SLI performed at the same level as the grammar-matched children, but poorer than age-matched controls in learning motor sequences. When tested with a motor procedural learning task that did not involve learning sequential relationships between discrete elements (i.e. pursuit rotor), the children with SLI performed comparably with age-matched children and better than younger grammar-matched controls. In addition, poor implicit learning of word sequences in a verbal memory task (the Hebb effect) was found in the children with SLI. Together, these findings suggest that SLI might be characterized by deficits in learning sequence-specific information, rather than generally weak procedural learning. © 2014 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Executive function and academic achievement in primary - grade students with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Will, E; Fidler, D J; Daunhauer, L; Gerlach-McDonald, B

2017-02-01

Executive function (EF) plays a critical role in academic outcomes in typically developing children, but the contribution of EF to academic performance in Down syndrome (DS) is less well understood. This study evaluated differences in early academic foundations between primary school aged children with DS and non-verbal mental-age matched typically developing (TD) children. Additionally, the contribution of EF domains to academic outcomes was evaluated in each group. Participants with DS (n = 29) and mental-age matched TD participants (n = 23) were administered the Woodcock Johnson- III NU Tests of Academic Achievement, as well as a laboratory-based EF battery, including measures of working memory, shifting, inhibition and object-planning. Findings indicated a difference in early academic foundations profile between children with DS and mental-age matched TD children. Patterns of EF contributions towards academic outcomes were also observed across groups. Aspects of EF are critical to academic achievement in DS but differentially so relative to typical development. Implications for educational instruction are discussed. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Colour discrimination and categorisation in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Farran, Emily K; Cranwell, Matthew B; Alvarez, James; Franklin, Anna

2013-10-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) present with impaired functioning of the dorsal visual stream relative to the ventral visual stream. As such, little attention has been given to ventral stream functions in WS. We investigated colour processing, a predominantly ventral stream function, for the first time in nineteen individuals with Williams syndrome. Colour discrimination was assessed using the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test. Colour categorisation was assessed using a match-to-sample test and a colour naming task. A visual search task was also included as a measure of sensitivity to the size of perceptual colour difference. Results showed that individuals with WS have reduced colour discrimination relative to typically developing participants matched for chronological age; performance was commensurate with a typically developing group matched for non-verbal ability. In contrast, categorisation was typical in WS, although there was some evidence that sensitivity to the size of perceptual colour differences was reduced in this group. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The level and nature of autistic intelligence III: Inspection time.

PubMed

Barbeau, Elise B; Soulières, Isabelle; Dawson, Michelle; Zeffiro, Thomas A; Mottron, Laurent

2013-02-01

Across the autism spectrum, level of intelligence is highly dependent on the psychometric instrument used for assessment, and there are conflicting views concerning which measures best estimate autistic cognitive abilities. Inspection time is a processing speed measure associated with general intelligence in typical individuals. We therefore investigated autism spectrum performance on inspection time in relation to two different general intelligence tests. Autism spectrum individuals were divided into autistic and Asperger subgroups according to speech development history. Compared to a typical control group, mean inspection time for the autistic subgroup but not the Asperger subgroup was significantly shorter (by 31%). However, the shorter mean autistic inspection time was evident only when groups were matched on Wechsler IQ and disappeared when they were matched using Raven's Progressive Matrices. When autism spectrum abilities are compared to typical abilities, results may be influenced by speech development history as well as by the instrument used for intelligence matching. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Memory Profiles in Children with Mild Intellectual Disabilities: Strengths and Weaknesses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Molen, Mariet J.; Van Luit, Johannes E. H.; Jongmans, Marian J.; Van der Molen, Maurits W.

2009-01-01

Strengths and weaknesses in short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) were identified in children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) by comparing their performance to typically developing children matched on chronological age (CA children) and to younger typically developing children with similar mental capacities (MA children).…

Young Friendship in HFASD and Typical Development: Friend versus Non-Friend Comparisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauminger-Zviely, Nirit; Agam-Ben-Artzi, Galit

2014-01-01

This study conducted comparative assessment of friendship in preschoolers with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD, n = 29) versus preschoolers with typical development (n = 30), focusing on interactions with friends versus acquaintances. Groups were matched on SES, verbal/nonverbal MA, IQ, and CA. Multidimensional assessments…

Mother-child play: children with Down syndrome and typical development.

PubMed

Venuti, P; de Falco, S; Esposito, G; Bornstein, Marc H

2009-07-01

Child solitary and collaborative mother-child play with 21 children with Down syndrome and 33 mental-age-matched typically developing children were compared. In solitary play, children with Down syndrome showed less exploratory but similar symbolic play compared to typically developing children. From solitary to collaborative play, children with Down syndrome increased their exploratory play, attaining the same level as typically developing children. Pretense significantly increased from solitary to collaborative play only in typically developing children. Differences between mothers' play in the two groups mirrored those between their children. Both groups showed similar attunement and synchrony. Mothers contribute to the play development of children with Down syndrome through their own adaptation to their children's limitations and potentialities.

A Comparison of the Development of Audiovisual Integration in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Natalie; Isaac, Claire; Milne, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the development of audiovisual integration in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Audiovisual integration was measured using the McGurk effect in children with ASD aged 7-16 years and typically developing children (control group) matched approximately for age, sex, nonverbal ability and verbal ability.…

Delayed matching to two-picture samples by individuals with and without disabilities: an analysis of the role of naming.

PubMed

Gutowski, Stanley J; Stromer, Robert

2003-01-01

Delayed matching to complex, two-picture samples (e.g., cat-dog) may be improved when the samples occasion differential verbal behavior. In Experiment 1, individuals with mental retardation matched picture comparisons to identical single-picture samples or to two-picture samples, one of which was identical to a comparison. Accuracy scores were typically high on single-picture trials under both simultaneous and delayed matching conditions. Scores on two-picture trials were also high during the simultaneous condition but were lower during the delay condition. However, scores improved on delayed two-picture trials when each of the sample pictures was named aloud before comparison responding. Experiment 2 replicated these results with preschoolers with typical development and a youth with mental retardation. Sample naming also improved the preschoolers' matching when the samples were pairs of spoken names and the correct comparison picture matched one of the names. Collectively, the participants could produce the verbal behavior that might have improved performance, but typically did not do so unless the procedure required it. The success of the naming intervention recommends it for improving the observing and remembering of multiple elements of complex instructional stimuli.

Specific Patterns of Emotion Recognition from Faces in Children with ASD: Results of a Cross-Modal Matching Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Golan, Ofer; Gordon, Ilanit; Fichman, Keren; Keinan, Giora

2018-01-01

Children with ASD show emotion recognition difficulties, as part of their social communication deficits. We examined facial emotion recognition (FER) in intellectually disabled children with ASD and in younger typically developing (TD) controls, matched on mental age. Our emotion-matching paradigm employed three different modalities: facial, vocal…

Temperament Dimensions in Stuttering and Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eggers, Kurt; De Nil, Luc F.; Van den Bergh, Bea R. H.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether children who stutter (CWS) and typically developing children (TDC) differ from each other on composite temperament factors or on individual temperament scales. Methods: Participants consisted of 116 age and gender-matched CWS and TDC (3.04-8.11). Temperament was assessed with a Dutch…

Semantic Abilities in Children with Pragmatic Language Impairment: The Case of Picture Naming Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ketelaars, Mieke Pauline; Hermans, Suzanne Irene Alphonsus; Cuperus, Juliane; Jansonius, Kino; Verhoeven, Ludo

2011-01-01

Purpose: The semantic abilities of children with pragmatic language impairment (PLI) are subject to debate. The authors investigated picture naming and definition skills in 5-year-olds with PLI in comparison to typically developing children. Method: 84 children with PLI and 80 age-matched typically developing children completed receptive…

Participation of Children with Intellectual Disability Compared with Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Matthew; Shields, Nora; Imms, Christine; Black, Monique; Ardern, Clare

2013-01-01

We compared participation in out-of-school activities between children with intellectual disability and children with typical development using the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and Preferences for Activities of Children questionnaires. Thirty-eight pairs of children were matched for age (mean age 12.3 plus or minus 2.7…

Representing Intentions in Self and Other: Studies of Autism and Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, David; Happe, Francesca

2010-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to explore the extent to which individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as well as young typically developing (TD) children, are explicitly aware of their own and others' intentions. In Experiment 1, participants with ASD were significantly less likely than age- and ability-matched comparison participants to…

The Representational Status of Pretence: Evidence from Typical Development and Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarrold, Christopher; Mansergh, Ruth; Whiting, Claire

2010-01-01

The question of whether understanding pretend play requires meta-representational skill was examined among typically developing children and individuals with autism. Participants were presented with closely equated true and false pretence trials in which they had to judge a protagonist's pretend reading of a situation, which either matched or…

"Hunting with a knife and ... fork": examining central coherence in autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and typical development with a linguistic task.

PubMed

Booth, Rhonda; Happé, Francesca

2010-12-01

A local processing bias, referred to as "weak central coherence," has been postulated to underlie key aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little research has examined whether individual differences in this cognitive style can be found in typical development, independent of intelligence, and how local processing relates to executive control. We present a brief and easy-to-administer test of coherence requiring global sentence completions. We report results from three studies assessing (a) 176 typically developing (TD) 8- to 25-year-olds, (b) individuals with ASD and matched controls, and (c) matched groups with ASD or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The results suggest that the Sentence Completion Task can reveal individual differences in cognitive style unrelated to IQ in typical development, that most (but not all) people with ASD show weak coherence on this task, and that performance is not related to inhibitory control. The Sentence Completion Task was found to be a useful test instrument, capable of tapping local processing bias in a range of populations. (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brief report: accuracy and response time for the recognition of facial emotions in a large sample of children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Fink, Elian; de Rosnay, Marc; Wierda, Marlies; Koot, Hans M; Begeer, Sander

2014-09-01

The empirical literature has presented inconsistent evidence for deficits in the recognition of basic emotion expressions in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which may be due to the focus on research with relatively small sample sizes. Additionally, it is proposed that although children with ASD may correctly identify emotion expression they rely on more deliberate, more time-consuming strategies in order to accurately recognize emotion expressions when compared to typically developing children. In the current study, we examine both emotion recognition accuracy and response time in a large sample of children, and explore the moderating influence of verbal ability on these findings. The sample consisted of 86 children with ASD (M age = 10.65) and 114 typically developing children (M age = 10.32) between 7 and 13 years of age. All children completed a pre-test (emotion word-word matching), and test phase consisting of basic emotion recognition, whereby they were required to match a target emotion expression to the correct emotion word; accuracy and response time were recorded. Verbal IQ was controlled for in the analyses. We found no evidence of a systematic deficit in emotion recognition accuracy or response time for children with ASD, controlling for verbal ability. However, when controlling for children's accuracy in word-word matching, children with ASD had significantly lower emotion recognition accuracy when compared to typically developing children. The findings suggest that the social impairments observed in children with ASD are not the result of marked deficits in basic emotion recognition accuracy or longer response times. However, children with ASD may be relying on other perceptual skills (such as advanced word-word matching) to complete emotion recognition tasks at a similar level as typically developing children.

Applicability of Domain-Specific Application Framework for End-User Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chusho, Takeshi

2016-01-01

It is preferable for business professionals to develop web applications which must be modified frequently based on their needs. A website for matching is a typical example because various matching websites for C2C (Consumer to Consumer) have recently been opened in relation to the "sharing economy". In our case studies on end-user…

Voluntary orienting among children and adolescents with Down syndrome and MA-matched typically developing children.

PubMed

Goldman, Karen J; Flanagan, Tara; Shulman, Cory; Enns, James T; Burack, Jacob A

2005-05-01

A forced-choice reaction-time (RT) task was used to examine voluntary visual orienting among children and adolescents with trisomy 21 Down syndrome and typically developing children matched at an MA of approximately 5.6 years, an age when the development of orienting abilities reaches optimal adult-like efficiency. Both groups displayed faster reaction times (RTs) when the target location was cued correctly than when cued incorrectly under both short and long SOA conditions, indicating intact orienting among children with Down syndrome. This finding is further evidence that the efficiency of many of the primary components of attention among persons with Down syndrome is consistent with their developmental level.

Motor Skills in Children Aged 7-10 Years, Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whyatt, Caroline P.; Craig, Cathy M.

2012-01-01

This study used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC2) to assess motor skills in children aged 7-10 years with autism (n = 18) in comparison to two groups of age-matched typically developing children; a receptive vocabulary matched group (n = 19) and a nonverbal IQ matched group (n = 22). The results supported previous work, as…

Issues Related to Obtaining Intelligence Quotient-Matched Controls in Autism Research

PubMed Central

Rao, Vanitha S.; Raman, Vijaya; Mysore, Ashok V.

2015-01-01

Background: Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is considered to be an index of global cognitive functioning and has traditionally been used as a fulcral measure in case-control studies in neuro-developmental disorders such as autism. Aim: The aim is to highlight the issues of “matching for IQ” with controls in autism research. Materials and Methods: Percentile scores on the Coloured Progressive Matrices of 20 children with autism in the age range of 5 to 12 years have been graphically compared with 21 age matched typically developing children. Results and Conclusions: The percentile scores of the so-called high functioning children with autism from special schools were well below that of typically developing children. There are many challenges when using IQ in case-control studies of autism. Alternative approaches need to be considered. PMID:25969598

Collaborative Problem Solving in Young Typical Development and HFASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimhi, Yael; Bauminger-Zviely, Nirit

2012-01-01

Collaborative problem solving (CPS) requires sharing goals/attention and coordinating actions--all deficient in HFASD. Group differences were examined in CPS (HFASD/typical), with a friend versus with a non-friend. Participants included 28 HFASD and 30 typical children aged 3-6 years and their 58 friends and 58 non-friends. Groups were matched on…

Rapid Facial Reactions to Emotional Facial Expressions in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beall, Paula M.; Moody, Eric J.; McIntosh, Daniel N.; Hepburn, Susan L.; Reed, Catherine L.

2008-01-01

Typical adults mimic facial expressions within 1000ms, but adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not. These rapid facial reactions (RFRs) are associated with the development of social-emotional abilities. Such interpersonal matching may be caused by motor mirroring or emotional responses. Using facial electromyography (EMG), this study…

Spontaneous Lexical Alignment in Children with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Their Typically Developing Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branigan, Holly P.; Tosi, Alessia; Gillespie-Smith, Karri

2016-01-01

It is well established that adults converge on common referring expressions in dialogue, and that such lexical alignment is important for successful and rewarding communication. The authors show that children with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and chronological- and verbal-age-matched typically developing (TD) children also show spontaneous…

The Structure of Mother-Child Play: Young Children with Down Syndrome and Typically Developing Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Mary A.; Barratt, Marguerite Stevenson; Miller, Jon F.; Leavitt, Lewis A.

1998-01-01

Compared mothers' play with infants with Down syndrome (DSC) and typically developing children (TDC) matched for mental or chronological age. Found that TDC mothers exhibited more object demonstrations with their developmentally younger children, who showed less object play. DSC mothers were more directive and supportive than mothers of younger…

The Complexities of Complex Memory Span: Storage and Processing Deficits in Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Archibald, Lisa M. D.; Gathercole, Susan E.

2007-01-01

This study investigated the verbal and visuospatial processing and storage skills of children with SLI and typically developing children. Fourteen school-age children with SLI, and two groups of typically developing children matched either for age or language abilities, completed measures of processing speed and storage capacity, and a set of…

Orienting of Visual Attention among Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Reading versus Responding to Symbolic Cues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landry, Oriane; Mitchell, Peter L.; Burack, Jacob A.

2009-01-01

Background: Are persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) slower than typically developing individuals to read the meaning of a symbolic cue in a visual orienting paradigm? Methods: Participants with ASD (n = 18) and performance mental age (PMA) matched typically developing children (n = 16) completed two endogenous orienting conditions in…

Behavioral and Physiological Responses to Child-Directed Speech of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Linda R.; Roberts, Jane E.; Baranek, Grace T.; Mandulak, Kerry C.; Dalton, Jennifer C.

2012-01-01

Young boys with autism were compared to typically developing boys on responses to nonsocial and child-directed speech (CDS) stimuli. Behavioral (looking) and physiological (heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia) measures were collected. Boys with autism looked equally as much as chronological age-matched peers at nonsocial stimuli, but less…

Numerical magnitude processing in children with mild intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Brankaer, Carmen; Ghesquière, Pol; De Smedt, Bert

2011-01-01

The present study investigated numerical magnitude processing in children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) and examined whether these children have difficulties in the ability to represent numerical magnitudes and/or difficulties in the ability to access numerical magnitudes from formal symbols. We compared the performance of 26 children with MID on a symbolic (digits) and a non-symbolic (dot-arrays) comparison task with the performance of two control groups of typically developing children: one group matched on chronological age and one group matched on mathematical ability level. Findings revealed that children with MID performed more poorly than their typically developing chronological age-matched peers on both the symbolic and non-symbolic comparison tasks, while their performance did not substantially differ from the ability-matched control group. These findings suggest that the development of numerical magnitude representation in children with MID is marked by a delay. This performance pattern was observed for both symbolic and non-symbolic comparison tasks, although difficulties on the former task were more prominent. Interventions in children with MID should therefore foster both the development of magnitude representations and the connections between symbols and the magnitudes they represent. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) attend typically to faces and objects presented within their picture communication systems.

PubMed

Gillespie-Smith, K; Riby, D M; Hancock, P J B; Doherty-Sneddon, G

2014-05-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may require interventions for communication difficulties. One type of intervention is picture communication symbols which are proposed to improve comprehension of linguistic input for children with ASD. However, atypical attention to faces and objects is widely reported across the autism spectrum for several types of stimuli. In this study we used eye-tracking methodology to explore fixation duration and time taken to fixate on the object and face areas within picture communication symbols. Twenty-one children with ASD were compared with typically developing matched groups. Children with ASD were shown to have similar fixation patterns on face and object areas compared with typically developing matched groups. It is proposed that children with ASD attend to the images in a manner that does not differentiate them from typically developing individuals. Therefore children with and without autism have the same opportunity to encode the available information. We discuss what this may imply for interventions using picture symbols. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, MENCAP & IASSIDD.

Multisensory Speech Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woynaroski, Tiffany G.; Kwakye, Leslie D.; Foss-Feig, Jennifer H.; Stevenson, Ryan A.; Stone, Wendy L.; Wallace, Mark T.

2013-01-01

This study examined unisensory and multisensory speech perception in 8-17 year old children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing controls matched on chronological age, sex, and IQ. Consonant-vowel syllables were presented in visual only, auditory only, matched audiovisual, and mismatched audiovisual ("McGurk")…

Variability of Self-Regulatory Strategies in Children with Intellectual Disability and Typically Developing Children in Pretend Play Situations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nader-Grosbois, N.; Vieillevoye, S.

2012-01-01

Objective: This study has examined whether or not self-regulatory strategies vary depending on pretend play situations in 40 children with intellectual disability and 40 typically developing children. Method: Their cognitive, linguistic and individual symbolic play levels were assessed in order to match the children of the two groups. During two…

Mothers' Talk to Children with Down Syndrome, Language Impairment, or Typical Development about Familiar and Unfamiliar Nouns and Verbs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bird, Elizabeth Kay-Raining; Cleave, Patricia

2016-01-01

This study investigated how forty-six mothers modified their talk about familiar and unfamiliar nouns and verbs when interacting with their children with Down Syndrome (DS), language impairment (LI), or typical development (TD). Children (MLUs < 2·7) were group-matched on expressive vocabulary size. Mother-child dyads were recorded playing with…

Theory of Mind, Socio-Emotional Problem-Solving, Socio-Emotional Regulation in Children with Intellectual Disability and in Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baurain, Celine; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

2013-01-01

This study has examined the link between social information processing (SIP) and socio-emotional regulation (SER) in 45 children with intellectual disability (ID) and 45 typically developing (TD) children, matched on their developmental age. A Coding Grid of SER, focusing on Emotional Expression, Social Behaviour and Behaviours towards Social…

Investigating the Relationship between Nonword Repetition Performance and Syllabic Structure in Typical and Atypical Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tamburelli, Marco; Jones, Gary

2013-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined the role of syllabic structure in nonword repetition performance in typically developing (TD) children and children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Eighteen children with SLI (5;7--6;7 [years;months]) and 18 TD children matched for chronological age were tested on their ability to…

Variability in Classroom Social Communication: Performance of Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and Typically Developing Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjellmer, Liselotte; Olswang, Lesley B.

2013-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined how variability in classroom social communication performance differed between children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and pair-matched, typically developing peers. Method: Twelve pairs of children were observed in their classrooms, 40 min per day (20 min per child) for 4 days over a…

Observation of Classroom Social Communication: Do Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Spend Their Time Differently than Their Typically Developing Peers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olswang, Lesley B.; Svensson, Liselotte; Astley, Susan

2010-01-01

Purpose: In this research, the authors examined how social communication profiles during classroom activities differed between children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and typically developing pair-matched peers. Method: Twelve pairs of children were observed in their classrooms 20 min a day for 4 days across 2 weeks. Coders…

[An investigation of the imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder and their association with receptive-expressive language development].

PubMed

Turan, Figen; Ökçün Akçamuş, Meral Çilem

2013-01-01

This study aimed to compare imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder, and age-matched typically developing children and children with developmental delay, as well as to examine the association between imitation skills, and receptive and expressive language development in children with autism spectrum disorder. Imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (n=18), and age-matched children with developmental delay (n=15) and typically developing children (n= 16) were assessed using the Motor Imitation Scale and Imitation Battery, and the differences in mean imitation scores between the groups were examined. Receptive language and expressive language development in the children with autism spectrum disorder were assessed using the Turkish Communicative Development Inventory (TCDI), and their association with imitation scores was explored. The children with autism spectrum disorder had significantly lower imitation scores than the children with developmental delay and typically developing children; however, there wasn't a significant difference in imitation scores between the children with developmental delay and typically developing children. A significant association between imitation scores, and receptive and expressive language development was observed in the children with autism spectrum disorder. The present findings indicate that deficient imitation skills are a distinctive feature of children with autism spectrum disorder and that imitation skills play a crucial role in children's language development.

Facial emotion recognition in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome: A matching and developmental study.

PubMed

Martínez-Castilla, Pastora; Burt, Michael; Borgatti, Renato; Gagliardi, Chiara

2015-01-01

In this study both the matching and developmental trajectories approaches were used to clarify questions that remain open in the literature on facial emotion recognition in Williams syndrome (WS) and Down syndrome (DS). The matching approach showed that individuals with WS or DS exhibit neither proficiency for the expression of happiness nor specific impairments for negative emotions. Instead, they present the same pattern of emotion recognition as typically developing (TD) individuals. Thus, the better performance on the recognition of positive compared to negative emotions usually reported in WS and DS is not specific of these populations but seems to represent a typical pattern. Prior studies based on the matching approach suggested that the development of facial emotion recognition is delayed in WS and atypical in DS. Nevertheless, and even though performance levels were lower in DS than in WS, the developmental trajectories approach used in this study evidenced that not only individuals with DS but also those with WS present atypical development in facial emotion recognition. Unlike in the TD participants, where developmental changes were observed along with age, in the WS and DS groups, the development of facial emotion recognition was static. Both individuals with WS and those with DS reached an early maximum developmental level due to cognitive constraints.

Differences in the Performance of Children with Specific Language Impairment and Their Typically Developing Peers on Nonverbal Cognitive Tests: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gallinat, Erica; Spaulding, Tammie J.

2014-01-01

Purpose: This study used meta-analysis to investigate the difference in nonverbal cognitive test performance of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers. Method: The meta-analysis included studies (a) that were published between 1995 and 2012 of children with SLI who were age matched (and not…

The Production of Finite and Nonfinite Complement Clauses by Children with Specific Language Impairment and Their Typically Developing Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Amanda J.; Leonard, Laurence B.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore whether 13 children with specific language impairment (SLI; ages 5;1-8;0 [years;months]) were as proficient as typically developing age- and vocabulary-matched children in the production of finite and nonfinite complement clauses. Preschool children with SLI have marked difficulties with verb-related…

Effect of Phonotactic Probability and Neighborhood Density on Word-Learning Configuration by Preschoolers with Typical Development and Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Shelley; Pittman, Andrea; Weinhold, Juliet

2014-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors assessed the effects of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density on word-learning configuration by preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) and typical language development (TD). Method: One hundred thirty-one children participated: 48 with SLI, 44 with TD matched on age and gender, and 39…

Speech Acts during Friends' and Non-Friends' Spontaneous Conversations in Preschool Dyads with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder versus Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bauminger-Zviely, Nirit; Golan-Itshaky, Adi; Tubul-Lavy, Gila

2017-01-01

In this study, we videotaped two 10-min. free-play interactions and coded speech acts (SAs) in peer talk of 51 preschoolers (21 ASD, 30 typical), interacting with friend versus non-friend partners. Groups were matched for maternal education, IQ (verbal/nonverbal), and CA. We compared SAs by group (ASD/typical), by partner's friendship status…

Profiles of Everyday Executive Functioning in Young Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daunhauer, Lisa A.; Fidler, Deborah J.; Hahn, Laura; Will, Elizabeth; Lee, Nancy Raitano; Hepburn, Susan

2014-01-01

We investigated executive functioning (EF) in children with Down syndrome (DS; n = 25) and typically developing (TD) children matched for mental age (MA; n = 23) using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool. We sought to (1) compare children with DS to a developmentally matched control group, and (2) to characterize the EF…

Short-term Memory in Childhood Dyslexia: Deficient Serial Order in Multiple Modalities.

PubMed

Cowan, Nelson; Hogan, Tiffany P; Alt, Mary; Green, Samuel; Cabbage, Kathryn L; Brinkley, Shara; Gray, Shelley

2017-08-01

In children with dyslexia, deficits in working memory have not been well-specified. We assessed second-grade children with dyslexia, with and without concomitant specific language impairment, and children with typical development. Immediate serial recall of lists of phonological (non-word), lexical (digit), spatial (location) and visual (shape) items were included. For the latter three modalities, we used not only standard span but also running span tasks, in which the list length was unpredictable to limit mnemonic strategies. Non-word repetition tests indicated a phonological memory deficit in children with dyslexia alone compared with those with typical development, but this difference vanished when these groups were matched for non-verbal intelligence and language. Theoretically important deficits in serial order memory in dyslexic children, however, persisted relative to matched typically developing children. The deficits were in recall of (1) spoken digits in both standard and running span tasks and (2) spatial locations, in running span only. Children with dyslexia with versus without language impairment, when matched on non-verbal intelligence, had comparable serial order memory, but differed in phonology. Because serial orderings of verbal and spatial elements occur in reading, the careful examination of order memory may allow a deeper understanding of dyslexia and its relation to language impairment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Iconicity influences how effectively minimally verbal children with autism and ability-matched typically developing children use pictures as symbols in a search task.

PubMed

Hartley, Calum; Allen, Melissa L

2015-07-01

Previous word learning studies suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder may have difficulty understanding pictorial symbols. Here we investigate the ability of children with autism spectrum disorder and language-matched typically developing children to contextualize symbolic information communicated by pictures in a search task that did not involve word learning. Out of the participant's view, a small toy was concealed underneath one of four unique occluders that were individuated by familiar nameable objects or unfamiliar unnamable objects. Children were shown a picture of the hiding location and then searched for the toy. Over three sessions, children completed trials with color photographs, black-and-white line drawings, and abstract color pictures. The results reveal zero group differences; neither children with autism spectrum disorder nor typically developing children were influenced by occluder familiarity, and both groups' errorless retrieval rates were above-chance with all three picture types. However, both groups made significantly more errorless retrievals in the most-iconic photograph trials, and performance was universally predicted by receptive language. Therefore, our findings indicate that children with autism spectrum disorder and young typically developing children can contextualize pictures and use them to adaptively guide their behavior in real time and space. However, this ability is significantly influenced by receptive language development and pictorial iconicity. © The Author(s) 2014.

The use of definite and indefinite articles by children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Polite, Elgustus J; Leonard, Laurence B; Roberts, Felicia D

2011-08-01

Among the grammatical limitations seen in English-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) is a prolonged period of using articles (e.g., a, the) inconsistently. Most studies documenting this difficulty have focused on article omission and have not made the distinction between definite and indefinite article contexts. In this study, there were 36 participants: 12 5-year-olds with SLI, 12 typically-developing children matched for age, and 12 younger, typically-developing children matched with participants in the SLI group according to mean length of utterance. All 36 children participated in a task requiring indefinite article use, and a task requiring use of the definite article, in which the referent of the noun had already been established in the discourse. The children with SLI showed less use of definite articles in particular, relative to both groups of typically-developing children. Substitutions as well as omissions were seen. The findings suggest that the article limitations of the children with SLI were attributable in part to an incomplete understanding of how definite articles are to be used.

Attribution of negative intention in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Godbee, Kali; Porter, Melanie A

2013-05-01

People with Williams syndrome (WS) are said to have sociable and extremely trusting personalities, approaching strangers without hesitation. This study investigated whether people with WS are less likely than controls to attribute negative intent to others when interpreting a series of ambiguous pictures. This may, at least partially, explain their hypersociability toward strangers. Twenty-seven individuals with WS and 54 typically developing controls (27 matched to WS participants on sex and chronological age and 27 matched on sex and mental age) viewed 10 ambiguous pictures, where one person in the picture may be seen as having a negative objective. Participants were asked to describe what was happening in the picture. Responses were scored for negative intention attribution (NIA). NIA was reduced in WS individuals relative to typically developing controls of the same chronological age, but was similar to typically developing controls of the same mental age. Findings are discussed in relation to possible underlying neurological and cognitive mechanisms and practical implications for understanding and teaching stranger danger to people with WS. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language Learning in Down Syndrome: The Speech and Language Profile Compared to Adolescents with Cognitive Impairment of Unknown Origin

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Robin S.

2006-01-01

Children and adolescents with Down syndrome show an emerging profile of speech and language characteristics that is typical of the syndrome (Chapman & Hesketh, 2000; Chapman, 2003; Abbeduto & Chapman, 2005) and different from typically developing children matched for nonverbal mental age, including expressive language deficits relative to…

Brief Report: Compliance and Noncompliance to Parental Control Strategies in Children with High-Functioning Autism and Their Typical Peers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryce, Crystal I.; Jahromi, Laudan B.

2013-01-01

The present study examined children's compliance and noncompliance behaviors in response to parental control strategies in 20 children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and 20 matched typically-developing children. Observational coding was used to measure child compliance (committed, situational), noncompliance (passive, defiance, self-assertion,…

Mind and body: concepts of human cognition, physiology and false belief in children with autism or typical development.

PubMed

Peterson, Candida C

2005-08-01

This study examined theory of mind (ToM) and concepts of human biology (eyes, heart, brain, lungs and mind) in a sample of 67 children, including 25 high functioning children with autism (age 6-13), plus age-matched and preschool comparison groups. Contrary to Baron-Cohen [1989, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(4), 579-600], most children with autism correctly understood the functions of the brain (84%) and the mind (64%). Their explanations were predominantly mentalistic. They outperformed typically developing preschoolers in understanding inner physiological (heart, lungs) and cognitive (brain, mind) systems, and scored as high as age-matched typical children. Yet, in line with much previous ToM research, most children with autism (60%) failed false belief, and their ToM performance was unrelated to their understanding of. human biology. Results were discussed in relation to neurobiological and social-experiential accounts of the ToM deficit in autism.

Deficits in Upper Limb Position Sense of Children with Spastic Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy Are Distance-Dependent

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smorenburg, Ana R. P.; Ledebt, Annick; Deconinck, Frederik J. A.; Savelsbergh, Geert J. P.

2012-01-01

This study examined the arm position sense in children with Spastic Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy (SHCP) and typically developing children (TD) by means of a contralateral matching task. This task required participants to match the position of one arm with the position of the other arm for different target distances and from different starting…

With Some Help from Others' Hands: Iconic Gesture Helps Semantic Learning in Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vogt, Susanne S.; Kauschke, Christina

2017-01-01

Purpose: Semantic learning under 2 co-speech gesture conditions was investigated in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children. Learning was analyzed between conditions. Method: Twenty children with SLI (aged 4 years), 20 TD children matched for age, and 20 TD children matched for language scores were…

"Who Said That?" Matching of Low- and High-Intensity Emotional Prosody to Facial Expressions by Adolescents with ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grossman, Ruth B.; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

2012-01-01

Data on emotion processing by individuals with ASD suggest both intact abilities and significant deficits. Signal intensity may be a contributing factor to this discrepancy. We presented low- and high-intensity emotional stimuli in a face-voice matching task to 22 adolescents with ASD and 22 typically developing (TD) peers. Participants heard…

Fundamental movement skills and autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Staples, Kerri L; Reid, Greg

2010-02-01

Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.

The Peer Social Networks of Young Children with Down Syndrome in Classroom Programmes

PubMed Central

Guralnick, Michael J.; Connor, Robert T.; Johnson, L. Clark

2010-01-01

Background The nature and characteristics of the peer social networks of young children with Down syndrome in classroom settings were examined within a developmental framework. Method Comparisons were made with younger typically developing children matched on mental age and typically developing children matched on chronological age. Results Similar patterns were found for all three groups for most peer social network measures. However, group differences were obtained for measures of teacher assistance and peer interactions in unstructured situations. Conclusions Positive patterns appeared to be related to the social orientation of children with Down syndrome and the special efforts of teachers to support children’s peer social networks. Findings also suggested that fundamental peer competence problems for children with Down syndrome remain and may best be addressed within the framework of contemporary models of peer-related social competence. PMID:21765644

Sex-typical play: masculinization/defeminization in girls with an autism spectrum condition.

PubMed

Knickmeyer, Rebecca C; Wheelwright, Sally; Baron-Cohen, Simon B

2008-07-01

We tested the hypothesis that prenatal masculinization of the brain by androgens increases risk of developing an autism spectrum condition (ASC). Sex-typical play was measured in n = 66 children diagnosed with an ASC and n = 55 typically developing age-matched controls. Consistent with the hypothesis, girls with autism did not show the female-typical play preferences, though this was only seen on non-pretence items. Boys with autism showed a preference for male play on non-pretence items, in keeping with their sex. Girls with autism engaged in more pretend play than boys with autism, suggesting that pretence is relatively more protected in females with autism. We conclude that play preference studies in ASC provide partial support for the fetal androgen theory.

Early Grammatical Development in Spanish Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galeote, Miguel; Soto, Pilar; Sebastian, Eugenia; Checa, Elena; Sanchez-Palacios, Concepcion

2014-01-01

The objective of this work was to analyze morphosyntactic development in a wide sample of children with Down syndrome (DS) ("n" = 92) and children with typical development (TD) ("n" = 92) with a mental age (MA) of 20 to 29 months. Children were individually matched for gender and MA (Analysis 1) and for vocabulary size…

Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Staples, Kerri L.; Reid, Greg

2010-01-01

Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the "Test of Gross Motor Development" ("TGMD-2"). The group matched on chronological age…

Play complexity and toy engagement in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: Do girls and boys differ?

PubMed

Harrop, Clare; Green, Jonathan; Hudry, Kristelle

2017-01-01

While sex differences in play have been extensively observed in typical development, only a handful of studies have explored this phenomenon in depth with children with autism spectrum disorders. This study explored sex differences in play complexity and toy engagement within caregiver-child interaction samples for preschool-aged children (2-5 years 11 months) with an autism spectrum disorder who were matched to typically developing children on sex and non-verbal development. Overall we found that girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder were largely equivalent in their play complexity. Despite similar play, girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder differed in a number of ways in their toy engagement, replicating traditional gender differences-girls played more with dolls and domestic items (though at lower rates than typically developing girls) and boys played more with the garage and cars (though at lower rates than typically developing boys). Our findings support the importance and utility of examining sex differences in autism spectrum disorder in light of those observed within typical development. © The Author(s) 2016.

Visual Search for Basic Emotional Expressions in Autism; Impaired Processing of Anger, Fear and Sadness, but a Typical Happy Face Advantage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farran, Emily K.; Branson, Amanda; King, Ben J.

2011-01-01

Facial expression recognition was investigated in 20 males with high functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS), compared to typically developing individuals matched for chronological age (TD CA group) and verbal and non-verbal ability (TD V/NV group). This was the first study to employ a visual search, "face in the crowd" paradigm with a…

Development of Phonological Awareness in down Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis and Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naess, Kari-Anne B.

2016-01-01

Phonological awareness (PA) is the knowledge and understanding of the sound structure of language and is believed to be an important skill for the development of reading. This study explored PA skills in children with Down syndrome and matched typically developing (TD) controls using a dual approach: a meta-analysis of the existing international…

Narrative Development in Adolescents and Young Adults with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keller-Bell, Yolanda D.; Abbeduto, Leonard D.

2007-01-01

The narratives of 18 adolescents and young adults with fragile X syndrome were compared to those of 23 adolescents with Down syndrome and 21 typically developing children matched for nonverbal MA. Narratives were elicited using a wordless picture book and analyzed for use of narrative evaluation, linguistic productivity, and complexity. Results…

Theory of Mind "Emotion", Developmental Characteristics and Social Understanding in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thirion-Marissiaux, Anne-Francoise; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

2008-01-01

Patterns of development of ToM-emotion abilities in intellectually disabled (ID) children and typically developing (TD) children matched on their developmental age were investigated. The links between cognition, language, social understanding and ToM-emotion abilities were examined. EDEI-R (Perron-Borelli, M. (1996). "Echelles Differentielles…

Theory of Mind "Beliefs", Developmental Characteristics and Social Understanding in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thirion-Marissiaux, Anne-Francoise; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

2008-01-01

Patterns of development of ToM belief abilities in intellectually disabled (ID) children and typically developing (TD) children matched on their developmental age were investigated. The links between cognition, language, social understanding and ToM belief abilities were examined. EDEI-R [Perron-Borelli M. (1996). "Echelles Differentielles…

Using Robot Animation to Promote Gestural Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

So, W.-C.; Wong, M. K.-Y.; Cabibihan, J.-J.; Lam, C. K.-Y.; Chan, R. Y.-Y.; Qian, H.-H.

2016-01-01

School-aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have delayed gestural development, in comparison with age-matched typically developing children. In this study, an intervention program taught children with low-functioning ASD gestural comprehension and production using video modelling (VM) by a computer-generated robot animation. Six to…

Mathematics skills in good readers with hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Barnes, Marcia A; Pengelly, Sarah; Dennis, Maureen; Wilkinson, Margaret; Rogers, Tracey; Faulkner, Heather

2002-01-01

Children with hydrocephalus have poor math skills. We investigated the nature of their arithmetic computation errors by comparing written subtraction errors in good readers with hydrocephalus, typically developing good readers of the same age, and younger children matched for math level to the children with hydrocephalus. Children with hydrocephalus made more procedural errors (although not more fact retrieval or visual-spatial errors) than age-matched controls; they made the same number of procedural errors as younger, math-level matched children. We also investigated a broad range of math abilities, and found that children with hydrocephalus performed more poorly than age-matched controls on tests of geometry and applied math skills such as estimation and problem solving. Computation deficits in children with hydrocephalus reflect delayed development of procedural knowledge. Problems in specific math domains such as geometry and applied math, were associated with deficits in constituent cognitive skills such as visual spatial competence, memory, and general knowledge.

Fundamental frequency development in typically developing infants and infants with severe-to-profound hearing loss

PubMed Central

Iyer, Suneeti Nathani; Oller, D. Kimbrough

2010-01-01

Little research has been conducted on the development of suprasegmental characteristics of vocalizations in typically developing infants (TDI) and the role of audition in the development of these characteristics. The purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal development of fundamental frequency (F0) in eight TDI and eight infants with severe-to-profound hearing loss matched for level of vocal development. Results revealed no significant changes in F0 with advances in pre-language vocal development for TDI. Infants with hearing loss, however, showed a statistically reliable higher variability of F0 than TDI, when age was accounted for as a covariate. The results suggest development of F0 may be strongly influenced by audition. PMID:19031191

The capacity to adapt to changing balance threats: a comparison of children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children.

PubMed

Burtner, P A; Woollacott, M H; Craft, G L; Roncesvalles, M N

2007-01-01

This study investigated differences in reactive balance abilities of typically developing children and those with spastic diplegia. Recovery from balance threats was compared by: (i) Platform velocity and amplitude thresholds: Speed and size of platform movement at which children required assistance to remain upright, (ii) percentage of trials with feet-in-place vs. loss of balance, and (iii) center of pressure measures. Participants included 8 children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, 15 developmentally matched children (similar walking stages) and 21 age-matched control children. Backward platform movements graded as easy, moderate and difficult were unexpectedly imposed on children standing on a moveable platform. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) had lower platform velocity thresholds, greater percentages of loss of balance trials, increased distances and increased frequency of directional changes in center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories than control children. Older children with CP fell more often than those under 5 years. Greatest differences between children with and without CP were found in comparisons based on age rather than developmental levels. Using balance perturbations that challenged children with CP to the limits of their balance abilities effectively identified age performance differences and differences compared to typically developing children. Implications for rehabilitation programs are presented.

Basic visual perceptual processes in children with typical development and cerebral palsy: The processing of surface, length, orientation, and position.

PubMed

Schmetz, Emilie; Magis, David; Detraux, Jean-Jacques; Barisnikov, Koviljka; Rousselle, Laurence

2018-03-02

The present study aims to assess how the processing of basic visual perceptual (VP) components (length, surface, orientation, and position) develops in typically developing (TD) children (n = 215, 4-14 years old) and adults (n = 20, 20-25 years old), and in children with cerebral palsy (CP) (n = 86, 5-14 years old) using the first four subtests of the Battery for the Evaluation of Visual Perceptual and Spatial processing in children. Experiment 1 showed that these four basic VP processes follow distinct developmental trajectories in typical development. Experiment 2 revealed that children with CP present global and persistent deficits for the processing of basic VP components when compared with TD children matched on chronological age and nonverbal reasoning abilities.

Young friendship in HFASD and typical development: friend versus non-friend comparisons.

PubMed

Bauminger-Zviely, Nirit; Agam-Ben-Artzi, Galit

2014-07-01

This study conducted comparative assessment of friendship in preschoolers with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD, n = 29) versus preschoolers with typical development (n = 30), focusing on interactions with friends versus acquaintances. Groups were matched on SES, verbal/nonverbal MA, IQ, and CA. Multidimensional assessments included: mothers' and teachers' reports about friends' and friendship characteristics and observed individual and dyadic behaviors throughout interactions with friends versus non-friends during construction, drawing, and free-play situations. Findings revealed group differences in peer interaction favoring the typical development group, thus supporting the neuropsychological profile of HFASD. However, both groups' interactions with friends surpassed interactions with acquaintances on several key socio-communicative and intersubjective capabilities, thus suggesting that friendship may contribute to enhancement and practice of social interaction in HFASD.

The peer relationships of girls with ASD at school: comparison to boys and girls with and without ASD.

PubMed

Dean, Michelle; Kasari, Connie; Shih, Wendy; Frankel, Fred; Whitney, Rondalyn; Landa, Rebecca; Lord, Catherine; Orlich, Felice; King, Bryan; Harwood, Robin

2014-11-01

This study examines the social relationships of elementary school children with high-functioning autism, focusing on how gender relates to social preferences and acceptance, social connections, reciprocal friendships, and rejection. Peer nomination data were analyzed for girls with and without ASD (n = 50) and boys with and without ASD (n = 50). Girls and boys with ASD were matched by age, gender, and IQ. Each child with ASD was matched by age and gender to a typically developing classmate. Consistent with typically developing populations, children with ASD preferred, were accepted by, and primarily socialized with same-gender friends. With fewer nominations and social relationships, girls and boys with ASD appear more socially similar to each other than to the same-gender control group. Additionally, girls and boys with ASD showed higher rates of social exclusion than their typically developing peers. However, boys with ASD were more overtly socially excluded compared to girls with ASD, who seemed to be overlooked, rather than rejected. Our data suggest a number of interesting findings in the social relationships of children with ASD in schools. Like typically developing populations, children with ASD identify with their own gender when socializing and choosing friends. But given the social differences between genders, it is likely that girls with ASD are experiencing social challenges that are different from boys with ASD. Therefore, gender is an important environmental factor to consider when planning social skills interventions at school. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. © 2014 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Parental Retrospective Assessment of Development and Behavior in Asperger Syndrome during the First 2 Years of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dewrang, Petra; Sandberg, Annika Dahlgren

2010-01-01

Development and behavior during the first 2 years of life was assessed retrospectively by the parents to 23 adolescents and young adults with Asperger syndrome and 13 typically developing adolescents and young adults. The groups were matched on chronological age and the participants were within the normal range of intelligence. The questionnaire,…

Preserving the Past: An Early Interview Improves Delayed Event Memory in Children With Intellectual Disabilities

PubMed Central

Brown, Deirdre A; Lewis, Charlie N; Lamb, Michael E

2015-01-01

The influence of an early interview on children's (N = 194) later recall of an experienced event was examined in children with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities (CWID; 7–12 years) and typically developing (TD) children matched for chronological (7–12 years) or mental (4–9 years) age. Children previously interviewed were more informative, more accurate, and less suggestible. CWID (mild) recalled as much information as TD mental age matches, and were as accurate as TD chronological age matches. CWID (moderate) recalled less than TD mental age matches but were as accurate. Interviewers should elicit CWID's recall as early as possible and consider developmental level and severity of impairments when evaluating eyewitness testimony. PMID:25876042

Effect of chunk strength on the performance of children with developmental dyslexia on artificial grammar learning task may be related to complexity.

PubMed

Schiff, Rachel; Katan, Pesia; Sasson, Ayelet; Kahta, Shani

2017-07-01

There's a long held view that chunks play a crucial role in artificial grammar learning performance. We compared chunk strength influences on performance, in high and low topological entropy (a measure of complexity) grammar systems, with dyslexic children, age-matched and reading-level-matched control participants. Findings show that age-matched control participants' performance reflected equivalent influence of chunk strength in the two topological entropy conditions, as typically found in artificial grammar learning experiments. By contrast, dyslexic children and reading-level-matched controls' performance reflected knowledge of chunk strength only under the low topological entropy condition. In the low topological entropy grammar system, they appeared completely unable to utilize chunk strength to make appropriate test item selections. In line with previous research, this study suggests that for typically developing children, it is the chunks that are attended during artificial grammar learning and create a foundation on which implicit associative learning mechanisms operate, and these chunks are unitized to different strengths. However, for children with dyslexia, it is complexity that may influence the subsequent memorability of chunks, independently of their strength.

Speech Acts During Friends' and Non-friends' Spontaneous Conversations in Preschool Dyads with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder versus Typical Development.

PubMed

Bauminger-Zviely, Nirit; Golan-Itshaky, Adi; Tubul-Lavy, Gila

2017-05-01

In this study, we videotaped two 10-min. free-play interactions and coded speech acts (SAs) in peer talk of 51 preschoolers (21 ASD, 30 typical), interacting with friend versus non-friend partners. Groups were matched for maternal education, IQ (verbal/nonverbal), and CA. We compared SAs by group (ASD/typical), by partner's friendship status (friend/non-friend), and by partner's disability status. Main results yielded a higher amount and diversity of SAs in the typical than the ASD group (mainly in assertive acts, organizational devices, object-dubbing, and pretend-play); yet, those categories, among others, showed better performance with friends versus non-friends. Overall, a more nuanced perception of the pragmatic deficit in ASD should be adopted, highlighting friendship as an important context for children's development of SAs.

Validation of reaching in a virtual environment in typically developing children and children with mild unilateral cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Robert, Maxime T; Levin, Mindy F

2018-04-01

To compare three reaching movements made in two planes between a low-cost, game-based virtual reality and a matched physical environment in typically developing children and children with cerebral palsy (CP). To determine if differences in kinematics are related to sensory deficits. An observational study in which 27 children (typically developing, n=17, mean age 13y, [SD] 2y 2mo, range 9y 3mo-17y 2mo; CP, n=10, mean age 13y 8mo, [SD] 1y 8mo, range 11y 1mo-17y 1mo, Manual Ability Classification System levels I-II) performed 15 trials of three gestures in each of a virtual reality and a matched physical environment. Upper-limb and trunk kinematics were recorded using an electromagnetic system (G4, Polhemus, six markers, 120Hz). Compared to the physical environment, movements in virtual reality made by typically developing children were slower (p=0.002), and involved less trunk flexion (p=0.002) and rotation (p=0.026). Children with CP had more curved trajectories (p=0.005) and used less trunk flexion (p=0.003) and rotation (p=0.005). Elbow and shoulder kinematics differed from 2.8% to 155.4% between environments in both groups. Between groups, there were small, clinically insignificant differences with only the vertical gesture being longer in typically developing children. Children with CP who had greater tactile impairment used more trunk displacement. Clinicians and researchers need to be aware of differences in movement variables when setting goals or designing protocols for improving reaching in children with CP using low-cost, game-based virtual reality systems. Upper-limb kinematics differed in each group when reaching in physical versus virtual environments. There were small differences in movements made by children with mild unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) compared to typically developing children. Differences in reaching kinematics should be considered when goal setting using virtual reality interventions for children with mild unilateral CP. © 2018 Mac Keith Press.

Exploring the Relationship between Measures of Self-Esteem and Psychological Adjustment among Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williamson, Sara; Craig, Jaime; Slinger, Richard

2008-01-01

This exploratory study examines the relationships between self-esteem and psychological adjustment among 19 adolescents with Asperger syndrome and 19 typically developing adolescents using a model developed by Harter. The groups were matched for age (mean 13 years), sex (M:F 16:3) and ethnicity (white British). Participants completed four…

Language and ToM Development in Autism versus Asperger Syndrome: Contrasting Influences of Syntactic versus Lexical/Semantic Maturity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paynter, Jessica; Peterson, Candida

2010-01-01

Theory of mind (ToM) development by a sample of 63 children aged 5-12 years (24 with Asperger syndrome, 19 with high-functioning autism, and 20 age-matched typical developers) was assessed with a five-task false-belief battery in relation to both lexical (vocabulary) and syntactic (grammar) language skills. Contrary to some previous research, no…

Maternal and paternal pragmatic speech directed to young children with Down syndrome and typical development

PubMed Central

de Falco, Simona; Venuti, Paola; Esposito, Gianluca; Bornstein, Marc H.

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to compare functional features of maternal and paternal speech directed to children with Down syndrome and developmental age-matched typically developing children. Altogether 88 parents (44 mothers and 44 fathers) and their 44 young children (22 children with Down syndrome and 22 typically developing children) participated. Parents’ speech directed to children was obtained through observation of naturalistic parent–child dyadic interactions. Verbatim transcripts of maternal and paternal language were categorized in terms of the primary function of each speech unit. Parents (both mothers and fathers) of children with Down syndrome used more affect-salient speech compared to parents of typically developing children. Although parents used the same amounts of information-salient speech, parents of children with Down syndrome used more direct statements and asked fewer questions than did parents of typically developing children. Concerning parent gender, in both groups mothers used more language than fathers and specifically more descriptions. These findings held controlling for child age and MLU and family SES. This study highlights strengths and weaknesses of parental communication to children with Down syndrome and helps to identify areas of potential improvement through intervention. PMID:21215458

Maternal and paternal pragmatic speech directed to young children with Down syndrome and typical development.

PubMed

de Falco, Simona; Venuti, Paola; Esposito, Gianluca; Bornstein, Marc H

2011-02-01

The aim of this study was to compare functional features of maternal and paternal speech directed to children with Down syndrome and developmental age-matched typically developing children. Altogether 88 parents (44 mothers and 44 fathers) and their 44 young children (22 children with Down syndrome and 22 typically developing children) participated. Parents' speech directed to children was obtained through observation of naturalistic parent-child dyadic interactions. Verbatim transcripts of maternal and paternal language were categorized in terms of the primary function of each speech unit. Parents (both mothers and fathers) of children with Down syndrome used more affect-salient speech compared to parents of typically developing children. Although parents used the same amounts of information-salient speech, parents of children with Down syndrome used more direct statements and asked fewer questions than did parents of typically developing children. Concerning parent gender, in both groups mothers used more language than fathers and specifically more descriptions. These findings held controlling for child age and MLU and family SES. This study highlights strengths and weaknesses of parental communication to children with Down syndrome and helps to identify areas of potential improvement through intervention. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Tests to Measure Individual Differences in Matching and Labelling Facial Expressions of Emotion, and Their Association with Ability to Recognise Vocal Emotions and Facial Identity

PubMed Central

Palermo, Romina; O’Connor, Kirsty B.; Davis, Joshua M.; Irons, Jessica; McKone, Elinor

2013-01-01

Although good tests are available for diagnosing clinical impairments in face expression processing, there is a lack of strong tests for assessing “individual differences” – that is, differences in ability between individuals within the typical, nonclinical, range. Here, we develop two new tests, one for expression perception (an odd-man-out matching task in which participants select which one of three faces displays a different expression) and one additionally requiring explicit identification of the emotion (a labelling task in which participants select one of six verbal labels). We demonstrate validity (careful check of individual items, large inversion effects, independence from nonverbal IQ, convergent validity with a previous labelling task), reliability (Cronbach’s alphas of.77 and.76 respectively), and wide individual differences across the typical population. We then demonstrate the usefulness of the tests by addressing theoretical questions regarding the structure of face processing, specifically the extent to which the following processes are common or distinct: (a) perceptual matching and explicit labelling of expression (modest correlation between matching and labelling supported partial independence); (b) judgement of expressions from faces and voices (results argued labelling tasks tap into a multi-modal system, while matching tasks tap distinct perceptual processes); and (c) expression and identity processing (results argued for a common first step of perceptual processing for expression and identity). PMID:23840821

New tests to measure individual differences in matching and labelling facial expressions of emotion, and their association with ability to recognise vocal emotions and facial identity.

PubMed

Palermo, Romina; O'Connor, Kirsty B; Davis, Joshua M; Irons, Jessica; McKone, Elinor

2013-01-01

Although good tests are available for diagnosing clinical impairments in face expression processing, there is a lack of strong tests for assessing "individual differences"--that is, differences in ability between individuals within the typical, nonclinical, range. Here, we develop two new tests, one for expression perception (an odd-man-out matching task in which participants select which one of three faces displays a different expression) and one additionally requiring explicit identification of the emotion (a labelling task in which participants select one of six verbal labels). We demonstrate validity (careful check of individual items, large inversion effects, independence from nonverbal IQ, convergent validity with a previous labelling task), reliability (Cronbach's alphas of.77 and.76 respectively), and wide individual differences across the typical population. We then demonstrate the usefulness of the tests by addressing theoretical questions regarding the structure of face processing, specifically the extent to which the following processes are common or distinct: (a) perceptual matching and explicit labelling of expression (modest correlation between matching and labelling supported partial independence); (b) judgement of expressions from faces and voices (results argued labelling tasks tap into a multi-modal system, while matching tasks tap distinct perceptual processes); and (c) expression and identity processing (results argued for a common first step of perceptual processing for expression and identity).

Fairness-Based Tasks for Assessing Children’s Perceptions of Food Quantities and Associations with Portion Selection

PubMed Central

Ferrage, Aurore; Godinot, Nicolas

2018-01-01

It is critical to develop ecologically valid experimental methods to assess consumers’ food-related behaviors. Ad libitum approaches are often used but may not be appropriate for studies with children or with products that are not typically consumed until the individual feels full. The current study presents novel methods to assess children’s size perception and portion preference for gummy candies. In the first study, 62 children (30 boys, 32 girls) aged 6 to 9 years completed two matching tasks: one using pictures on a computer screen, and a similar task where the products were physically manipulated. Results of the two matching tasks were correlated, demonstrating that a computer-based approach could be used to predict the factors influencing children’s perception of food amount: the number, size, and shape of pieces. In the second study, a portioning measure was developed to investigate whether the factors identified in the matching tasks were confirmed in a task that more closely represented portion selection in the real world. The effects observed in the matching tasks could not be replicated in the portioning task. The size of each item had no significant impact on the portion selection, suggesting that it may be possible to reduce the size of pieces in snacks where multiple pieces are typically consumed without negatively impacting perceived quantity in children, thus offering a promising strategy to nudge children toward choosing smaller portions. PMID:29642371

Event-based prospective memory in mildly and severely autistic children.

PubMed

Sheppard, Daniel P; Kvavilashvili, Lia; Ryder, Nuala

2016-01-01

There is a growing body of research into the development of prospective memory (PM) in typically developing children but research is limited in autistic children (Aut) and rarely includes children with more severe symptoms. This study is the first to specifically compare event-based PM in severely autistic children to mildly autistic and typically developing children. Fourteen mildly autistic children and 14 severely autistic children, aged 5-13 years, were matched for educational attainment with 26 typically developing children aged 5-6 years. Three PM tasks and a retrospective memory task were administered. Results showed that severely autistic children performed less well than typically developing children on two PM tasks but mildly autistic children did not differ from either group. No group differences were found on the most motivating (a toy reward) task. The findings suggest naturalistic tasks and motivation are important factors in PM success in severely autistic children and highlights the need to consider the heterogeneity of autism and symptom severity in relation to performance on event-based PM tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can Automated Facial Expression Analysis Show Differences Between Autism and Typical Functioning?

PubMed

Borsos, Zsófia; Gyori, Miklos

2017-01-01

Exploratory analyses of emotional expressions using a commercially available facial expression recognition software are reported, from the context of a serious game for screening purposes. Our results are based on a comparative analysis of two matched groups of kindergarten-age children (high-functioning children with autism spectrum condition: n=13; typically developing children: n=13). Results indicate that this technology has the potential to identify autism-specific emotion expression features, and may play a role in affective diagnostic and assistive technologies.

Cognitive Differences in Pictorial Reasoning between High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahyoun, Cherif P.; Soulieres, Isabelle; Belliveau, John W.; Mottron, Laurent; Mody, Maria

2009-01-01

We investigated linguistic and visuospatial processing during pictorial reasoning in high-functioning autism (HFA), Asperger's syndrome (ASP), and age and IQ-matched typically developing participants (CTRL), using three conditions designed to differentially engage linguistic mediation or visuospatial processing (visuospatial, V; semantic, S;…

The Development of Micromachined Gyroscope Structure and Circuitry Technology

PubMed Central

Xia, Dunzhu; Yu, Cheng; Kong, Lun

2014-01-01

This review surveys micromachined gyroscope structure and circuitry technology. The principle of micromachined gyroscopes is first introduced. Then, different kinds of MEMS gyroscope structures, materials and fabrication technologies are illustrated. Micromachined gyroscopes are mainly categorized into micromachined vibrating gyroscopes (MVGs), piezoelectric vibrating gyroscopes (PVGs), surface acoustic wave (SAW) gyroscopes, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) gyroscopes, micromachined electrostatically suspended gyroscopes (MESGs), magnetically suspended gyroscopes (MSGs), micro fiber optic gyroscopes (MFOGs), micro fluid gyroscopes (MFGs), micro atom gyroscopes (MAGs), and special micromachined gyroscopes. Next, the control electronics of micromachined gyroscopes are analyzed. The control circuits are categorized into typical circuitry and special circuitry technologies. The typical circuitry technologies include typical analog circuitry and digital circuitry, while the special circuitry consists of sigma delta, mode matching, temperature/quadrature compensation and novel special technologies. Finally, the characteristics of various typical gyroscopes and their development tendency are discussed and investigated in detail. PMID:24424468

Phonology and Vocal Behavior in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Schoen, Elizabeth; Paul, Rhea; Chawarska, Katyrzyna

2011-01-01

Scientific Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the phonological and other vocal productions of children, 18-36 months, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to compare these productions to those of age-matched and language-matched controls. Speech samples were obtained from 30 toddlers with ASD, 11 age-matched toddlers and 23 language-matched toddlers during either parent-child or clinician-child play sessions. Samples were coded for a variety of speech-like and non-speech vocalization productions. Toddlers with ASD produced speech-like vocalizations similar to those of language-matched peers, but produced significantly more atypical non-speech vocalizations when compared to both control groups.Toddlers with ASD show speech-like sound production that is linked to their language level, in a manner similar to that seen in typical development. The main area of difference in vocal development in this population is in the production of atypical vocalizations. Findings suggest that toddlers with autism spectrum disorders might not tune into the language model of their environment. Failure to attend to the ambient language environment negatively impacts the ability to acquire spoken language. PMID:21308998

The role of imitation in the observed heterogeneity in EEG mu rhythm in autism and typical development.

PubMed

Bernier, Raphael; Aaronson, Benjamin; McPartland, James

2013-06-01

Dysfunction in an execution/observation matching system, or mirror neuron system, has been proposed to contribute to the social deficits observed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Atypical activity in this system, as reflected in attenuation of the EEG mu rhythm, has been demonstrated in several studies; however, normative patterns of activity have been evident in other ASD samples. The current study sought to investigate this poorly understood heterogeneity in social perceptual brain function in ASD. EEG mu rhythm was recorded in a well-characterized sample of 19 children with ASD (mean age=6.4; 1 female) and 19 age-matched typically developing peers (mean age=6.9; 2 females) during execution and observation of goal-directed hand actions. Children were assessed on variables theoretically related to mirror neuron system function (MNS), such as ASD symptoms and imitation ability. Results indicated that MNS activity was associated with facial imitation ability, but not hand imitation ability, in children with ASD and typically developing individuals. Groups were comparable in terms of average MNS activity during both action observation and execution, but, in both groups, a subset of children showed absent or significantly reduced MNS activity during observation of action in conjunction with greater difficulty in imitation. These results emphasize the relationship between EEG indices of MNS function and imitative skill and suggest that dysfunction of the MNS is related to imitation ability in both clinical and typical populations, rather than representing a core deficit or universal impairment in ASD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dietary intake and parents' perception of mealtime behaviors in preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder and in typically developing children.

PubMed

Lockner, Donna W; Crowe, Terry K; Skipper, Betty J

2008-08-01

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently report that their children have selective eating behaviors and refuse many foods, which could result in inadequate nutrient intake. This preliminary cross-sectional descriptive study investigated dietary intake and parents' reported perception of food behaviors of 20 3- to 5-year-old children with ASD. Twenty typically developing children matched for sex, age, and ethnicity were also studied as a case-control comparison. Nutrient intake determined from 3-day food records was adjusted for day-to-day variation to determine the estimate of usual intake distribution for the two groups. This distribution was compared with the Estimated Average Requirement or Adequate Intake recommendations. The reported food behaviors and use of vitamin or mineral supplements were compared for matched pairs using the exact McNemar test. Nutrient intake was similar for both groups of children, with the majority of children consuming more than the recommended amounts for most nutrients. Nutrients least likely to be consumed in recommended amounts were vitamin A, vitamin E, fiber, and calcium. Children with ASD were more likely to consume vitamin/mineral supplements than typically developing children. Compared with parents of typically developing children, parents of children with ASD were more likely to report that their children were picky eaters and resisted trying new foods, and they were less likely to describe their children as healthy eaters or that they eat a variety of foods. Despite the similar and generally adequate nutrient intake for the 40 children in this study, parents of children with ASD had more negative perceptions of their children's dietary behaviors.

Predicting social and communicative ability in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study of the Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice.

PubMed

Burger-Caplan, Rebecca; Saulnier, Celine; Jones, Warren; Klin, Ami

2016-11-01

The Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice is introduced as a measure of implicit social cognitive ability in children, addressing a key challenge in quantification of social cognitive function in autism spectrum disorder, whereby individuals can often be successful in explicit social scenarios, despite marked social adaptive deficits. The 19-question Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice, which presents ambiguous stimuli meant to elicit social attribution, was administered to children with autism spectrum disorder (N = 23) and to age-matched and verbal IQ-matched typically developing children (N = 57). The Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice performance differed between autism spectrum disorder and typically developing groups, with typically developing children performing significantly better than children with autism spectrum disorder. The Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice scores were positively correlated with age (r = 0.474) while being independent from verbal IQ (r = 0.236). The Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice was strongly correlated with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales Communication (r = 0.464) and Socialization (r = 0.482) scores, but not with Daily Living Skills scores (r = 0.116), suggesting that the implicit social cognitive ability underlying performance on the Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice is associated with real-life social adaptive function. © The Author(s) 2016.

Action Planning in Typically and Atypically Developing Children (Unilateral Cerebral Palsy)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Craje, Celine; Aarts, Pauline; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria; Steenbergen, Bert

2010-01-01

In the present study, we investigated the development of action planning in children with unilateral Cerebral Palsy (CP, aged 3-6 years, n = 24) and an age matched control group. To investigate action planning, participants performed a sequential movement task. They had to grasp an object (a wooden play sword) and place the sword in a hole in a…

The Relationship between Gross Motor Skills and Academic Achievement in Children with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westendorp, Marieke; Hartman, Esther; Houwen, Suzanne; Smith, Joanne; Visscher, Chris

2011-01-01

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading,…

Psychological outcomes and gender-related development in complete androgen insensitivity syndrome.

PubMed

Hines, Melissa; Ahmed, S Faisal; Hughes, Ieuan A

2003-04-01

We evaluated psychological outcomes and gender development in 22 women with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS). Participants were recruited through a medical database (n = 10) or through a patient support group (n = 12). Controls included 14 males and 33 females, of whom 22 were matched to women with CAIS for age, race, and sex-of-rearing. Outcome measures included quality of life (self-esteem and psychological general well-being), gender-related psychological characteristics (gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender role behavior in childhood and adulthood), marital status, personality traits that show sex differences, and hand preferences. Women recruited through the database versus the support group did not differ systematically, and there were no statistically significant differences between the 22 women with CAIS and the matched controls for any psychological outcome. These findings argue against the need for two X chromosomes or ovaries to determine feminine-typical psychological development in humans and reinforce the important role of the androgen receptor in influencing masculine-typical psychological development. They also suggest that psychological outcomes in women with CAIS are similar to those in other women. However, additional attention to more detailed aspects of psychological well-being in CAIS is needed.

Directed Forgetting in High-Functioning Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Brenda J.; Gardiner, John M.; Bowler, Dermot M.

2014-01-01

Rehearsal strategies of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and demographically matched typically developed (TD) adults were strategically manipulated by cueing participants to either learn, or forget each list word prior to a recognition task. Participants were also asked to distinguish between autonoetic and noetic states of awareness…

Social Cognition in Adolescent Girls with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turkstra, Lyn S.; Abbeduto, Leonard; Meulenbroek, Peter

2014-01-01

This study aimed to characterize social cognition, executive functions (EFs), and everyday social functioning in adolescent girls with fragile X syndrome, and identify relationships among these variables. Participants were 20 girls with FXS and 20 age-matched typically developing peers. Results showed significant between-groups differences in…

Visual versus Phonological Abilities in Spanish Dyslexic Boys and Girls

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bednarek, Dorota; Saldana, David; Garcia, Isabel

2009-01-01

Phonological and visual theories propose different primary deficits as part of the explanation for dyslexia. Both theories were put to test in a sample of Spanish dyslexic readers. Twenty-one dyslexic and 22 typically-developing children matched on chronological age were administered phonological discrimination and awareness tasks and coherent…

Color Perception in Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franklin, Anna; Sowden, Paul; Burley, Rachel; Notman, Leslie; Alder, Elizabeth

2008-01-01

This study examined whether color perception is atypical in children with autism. In experiment 1, accuracy of color memory and search was compared for children with autism and typically developing children matched on age and non-verbal cognitive ability. Children with autism were significantly less accurate at color memory and search than…

Bottom-up Attention Orienting in Young Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amso, Dima; Haas, Sara; Tenenbaum, Elena; Markant, Julie; Sheinkopf, Stephen J.

2014-01-01

We examined the impact of simultaneous bottom-up visual influences and meaningful social stimuli on attention orienting in young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Relative to typically-developing age and sex matched participants, children with ASDs were more influenced by bottom-up visual scene information regardless of whether…

Atypical Sleep Architecture and Altered EEG Spectra in Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gombos, F.; Bodizs, R.; Kovacs, I.

2011-01-01

Background: Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder characterised by physical abnormalities and a distinctive cognitive profile with intellectual disabilities (IDs) and learning difficulties. Methods: In our study, nine adolescents and young adults with WS and 9 age- and sex-matched typically developing (TD) participants…

Range and Precision of Formant Movement in Pediatric Dysarthria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allison, Kristen M.; Annear, Lucas; Annear, Lucas; Policicchio, Marisa; Hustad, Katherine C.

2017-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to improve understanding of speech characteristics associated with dysarthria in children with cerebral palsy by analyzing segmental and global formant measures in single-word and sentence contexts. Method: Ten 5-year-old children with cerebral palsy and dysarthria and 10 age-matched, typically developing children…

The Social and Productive Impacts of Zambia's Child Grant

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Handa, Sudhanshu; Seidenfeld, David; Davis, Benjamin; Tembo, Gelson

2016-01-01

Accumulated evidence from dozens of cash transfer (CT) programs across the world suggests that there are few interventions that can match the range of impacts and cost-effectiveness of a small, predictable monetary transfer to poor families in developing countries. However, individual published impact assessments typically focus on only one…

Play preference of children with ADHD and typically developing children in Brazil: a pilot study.

PubMed

Pfeifer, Luzia Iara; Terra, Lauana Nogueira; dos Santos, Jair Lício Ferreira; Stagnitti, Karen Ellen; Panúncio-Pinto, Maria Paula

2011-12-01

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been reported to have play deficits, which can cause problems in occupational development. The aim of this paper was to report research findings on children with ADHD and typically developing children in relation to preference of play partners, play places, toys and type of play. Thirty-two school aged children from low socioeconomic status were divided into two groups. One group of 16 children with ADHD were matched with 16 typically developing children. There were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to play partners, with classmates being the most frequent play partner for both groups. There were significant differences between the two groups in preferred place to play. Children with ADHD preferred to play in school and typically developing children preferred to play on the street. There were significant differences in relation to toys and type of play engaged in with children with ADHD preferring educational materials and typically developing children preferring electronic games. These findings add to knowledge of Brazilian children with ADHD and their play preferences. Comparisons are made with research with Australian children with and without ADHD. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Thinking inside the box: Spatial frames of reference for drawing in Williams syndrome and typical development.

PubMed

Hudson, Kerry D; Farran, Emily K

2017-09-01

Successfully completing a drawing relies on the ability to accurately impose and manipulate spatial frames of reference for the object that is being drawn and for the drawing space. Typically developing (TD) children use cues such as the page boundary as a frame of reference to guide the orientation of drawn lines. Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) typically produce incohesive drawings; this is proposed to reflect a local processing bias. Across two studies, we provide the first investigation of the effect of using a frame of reference when drawing simple lines and shapes in WS and TD groups (matched for non-verbal ability). Individuals with WS (N=17 Experiment 1; N=18 Experiment 2) and TD children matched by non-verbal ability drew single lines (Experiment One) and whole shapes (Experiment Two) within a neutral, incongruent or congruent frame. The angular deviation of the drawn line/shape, relative to the model line/shape, was measured. Both groups were sensitive to spatial frames of reference when drawing single lines and whole shapes, imposed by a frame around the drawing space. A local processing bias in WS cannot explain poor drawing performance in WS. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

World wide matching of registration metrology tools of various generations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laske, F.; Pudnos, A.; Mackey, L.; Tran, P.; Higuchi, M.; Enkrich, C.; Roeth, K.-D.; Schmidt, K.-H.; Adam, D.; Bender, J.

2008-10-01

Turn around time/cycle time is a key success criterion in the semiconductor photomask business. Therefore, global mask suppliers typically allocate work loads based on fab capability and utilization capacity. From a logistical point of view, the manufacturing location of a photomask should be transparent to the customer (mask user). Matching capability of production equipment and especially metrology tools is considered a key enabler to guarantee cross site manufacturing flexibility. Toppan, with manufacturing sites in eight countries worldwide, has an on-going program to match the registration metrology systems of all its production sites. This allows for manufacturing flexibility and risk mitigation.In cooperation with Vistec Semiconductor Systems, Toppan has recently completed a program to match the Vistec LMS IPRO systems at all production sites worldwide. Vistec has developed a new software feature which allows for significantly improved matching of LMS IPRO(x) registration metrology tools of various generations. We will report on the results of the global matching campaign of several of the leading Toppan sites.

Interarticulator coordination in children with and without cerebral palsy

PubMed Central

Nip, Ignatius S. B.

2017-01-01

The current study investigates how interarticulator coordination changes across speaking tasks varying in articulatory and linguistic demands for children with CP and their typically-developing peers. Articulatory movements from 12 children with spastic CP (7M, 5F, 4–15 years of age) and 12 typically-developing age- and sex-matched peers were cross-correlated to determine the degree of spatial and temporal coupling between the upper lip and jaw, lower lip and jaw, and upper and lower lips. Spatial and temporal coupling were also correlated with intelligibility. Results indicated that children with CP have reduced spatial coupling between the upper and lower lips and reduced temporal coupling between all articulators as compared to their typically-developing peers. For all participants, sentences were produced with the greatest degree of interarticulator coordination when compared to the diadochokinetic and syllable repetition tasks. Measures of interarticulator coordination were correlated with intelligibility for the speakers with CP. PMID:25905558

Disembedding performance in children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism.

PubMed

Kaland, Nils; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Smith, Lars

2007-01-01

The aim of the present study was to assess the findings, reported in earlier studies, that individuals with autism spectrum disorders process visuo-spatial tasks faster than typically developing control persons. The participants in the present study were children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) (N = 13), and a matched group of typically developing children and adolescents (N = 13). The results showed that the participants in the clinical group performed marginally less well than those in the control group on both the Block Design Test and the Embedded Figures Test, but the differences were not statistically significant. Thus, earlier findings suggesting that individuals with autism spectrum disorders solve non-social cognitive tasks faster than typically developing control persons were not replicated. The results are discussed with special reference to the hypothesis of weak central coherence.

Maternal support for autonomy: relationships with persistence for children with Down syndrome and typically developing children.

PubMed

Gilmore, Linda; Cuskelly, Monica; Jobling, Anne; Hayes, Alan

2009-01-01

Maternal behaviors and child mastery behaviors were examined in 25 children with Down syndrome and 43 typically developing children matched for mental age (24-36 months). During a shared problem-solving task, there were no group differences in maternal directiveness or support for autonomy, and mothers in the two groups used similar verbal strategies when helping their child. There were also no group differences in child mastery behaviors, measured as persistence with two optimally challenging tasks. However, the two groups differed in the relationships of maternal style with child persistence. Children with Down syndrome whose mothers were more supportive of their autonomy in the shared task displayed greater persistence when working independently on a challenging puzzle, while children of highly directive mothers displayed lower levels of persistence. For typically developing children, persistence was unrelated to maternal style, suggesting that mother behaviors may have different causes or consequences in the two groups.

Protanomaly-without-darkened-red is deuteranopia with rods

PubMed Central

Shevell, Steven K.; Sun, Yang; Neitz, Maureen

2008-01-01

The Rayleigh match, a color match between a mixture of 545+670 nm lights and 589 nm light in modern instruments, is the definitive measurement for the diagnosis of inherited red/green color defects. All trichromats, whether normal or anomalous, have a limited range of 545+670 nm mixtures they perceive to match 589 nm: a typical color-normal match-range is about 50–55% of 670 nm in the mixture (deutan mode), while deuteranomals have a range that includes mixtures with less 670 nm than normal and protanomals a range that includes mixtures with more 670 nm than normal. Further, the matching luminance of the 589 nm light for deuteranomals is the same as for normals but for protanomals is below normal. An example of an unexpected Rayleigh match, therefore, is a match range above normal (typical of protanomaly) and a normal luminance setting for 589 nm (typical of deuteranomaly), a match that Pickford (1950) called protanomaly “when the red end of the spectrum is not darkened”. In this case, Rayleigh matching does not yield a clear diagnosis. Aside from Pickford, we are aware of only one other report of a similar observer (Pokorny and Smith, 1981); this study predated modern genetic techniques that can reveal the cone photopigment(s) in the red/green range. We recently had the opportunity to conduct genetic and psychophysical tests on such an observer. Genetic results predict he is a deuteranope. His Rayleigh match is consistent with L cones and a contribution from rods. Further, with a rod-suppressing background, his Rayleigh match is characteristic of a single L-cone photopigment (deuteranopia). PMID:18423511

Protanomaly without darkened red is deuteranopia with rods.

PubMed

Shevell, Steven K; Sun, Yang; Neitz, Maureen

2008-11-01

The Rayleigh match, a color match between a mixture of 545+670 nm lights and 589 nm light in modern instruments, is the definitive measurement for the diagnosis of inherited red-green color defects. All trichromats, whether normal or anomalous, have a limited range of 545+670 nm mixtures they perceive to match 589 nm: a typical color-normal match range is about 50-55% of 670 nm in the mixture (deutan mode), while deuteranomals have a range that includes mixtures with less 670 nm than normal and protanomals a range that includes mixtures with more 670 nm than normal. Further, the matching luminance of the 589 nm light for deuteranomals is the same as for normals but for protanomals is below normal. An example of an unexpected Rayleigh match, therefore, is a match range above normal (typical of protanomaly) and a normal luminance setting for 589 nm (typical of deuteranomaly), a match called protanomaly "when the red end of the spectrum is not darkened" [Pickford, R.W. (1950). Three pedigrees for color blindness. Nature, 165, 182.]. In this case, Rayleigh matching does not yield a clear diagnosis. Aside from Pickford, we are aware of only one other report of a similar observer [Pokorny, J., & Smith, V. C. (1981). A variant of red-green color defect. Vision Research, 21, 311-317]; this study predated modern genetic techniques that can reveal the cone photopigment(s) in the red-green range. We recently had the opportunity to conduct genetic and psychophysical tests on such an observer. Genetic results predict he is a deuteranope. His Rayleigh match is consistent with L cones and a contribution from rods. Further, with a rod-suppressing background, his Rayleigh match is characteristic of a single L-cone photopigment (deuteranopia).

Word structures of Granada Spanish-speaking preschoolers with typical versus protracted phonological development.

PubMed

Bernhardt, B May; Hanson, R; Perez, D; Ávila, C; Lleó, C; Stemberger, J P; Carballo, G; Mendoza, E; Fresneda, D; Chávez-Peón, M

2015-01-01

Research on children's word structure development is limited. Yet, phonological intervention aims to accelerate the acquisition of both speech-sounds and word structure, such as word length, stress or shapes in CV sequences. Until normative studies and meta-analyses provide in-depth information on this topic, smaller investigations can provide initial benchmarks for clinical purposes. To provide preliminary reference data for word structure development in a variety of Spanish with highly restricted coda use: Granada Spanish (similar to many Hispano-American varieties). To be clinically applicable, such data would need to show differences by age, developmental typicality and word structure complexity. Thus, older typically developing (TD) children were expected to show higher accuracy than younger children and those with protracted phonological development (PPD). Complex or phonologically marked forms (e.g. multisyllabic words, clusters) were expected to be late developing. Participants were 59 children aged 3-5 years in Granada, Spain: 30 TD children, and 29 with PPD and no additional language impairments. Single words were digitally recorded by a native Spanish speaker using a 103-word list and transcribed by native Spanish speakers, with confirmation by a second transcriber team and acoustic analysis. The program Phon 1.5 provided quantitative data. In accordance with expectations, the TD and older age groups had better-established word structures than the younger children and those with PPD. Complexity was also relevant: more structural mismatches occurred in multisyllabic words, initial unstressed syllables and clusters. Heterosyllabic consonant sequences were more accurate than syllable-initial sequences. The most common structural mismatch pattern overall was consonant deletion, with syllable deletion most common in 3-year-olds and children with PPD. The current study provides preliminary reference data for word structure development in a Spanish variety with restricted coda use, both by age and types of word structures. Between ages 3 and 5 years, global measures (whole word match, word shape match) distinguished children with typical versus protracted phonological development. By age 4, children with typical development showed near-mastery of word structures, whereas 4- and 5-year-olds with PPD continued to show syllable deletion and cluster reduction, especially in multisyllabic words. The results underline the relevance of multisyllabic words and words with clusters in Spanish phonological assessment and the utility of word structure data for identification of protracted phonological development. © 2014 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) with the Use of Visual Supports for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Validity and Reliability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, K. A.; Bredero, B.; Van Damme, T.; Ulrich, D. A.; Simons, J.

2017-01-01

The validity and reliability of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) were measured, taking into consideration the preference for visual learning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The TGMD-3 was administered to 14 children with ASD (4-10 years) and 21 age-matched typically developing children under two conditions: TGMD-3…

Semantic False Memories in the Form of Derived Relational Intrusions Following Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guinther, Paul M.; Dougher, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Contemporary behavior analytic research is making headway in characterizing memory phenomena that typically have been characterized by cognitive models, and the current study extends this development by producing "false memories" in the form of functional equivalence responding. A match-to-sample training procedure was administered in order to…

Phonological Encoding in Speech-Sound Disorder: Evidence from a Cross-Modal Priming Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munson, Benjamin; Krause, Miriam O. P.

2017-01-01

Background: Psycholinguistic models of language production provide a framework for determining the locus of language breakdown that leads to speech-sound disorder (SSD) in children. Aims: To examine whether children with SSD differ from their age-matched peers with typical speech and language development (TD) in the ability phonologically to…

The Link between Logic, Mathematics and Imagination: Evidence from Children with Developmental Dyscalculia and Mathematically Gifted Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morsanyi, Kinga; Devine, Amy; Nobes, Alison; Szucs, Denes

2013-01-01

This study examined performance on transitive inference problems in children with developmental dyscalculia (DD), typically developing controls matched on IQ, working memory and reading skills, and in children with outstanding mathematical abilities. Whereas mainstream approaches currently consider DD as a domain-specific deficit, we hypothesized…

Spoken Word Recognition in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loucas, Tom; Riches, Nick; Baird, Gillian; Pickles, Andrew; Simonoff, Emily; Chandler, Susie; Charman, Tony

2013-01-01

Spoken word recognition, during gating, appears intact in specific language impairment (SLI). This study used gating to investigate the process in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders plus language impairment (ALI). Adolescents with ALI, SLI, and typical language development (TLD), matched on nonverbal IQ listened to gated words that varied…

Formal Thought Disorder and the Autism Spectrum: Relationship with Symptoms, Executive Control, and Anxiety

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solomon, Marjorie; Ozonoff, Sally; Carter, Cameron; Caplan, Rochelle

2008-01-01

This study investigated whether children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit formal thought disorder (FTD), and whether this is related to ASD symptoms, executive control, and anxiety. Participants aged 8-17 with ASDs exhibited significantly more illogical thinking and loose associations than matched typically developing control…

When Less Is More: Poor Discrimination but Good Colour Memory in Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heaton, Pamela; Ludlow, Amanda; Roberson, Debi

2008-01-01

In two experiments children with autism and two groups of controls matched for either chronological or non-verbal mental age were tested on tasks of colour discrimination and memory. The results from experiment 1 showed significantly poorer colour discrimination in children with autism in comparison to typically developing chronological age…

The Formulation of Argument Structure in SLI: An Eye-Movement Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andreu, Llorenc; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Olmos, Joan Guardia; MacWhinney, Brian

2013-01-01

This study investigated the formulation of verb argument structure in Catalan- and Spanish-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing age-matched controls. We compared how language production can be guided by conceptual factors, such as the organization of the entities participating in an event and knowledge…

Everyday Memory and Working Memory in Adolescents with Mild Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van der Molen, M. J.; Van Luit, J. E. H.; Van der Molen, Maurits W.; Jongmans, Marian J.

2010-01-01

Everyday memory and its relationship to working memory was investigated in adolescents with mild intellectual disability and compared to typically developing adolescents of the same age (CA) and younger children matched on mental age (MA). Results showed a delay on almost all memory measures for the adolescents with mild intellectual disability…

Training Facial Expression Production in Children on the Autism Spectrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Iris; Pierce, Matthew D.; Bartlett, Marian S.; Tanaka, James W.

2014-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show deficits in their ability to produce facial expressions. In this study, a group of children with ASD and IQ-matched, typically developing (TD) children were trained to produce "happy" and "angry" expressions with the FaceMaze computer game. FaceMaze uses an automated computer…

Evidence for Preserved Novel Word Learning in Down Syndrome Suggests Multiple Routes to Vocabulary Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosse, Emma K.; Jarrold, Christopher

2011-01-01

Purpose: Three studies investigated novel word learning, some requiring phonological production, each involving between 11 and 17 individuals with Down syndrome, and between 15 and 24 typically developing individuals matched for receptive vocabulary. The effect of stimuli wordlikeness and incidental procedure-based memory demands were examined to…

Difficulties in Lexical Stress versus Difficulties in Segmental Phonology among Adolescents with Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anastasiou, Dimitris; Protopapas, Athanassios

2015-01-01

Dyslexic difficulties in lexical stress were compared to difficulties in segmental phonology. Twenty-nine adolescents with dyslexia and 29 typically developing adolescents, matched on age and nonverbal ability, were assessed on reading, spelling, phonological and stress awareness, rapid naming, and short-term memory. Group differences in stress…

Visual Influences on Speech Perception in Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iarocci, Grace; Rombough, Adrienne; Yager, Jodi; Weeks, Daniel J.; Chua, Romeo

2010-01-01

The bimodal perception of speech sounds was examined in children with autism as compared to mental age--matched typically developing (TD) children. A computer task was employed wherein only the mouth region of the face was displayed and children reported what they heard or saw when presented with consonant-vowel sounds in unimodal auditory…

Discourse Formulation in Children with Closed Head Injury

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hay, Emma; Moran, Catherine

2005-01-01

In this study, narrative and expository discourse-retelling abilities were compared in 9 children with closed head injury (CHI) age 9;5-15;3 (years;months) and 9 typically developing age-matched peers. Narrative and expository retellings were analyzed according to language variables (i.e., number of words, number of T-units, and sentential…

Neural Correlates of Explicit versus Implicit Facial Emotion Processing in ASD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luckhardt, Christina; Kröger, Anne; Cholemkery, Hannah; Bender, Stephan; Freitag, Christine M.

2017-01-01

The underlying neural mechanisms of implicit and explicit facial emotion recognition (FER) were studied in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to matched typically developing controls (TDC). EEG was obtained from N = 21 ASD and N = 16 TDC. Task performance, visual (P100, N170) and cognitive (late positive…

Addressing Escape-Maintained Behavior for Students with Developmental Disabilities: A Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dart, Evan H.; Radley, Keith C.; Mason, Benjamin A.; Allen, Justin P.

2018-01-01

Students with developmental disabilities have been found to exhibit higher rates of problem behavior in the classroom than their typically developing peers. Effectively addressing these students' behavior concerns requires the identification of interventions that can be implemented in an educational setting. Furthermore, matching intervention…

Personal Space Regulation in Williams Syndrome: The Effect of Familiarity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lough, Emma; Flynn, Emma; Riby, Deborah M.

2016-01-01

Personal space refers to a protective barrier that we strive to maintain around our body. We examined personal space regulation in young people with Williams syndrome (WS) and their typically developing, chronological age-matched peers using a parent report questionnaire and a stop-distance paradigm. Individuals with WS were reported by their…

Brief Report: Biochemical Correlates of Clinical Impairment in High Functioning Autism and Asperger's Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleinhans, Natalia M.; Richards, Todd; Weaver, Kurt E.; Liang, Olivia; Dawson, Geraldine; Aylward, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

Amygdala dysfunction has been proposed as a critical contributor to social impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The current study investigated biochemical abnormalities in the amygdala in 20 high functioning adults with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and 19 typically developing adults matched on age and IQ. Magnetic resonance…

Why Is Visual Search Superior in Autism Spectrum Disorder?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Robert M.; Keehn, Brandon; Connolly, Christine; Wolfe, Jeremy M.; Horowitz, Todd S.

2009-01-01

This study investigated the possibility that enhanced memory for rejected distractor locations underlies the superior visual search skills exhibited by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We compared the performance of 21 children with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children in a standard static search task…

Spatial-Sequential and Spatial-Simultaneous Working Memory in Individuals with Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lanfranchi, Silvia; De Mori, Letizia; Mammarella, Irene C.; Carretti, Barbara; Vianello, Renzo

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to compare visuospatial working memory performance in 18 individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) and 18 typically developing (TD) children matched for nonverbal mental age. Two aspects were considered: task presentation format (i.e., spatial-sequential or spatial-simultaneous), and level of attentional control…

Memory Skills of Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ornstein, Peter A.; Schaaf, Jennifer M.; Hooper, Stephen R.; Hatton, Deborah D.; Mirrett, Penny; Bailey, Donald B., Jr.

2008-01-01

Multiple aspects of memory were examined in 42 boys with fragile X syndrome and a comparison group of 42 typically developing boys matched on MA. Working memory, incidental memory, and deliberate memory were assessed with a battery that included both free-recall and recognition tasks. Findings indicated that boys with fragile X syndrome performed…

Processing Binding Relations in Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwartz, Richard G.; Hestvik, Arild; Seiger-Gardner, Liat; Almodovar, Diana

2016-01-01

Purpose: This sentence processing experiment examined the abilities of children with specific language impairment (SLI) and children with typical language development (TD) to establish relations between pronouns or reflexives and their antecedents in real time. Method: Twenty-two children with SLI and 24 age-matched children with TD (7;3-10;11…

Peer-Related Social Competence of Young Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guralnick, Michael J.; Connor, Robert T.; Johnson, L. Clark

2011-01-01

The peer-related social competence of children with Down syndrome was examined in an observational study. Dyadic interactions with peers of children with Down syndrome were compared with the dyadic interactions of matched groups of typically developing children and with playmates differing in both familiarity and social skills. Results suggested…

Reading Comprehension in Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laws, Glynis; Brown, Heather; Main, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Two studies aimed to investigate the reading comprehension abilities of 14 readers with Down syndrome aged 6 years 8 months to 13 years relative to those of typically developing children matched on word reading ability, and to investigate how these abilities were associated with reading accuracy, listening comprehension, phonological awareness and…

Reading Skills in Children with Down Syndrome: A Meta-Analytic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naess, Kari-Anne B.; Melby-Lervag, Monica; Hulme, Charles; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas

2012-01-01

The authors examine the reading profile in children with Down syndrome by comparing the nonword decoding skills in children with Down syndrome and typically developing children matched for word recognition level. Journal articles published before 04.05.2010 were identified by using the keyword Down* cross-referenced to "reading", "literacy",…

Residual Difficulties with Categorical Induction in Children with a History of Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naigles, Letitia R.; Kelley, Elizabeth; Troyb, Eva; Fein, Deborah

2013-01-01

In two experiments, typically developing (TD) children, high-functioning children with autism (HFA) and children with a history of autism who have achieved optimal outcomes (OOs), matched on age (M = 13 years) and nonverbal IQ, were asked to extend properties of categories to new items (categorical induction). All groups demonstrated some…

Superior Nonverbal Intelligence in Children with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Fei; Planche, Pascale; Lemonnier, Eric

2010-01-01

Some early studies showed discordance in cognitive strengths and weaknesses in individuals with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger's syndrome (AS). The present study administered the French version of Colored Raven's Progressive Matrices in 14 children with HFA/AS and in 26 chronological age matched peers with typical development. We found…

Variability and Diagnostic Accuracy of Speech Intelligibility Scores in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hustad, Katherine C.; Oakes, Ashley; Allison, Kristen

2015-01-01

Purpose: We examined variability of speech intelligibility scores and how well intelligibility scores predicted group membership among 5-year-old children with speech motor impairment (SMI) secondary to cerebral palsy and an age-matched group of typically developing (TD) children. Method: Speech samples varying in length from 1-4 words were…

Characterizing Sleep in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, S. E.; Alder, M. L.; Burgess, H. J.; Corbett, B. A.; Hundley, R.; Wofford, D.; Fawkes, D. B.; Wang, L.; Laudenslager, M. L.; Malow, B. A.

2017-01-01

We studied 28 adolescents/young adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 13 age/sex matched individuals of typical development (TD). Structured sleep histories, validated questionnaires, actigraphy (4 weeks), and salivary cortisol and melatonin (4 days each) were collected. Compared to those with TD, adolescents/young adults with ASD had…

Maternal Stress in Nonverbal Learning Disorder: A Comparison with Reading Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antshel, Kevin M.; Joseph, Guy-Ronald

2006-01-01

Maternal stress was assessed in mothers of children ages 8 to 11 years with learning disorders (LD). Age-, gender-, and IQ-matched children with reading disorders (RD; n = 31), children with nonverbal learning disorders (NVLD; n = 21), and typically developing control participants (n = 23) participated. Mothers of children with LD reported higher…

Perception and Lateralization of Spoken Emotion by Youths with High-Functioning Forms of Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Kimberly F.; Montgomery, Allen A.; Abramson, Ruth

2010-01-01

The perception and the cerebral lateralization of spoken emotions were investigated in children and adolescents with high-functioning forms of autism (HFFA), and age-matched typically developing controls (TDC). A dichotic listening task using nonsense passages was used to investigate the recognition of four emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, and…

Perceived Social Acceptance, Theory of Mind and Social Adjustment in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fiasse, Catherine; Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie

2012-01-01

Perceived social acceptance, theory of mind (ToM) and social adjustment were investigated in 45 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) compared with 45 typically developing (TD) preschoolers, matched for developmental age assessed by means of the Differential Scales of Intellectual Efficiency-Revised edition (EDEI-R, Perron-Borelli, 1996).…

Facial Encoding of Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volker, Martin A.; Lopata, Christopher; Smith, Donna A.; Thomeer, Marcus L.

2009-01-01

Facial encoding of a sample of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) was compared to facial encoding of matched typically developing children. Each participant was photographed after being prompted to enact a facial expression for six basic emotions. Raters evaluated (a) the extent to which the photo reflected the…

Benefits of Repeated Book Readings in Children with SLI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rohlfing, Katharina J.; Ceurremans, Josefa; Horst, Jessica S.

2018-01-01

In this pilot study, we ask whether repeated storybook reading is also beneficial for word learning in children diagnosed with specific language impairment (SLI). We compared 3-year-old German learning children diagnosed with SLI to typically developing children matched on age and socioeconomic status (SES). One week later, children with SLI…

The Use of Syntactic Cues in Lexical Acquisition by Children with SLI.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Mabel L.; Cleave, Patricia L.; Oetting, Janna B.

2000-01-01

Two studies investigated the syntactic bootstrapping abilities of 5- and 7-year-old children with specific language impairment and comparison groups matched for equivalent language level or chronological age. Only typically developing 5-year-olds showed evidence of using syntactic clues. However, continued syntactic growth was seen in all…

Dream Content Analysis in Persons with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daoust, Anne-Marie; Lusignan, Felix-Antoine; Braun, Claude M. J.; Mottron, Laurent; Godbout, Roger

2008-01-01

Dream questionnaires were completed by 28 young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participants. Seventy-nine typically developed individual served as the control group. In a subset of 17 persons with ASD and 11 controls matched for verbal IQ, dream narratives were obtained following REM sleep awakenings in a sleep laboratory.…

Cognitive Flexibility in ASD; Task Switching with Emotional Faces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Vries, Marieke; Geurts, Hilde M.

2012-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) show daily cognitive flexibility deficits, but laboratory data are unconvincing. The current study aimed to bridge this gap. Thirty-one children with ASD (8-12 years) and 31 age- and IQ-matched typically developing children performed a gender emotion switch task. Unannounced switches and complex…

Brief Report: Human Figure Drawings by Children with Asperger's Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Hui Keow; Slaughter, Virginia

2008-01-01

Twenty-nine children with Asperger's syndrome and 28 typically developing children, matched on gender, chronological age and nonverbal IQ, were asked to produce a free drawing, then requested to draw a person, a house and a tree. The drawings were scored using standardized procedures for assessing accuracy, detail and complexity. There were no…

Executive Functions in Individuals with Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Menghini, D.; Addona, F.; Costanzo, F.; Vicari, S.

2010-01-01

Background: The present study was aimed at investigating working memory (WM) and executive functions capacities in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) as compared with mental-age matched typically developing (TD) children. Method: In order to serve the study goal, a sizeable battery of tasks tapping WM as well as attention, memory, planning,…

Perception of audio-visual speech synchrony in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment

PubMed Central

PONS, FERRAN; ANDREU, LLORENC.; SANZ-TORRENT, MONICA; BUIL-LEGAZ, LUCIA; LEWKOWICZ, DAVID J.

2014-01-01

Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information and, thus, requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the integration of auditory and visual speech. Twenty Spanish-speaking children with SLI, twenty typically developing age-matched Spanish-speaking children, and twenty Spanish-speaking children matched for MLU-w participated in an eye-tracking study to investigate the perception of audiovisual speech synchrony. Results revealed that children with typical language development perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 666ms regardless of whether the auditory or visual speech attribute led the other one. Children with SLI only detected the 666 ms asynchrony when the auditory component followed the visual component. None of the groups perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 366ms. These results suggest that the difficulty of speech processing by children with SLI would also involve difficulties in integrating auditory and visual aspects of speech perception. PMID:22874648

Perception of audio-visual speech synchrony in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Pons, Ferran; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Lewkowicz, David J

2013-06-01

Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information, and thus requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the integration of auditory and visual speech. Twenty Spanish-speaking children with SLI, twenty typically developing age-matched Spanish-speaking children, and twenty Spanish-speaking children matched for MLU-w participated in an eye-tracking study to investigate the perception of audiovisual speech synchrony. Results revealed that children with typical language development perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 666 ms regardless of whether the auditory or visual speech attribute led the other one. Children with SLI only detected the 666 ms asynchrony when the auditory component preceded [corrected] the visual component. None of the groups perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 366 ms. These results suggest that the difficulty of speech processing by children with SLI would also involve difficulties in integrating auditory and visual aspects of speech perception.

Mother-child play in children with Down syndrome and typical development

PubMed Central

Venuti, P.; de Falco, S.; Esposito, G.; Bornstein, Marc H.

2014-01-01

The present study compares child solitary and collaborative play with mother in 21 children with Down syndrome (DS) and 33 mental-age-matched typically developing (TD) children. In solitary play, children with DS showed less exploratory but similar symbolic play compared to TD children. From solitary to collaborative play, children with DS increased their exploratory play attaining the same level as TD children; Pretense significantly increased from solitary to collaborative play only in TD children . Differences between mothers’ play in the two groups mirrored those between their children. Child and mother play in both groups showed similar attunement and synchrony. Mothers contribute to the play development of children with DS through their own adaptation to their children’s limitations and potentialities alike. PMID:19642713

The development of writing skills in 4-year-old children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Pavelko, Stacey L; Lieberman, R Jane; Schwartz, Jamie; Hahs-Vaughn, Debbie; Nye, Chad

2017-01-01

Research shows that many preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty acquiring literacy skills including phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge. Limited research suggests that preschool children with SLI also have difficulty with emergent writing tasks such as name writing and word writing. In typically developing children, research indicates that emergent writing skills are acquired in a developmental sequence: (1) linearity, (2) segmentation, (3) simple characters, (4) left-right orientation, (5) complex characters, (6) random letters, and (7) invented spelling. This study compared the emergent writing skills of 4-year-old children with SLI (n = 22) to their age- and gender-matched peers (n = 22). Results indicated that children with SLI demonstrate difficulty with a variety of writing tasks, including letter writing, name writing, word writing, and sentence writing when compared to their typically-developing peers. Children with SLI followed the same developmental sequence in acquiring writing skills as their typically-developing peers.

Are children with Specific Language Impairment competent with the pragmatics and logic of quantification?

PubMed

Katsos, Napoleon; Roqueta, Clara Andrés; Estevan, Rosa Ana Clemente; Cummins, Chris

2011-04-01

Specific Language Impairment (SLI) is understood to be a disorder that predominantly affects phonology, morphosyntax and/or lexical semantics. There is little conclusive evidence on whether children with SLI are challenged with regard to Gricean pragmatic maxims and on whether children with SLI are competent with the logical meaning of quantifying expressions. We use the comprehension of statements quantified with 'all', 'none', 'some', 'some…not', 'most' and 'not all' as a paradigm to study whether Spanish-speaking children with SLI are competent with the pragmatic maxim of informativeness, as well as with the logical meaning of these expressions. Children with SLI performed more poorly than a group of age-matched typically-developing peers, and both groups performed more poorly with pragmatics than with logical meaning. Moreover, children with SLI were disproportionately challenged by pragmatic meaning compared to their age-matched peers. However, the performance of children with SLI was comparable to that of a group of younger language-matched typically-developing children. The findings document that children with SLI do face difficulties with employing the maxim of informativeness, as well as with understanding the logical meaning of quantifiers, but also that these difficulties are in keeping with their overall language difficulties rather than exceeding them. The implications of these findings for SLI, linguistic theory, and clinical practice are discussed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Idiom, syntax, and advanced theory of mind abilities in children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Whyte, Elisabeth M; Nelson, Keith E; Scherf, K Suzanne

2014-02-01

When researchers investigate figurative language abilities (including idioms) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), syntax abilities may be more important than once considered. In addition, there are limitations to the overreliance on false-belief tasks to measure theory of mind (TOM) abilities. In the current study, the authors investigated idiom, syntax, and advanced TOM abilities in children with ASD compared to children with typical development (TD). Twenty-six children with ASD, ages 5 to 12 years, were compared to individuals in each of 2 control groups of children with TD: 1 matched on chronological age and nonverbal IQ, and 1 matched on syntax age-equivalence and raw scores. Idiom comprehension, syntax, vocabulary, and 2 measures of advanced TOM abilities were examined. Although children with ASD performed worse on idiom comprehension compared to the age-matched group with TD, they exhibited comparable idiom performance to the syntax-matched group with TD. Advanced TOM abilities were related to idiom comprehension for children with ASD, but not for children with TD, above the contributions of basic language abilities. Syntax abilities should be used as a matching variable when examining figurative or other late-developing language skills.

Attentional Learning Helps Language Acquisition Take Shape for Atypically Developing Children, Not Just Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

Field, Charlotte; Allen, Melissa L; Lewis, Charlie

2016-10-01

The shape bias-generalising labels to same shaped objects-has been linked to attentional learning or referential intent. We explore these origins in children with typical development (TD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disorders (DD). In two conditions, a novel object was presented and either named or described. Children selected another from a shape, colour or texture match. TD children choose the shape match in both conditions, children with DD and 'high-verbal mental age' (VMA) children with ASD (language age > 4.6) did so in the name condition and 'low-VMA' children with ASD never showed the heuristic. Thus, the shape bias arises from attentional learning in atypically developing children and is delayed in ASD.

Pattern matching techniques for correcting low-confidence OCR words in a known context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, Glenn; Hauser, Susan E.; Le, Daniel X.; Thoma, George R.

2000-12-01

A commercial OCR system is a key component of a system developed at the National Library of Medicine for the automated extraction of bibliographic fields from biomedical journals. This 5-engine OCR system, while exhibiting high performance overall, does not reliably convert very small characters, especially those that are in italics. As a result, the 'affiliations' field that typically contains such characters in most journals, is not captured accurately, and requires a disproportionately high manual input. To correct this problem, dictionaries have been created from words occurring in this field (e.g., university, department, street addresses, names of cities, etc.) from 230,000 articles already processed. The OCR output corresponding to the affiliation field is then matched against these dictionary entries by approximate string-matching techniques, and the ranked matches are presented to operators for verification. This paper outlines the techniques employed and the results of a comparative evaluation.

Race, disability, and grade: Social relationships in children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Azad, Gazi F; Locke, Jill; Kasari, Connie; Mandell, David S

2017-01-01

Race is associated with social relationships among typically developing children; however, studies rarely examine the impact of race on social outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined how race (African American, Latino, Asian, or White) in conjunction with disability status (autism spectrum disorders or typically developing) and grade (grades K-2 or 3-5) affects friendships and social networks. The sample comprises 85 children with autism spectrum disorders and 85 typically developing controls matched on race, gender, age/grade, and classroom (wherever possible). Race, disability, and grade each had an independent effect on friendship nominations, and there was an interaction among the three variables. Specifically, children with autism spectrum disorders who were African American or Latino in the upper elementary grades received fewer friendship nominations than typically developing White children in the lower elementary grades. Only the presence of autism spectrum disorders was associated with social network centrality. Our results also suggested that Latino children with autism spectrum disorders in the upper elementary grades were at the highest risk of social isolation. Implications for re-conceptualizing social skills interventions are discussed. © The Author(s) 2016.

Brief Report: Generalisation of Word-Picture Relations in Children with Autism and Typically Developing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hartley, Calum; Allen, Melissa L.

2014-01-01

We investigated whether low-functioning children with autism generalise labels from colour photographs based on sameness of shape, colour, or both. Children with autism and language-matched controls were taught novel words paired with photographs of unfamiliar objects, and then sorted pictures and objects into two buckets according to whether or…

Dynamical Origins of Stereotypy: Relation of Postural Movements during Sitting to Stereotyped Movements during Body-Rocking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newell, Karl M.; Bodfish, James W.

2007-01-01

The relation between the movement dynamic properties of sitting still and of seated body-rocking in adults with stereotyped movement disorder and mental retardation and a contrast group of typically developing age-matched adults was examined. Continuous measurement of sequential displacements in center-of-pressure was made using a force platform…

Brief Report: Testing the Impairment of Initiation Processes Hypothesis in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carmo, Joana C.; Duarte, Elsa; Souza, Cristiane; Pinho, Sandra; Filipe, Carlos N.

2017-01-01

In the present study we aim at providing further evidences for the validity of an initiation processes impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We applied different verbal fluency tasks designed to decrease or enhance this limitation. A group of high-functioning individuals with ASD and a group of typically developed individuals matched for…

Fragile Spectral and Temporal Auditory Processing in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Early Language Delay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boets, Bart; Verhoeven, Judith; Wouters, Jan; Steyaert, Jean

2015-01-01

We investigated low-level auditory spectral and temporal processing in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and early language delay compared to matched typically developing controls. Auditory measures were designed to target right versus left auditory cortex processing (i.e. frequency discrimination and slow amplitude modulation (AM)…

Sustained Selective Attention Skills of Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment: Evidence for Separate Attentional Capacities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spaulding, Tammie J.; Plante, Elena; Vance, Rebecca

2008-01-01

Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the performance of preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers on sustained selective attention tasks. Method: This study included 23 children diagnosed with SLI and 23 TD children matched for age, gender, and maternal education level.…

Social Communication Impairments in Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome: Slow Response Time and the Impact of Prompting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaland, Nils; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Smith, Lars

2011-01-01

In the present study children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome (N=13) and a matched control group of typically developing children and adolescents were presented with 26 vignettes of daily life situations, including irony, metaphors, contrary emotions, jealousy, social blunders, and understanding intentions. The participants in the AS group…

Strategies and Correlates of Jigsaw Puzzle and Visuospatial Performance by Persons with Prader-Willi Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verdine, Brian N.; Troseth, Georgene L.; Hodapp, Robert M.; Dykens, Elisabeth M.

2008-01-01

Some individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome exhibit strengths in solving jigsaw puzzles. We compared visuospatial ability and jigsaw puzzle performance and strategies of 26 persons with Prader-Willi syndrome and 26 MA-matched typically developing controls. Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome relied on piece shape. Those in the control group…

Attention to Social Stimuli and Facial Identity Recognition Skills in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, C. E.; Brock, J.; Palermo, R.

2010-01-01

Background: Previous research suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a reduced preference for viewing social stimuli in the environment and impaired facial identity recognition. Methods: Here, we directly tested a link between these two phenomena in 13 ASD children and 13 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls.…

Free Classification as a Window on Executive Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGonigle-Chalmers, Margaret; Alderson-Day, Ben

2010-01-01

Spontaneous classification was assessed using a free serial search task in 18 school-aged children at the high functioning end of the autistic spectrum and compared with results from age-matched typically developing controls. The task required participants to touch shapes in an exhaustive non-repetitive sequence. The positions of the items varied…

Visual Attention to Competing Social and Object Images by Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasson, Noah J.; Touchstone, Emily W.

2014-01-01

Eye tracking studies of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report a reduction in social attention and an increase in visual attention to non-social stimuli, including objects related to circumscribed interests (CI) (e.g., trains). In the current study, fifteen preschoolers with ASD and 15 typically developing controls matched on…

Face Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Independent or Interactive Processing of Facial Identity and Facial Expression?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krebs, Julia F.; Biswas, Ajanta; Pascalis, Olivier; Kamp-Becker, Inge; Remschmidt, Helmuth; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2011-01-01

The current study investigated if deficits in processing emotional expression affect facial identity processing and vice versa in children with autism spectrum disorder. Children with autism and IQ and age matched typically developing children classified faces either by emotional expression, thereby ignoring facial identity or by facial identity…

Exploring the Utility of Narrative Analysis in Diagnostic Decision Making: Picture-Bound Reference, Elaboration, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorne, John C.; Coggins, Truman E.; Olson, Heather Carmichael; Astley, Susan J.

2007-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate classification accuracy and clinical feasibility of a narrative analysis tool for identifying children with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Method: Picture-elicited narratives generated by 16 age-matched pairs of school-aged children (FASD vs. typical development [TD]) were coded for semantic elaboration and…

The Use of Cohesive Markers in Narratives by Children with Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Nancy Elizabeth

2013-01-01

This study examined how children and adolescents with Williams syndrome (WS; ages 8 years, 0 months [8;0]-14;5) used referential devices (determiners and pronouns), tense, and connectives to create cohesion in oral narratives based on a storybook compared to typically developing mentally and chronologically age-matched children. WS children used…

Just Another Social Scene: Evidence for Decreased Attention to Negative Social Scenes in High-Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Andreia; Chaminade, Thierry; Da Fonseca, David; Silva, Catarina; Rosset, Delphine; Deruelle, Christine

2012-01-01

The adaptive threat-detection advantage takes the form of a preferential orienting of attention to threatening scenes. In this study, we compared attention to social scenes in 15 high-functioning individuals with autism (ASD) and matched typically developing (TD) individuals. Eye-tracking was recorded while participants were presented with pairs…

Perceptual Asymmetry for Chimeric Stimuli in Children with Early Unilateral Brain Damage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bava, Sunita; Ballantyne, Angela O.; May, Susanne J.; Trauner, Doris A.

2005-01-01

The present study used a chimeric stimuli task to assess the magnitude of the left-hemispace bias in children with congenital unilateral brain damage (n=46) as compared to typically developing matched controls (n=46). As would be expected, controls exhibited a significant left-hemispace bias. In the presence of left hemisphere (LH) damage, the…

Can Children with SLI Detect Cognitive Conflict? Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Epstein, Baila; Shafer, Valerie L.; Melara, Robert D.; Schwartz, Richard G.

2014-01-01

Purpose: This study examined whether children with specific language impairment (SLI) are deficient in detecting cognitive conflict between competing response tendencies in a GO/No-GO task. Method: Twelve children with SLI (ages 10--12), 22 children with typical language development matched group-wise on age (TLD-A), and 16 younger children with…

Syntax and Morphology in Danish-Speaking Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brynskov, Cecilia; Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Jørgensen, Meta; Lemcke, Sanne; Bohn, Ocke-Schwen; Krøjgaard, Peter

2017-01-01

The current study examined delays in syntax and morphology, and vocabulary, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Children ages 4-6 years with ASD (n = 21) and typical development (n = 21), matched on nonverbal mental age, completed five language tasks. The ASD group had significant delays in both syntax and morphology, and vocabulary measures, with…

Relationship between Children's Sleep and Mental Health in Mothers of Children with and without Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodge, Danelle; Hoffman, Charles D.; Sweeney, Dwight P.; Riggs, Matt L.

2013-01-01

The study employed 90 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) who were matched to 90 typically developing children on age, gender, and ethnicity. Using structural equation modeling, maternal sleep and maternal stress mediated the relationship between children's sleep and mothers' mental health for mothers of children with and without ASDs.…

Atypical Visual Orienting to Gaze- and Arrow-Cues in Adults with High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vlamings, Petra H. J. M.; Stauder, Johannes E. A.; van Son, Ilona A. M.; Mottron, Laurent

2005-01-01

The present study investigates visual orienting to directional cues (arrow or eyes) in adults with high functioning autism (n = 19) and age matched controls (n = 19). A choice reaction time paradigm is used in which eye-or arrow direction correctly (congruent) or incorrectly (incongruent) cues target location. In typically developing participants,…

The Interface of Syntax with Pragmatics and Prosody in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terzi, Arhonto; Marinis, Theodoros; Francis, Kostantinos

2016-01-01

In order to study problems of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with morphosyntax, we investigated twenty high-functioning Greek-speaking children (mean age: 6;11) and twenty age- and language-matched typically developing children on environments that allow or forbid object clitics or their corresponding noun phrase. Children with…

Predictors of Spelling Ability in Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Lisa; Arciuli, Joanne; Rickard Liow, Susan; Munro, Natalie

2014-01-01

This study examined whether there are processing differences between children with Down syndrome (DS; n = 22; 7 years 8 months to 13 years 10 months) and typically developing children (TD; n = 22; 6 years 6 months to 10 years 10 months), matched for receptive vocabulary. The TD children performed better on tests of nonverbal intelligence…

Rhythmic Bimanual Coordination Is Impaired in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isenhower, Robert W.; Marsh, Kerry L.; Richardson, Michael J.; Helt, Molly; Schmidt, R. C.; Fein, Deborah

2012-01-01

Impairments in motor coordination are a common behavioral manifestation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We, therefore, used a drumming methodology to examine rhythmic bimanual coordination in children diagnosed with ASD (M = 47.3 months) and age-matched typically developing (TD) children (M = 42.6 months). Both groups were instructed to drum on…

Do Gaze Cues in Complex Scenes Capture and Direct the Attention of High Functioning Adolescents with ASD? Evidence from Eye-Tracking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeth, M.; Chapman, P.; Ropar, D.; Mitchell, P.

2010-01-01

Visual fixation patterns whilst viewing complex photographic scenes containing one person were studied in 24 high-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and 24 matched typically developing adolescents. Over two different scene presentation durations both groups spent a large, strikingly similar proportion of their viewing…

Pragmatics Abilities in Narrative Production: A Cross-Disorder Comparison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Gemmell, Tracey; Paul, Rhea

2014-01-01

We aimed to disentangle contributions of socio-pragmatic and structural language deficits to narrative competence by comparing the narratives of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n=25), non-autistic children with language impairments (LI; n=23), and children with typical development (TD; n=27). Groups were matched for age (6½ to 15…

Social Skills and Problem Behaviours in School Aged Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macintosh, Kathleen; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2006-01-01

The social skills and problem behaviours of children with high-functioning autism and Asperger's Disorder were compared using parent and teacher reports on the Social Skills Rating System. The participants were 20 children with high-functioning autism, 19 children with Asperger's Disorder, and 17 typically developing children, matched on…

A Comparative Study of the Spontaneous Social Interactions of Children with High-Functioning Autism and Children with Asperger's Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Macintosh, Kathleen; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2006-01-01

A comparative observational study was undertaken of the spontaneous social interactions of children with high-functioning autism and Asperger's disorder. The sample comprised 20 children with high-functioning autism, 19 children with Asperger's disorder and 17 typically developing children matched on chronological age and overall mental age. A…

Siblings' Mediated Learning Strategies in Families with and without Children with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tzuriel, David; Hanuka-Levy, Dikla

2014-01-01

Dyads of siblings in which the younger sibling had an intellectual disability (ID, n = 25) were videotaped interacting. The ID group was compared with typically developing sibling dyads matched on mental age (n = 25) and chronological age (n = 25). We observed the mediation strategies, activation, and antimediation behaviors of older siblings and…

Mapping the Network of Neuropsychological Impairment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Graph Theoretical Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ibrahim, George M.; Morgan, Benjamin R.; Vogan, Vanessa M.; Leung, Rachel C.; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Taylor, Margot J.

2016-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit social-communicative impairments. Less is known about the neuropsychological profile of ASD, although cognitive and neuropsychological deficits are evident. We modelled neuropsychological function in 20 children with ASD and 20 sex, age and IQ matched typically-developing controls (ages 7-14) as…

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Story Listening in Adolescents and Young Adults with Down Syndrome: Evidence for Atypical Neurodevelopment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacola, L. M.; Byars, A. W.; Hickey, F.; Vannest, J.; Holland, S. K.; Schapiro, M. B.

2014-01-01

Background: Previous studies have documented differences in neural activation during language processing in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison with typically developing individuals matched for chronological age. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare activation during language processing in young…

Postural Adaptations to a Suprapostural Memory Task among Children with and without Developmental Coordination Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Fu-Chen; Tsai, Chia-Liang; Stoffregen, Thomas A.; Chang, Chihu-Hui; Wade, Michael G.

2012-01-01

Aim: The present study investigated the effects of varying the cognitive demands of a memory task (a suprapostural task) while recording postural motion on two groups of children, one diagnosed with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and an age-matched group of typically developing children. Method: Two groups, each comprising 38 child…

Semantic Deficits in Spanish-English Bilingual Children with Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheng, Li; Pena, Elizabeth D.; Bedore, Lisa M.; Fiestas, Christine E.

2012-01-01

Purpose: To examine the nature and extent of semantic deficits in bilingual children with language impairment (LI). Method: Thirty-seven Spanish-English bilingual children with LI (ranging from age 7;0 [years;months] to 9;10) and 37 typically developing (TD) age-matched peers generated 3 associations to 12 pairs of translation equivalents in…

Adaptive Behavior Ratings Correlate with Symptomatology and IQ among Individuals with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenworthy, Lauren; Case, Laura; Harms, Madeline B.; Martin, Alex; Wallace, Gregory L.

2010-01-01

Caregiver report on the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-II (ABAS) for 40 high-functioning individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and 30 typically developing (TD) individuals matched for age, IQ, and sex ratio revealed global adaptive behavior deficits in ASD, with social skills impairments particularly prominent. Within the ASD…

Motor Learning of a Bimanual Task in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hung, Ya-Ching; Gordon, Andrew M.

2013-01-01

Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (CP) have been shown to improve their motor performance with sufficient practice. However, little is known about how they learn goal-oriented tasks. In the current study, 21 children with unilateral CP (age 4-10 years old) and 21 age-matched typically developed children (TDC) practiced a simple bimanual…

The Specificity of Inhibitory Impairments in Autism and Their Relation to ADHD-Type Symptoms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanderson, Charlotte; Allen, Melissa L.

2013-01-01

Findings on inhibitory control in autism have been inconsistent. This is perhaps a reflection of the different tasks that have been used. Children with autism (CWA) and typically developing controls, matched for verbal and non-verbal mental age, completed three tasks of inhibition, each representing different inhibitory subcomponents: Go/No-Go…

Effect of Memory Support and Elicited Production on Fast Mapping of New Words by Adolescents with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Robin S.; Sindberg, Heidi; Bridge, Cynthia; Gigstead, Katherine; Hesketh, Linda

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether memory support and elicited production differentially benefited fast mapping of new vocabulary (comprehension, production accuracy, and speed) in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) compared with typically developing (TD) children matched for syntax comprehension. The study also examined…

Lexical Processing in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Semantics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haebig, Eileen; Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Weismer, Susan Ellis

2015-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) often have immature lexical-semantic knowledge; however, the organization of lexical-semantic knowledge is poorly understood. This study examined lexical processing in school-age children with ASD, SLI, and typical development, who were matched on receptive…

Trust and Deception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Social Learning Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Yiying; Tian, Yuan; Fang, Jing; Lu, Haoyang; Wei, Kunlin; Yi, Li

2017-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated abnormal trust and deception behaviors in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and we aimed to examine whether these abnormalities were primarily due to their specific deficits in social learning. We tested 42 high-functioning children with ASD and 38 age- and ability-matched typically developing (TD)…

Sensory Contributions to Balance in Boys with Developmental Coordination Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deconinck, Frederik J. A.; De Clercq, Dirk; Van Coster, Rudy; Oostra, Ann; Dewitte, Griet; Savelsbergh, Geert J. P.; Cambier, Dirk; Lenoir, Matthieu

2008-01-01

This study examined and compared the control of posture during bilateral stance in ten boys with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) of 6-8 years old and ten matched typically developing boys in four sensory conditions (with or without vision, on a firm or complaint surface). In all conditions mean postural sway velocity was larger for the…

Figurative Language Comprehension in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analytic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalandadze, Tamar; Norbury, Courtenay; Naerland, Terje; Naess, Kari-Anne B.

2018-01-01

We present a meta-analysis of studies that compare figurative language comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorder and in typically developing controls who were matched based on chronological age or/and language ability. A total of 41 studies and 45 independent effect sizes were included based on predetermined inclusion criteria.…

Collaboration in Referential Communication: Comparison of Youth with Down Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbeduto, Leonard; Murphy, Melissa M.; Richmond, Erica K.; Amman, Adrienne; Beth, Patti; Weissman, Michelle D.; Kim, Jee-Seon; Cawthon, Stephanie W.; Karadottir, Selma

2006-01-01

Referential communication was examined in youth with Down syndrome or fragile X syndrome in comparison to each other and to MA-matched typically developing children. A non-face-to-face task was used in which the participant repeatedly described novel shapes to listeners. Several dimensions of referential communication were especially challenging…

Brief Report: Plasma Leptin Levels Are Elevated in Autism: Association with Early Onset Phenotype?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashwood, Paul; Kwong, Christina; Hansen, Robin; Hertz-Picciotto, Irva; Croen, Lisa; Krakowiak, Paula; Walker, Wynn; Pessah, Isaac N.; Van de Water, Judy

2008-01-01

There is evidence of both immune dysregulation and autoimmune phenomena in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We examined the hormone/cytokine leptin in 70 children diagnosed with autism (including 37 with regression) compared with 99 age-matched controls including 50 typically developing (TD) controls, 26 siblings without autism, and…

Central tendency effects in time interval reproduction in autism

PubMed Central

Karaminis, Themelis; Cicchini, Guido Marco; Neil, Louise; Cappagli, Giulia; Aagten-Murphy, David; Burr, David; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

Central tendency, the tendency of judgements of quantities (lengths, durations etc.) to gravitate towards their mean, is one of the most robust perceptual effects. A Bayesian account has recently suggested that central tendency reflects the integration of noisy sensory estimates with prior knowledge representations of a mean stimulus, serving to improve performance. The process is flexible, so prior knowledge is weighted more heavily when sensory estimates are imprecise, requiring more integration to reduce noise. In this study we measure central tendency in autism to evaluate a recent theoretical hypothesis suggesting that autistic perception relies less on prior knowledge representations than typical perception. If true, autistic children should show reduced central tendency than theoretically predicted from their temporal resolution. We tested autistic and age- and ability-matched typical children in two child-friendly tasks: (1) a time interval reproduction task, measuring central tendency in the temporal domain; and (2) a time discrimination task, assessing temporal resolution. Central tendency reduced with age in typical development, while temporal resolution improved. Autistic children performed far worse in temporal discrimination than the matched controls. Computational simulations suggested that central tendency was much less in autistic children than predicted by theoretical modelling, given their poor temporal resolution. PMID:27349722

Investigation of language and motor skills in Serbian speaking children with specific language impairment and in typically developing children.

PubMed

Vukovic, Mile; Vukovic, Irena; Stojanovik, Vesna

2010-01-01

Specific language impairment (SLI) is usually defined as a developmental language disorder which does not result from a hearing loss, autism, neurological and emotional difficulties, severe social deprivation, low non-verbal abilities. Children affected with SLI typically have difficulties with the acquisition of different aspects of language and by definition, their impairment is specific to language and no other skills are affected. However, there has been a growing body of literature to suggest that children with SLI also have non-linguistic deficits, including impaired motor abilities. The aim of the current study is to investigate language and motor abilities of a group of thirty children with SLI (aged between 4 and 7) in comparison to a group of 30 typically developing children matched for chronological age. The results showed that the group of children with SLI had significantly more difficulties on the language and motor assessments compared to the control group. The SLI group also showed delayed onset in the development of all motor skills under investigation in comparison to the typically developing group. More interestingly, the two groups differed with respect to which language abilities were correlated with motor abilities, however Imitation of Complex Movements was the unique skill which reliably predicted expressive vocabulary in both typically developing children and in children with SLI. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the accuracy of improved force-matched water models derived from Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Köster, Andreas; Spura, Thomas; Rutkai, Gábor; Kessler, Jan; Wiebeler, Hendrik; Vrabec, Jadran; Kühne, Thomas D

2016-07-15

The accuracy of water models derived from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations by means on an improved force-matching scheme is assessed for various thermodynamic, transport, and structural properties. It is found that although the resulting force-matched water models are typically less accurate than fully empirical force fields in predicting thermodynamic properties, they are nevertheless much more accurate than generally appreciated in reproducing the structure of liquid water and in fact superseding most of the commonly used empirical water models. This development demonstrates the feasibility to routinely parametrize computationally efficient yet predictive potential energy functions based on accurate ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for a large variety of different systems. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Structure and coherence of reasoning ability in Down Syndrome adults and typically developing children.

PubMed

Natsopoulo, D; Christou, C; Koutselini, M; Raftopoulos, A; Karefillidou, C

2002-01-01

The present study investigates the ability of Down Syndrome (DS) adults to reason: (a) deductively with transitivity (linear and reverse relations) and categorical syllogisms (all-some relations); (b) inductively with classical verbal analogies and non-verbal analogical reasoning (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices); and (c) to retain information in short-term memory. The results have shown that: (i) The Down Syndrome adults did not differ from typically developing children, matched on expressive and verbal ability, in transitivity and non-verbal analogical thinking; (ii) they differed in categorical reasoning, classical verbal analogies and short-term memory. Application of a structural model demonstrated that, despite differences in slope means in the three measures, the structure of functioning within-and-across all domains of cognition tests and its growth pattern, equally reliable and coherent, goes in parallel for the Down Syndrome adults and the typically developing children. The results are discussed within the context of the two-group developmental and difference approach.

Is Weak Oral Language Associated with Poor Spelling in School-Age Children with Specific Language Impairment, Dyslexia, or Both?

PubMed Central

McCarthy, Jillian H.; Hogan, Tiffany P.; Catts, Hugh W.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that word reading accuracy, not oral language, is associated with spelling performance in school-age children. We compared fourth grade spelling accuracy in children with specific language impairment (SLI), dyslexia, or both (SLI/dyslexia) to their typically developing grade-matched peers. Results of the study revealed that children with SLI performed similarly to their typically developing peers on a single word spelling task. Alternatively, those with dyslexia and SLI/dyslexia evidenced poor spelling accuracy. Errors made by both those with dyslexia and SLI/dyslexia were characterized by numerous phonologic, orthographic, and semantic errors. Cumulative results support the hypothesis that word reading accuracy, not oral language, is associated with spelling performance in typically developing school-age children and their peers with SLI and dyslexia. Findings are provided as further support for the notion that SLI and dyslexia are distinct, yet co-morbid, developmental disorders. PMID:22876769

Comprehension of wh-questions precedes their production in typical development and autism spectrum disorders

PubMed Central

Goodwin, Anthony; Fein, Deborah; Naigles, Letitia R.

2011-01-01

Lay Abstract Children with autism produce few wh-questions, compared to their typically developing peers. It is unclear if this is because of social-pragmatic difficulties, or if they have not yet learned the grammar for asking wh-questions. If children do not know how to use grammatical rules to produce questions, they might simply repeat sentences that they have heard without completely understanding them first. We visited the homes of 15 children with autism and 18 typically developing children with similar language abilities, across a three-year period. At each visit, children watched a video that depicted an apple hitting a flower and keys hitting a book. The children were then shown the items side-by-side on the screen and the audio asked “what hit the flower?” and “what did the keys hit?” We filmed the children’s eye movements and analyzed how long they looked at the named item, compared to when they heard “where is the flower/keys?” At each visit, we also filmed a 30-minute mother-child play session and analyzed the types of questions that the children asked. Children with autism showed comprehension of wh-questions at a later age than typically developing children, but at a similar level of overall language development. Neither group produced wh-questions before they had demonstrated that they understood the underlying grammatical rules. Therefore, children with autism seem to process wh-questions in the same way as their typically developing peers, just at a later age. This paper discusses the implications of our findings for the language development of children with autism. Scientific Abstract Children with autism (ASD) rarely produce wh-questions (e.g., “What hit the book?”) in naturalistic speech. It is unclear if this is due to social-pragmatic difficulties, or if grammatical deficits are also involved. If grammar is impaired, production of wh-questions by rote memorization might precede comprehension of similar forms. In a longitudinal study, 15 children with ASD and 18 initially-language-matched typically developing toddlers were visited in their homes at four-month intervals across a three-year period. The wh-question task was presented via intermodal preferential looking. Silent ‘hitting’ events (e.g., an apple hitting a flower) were followed by test trials in which the apple and flower were juxtaposed on the screen. During test trials, subject-wh and object-wh-question audios were sequentially presented (e.g., “What hit the flower?”/”What did the apple hit?”). Control audios were also presented (e.g., “Where’s the apple/flower?”). Children’s eye movements were coded off-line, frame-by-frame. To show reliable comprehension, children should look longer to the named item (i.e., apple or flower) during the “where” questions, but less at the named item during the subject-wh and object-wh-questions. To compare comprehension to production, we coded 30-minute spontaneous speech samples drawn from mother-child interactions at each visit. Results indicated that comprehension of subject and object-wh-questions was delayed in children with ASD compared to age-matched TD children, but not when matched on overall language levels. Additionally, both groups comprehended wh-questions before producing similar forms, indicating that development occurred in a similar manner. This paper discusses the implications of our findings for language acquisition in ASD. PMID:22359403

Construction of Fine Particles Source Spectrum Bank in Typical Region and Empirical Research of Matching Diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xing; Sun, Wenliang; Guo, Min; Li, Minjiao; Li, Wan

2018-01-01

The research object of this paper is fine particles in typical region. The construction of component spectrum bank is based on the technology of online source apportionment, then the result of the apportionment is utilized to verify the effectiveness of fine particles component spectrum bank and which also act as the matching basis of online source apportionment receptor sample. On the next, the particle source of air pollution is carried through the matching diagnosis empirical research by utilizing online source apportionment technology, to provide technical support for the cause analysis and treatment of heavy pollution weather.

Deconstructing executive deficits among persons with autism: implications for cognitive neuroscience.

PubMed

Russo, Natalie; Flanagan, Tara; Iarocci, Grace; Berringer, Darlene; Zelazo, Philip David; Burack, Jacob A

2007-10-01

Individuals with autism demonstrate impairments on measures of executive function (EF) relative to typically developing comparison participants. EF is comprised of several processes including inhibition, working memory and set shifting that develop throughout the lifespan. Impairments in EF may appear early in development and persist, or may represent a more transient delay which resolves with time. Given the unevenness of the cognitive profile of persons with autism, understanding the development of EF poses methodological challenges. These issues include those related to matching measures and the choice of comparison participants to which the performance of persons with autism will be compared. In the current review, we attempt to break down the processes of inhibition, working memory and set shifting among persons with autism. We propose to do this within a developmental perspective that highlights how matching measures and comparison participants can affect the interpretation of research findings.

Social maturity and theory of mind in typically developing children and those on the autism spectrum.

PubMed

Peterson, Candida C; Slaughter, Virginia P; Paynter, Jessica

2007-12-01

Results of several studies using the Vineland scale to explore links between social behavior and theory of mind (ToM) have produced mixed results, especially for children on the autism spectrum. The present pair of studies developed a psychometrically sound, age-referenced measure of social maturity to explore these issues further. In Study 1, 37 typically developing preschoolers took a battery of standard false belief tests of ToM and were rated by their teachers on a newly developed age-referenced social maturity scale with 7 items. In Study 2, a further group of 43 children aged 4 to 12 years (13 with autism, 14 with Asperger's disorder and 16 with typical development) took part in the same procedure. In Study 1, ToM was found to predict typical preschoolers' social maturity independently of age and verbal maturity. In Study 2, children with autism scored below age-matched and younger typical developers in both ToM and social maturity. Those with Asperger's disorder did well on ToM but poorly on social maturity. Study 2 replicated Study 1's finding (for typical children and for the full sample) that ToM was linked with social maturity independently of age and verbal ability, although the link was not independent of autism diagnosis. Teachers are capable of rating children's social behavior with peers as advanced, on-time or delayed for their age. Suggestive links between these ratings and ToM require further investigation, especially among children on the autism spectrum.

Adaptive behaviour in children and adolescents with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a comparison with specific learning disability and typical development

PubMed Central

Autti-Rämö, Ilona; Kalland, Mirjam; Santtila, Pekka; Hoyme, H. Eugene; Mattson, Sarah N.; Korkman, Marit

2013-01-01

Foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) is a leading cause of intellectual disability in the western world. Children and adolescents with FASD are often exposed to a double burden in life, as their neurological sequelae are accompanied by adverse living surroundings exposing them to further environmental risk. In the present study, the adaptive abilities of a group of children and adolescents with FASD were examined using the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS) and compared to those of a group of IQ-matched children with specific learning disorder (SLD) as well as with typically developing controls (CON). The results showed significantly different adaptive abilities among the groups: Children with FASD performed worse than IQ-matched children with SLD, who in turn performed worse than typically developing children on all domains (communication, daily living skills and socialization) on the VABS. Compared to the other groups, social skills declined with age in the FASD group. These results support previous studies of adaptive behaviour deficits in children with FASD and provide further evidence of the specificity of these deficits. On a societal level, more efforts and resources should be focused on recognizing and diagnosing FASD and supporting communication skills, daily living skills and most of all social skills across diagnostic groups within FASD. Without adequate intervention, adolescents and young adults with FASD run a great risk of marginalization and social maladjustment, costly not only to society but also to the lives of the many young people with FASD. PMID:22358422

Prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke or alcohol and cerebellum volume in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typical development

PubMed Central

de Zeeuw, P; Zwart, F; Schrama, R; van Engeland, H; Durston, S

2012-01-01

Prenatal exposure to teratogenic substances, such as nicotine or alcohol, increases the risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To date, studies examining this relationship have used symptom scales as outcome measures to assess the effect of prenatal exposure, and have not investigated the neurobiological pathways involved. This study explores the effect of prenatal exposure to cigarettes or alcohol on brain volume in children with ADHD and typically developing controls. Children with ADHD who had been exposed prenatally to either substance were individually matched to children with and without ADHD who had not been. Controls who had been exposed prenatally were also individually matched to controls who had not been. For prenatal exposure to both smoking and alcohol, we found a pattern where subjects with ADHD who had been exposed had the smallest brain volumes and unexposed controls had the largest, with intermediate volumes for unexposed subjects with ADHD. This effect was most pronounced for cerebellum. A similar reduction fell short of significance for controls who had been exposed to cigarettes, but not alcohol. Our results are consistent with an additive effect of prenatal exposure and ADHD on brain volume, with the effects most pronounced for cerebellum. PMID:22832850

Can pictures promote the acquisition of sight-word reading? An evaluation of two potential instructional strategies.

PubMed

Richardson, Amy R; Lerman, Dorothea C; Nissen, Melissa A; Luck, Kally M; Neal, Ashley E; Bao, Shimin; Tsami, Loukia

2017-01-01

Sight-word instruction can be a useful supplement to phonics-based methods under some circumstances. Nonetheless, few studies have evaluated the conditions under which pictures may be used successfully to teach sight-word reading. In this study, we extended prior research by examining two potential strategies for reducing the effects of overshadowing when using picture prompts. Five children with developmental disabilities and two typically developing children participated. In the first experiment, the therapist embedded sight words within pictures but gradually faded in the pictures as needed using a least-to-most prompting hierarchy. In the second experiment, the therapist embedded text-to-picture matching within the sight-word reading sessions. Results suggested that these strategies reduced the interference typically observed with picture prompts and enhanced performance during teaching sessions for the majority of participants. Text-to-picture matching also accelerated mastery of the sight words relative to a condition under which the therapist presented text without pictures. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

BASC-2 PRS profiles for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Volker, Martin A; Lopata, Christopher; Smerbeck, Audrey M; Knoll, Valerie A; Thomeer, Marcus L; Toomey, Jennifer A; Rodgers, Jonathan D

2010-02-01

BASC-2 PRS profiles of 62 children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) were compared with those of 62 typically-developing children matched by age, gender, and ethnicity. Results indicated that, except for the Somatization, Conduct Problems, and Aggression scales, significant differences were found between the HFASD and typically-developing groups on all PRS scores. Mean HFASD scores were in the clinically significant range on the Behavioral Symptoms Index, Atypicality, Withdrawal, and Developmental Social Disorders scales. At-risk range HFASD means were obtained on the Adaptive Skills composite, all adaptive scales, remaining content scales (except Bullying), and Hyperactivity, Attention Problems, and Depression clinical scales. Screening indices suggested that the Developmental Social Disorders scale was highly effective in differentiating between the two groups.

Current and Future Developments in Air Traffic Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, Joseph; Green, Steven M.

1999-01-01

Current and future energy demands, end uses, and cost used to characterize typical applications services in the industrial sector of the United States are examined. A review and evaluation of existing industrial energy data bases was undertaken to assess their potential for supporting SERI research market suitability analysis; (2) market development; (3) end use matching; (4) industrial application studies; and (5) identification of cost and performance goals for solar systems and typical information requirements for industrial energy end use. The focus was on fuels and electric energy used for heat and power purchased by the manufacturing subsector and listed by 2, 3, and 4 digit SIC, primary fuel. The effects of federal and state industrial energy conservation programs on future industrial sector demands were assessed.

Relationship between Motor and Executive Functioning in School-Age Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schurink, J.; Hartman, E.; Scherder, E. J. A.; Houwen, S.; Visscher, C.

2012-01-01

This study examines the motor skills and executive functioning (EF) of 28 children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; mean age: 10 years 6 months, range: 7-12 years; 19 boys, 9 girls) in comparison with age- and gender-matched typically developing children. The potential relationship between motor…

Developmental Profiles for Multiple Object Tracking and Spatial Memory: Typically Developing Preschoolers and People with Williams Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Hearn, Kirsten; Hoffman, James E.; Landau, Barbara

2010-01-01

The ability to track moving objects, a crucial skill for mature performance on everyday spatial tasks, has been hypothesized to require a specialized mechanism that may be available in infancy (i.e. indexes). Consistent with the idea of specialization, our previous work showed that object tracking was more impaired than a matched spatial memory…

Production and Processing Asymmetries in the Acquisition of Tense Morphology by Sequential Bilingual Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chondrogianni, Vasiliki; Marinis, Theodoros

2012-01-01

This study investigates the production and online processing of English tense morphemes by sequential bilingual (L2) Turkish-speaking children with more than three years of exposure to English. Thirty-nine six- to nine-year-old L2 children and twenty-eight typically developing age-matched monolingual (L1) children were administered the production…

Imitation of Body Postures and Hand Movements in Children with Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marton, Klara

2009-01-01

Within the domain-general theory of language impairment, this study examined body posture and hand movement imitation in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and in their age-matched peers. Participants included 40 children with SLI (5 years 3 months to 6 years 10 months of age) and 40 children with typical language development (5…

Parents' Regulation and Self-Regulation and Performance in Children with Intellectual Disability in Problem-Solving Using Physical Materials or Computers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nader-Grosbois, Nathalie; Lefevre, Nathalie

2012-01-01

This study compared mothers and fathers' regulation with respect to 29 children with intellectual disability (ID) and 30 typically developing (TD) children, matched on their mental age (MA), as they solved eight tasks using physical materials and computers. Seven parents' regulatory strategies were coded as they supported their child's…

Reading and Phonological Skills in Boys with Fragile X Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klusek, Jessica; Hunt, Anna W.; Mirrett, Penny L.; Hatton, Deborah D.; Hooper, Stephen R.; Roberts, Jane E.; Bailey, Donald B.

2015-01-01

Although reading skills are critical for the success of individuals with intellectual disabilities, literacy has received little attention in fragile X syndrome (FXS). This study examined the literacy profile of FXS. Boys with FXS (n = 51; mean age 10.2 years) and mental age-matched boys with typical development (n = 35) participated in…

Is Grammar Spared in Autism Spectrum Disorder? Data from Judgments of Verb Argument Structure Overgeneralization Errors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambridge, Ben; Bannard, Colin; Jackson, Georgina H.

2015-01-01

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 11-13 (N = 16) and an IQ-matched typically developing (TD) group aged 7-12 (N = 16) completed a graded grammaticality judgment task, as well as a standardized test of cognitive function. In a departure from previous studies, the judgment task involved verb argument structure overgeneralization…

Do Social Attribution Skills Improve with Age in Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bal, Elgiz; Yerys, Benjamin E.; Sokoloff, Jennifer L.; Celano, Mark J.; Kenworthy, Lauren; Giedd, Jay N.; Wallace, Gregory L.

2013-01-01

Age-related changes in social attribution skills were assessed using the "Triangles Playing Tricks" task in 7-17 year old high functioning children with ASDs (n = 41) and in typically developing (TD) children (n = 58) matched on age, IQ, and sex ratio. Children with ASDs gave responses that received lower intentionality and appropriateness ratings…

Language and Verbal Short-Term Memory Skills in Children with Down Syndrome: A Meta-Analytic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naess, Kari-Anne B.; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas; Hulme, Charles; Melby-Lervag, Monica

2011-01-01

This study presents a meta-analytic review of language and verbal short-term memory skills in children with Down syndrome. The study examines the profile of strengths and weaknesses in children with Down syndrome compared to typically developing children matched for nonverbal mental age. The findings show that children with Down syndrome have…

Spoken and Gestural Production in a Naming Task by Young Children with Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stefanini, Silvia; Caselli, Maria Cristina; Volterra, Virginia

2007-01-01

Lexical production in children with Down syndrome (DS) was investigated by examining spoken naming accuracy and the use of spontaneous gestures in a picture naming task. Fifteen children with DS (range 3.8-8.3 years) were compared to typically developing children (TD), matched for chronological age and developmental age (range 2.6-4.3 years).…

Effects of Immediate and Cumulative Syntactic Experience in Language Impairment: Evidence from Priming of Subject Relatives in Children with SLI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garraffa, Maria; Coco, Moreno I.; Branigan, Holly P.

2015-01-01

We investigated the production of subject relative clauses (SRc) in Italian pre-school children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and age-matched typically-developing children (TD) controls. In a structural priming paradigm, children described pictures after hearing the experimenter produce a bare noun or an SRc description, as part of a…

Effects of Sampling Context on Spontaneous Expressive Language in Males with Fragile X Syndrome or Down Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kover, Sara T.; McDuffie, Andrea; Abbeduto, Leonard; Brown, W. Ted

2012-01-01

Purpose: In this study, the authors examined the impact of sampling context on multiple aspects of expressive language in male participants with fragile X syndrome in comparison to male participants with Down syndrome or typical development. Method: Participants with fragile X syndrome (n = 27), ages 10-17 years, were matched groupwise on…

Implications of Social Groups on Sedentary Behavior of Children with Autism: A Pilot Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schenkelberg, Michaela A.; Rosenkranz, Richard R.; Milliken, George A.; Menear, Kristi; Dzewaltowski, David A.

2017-01-01

This pilot study compared sedentary behavior (SB) of children with autism (ASD) to typically developing peers (TD), and evaluated the influence of social contexts within free play (FP) and organized activity settings on SB of children with ASD during an inclusive summer camp. Participants with ASD were matched with TD peers by age and gender, and…

Screening for Specific Language Impairment in Preschool Children: Evaluating a Screening Procedure Including the Token Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willinger, Ulrike; Schmoeger, Michaela; Deckert, Matthias; Eisenwort, Brigitte; Loader, Benjamin; Hofmair, Annemarie; Auff, Eduard

2017-01-01

Specific language impairment (SLI) comprises impairments in receptive and/or expressive language. Aim of this study was to evaluate a screening for SLI. 61 children with SLI (SLI-children, age-range 4-6 years) and 61 matched typically developing controls were tested for receptive language ability (Token Test-TT) and for intelligence (Wechsler…

The Role of Imitation in the Observed Heterogeneity in EEG Mu Rhythm in Autism and Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernier, Raphael; Aaronson, Benjamin; McPartland, James

2013-01-01

Dysfunction in an execution/observation matching system, or mirror neuron system, has been proposed to contribute to the social deficits observed in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Atypical activity in this system, as reflected in attenuation of the EEG mu rhythm, has been demonstrated in several studies; however, normative patterns of activity…

Sentence comprehension in specific language impairment: a task designed to distinguish between cognitive capacity and syntactic complexity.

PubMed

Leonard, Laurence B; Deevy, Patricia; Fey, Marc E; Bredin-Oja, Shelley L

2013-04-01

This study examined sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment (SLI) in a manner designed to separate the contribution of cognitive capacity from the effects of syntactic structure. Nineteen children with SLI, 19 typically developing children matched for age (TD-A), and 19 younger typically developing children (TD-Y) matched according to sentence comprehension test scores responded to sentence comprehension items that varied in either length or their demands on cognitive capacity, based on the nature of the foils competing with the target picture. The TD-A children were accurate across all item types. The SLI and TD-Y groups were less accurate than the TD-A group on items with greater length and, especially, on items with the greatest demands on cognitive capacity. The types of errors were consistent with failure to retain details of the sentence apart from syntactic structure. The difficulty in the more demanding conditions seemed attributable to interference. Specifically, the children with SLI and the TD-Y children appeared to have difficulty retaining details of the target sentence when the information reflected in the foils closely resembled the information in the target sentence.

Nutritional deficiencies and overweight prevalence among children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Shmaya, Yael; Eilat-Adar, Sigal; Leitner, Yael; Reif, Shimon; Gabis, Lidia

2015-03-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk of developing nutritional deviations. Three to six year old children with ASD were compared to their typically developing siblings and to a typically developing age and gender matched control group, in order to evaluate their intake and body mass index. Nutrient intake was compared to the Dietary Reference Intake using three-day diet diaries completed by the parents. The sum percentage of nutritional deficiencies in the ASD group compared to the typical development group was 342.5% (±122.9%) vs. 275.9% (±106.8%), respectively (P=0.026). A trend toward higher deficiency in the ASD group was observed as compared to the sibling group 363% (±122.9%) vs. 283.2% (±94.7%) (P=0.071). A higher body mass index was found in the ASD group compared to their counterparts, despite their nutritional deficiencies. In conclusion, children with ASD are more likely to suffer from nutritional deficiencies despite higher body mass index. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the use of INS to improve Feature Matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masiero, A.; Guarnieri, A.; Vettore, A.; Pirotti, F.

2014-11-01

The continuous technological improvement of mobile devices opens the frontiers of Mobile Mapping systems to very compact systems, i.e. a smartphone or a tablet. This motivates the development of efficient 3D reconstruction techniques based on the sensors typically embedded in such devices, i.e. imaging sensors, GPS and Inertial Navigation System (INS). Such methods usually exploits photogrammetry techniques (structure from motion) to provide an estimation of the geometry of the scene. Actually, 3D reconstruction techniques (e.g. structure from motion) rely on use of features properly matched in different images to compute the 3D positions of objects by means of triangulation. Hence, correct feature matching is of fundamental importance to ensure good quality 3D reconstructions. Matching methods are based on the appearance of features, that can change as a consequence of variations of camera position and orientation, and environment illumination. For this reason, several methods have been developed in recent years in order to provide feature descriptors robust (ideally invariant) to such variations, e.g. Scale-Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT), Affine SIFT, Hessian affine and Harris affine detectors, Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSER). This work deals with the integration of information provided by the INS in the feature matching procedure: a previously developed navigation algorithm is used to constantly estimate the device position and orientation. Then, such information is exploited to estimate the transformation of feature regions between two camera views. This allows to compare regions from different images but associated to the same feature as seen by the same point of view, hence significantly easing the comparison of feature characteristics and, consequently, improving matching. SIFT-like descriptors are used in order to ensure good matching results in presence of illumination variations and to compensate the approximations related to the estimation process.

“Who said that?” Matching of low- and high-intensity emotional prosody to facial expressions by adolescents with ASD

PubMed Central

Grossman, Ruth B; Tager-Flusberg, Helen

2012-01-01

Data on emotion processing by individuals with ASD suggest both intact abilities and significant deficits. Signal intensity may be a contributing factor to this discrepancy. We presented low- and high-intensity emotional stimuli in a face-voice matching task to 22 adolescents with ASD and 22 typically developing (TD) peers. Participants heard semantically neutral sentences with happy, surprised, angry, and sad prosody presented at two intensity levels (low, high) and matched them to emotional faces. The facial expression choice was either across- or within-valence. Both groups were less accurate for low-intensity emotions, but the ASD participants' accuracy levels dropped off more sharply. ASD participants were significantly less accurate than their TD peers for trials involving low-intensity emotions and within-valence face contrasts. PMID:22450703

Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) with the Use of Visual Supports for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Validity and Reliability.

PubMed

Allen, K A; Bredero, B; Van Damme, T; Ulrich, D A; Simons, J

2017-03-01

The validity and reliability of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) were measured, taking into consideration the preference for visual learning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The TGMD-3 was administered to 14 children with ASD (4-10 years) and 21 age-matched typically developing children under two conditions: TGMD-3 traditional protocol, and TGMD-3 visual support protocol. Excellent levels of internal consistency, test-retest, interrater and intrarater reliability were achieved for the TGMD-3 visual support protocol. TGMD-3 raw scores of children with ASD were significantly lower than typically developing peers, however, significantly improved using the TGMD-3 visual support protocol. This demonstrates that the TGMD-3 visual support protocol is a valid and reliable assessment of gross motor performance for children with ASD.

Working memory subsystems and task complexity in young boys with Fragile X syndrome.

PubMed

Baker, S; Hooper, S; Skinner, M; Hatton, D; Schaaf, J; Ornstein, P; Bailey, D

2011-01-01

Working memory problems have been targeted as core deficits in individuals with Fragile X syndrome (FXS); however, there have been few studies that have examined working memory in young boys with FXS, and even fewer studies that have studied the working memory performance of young boys with FXS across different degrees of complexity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phonological loop and visual-spatial working memory in young boys with FXS, in comparison to mental age-matched typical boys, and to examine the impact of complexity of the working memory tasks on performance. The performance of young boys (7 to 13-years-old) with FXS (n = 40) was compared with that of mental age and race matched typically developing boys (n = 40) on measures designed to test the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad across low, moderate and high degrees of complexity. Multivariate analyses were used to examine group differences across the specific working memory systems and degrees of complexity. Results suggested that boys with FXS showed deficits in phonological loop and visual-spatial working memory tasks when compared with typically developing mental age-matched boys. For the boys with FXS, the phonological loop was significantly lower than the visual-spatial sketchpad; however, there was no significant difference in performance across the low, moderate and high degrees of complexity in the working memory tasks. Reverse tasks from both the phonological loop and visual-spatial sketchpad appeared to be the most challenging for both groups, but particularly for the boys with FXS. These findings implicate a generalised deficit in working memory in young boys with FXS, with a specific disproportionate impairment in the phonological loop. Given the lack of differentiation on the low versus high complexity tasks, simple span tasks may provide an adequate estimate of working memory until greater involvement of the central executive is achieved. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Working memory subsystems and task complexity in young boys with Fragile X syndrome

PubMed Central

Baker, S.; Hooper, S.; Skinner, M.; Hatton, D.; Schaaf, J.; Ornstein, P.; Bailey, D.

2011-01-01

Background Working memory problems have been targeted as core deficits in individuals with Fragile X syndrome (FXS); however, there have been few studies that have examined working memory in young boys with FXS, and even fewer studies that have studied the working memory performance of young boys with FXS across different degrees of complexity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the phonological loop and visual–spatial working memory in young boys with FXS, in comparison to mental age-matched typical boys, and to examine the impact of complexity of the working memory tasks on performance. Methods The performance of young boys (7 to 13-years-old) with FXS (n = 40) was compared with that of mental age and race matched typically developing boys (n = 40) on measures designed to test the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad across low, moderate and high degrees of complexity. Multivariate analyses were used to examine group differences across the specific working memory systems and degrees of complexity. Results Results suggested that boys with FXS showed deficits in phonological loop and visual–spatial working memory tasks when compared with typically developing mental age-matched boys. For the boys with FXS, the phonological loop was significantly lower than the visual–spatial sketchpad; however, there was no significant difference in performance across the low, moderate and high degrees of complexity in the working memory tasks. Reverse tasks from both the phonological loop and visual–spatial sketchpad appeared to be the most challenging for both groups, but particularly for the boys with FXS. Conclusions These findings implicate a generalised deficit in working memory in young boys with FXS, with a specific disproportionate impairment in the phonological loop. Given the lack of differentiation on the low versus high complexity tasks, simple span tasks may provide an adequate estimate of working memory until greater involvement of the central executive is achieved. PMID:21121991

Spelling Processes of Children With Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and/or Palate: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Lee, Karen Shi Mei; Young, Selena Ee-Li; Liow, Susan Jane Rickard; Purcell, Alison Anne

2015-01-01

Objective :  To compare the cognitive-linguistic processes underlying spelling performance of children with cleft lip and/or palate with those of typically developing children. Design :  An assessment battery including tests of hearing, articulation, verbal short-term and working memory, and phonological awareness, as well as word and nonword spelling, was administered to both groups. Participants :  A total of 15 children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate were case-matched by age and sex to 15 typically developing children. The children were aged between 6 and 8 years and were bilingual, with English the dominant language. Results :  Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed that the performance of children with cleft lip and/or palate was significantly poorer on phoneme deletion and nonword spelling (P < .05) compared with typically developing children. Spearman correlation analyses revealed different relationships between the cognitive-linguistic and spelling measures for the cleft lip and/or palate and typically developing groups. Conclusions :  Children with cleft lip and/or palate underachieve in phonological awareness and spelling skills. To facilitate early intervention for literacy problems, speech-language pathologists should routinely assess the cognitive-linguistic processing of children with cleft lip and/or palate, especially phonological awareness, as part of their case management protocols.

Effects of Sampling Context on Spontaneous Expressive Language in Males with Fragile X Syndrome or Down Syndrome

PubMed Central

Kover, Sara T.; McDuffie, Andrea; Abbeduto, Leonard; Brown, W. Ted

2012-01-01

Purpose This study examined the impact of sampling context on multiple aspects of expressive language in males with fragile X syndrome in comparison to males with Down syndrome or typical development. Method Participants with fragile X syndrome (n = 27), ages 10 to 17 years, were matched groupwise on nonverbal mental age to adolescents with Down syndrome (n = 15) and typically developing 3- to 6-year-olds (n = 15). Language sampling contexts were an interview-style conversation and narration of a wordless book, with scripted examiner behavior. Language was assessed in terms of amount of talk, MLU of communication unit (MLCU), lexical diversity, fluency, and intelligibility. Results Participants with fragile X syndrome had lower MLCU and lexical diversity than participants with typical development. Participants with Down syndrome produced yet lower MLCU. A differential effect of context among those with fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, and typical development emerged for the number of attempts per minute, MLCU, and fluency. For participants with fragile X syndrome, autism symptom severity related to the number of utterances produced in conversation. Aspects of examiner behavior related to participant performance. Conclusions Sampling context characteristics should be considered when assessing expressive language in individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. PMID:22232386

Control networks in paediatric Tourette syndrome show immature and anomalous patterns of functional connectivity

PubMed Central

Fair, Damien A.; Dosenbach, Nico U. F.; Cohen, Alexander L.; Miezin, Francis M.; Petersen, Steven E.; Schlaggar, Bradley L.

2009-01-01

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a developmental disorder characterized by unwanted, repetitive behaviours that manifest as stereotyped movements and vocalizations called ‘tics’. Operating under the hypothesis that the brain's control systems may be impaired in TS, we measured resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) between 39 previously defined putative control regions in 33 adolescents with TS. We were particularly interested in the effect of TS on two of the brain's task control networks—a fronto-parietal network likely involved in more rapid, adaptive online control, and a cingulo-opercular network apparently important for set-maintenance. To examine the relative maturity of connections in the Tourette subjects, functional connections that changed significantly over typical development were examined. Age curves were created for each functional connection charting correlation coefficients over age for 210 healthy people aged 7–31 years, and the TS group correlation coefficients were compared to these curves. Many of these connections were significantly less ‘mature’ than expected in the TS group. This immaturity was true not only for functional connections that grow stronger with age, but also for those that diminish in strength with age. To explore other differences between Tourette and typically developing subjects further, we performed a second analysis in which the TS group was directly compared to an age-matched, movement-matched group of typically developing, unaffected adolescents. A number of functional connections were found to differ between the two groups. For these identified connections, a large number of connectional differences were found where the TS group value was out of range compared to typical developmental age curves. These anomalous connections were primarily found in the fronto-parietal network, thought to be important for online adaptive control. These results suggest that in adolescents with TS, immature functional connectivity is widespread, with additional, more profound deviation of connectivity in regions related to adaptive online control. PMID:18952678

Acoustic and Perceptual Measurements of Prosody Production on the Profiling Elements of Prosodic Systems in Children by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diehl, Joshua John; Paul, Rhea

2013-01-01

Prosody production atypicalities are a feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but behavioral measures of performance have failed to provide detail on the properties of these deficits. We used acoustic measures of prosody to compare children with ASDs to age-matched groups with learning disabilities and typically developing peers. Overall,…

Flexible Visual Processing in Young Adults with Autism: The Effects of Implicit Learning on a Global-Local Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Dana A.; Shore, David I.; Ristic, Jelena; Kovshoff, Hanna; Iarocci, Grace; Mottron, Laurent; Burack, Jacob A.

2012-01-01

We utilized a hierarchical figures task to determine the default level of perceptual processing and the flexibility of visual processing in a group of high-functioning young adults with autism (n = 12) and a typically developing young adults, matched by chronological age and IQ (n = 12). In one task, participants attended to one level of the…

More than Just Another Face in the Crowd: Evidence for an "Angry Superiority Effect" in Children with and without Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosset, Delphine; Santos, Andreia; Da Fonseca, David; Rondan, Cecilie; Poinso, Francois; Deruelle, Christine

2011-01-01

The angry superiority effect refers to more efficient way individuals detect angry relative to happy faces in a crowd. Given their socio-emotional deficits, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be impervious to this effect. Thirty children with ASD and 30 matched-typically developing children were presented with a visual search task,…

How Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Spontaneously Attend to Real-World Scenes: Use of a Change Blindness Paradigm

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hochhauser, Michal; Aran, Adi; Grynszpan, Ouriel

2018-01-01

Visual attention of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was assessed using a change blindness paradigm. Twenty-five adolescents with ASD aged 12-18 years and 25 matched typically developing (TD) adolescents viewed 36 pairs of digitized real-world images. Each pair of images was displayed in a "flicker paradigm" whereby a…

A Preliminary Study of Gender Differences in Autobiographical Memory in Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goddard, Lorna; Dritschel, Barbara; Howlin, Patricia

2014-01-01

Autobiographical memory was assessed in 24 children (12 male, 12 female, aged between 8 and 16 years) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a comparison group of 24 typically developing (TD) children matched for age, IQ, gender and receptive language. Results suggested that a deficit in specific memory retrieval in the ASD group was more…

Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane? Category Use in Problem-Solving in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alderson-Day, Ben; McGonigle-Chalmers, Margaret

2011-01-01

Fourteen children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and fourteen age-matched typically-developing (TD) controls were tested on an adapted version of the Twenty Questions Task (Mosher and Hornsby in Studies in cognitive growth. Wiley, New York, pp 86-102, "1966") to examine effects of content, executive and verbal IQ factors on category use in…

Brief Report: Conveying Subjective Experience in Conversation: Production of Mental State Terms and Personal Narratives in Individuals with High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bang, Janet; Burns, Jesse; Nadig, Aparna

2013-01-01

Mental state terms and personal narratives are conversational devices used to communicate subjective experience in conversation. Pre-adolescents with high-functioning autism (HFA, n = 20) were compared with language-matched typically-developing peers (TYP, n = 17) on production of mental state terms (i.e., perception, physiology, desire, emotion,…

The Effects of Phonological Short-Term Memory and Speech Perception on Spoken Sentence Comprehension in Children: Simulating Deficits in an Experimental Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Meaghan C.; Penney, Sarah B.; Robertson, Erin K.

2017-01-01

The roles of phonological short-term memory (pSTM) and speech perception in spoken sentence comprehension were examined in an experimental design. Deficits in pSTM and speech perception were simulated through task demands while typically-developing children (N = 71) completed a sentence-picture matching task. Children performed the control,…

Associated Effects of Automated Essay Evaluation Software on Growth in Writing Quality for Students with and without Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Joshua

2017-01-01

The present study examined growth in writing quality associated with feedback provided by an automated essay evaluation system called PEG Writing. Equal numbers of students with disabilities (SWD) and typically-developing students (TD) matched on prior writing achievement were sampled (n = 1196 total). Data from a subsample of students (n = 655)…

Brief Report: Repetitive Behaviors in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmentally Similar Peers--A Follow Up to Watt et al. (2008)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barber, Angela B.; Wetherby, Amy M.; Chambers, Nola W.

2012-01-01

The present study extended the findings of Watt et al. (J Autism Dev Disord 38:1518-1533, 2008) by investigating repetitive and stereotyped behaviors (RSB) demonstrated by children (n = 50) and typical development (TD; n = 50) matched on developmental age, gender, and parents' education level. RSB were coded from videotaped Communication and…

Assessment of the Prerequisite Skills for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lickel, Athena; MacLean, William E., Jr.; Blakeley-Smith, Audrey; Hepburn, Susan

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the cognitive skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) thought to be necessary for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Forty children with ASD and forty age-matched typically developing children between the ages of 7-12 years participated. Groups were comparable with regard to nonverbal IQ,…

Facial Feedback and Social Input: Effects on Laughter and Enjoyment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helt, Molly S.; Fein, Deborah A.

2016-01-01

Both social input and facial feedback appear to be processed differently by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We tested the effects of both of these types of input on laughter in children with ASD. Sensitivity to facial feedback was tested in 43 children with ASD, aged 8-14 years, and 43 typically developing children matched for…

Stability and Harmony of Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iosa, Marco; Marro, Tiziana; Paolucci, Stefano; Morelli, Daniela

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to quantitatively assess the stability and harmony of gait in children with cerebral palsy. Seventeen children with spastic hemiplegia due to cerebral palsy (5.0 [plus or minus] 2.3 years old) who were able to walk autonomously and seventeen age-matched children with typical development (5.7 [plus or minus] 2.5 years old,…

Multirater Congruence on the Social Skills Assessment of Children with Asperger Syndrome: Self, Mother, Father, and Teacher Ratings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kalyva, Efrosini

2010-01-01

Children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) who attend mainstream settings face social skills deficits that have not been adequately explored. This study aims to examine social skills through self-reports of children with AS (N = 21) and a matched group of typically developing peers, as well as reports from their mothers, fathers, and teachers. Results…

Mind and Body: Concepts of Human Cognition, Physiology and False Belief in Children with Autism or Typical Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Candida C.

2005-01-01

This study examined theory of mind (ToM) and concepts of human biology (eyes, heart, brain, lungs and mind) in a sample of 67 children, including 25 high functioning children with autism (age 6-13), plus age-matched and preschool comparison groups. Contrary to Baron-Cohen [1989, "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders," 19(4),…

Low-Skilled Adult Readers Look Like Typically Developing Child Readers: A Comparison of Reading Skills and Eye Movement Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Adrienne E.; Kim, Young-Suk

2016-01-01

Adults enrolled in basic education exhibit poor academic performance, often reading at elementary and middle-school levels. The current study investigated the similarities and differences of reading skills and eye movement behavior between a sample of 25 low-skilled adult readers and 25 first grade students matched on word reading skill. t tests…

Sequence Learning with Stochastic Feedback in a Cross-Cultural Sample of Boys in the Autistic Spectrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hentschel, Maren; Lange-Kuttner, Christiane; Averbeck, Bruno B.

2016-01-01

The study investigated sequence learning from stochastic feedback in boys with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typically developed (TD) boys. We asked boys with ASD from Nigeria and the UK as well as age- and gender-matched controls (also males only) to deduce a sequence of four left and right button presses, LLRR, RRLL, LRLR, RLRL, LRRL and…

Soccer Matches as Experiments - How Often Does the 'Best' Team Win?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skinner, Gerald K.; Freeman, G. H.

2009-01-01

Models in which the number of goals scored by a team in a soccer match follow a Poisson distribution or a closely related one, have been widely discussed. We here consider a soccer match as an experiment to assess which of two teams is superior and examine the probability that the outcome of the experiment (match) truly represents the relative abilities of the two teams. Given a final score it is possible by using a Bayesian approach to quantify the probability that it was or was not the case that the best team won. For typical scores, the probability of a misleading result is significant. Modifying the rules of the game to increase thc typical number of goals scored would improve the situation, but a level of confidence that would normally be regarded as satisfactory could not be obtained unless the character of the game were radically changed.

Are Soccer Matches Badly Designed Experiments?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skinner, G. K.; Freeman, G. H.

2008-01-01

Models in which the number of goals scored by a team in a soccer match follow a Poisson distribution, or a closely related one. have been widely discussed. We here consider a soccer match as an experiment to assess which of two teams is superior and examine the probability that the outcome of the experiment (match) truly represents the relative abilities of the two teams. Given a final score it is possible by using a Bayesian approach to quantify the probability that it was or was not the case that 'the best team won'. For typical scores, the probability of a misleading result is significant. Modifying the rules of the game to increase the typical number of goals scored would improve the situation, but a level of confidence that would normally be regarded as satisfactory could not be obtained unless the character of the game were radically changed.

Development of mathematical techniques for the assimilation of remote sensing data into atmospheric models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seinfeld, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The problem of the assimilation of remote sensing data into mathematical models of atmospheric pollutant species was investigated. The data assimilation problem is posed in terms of the matching of spatially integrated species burden measurements to the predicted three-dimensional concentration fields from atmospheric diffusion models. General conditions were derived for the reconstructability of atmospheric concentration distributions from data typical of remote sensing applications, and a computational algorithm (filter) for the processing of remote sensing data was developed.

Development of mathematical techniques for the assimilation of remote sensing data into atmospheric models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seinfeld, J. H. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The problem of the assimilation of remote sensing data into mathematical models of atmospheric pollutant species was investigated. The problem is posed in terms of the matching of spatially integrated species burden measurements to the predicted three dimensional concentration fields from atmospheric diffusion models. General conditions are derived for the "reconstructability' of atmospheric concentration distributions from data typical of remote sensing applications, and a computational algorithm (filter) for the processing of remote sensing data is developed.

Children with autism can track others' beliefs in a competitive game.

PubMed

Peterson, Candida C; Slaughter, Virginia; Peterson, James; Premack, David

2013-05-01

Theory of mind (ToM) development, assessed via 'litmus' false belief tests, is severely delayed in autism, but the standard testing procedure may underestimate these children's genuine understanding. To explore this, we developed a novel test involving competition to win a reward as the motive for tracking other players' beliefs (the 'Dot-Midge task'). Ninety-six children, including 23 with autism (mean age: 10.36 years), 50 typically developing 4-year-olds (mean age: 4.40) and 23 typically developing 3-year-olds (mean age: 3.59) took a standard 'Sally-Ann' false belief test, the Dot-Midge task (which was closely matched to the Sally-Ann task procedure) and a norm-referenced verbal ability test. Results revealed that, of the children with autism, 74% passed the Dot-Midge task, yet only 13% passed the standard Sally-Ann procedure. A similar pattern of performance was observed in the older, but not the younger, typically developing control groups. This finding demonstrates that many children with autism who fail motivationally barren standard false belief tests can spontaneously use ToM to track their social partners' beliefs in the context of a competitive game. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The N170 is not modulated by attention in autism spectrum conditions.

PubMed

Churches, Owen; Wheelwright, Sally; Baron-Cohen, Simon; Ring, Howard

2010-04-21

Face processing deficits are characteristic of autism spectrum conditions. However, event-related potential studies of autism spectrum conditions have found inconsistent results for the face selective N170 component. In this study, 15 adult males with autism spectrum conditions and 15 matched, typically developing controls completed a task in which pictures of faces were either attended to or ignored. In the control group, the N170 was larger when faces were attended to. However, there was no such modulation in the autism spectrum conditions group. This finding helps clarify the results from the earlier event-related potential studies of face processing in autism spectrum conditions and suggests that visual attention does not enhance face processing in autism spectrum conditions as it does in typical development.

The Interface of Syntax with Pragmatics and Prosody in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

PubMed

Terzi, Arhonto; Marinis, Theodoros; Francis, Kostantinos

2016-08-01

In order to study problems of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with morphosyntax, we investigated twenty high-functioning Greek-speaking children (mean age: 6;11) and twenty age- and language-matched typically developing children on environments that allow or forbid object clitics or their corresponding noun phrase. Children with ASD fell behind typically developing children in comprehending and producing simple clitics and producing noun phrases in focus structures. The two groups performed similarly in comprehending and producing clitics in clitic left dislocation and in producing noun phrases in non-focus structures. We argue that children with ASD have difficulties at the interface of (morpho)syntax with pragmatics and prosody, namely, distinguishing a discourse prominent element, and considering intonation relevant for a particular interpretation that excludes clitics.

Visual processing in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: evidence from embedded figures and configural superiority tests.

PubMed

Dillen, Claudia; Steyaert, Jean; Op de Beeck, Hans P; Boets, Bart

2015-05-01

The embedded figures test has often been used to reveal weak central coherence in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we administered a more standardized automated version of the embedded figures test in combination with the configural superiority task, to investigate the effect of contextual modulation on local feature detection in 23 adolescents with ASD and 26 matched typically developing controls. On both tasks both groups performed largely similarly in terms of accuracy and reaction time, and both displayed the contextual modulation effect. This indicates that individuals with ASD are equally sensitive compared to typically developing individuals to the contextual effects of the task and that there is no evidence for a local processing bias in adolescents with ASD.

Narratives of Girls and Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Gender Differences in Narrative Competence and Internal State Language.

PubMed

Kauschke, Christina; van der Beek, Bettina; Kamp-Becker, Inge

2016-03-01

Since gender differences in the symptomatology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not well understood, the current study examines the communicative skills of males and females with ASD. Narrative competence and internal state language (ISL) was investigated using narrations elicited by a wordless picture book. 11 girls and 11 boys with ASD and 11 typically developing girls were individually matched. Although results demonstrate largely comparable narrative skills across groups, the groups differed with respect to the size and use of ISL: Girls with ASD verbalized and motivated internal states more often than boys, and both groups with ASD fell behind typically developing children in production of affective words. Implications for the clinical presentation of males and females with ASD are discussed.

Intact and impaired mechanisms of action understanding in autism.

PubMed

Vivanti, Giacomo; McCormick, Carolyn; Young, Gregory S; Abucayan, Floridette; Hatt, Naomi; Nadig, Aparna; Ozonoff, Sally; Rogers, Sally J

2011-05-01

Typically developing children understand and predict others' behavior by extracting and processing relevant information such as the logic of their actions within the situational constraints and the intentions conveyed by their gaze direction and emotional expressions. Children with autism have difficulties understanding and predicting others' actions. With the use of eye tracking and behavioral measures, we investigated action understanding mechanisms used by 18 children with autism and a well-matched group of 18 typically developing children. Results showed that children with autism (a) consider situational constraints in order to understand the logic of an agent's action and (b) show typical usage of the agent's emotional expressions to infer his or her intentions. We found (c) subtle atypicalities in the way children with autism respond to an agent's direct gaze and (d) marked impairments in their ability to attend to and interpret referential cues such as a head turn for understanding an agent's intentions. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Intact and Impaired Mechanisms of Action Understanding in Autism

PubMed Central

Vivanti, Giacomo; McCormick, Carolyn; Young, Gregory S.; Abucayan, Floridette; Hatt, Naomi; Nadig, Aparna; Ozonoff, Sally; Rogers, Sally J.

2016-01-01

Typically developing children understand and predict others’ behavior by extracting and processing relevant information such as the logic of their actions within the situational constraints and the intentions conveyed by their gaze direction and emotional expressions. Children with autism have difficulties understanding and predicting others’ actions. With the use of eye tracking and behavioral measures, we investigated action understanding mechanisms used by 18 children with autism and a well-matched group of 18 typically developing children. Results showed that children with autism (a) consider situational constraints in order to understand the logic of an agent’s action and (b) show typical usage of the agent’s emotional expressions to infer his or her intentions. We found (c) subtle atypicalities in the way children with autism respond to an agent’s direct gaze and (d) marked impairments in their ability to attend to and interpret referential cues such as a head turn for understanding an agent’s intentions. PMID:21401220

Motor skills in children aged 7-10 years, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Whyatt, Caroline P; Craig, Cathy M

2012-09-01

This study used the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC2) to assess motor skills in children aged 7-10 years with autism (n = 18) in comparison to two groups of age-matched typically developing children; a receptive vocabulary matched group (n = 19) and a nonverbal IQ matched group (n = 22). The results supported previous work, as indicated by a significant general motor impairment in the group with autism. However, sub-analysis of the M-ABC2 revealed that there were only 2 out of 8 subcomponent skills which showed universal significant specific deficits for the autism group; i.e. catching a ball and static balance. These results suggest that motor skill deficits associated with autism may not be pervasive but more apparent in activities demanding complex, interceptive actions or core balance ability.

Balance impairment in individuals with Wolfram syndrome

PubMed Central

Pickett, Kristen A.; Duncan, Ryan P.; Paciorkowski, Alex R.; Permutt, Alan; Marshall, Bess; Hershey, Tamara; Earhart, Gammon M.

2012-01-01

AIM Wolfram syndrome (WFS), a rare neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by early onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, optic atrophy, deafness, diabetes insipidus, and neurological abnormalities. Although previously unreported, we hypothesized that neurological complications may be detectable in relatively early stages of the disease. As the cerebellum and brainstem seem particularly vulnerable in WFS, we focused on balance functions critically dependent on these regions. The primary goal of this investigation was to compare balance in young individuals with WFS, in relatively early stages of the disease, to an age-matched cohort using a clinically applicable test. METHOD Balance was assessed via the mini-BESTest in 13 children, adolescents and young adults with WFS and 30 typically developing age-matched individuals. RESULTS A significant difference was observed between groups in balance as well as in three of four subcomponents of the mini-BESTest and in two timed tasks related to balance. Mini-BESTest scores were correlated with age (p < 0.001, rs = 0.59) among typically developing individuals. In the WFS group, mini-BESTest scores were related to overall motor dysfunction, but not age. INTERPRETATION Impairments in balance in WFS may occur earlier in the disease process than previously recognized and appear to be related to overall neurological progression rather than chronological age. Recognizing balance impairments and understanding which balance systems contribute to balance deficits in those with WFS may allow for development of effective patient-centered treatment paradigms. PMID:22771154

The relationship between gross motor skills and academic achievement in children with learning disabilities.

PubMed

Westendorp, Marieke; Hartman, Esther; Houwen, Suzanne; Smith, Joanne; Visscher, Chris

2011-01-01

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading, spelling, and mathematics were examined in children with learning disabilities. As expected, the children with learning disabilities scored poorer on both the locomotor and object-control subtests than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, in children with learning disabilities a specific relationship was observed between reading and locomotor skills and a trend was found for a relationship between mathematics and object-control skills: the larger children's learning lag, the poorer their motor skill scores. This study stresses the importance of specific interventions facilitating both motor and academic abilities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health care resource utilization and direct medical costs for patients with schizophrenia initiating treatment with atypical versus typical antipsychotics in Tianjin, China.

PubMed

He, Xiaoning; Wu, Jing; Jiang, Yawen; Liu, Li; Ye, Wenyu; Xue, Haibo; Montgomery, William

2015-04-09

It is uncertain whether the extra acquisition costs of atypical antipsychotics over typical antipsychotics are offset by their other reduced resource use especially in hospital services in China. This study compared the psychiatric-related health care resource utilization and direct medical costs for patients with schizophrenia initiating atypical or typical antipsychotics in Tianjin, China. Data were obtained from the Tianjin Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance database (2008-2010). Adult patients with schizophrenia with ≥1 prescription for antipsychotics after ≥90-day washout and 12-month continuous enrollment after first prescription was included. Psychiatric-related resource utilization and direct medical costs of the atypical and typical cohorts were estimated during the 12-month follow-up period. Logistic regressions, ordinary least square (OLS), and generalized linear models (GLM) were employed to estimate differences of resource utilization and costs between the two cohorts. One-to-one propensity score matching was conducted as a sensitivity analysis. 1131 patients initiating either atypical (N = 648) or typical antipsychotics (N = 483) were identified. Compared with the typical cohort, the atypical cohort had a lower likelihood of hospitalization (45.8% vs. 56.7%, P < 0.001; adjusted OR: 0.58, P < 0.001) over the follow-up period. Medication costs for the atypical cohort were higher than the typical cohort ($438 vs. $187, P < 0.001); however, their non-medication medical costs were significantly lower ($1223 vs. $1704, P < 0.001). The total direct medical costs were similar between the atypical and typical cohorts before ($1661 vs. $1892, P = 0.100) and after matching ($1711 vs. 1868, P = 0.341), consistent with the results from OLS and GLM models for matched cohorts. The atypical cohort had similar total direct medical costs compared to the typical cohort. Higher medication costs associated with atypical antipsychotics were offset by a reduction in non-medication medical costs, driven by fewer hospitalizations.

A Comparative Study of the Use and Understanding of Self-Presentational Display Rules in Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger's Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barbaro, Josephine; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2007-01-01

The use and understanding of self-presentational display rules (SPDRs) was investigated in 21 children with high-functioning autism (FHA), 18 children with Asperger's disorder (AspD) and 20 typically developing (TD) children (all male, aged 4- to 11-years, matched on mental age). Their behaviour was coded during a deception scenario to assess use…

Judgments of Nonverbal Behaviour by Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Can They Detect Signs of Winning and Losing from Brief Video Clips?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Christian; Furley, Philip; Mulhall, Kathleen

2016-01-01

Typically developing children are able to judge who is winning or losing from very short clips of video footage of behaviour between active match play across a number of sports. Inferences from "thin slices" (short video clips) allow participants to make complex judgments about the meaning of posture, gesture and body language. This…

The Influence of Phonotactic Probability on Nonword Repetition and Fast Mapping in 3-Year-Olds with a History of Expressive Language Delay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacRoy-Higgins, Michelle; Dalton, Kevin Patrick

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of phonotactic probability on sublexical (phonological) and lexical representations in 3-year-olds who had a history of being late talkers in comparison with their peers with typical language development. Method: Ten 3-year-olds who were late talkers and 10 age-matched typically…

Impairment Severity Selectively Affects the Control of Proximal and Distal Components of Reaching Movements in Children with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domellof, Erik; Rosblad, Birgit; Ronnqvist, Louise

2009-01-01

This study explored proximal-to-distal components during goal-directed reaching movements in children with mild or moderate hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP); [seven females, four males; mean age 8y 6mo; SD 27mo], compared with age-matched, typically developing children (seven females, five males; mean age 8y 3mo [SD 25mo]. Severity of HCP was…

Beyond Capacity Limitations II: Effects of Lexical Processes on Word Recall in Verbal Working Memory Tasks in Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mainela-Arnold, Elina; Evans, Julia L.; Coady, Jeffry

2010-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of lexical processes on target word recall in sentence span tasks in children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Participants were 42 children (ages 8;2-12;3 [years;months]): 21 with SLI and 21 typically developing peers matched on age and nonverbal IQ. Children completed a…

EEG Mu Rhythm and Imitation Impairments in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Bernier, R.; Dawson, G.; Webb, S.; Murias, M.

2009-01-01

Imitation ability has consistently been shown to be impaired in individuals with autism. A dysfunctional execution/observation matching system has been proposed to account for this impairment. The EEG mu rhythm is believed to reflect an underlying execution/observation matching system. This study investigated evidence of differential mu rhythm attenuation during the observation, execution, and imitation of movements and examined its relation to behaviorally assessed imitation abilities. Fourteen high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 15 IQ- and age-matched typical adults participated. On the behavioral imitation task, adults with ASD demonstrated significantly poorer performance compared to typical adults in all domains of imitation ability. On the EEG task, both groups demonstrated significant attenuation of the mu rhythm when executing an action. However, when observing movement, the individuals with ASD showed significantly reduced attenuation of the mu wave. Behaviorally assessed imitation skills were correlated with degree of mu wave attenuation during observation of movement. These findings suggest that there is execution/observation matching system dysfunction in individuals with autism and that this matching system is related to degree of impairment in imitation abilities. PMID:17451856

Approximate matching of regular expressions.

PubMed

Myers, E W; Miller, W

1989-01-01

Given a sequence A and regular expression R, the approximate regular expression matching problem is to find a sequence matching R whose optimal alignment with A is the highest scoring of all such sequences. This paper develops an algorithm to solve the problem in time O(MN), where M and N are the lengths of A and R. Thus, the time requirement is asymptotically no worse than for the simpler problem of aligning two fixed sequences. Our method is superior to an earlier algorithm by Wagner and Seiferas in several ways. First, it treats real-valued costs, in addition to integer costs, with no loss of asymptotic efficiency. Second, it requires only O(N) space to deliver just the score of the best alignment. Finally, its structure permits implementation techniques that make it extremely fast in practice. We extend the method to accommodate gap penalties, as required for typical applications in molecular biology, and further refine it to search for sub-strings of A that strongly align with a sequence in R, as required for typical data base searches. We also show how to deliver an optimal alignment between A and R in only O(N + log M) space using O(MN log M) time. Finally, an O(MN(M + N) + N2log N) time algorithm is presented for alignment scoring schemes where the cost of a gap is an arbitrary increasing function of its length.

Prosodic skills in children with Down syndrome and in typically developing children.

PubMed

Zampini, Laura; Fasolo, Mirco; Spinelli, Maria; Zanchi, Paola; Suttora, Chiara; Salerni, Nicoletta

2016-01-01

Many studies have analysed language development in children with Down syndrome to understand better the nature of their linguistic delays and the reason why these delays, particularly those in the morphosyntactic area, seem greater than their cognitive impairment. However, the prosodic characteristics of language development in children with Down syndrome have been scarcely investigated. To analyse the prosodic skills of children with Down syndrome in the production of multi-word utterances. Data on the prosodic skills of these children were compared with data on typically developing children matched on developmental age and vocabulary size. Between-group differences and the relationships between prosodic and syntactic skills were investigated. The participants were nine children with Down syndrome (who ranged in chronological age from 45 to 63 months and had a mean developmental age of 30 months) and 12 30-month-old typically developing children. The children in both groups had a vocabulary size of approximately 450 words. The children's spontaneous productions were recorded during observations of mother-child play sessions. Data analyses showed that despite their morphosyntactic difficulties, children with Down syndrome were able to master some aspects of prosody in multi-word utterances. They were able to produce single intonation multi-word utterances on the same level as typically developing children. In addition, the intonation contour of their utterances was not negatively influenced by syntactic complexity, contrary to what occurred in typically developing children, although it has to be considered that the utterances produced by children with Down syndrome were less complex than those produced by children in the control group. However, children with Down syndrome appeared to be less able than typically developing children to use intonation to express the pragmatic interrogative function. The findings are discussed considering the effects of social experience on the utterance prosodic realization. © 2015 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Impact of Typical Aging and Parkinson's Disease on the Relationship among Breath Pausing, Syntax, and Punctuation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huber, Jessica E.; Darling, Meghan; Francis, Elaine J.; Zhang, Dabao

2012-01-01

Purpose: The present study examines the impact of typical aging and Parkinson's disease (PD) on the relationship among breath pausing, syntax, and punctuation. Method: Thirty young adults, 25 typically aging older adults, and 15 individuals with PD participated. Fifteen participants were age- and sex-matched to the individuals with PD.…

Social analogical reasoning in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing peers.

PubMed

Green, Adam E; Kenworthy, Lauren; Gallagher, Natalie M; Antezana, Ligia; Mosner, Maya G; Krieg, Samantha; Dudley, Katherina; Ratto, Allison; Yerys, Benjamin E

2017-05-01

Analogical reasoning is an important mechanism for social cognition in typically developing children, and recent evidence suggests that some forms of analogical reasoning may be preserved in autism spectrum disorder. An unanswered question is whether children with autism spectrum disorder can apply analogical reasoning to social information. In all, 92 children with autism spectrum disorder completed a social content analogical reasoning task presented via photographs of real-world social interactions. Autism spectrum disorder participants exhibited performance that was well above chance and was not significantly worse than age- and intelligence quotient-matched typically developing children. Investigating the relationship of social content analogical reasoning performance to age in this cross-sectional dataset indicated similar developmental trajectories in the autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children groups. These findings provide new support for intact analogical reasoning in autism spectrum disorder and have theoretical implications for analogy as a metacognitive skill that may be at least partially dissociable from general deficits in processing social content. As an initial study of social analogical reasoning in children with autism spectrum disorder, this study focused on a basic research question with limited ecological validity. Evidence that children with autism spectrum disorder can apply analogical reasoning ability to social content may have long-range applied implications for exploring how this capacity might be channeled to improve social cognition in daily life.

Reprint of "Investigating ensemble perception of emotions in autistic and typical children and adolescents".

PubMed

Karaminis, Themelis; Neil, Louise; Manning, Catherine; Turi, Marco; Fiorentini, Chiara; Burr, David; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

Ensemble perception, the ability to assess automatically the summary of large amounts of information presented in visual scenes, is available early in typical development. This ability might be compromised in autistic children, who are thought to present limitations in maintaining summary statistics representations for the recent history of sensory input. Here we examined ensemble perception of facial emotional expressions in 35 autistic children, 30 age- and ability-matched typical children and 25 typical adults. Participants received three tasks: a) an 'ensemble' emotion discrimination task; b) a baseline (single-face) emotion discrimination task; and c) a facial expression identification task. Children performed worse than adults on all three tasks. Unexpectedly, autistic and typical children were, on average, indistinguishable in their precision and accuracy on all three tasks. Computational modelling suggested that, on average, autistic and typical children used ensemble-encoding strategies to a similar extent; but ensemble perception was related to non-verbal reasoning abilities in autistic but not in typical children. Eye-movement data also showed no group differences in the way children attended to the stimuli. Our combined findings suggest that the abilities of autistic and typical children for ensemble perception of emotions are comparable on average. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ensemble perception of emotions in autistic and typical children and adolescents.

PubMed

Karaminis, Themelis; Neil, Louise; Manning, Catherine; Turi, Marco; Fiorentini, Chiara; Burr, David; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2017-04-01

Ensemble perception, the ability to assess automatically the summary of large amounts of information presented in visual scenes, is available early in typical development. This ability might be compromised in autistic children, who are thought to present limitations in maintaining summary statistics representations for the recent history of sensory input. Here we examined ensemble perception of facial emotional expressions in 35 autistic children, 30 age- and ability-matched typical children and 25 typical adults. Participants received three tasks: a) an 'ensemble' emotion discrimination task; b) a baseline (single-face) emotion discrimination task; and c) a facial expression identification task. Children performed worse than adults on all three tasks. Unexpectedly, autistic and typical children were, on average, indistinguishable in their precision and accuracy on all three tasks. Computational modelling suggested that, on average, autistic and typical children used ensemble-encoding strategies to a similar extent; but ensemble perception was related to non-verbal reasoning abilities in autistic but not in typical children. Eye-movement data also showed no group differences in the way children attended to the stimuli. Our combined findings suggest that the abilities of autistic and typical children for ensemble perception of emotions are comparable on average. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Lexical Processing in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Semantics.

PubMed

Haebig, Eileen; Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Ellis Weismer, Susan

2015-12-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) often have immature lexical-semantic knowledge; however, the organization of lexical-semantic knowledge is poorly understood. This study examined lexical processing in school-age children with ASD, SLI, and typical development, who were matched on receptive vocabulary. Children completed a lexical decision task, involving words with high and low semantic network sizes and nonwords. Children also completed nonverbal updating and shifting tasks. Children responded more accurately to words from high than from low semantic networks; however, follow-up analyses identified weaker semantic network effects in the SLI group. Additionally, updating and shifting abilities predicted lexical processing, demonstrating similarity in the mechanisms which underlie semantic processing in children with ASD, SLI, and typical development.

Lexical Processing in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Semantics

PubMed Central

Haebig, Eileen; Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Weismer, Susan Ellis

2016-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) often have immature lexical-semantic knowledge; however, the organization of lexical-semantic knowledge is poorly understood. This study examined lexical processing in school-age children with ASD, SLI, and typical development, who were matched on receptive vocabulary. Children completed a lexical decision task, involving words with high and low semantic network sizes and nonwords. Children also completed nonverbal updating and shifting tasks. Children responded more accurately to words from high than from low semantic networks; however, follow-up analyses identified weaker semantic network effects in the SLI group. Additionally, updating and shifting abilities predicted lexical processing, demonstrating similarity in the mechanisms which underlie semantic processing in children with ASD, SLI, and typical development. PMID:26210517

Brief report: human figure drawings by children with Asperger's syndrome.

PubMed

Lim, Hui Keow; Slaughter, Virginia

2008-05-01

Twenty-nine children with Asperger's syndrome and 28 typically developing children, matched on gender, chronological age and nonverbal IQ, were asked to produce a free drawing, then requested to draw a person, a house and a tree. The drawings were scored using standardized procedures for assessing accuracy, detail and complexity. There were no differences between the diagnostic groups on the tree or house drawing scores. The human figure drawing scores of children with Asperger's syndrome were significantly lower than those of the typically developing children, and there was a positive correlation between human figure drawing scores and communication sub-scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales, for the Asperger's group. These results suggest that the selective deficit in generating human figure representations may derive from a relative lack of interest in the social world, and/or limited practice in drawing people.

Neural correlates of task switching in paternal 15q11-q13 deletion Prader-Willi syndrome.

PubMed

Woodcock, Kate A; Humphreys, Glyn W; Oliver, Chris; Hansen, Peter C

2010-12-02

We report a first study of brain activity linked to task switching in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). PWS individuals show a specific cognitive deficit in task switching which may be associated with the display of temper outbursts and repetitive questioning. The performance of participants with PWS and typically developing controls was matched in a cued task switching procedure, and brain activity was contrasted on switching and non-switching blocks using fMRI. Individuals with PWS did not show the typical frontal-parietal pattern of neural activity associated with switching blocks, with significantly reduced activation in regions of the posterior parietal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. We suggest that this is linked to a difficulty in PWS in setting appropriate attentional weights to enable task-set reconfiguration. In addition to this, PWS individuals did not show the typical pattern of deactivation, with significantly less deactivation in an anterior region of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. One plausible explanation for this is that individuals with PWS show dysfunction within the default mode network, which has been linked to attentional control. The data point to functional changes in the neural circuitry supporting task switching in PWS even when behavioural performance is matched to controls and thus highlight neural mechanisms that may be involved in a specific pathway between genes, cognition and behaviour. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Text-based plagiarism in scientific publishing: issues, developments and education.

PubMed

Li, Yongyan

2013-09-01

Text-based plagiarism, or copying language from sources, has recently become an issue of growing concern in scientific publishing. Use of CrossCheck (a computational text-matching tool) by journals has sometimes exposed an unexpected amount of textual similarity between submissions and databases of scholarly literature. In this paper I provide an overview of the relevant literature, to examine how journal gatekeepers perceive textual appropriation, and how automated plagiarism-screening tools have been developed to detect text matching, with the technique now available for self-check of manuscripts before submission; I also discuss issues around English as an additional language (EAL) authors and in particular EAL novices being the typical offenders of textual borrowing. The final section of the paper proposes a few educational directions to take in tackling text-based plagiarism, highlighting the roles of the publishing industry, senior authors and English for academic purposes professionals.

Computer-automated tinnitus assessment: noise-band matching, maskability, and residual inhibition.

PubMed

Henry, James A; Roberts, Larry E; Ellingson, Roger M; Thielman, Emily J

2013-06-01

Psychoacoustic measures of tinnitus typically include loudness and pitch match, minimum masking level (MML), and residual inhibition (RI). We previously developed and documented a computer-automated tinnitus evaluation system (TES) capable of subject-guided loudness and pitch matching. The TES was further developed to conduct computer-aided, subject-guided testing for noise-band matching (NBM), MML, and RI. The purpose of the present study was to document the capability of the upgraded TES to obtain measures of NBM, MML, and RI, and to determine the test-retest reliability of the responses obtained. Three subject-guided, computer-automated testing protocols were developed to conduct NBM. For MML and RI testing, a 2-12 kHz band of noise was used. All testing was repeated during a second session. Subjects meeting study criteria were selected from those who had previously been tested for loudness and pitch matching in our laboratory. A total of 21 subjects completed testing, including seven females and 14 males. The upgraded TES was found to be fairly time efficient. Subjects were generally reliable, both within and between sessions, with respect to the type of stimulus they chose as the best match to their tinnitus. Matching to bandwidth was more variable between measurements, with greater consistency seen for subjects reporting tonal tinnitus or wide-band noisy tinnitus than intermediate types. Between-session repeated MMLs were within 10 dB of each other for all but three of the subjects. Subjects who experienced RI during Session 1 tended to be those who experienced it during Session 2. This study may represent the first time that NBM, MML, and RI audiometric testing results have been obtained entirely through a self-contained, computer-automated system designed specifically for use in the clinic. Future plans include refinements to achieve greater testing efficiency. American Academy of Audiology.

Objectively measured sedentary time in youth with cerebral palsy compared with age-, sex-, and season-matched youth who are developing typically: an explorative study.

PubMed

Obeid, Joyce; Balemans, Astrid C J; Noorduyn, Stephen G; Gorter, Jan Willem; Timmons, Brian W

2014-08-01

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) demonstrate reduced physical activity levels compared with children with typical development. Sedentary behavior, including the duration and frequency of sedentary bouts, has not yet been objectively examined in this population but may have clinical implications for the development of secondary health complications. The aim of this study was to identify time spent sedentary and frequency of breaks interrupting sedentary time in youth with CP compared with youth without CP. It was hypothesized that individuals with CP would spend more hours sedentary than their peers and take fewer breaks to interrupt sedentary time. This was a cross-sectional, prospective study. A convenience sample of 17 ambulatory children with CP (15 boys and 2 girls) (mean age=13.0 years, SD=2.2) and 17 age-, sex-, and season-matched youth who were developing typically (TD group) (mean age=12.9 years, SD=2.5) wore an accelerometer over a 7-day period. Sedentary time (in minutes) and number of breaks from sedentary time, corrected for monitoring and sedentary time, respectively, were examined. Differences between groups were determined with an independent-samples t test. Children with CP engaged in significantly more sedentary time (X̅=47.5 min/h, SD=4.9) compared with the TD group (X̅=43.6 min/h, SD=4.2), with significantly fewer breaks from sedentary time (CP group: X̅=179, SD=70; TD group: X̅=232 breaks/h sedentary, SD=61). The sample included only ambulatory youth with CP, classified as Gross Motor Function Classification System levels I to III. Sedentary time was higher in the CP group and was characterized by less frequent breaks compared with the TD group. Future research should examine the extent to which sedentary time is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic risk in youth with CP. © 2014 American Physical Therapy Association.

Frontoparietal function in young people with dysthymic disorder (DSM-5: Persistent depressive disorder) during spatial working memory.

PubMed

Vilgis, Veronika; Chen, Jian; Silk, Timothy J; Cunnington, Ross; Vance, Alasdair

2014-05-01

Dysthymic disorder (DD) is a depressive disorder characterised by persistent low and/or irritable mood and has been identified as a major risk factor for developing major depressive disorder (MDD). MDD and DD have been associated with executive function difficulties of working memory and attention. Little is known about how executive function networks in the brain are affected in children and adolescents with MDD and even less in DD. This study used fMRI and two spatial working memory paradigms to investigate associated brain function in young people with DD and an age-, gender- and IQ- matched typically developing group. Nineteen male patients with DD (mean age 11.2±1.5 years) diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria and 16 typically developing boys (mean age 10.5±1.1 years) performed a mental rotation and a delay-match to sample (DMTS) task while undergoing fMRI. All participants were medication-naïve at the time of testing. Compared to typically developing young people, the DD group showed less activation in left frontal regions including left ventro- and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (PFC) during mental rotation. Medial frontal regions including dorsomedial PFC, anterior cingulate cortex and frontal pole also showed relatively reduced activation. During the DMTS task patients showed significantly more activation in the right precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex. This was a cross-sectional study with a small sample limiting the generalizability of the results. The results complement previous findings in adults with MDD that have shown differential activation of left PFC regions during working memory tasks. Additionally, altered function of cortical midline structures in young patients with DD was identified. This supports findings in children, adolescents and adults with MDD suggesting that the pathophysiology of depressive disorders extends to DD as a risk factor for MDD and exhibits continuity over the lifespan. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tracking the effects of dyslexia in reading and spelling development: A longitudinal study of Greek readers.

PubMed

Diamanti, Vassiliki; Goulandris, Nata; Stuart, Morag; Campbell, Ruth; Protopapas, Athanassios

2018-05-01

In this study, we followed Greek children with and without dyslexia for 18 months, assessing them twice on a battery of phonological, reading, and spelling tasks, aiming to document the relative progress achieved and to uncover any specific effects of dyslexia in the development of reading and spelling beyond the longitudinal associations among variables that are observed in typical readers. A wide-ranging match was achieved between the dyslexic group and the younger reading-matched comparison group, enabling longitudinal comparisons on essentially identical initial performance profiles. Group differences were found in the development of tasks relying on phonological processing skill, such as phoneme deletion in pseudowords, pseudoword reading accuracy and time, as well as in graphemic spelling accuracy. The results confirm findings from cross-sectional studies of reading difficulty in the relatively transparent Greek orthography and are consistent with a phonological processing deficit underlying and reciprocally interacting with underdevelopment of reading and spelling skills in the impaired population. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Individualized behavioral assessments and maternal ratings of mastery motivation in mental age-matched toddlers with and without motor delay.

PubMed

Wang, Pei-Jung; Morgan, George A; Hwang, Ai-Wen; Liao, Hua-Fang

2013-01-01

Mastery motivation is a precursor of future developmental outcomes. Evidence about whether toddlers with motor delay have lower mastery motivation is inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between mental age-matched toddlers with and without motor delay on various mastery motivation indicators. A mental age- and sex-matched case-control study was performed. Twenty-two children with motor delay, aged 23 to 47 months, and 22 children who were developing typically, aged 15 to 29 months, were recruited. Persistence and mastery pleasure were measured with behavioral tasks that were moderately challenging for each child and with maternal ratings using the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ). The DMQ was rated by each child's mother based on her perception of her child's motivation. Two types of structured tasks (a puzzle and a cause-effect toy selected to be moderately challenging for each child) were administered in a laboratory setting and recorded on videos. Paired t tests or Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to examine group differences in persistence and mastery pleasure (α=.007, 2-tailed). Children with motor delay were rated lower on DMQ persistence than the typically developing group, but they did not show significantly lower persistence on the structured tasks. There were no significant differences in mastery pleasure between the 2 groups on either measure. Large within-sample variability on the tasks and small sample size makes subgroup analysis (eg, different severities) difficult. Toddlers with motor delay did not show lower persistence and pleasure when given tasks that were moderately challenging; however, their mothers tended to view them as having lower motivation. Clinicians and parents should provide appropriately challenging tasks to increase children's success and motivation.

Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs and the Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death

PubMed Central

Ray, Wayne A.; Chung, Cecilia P.; Murray, Katherine T.; Hall, Kathi; Stein, C. Michael

2009-01-01

Background Users of typical antipsychotics have increased risk of serious ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. However, less is known regarding the cardiac safety of the atypical antipsychotic drugs, which have largely replaced the older agents in clinical practice. Methods We calculated the adjusted incidence of sudden cardiac death among current users of antipsychotics in a retrospective cohort of Tennessee Medicaid enrollees. The primary analysis included 44,218 and 46,089 baseline users of single typical and atypical drugs, respectively, and 186,600 matched nonuser controls. To assess residual confounding related to antipsychotic indication, we performed a secondary analysis of antipsychotic users with no baseline diagnosis of schizophrenia or related psychoses, propensity-score matched with nonusers. Results Current users of both typical and atypical antipsychotics had greater rates of sudden cardiac death than did nonusers of any antipsychotic, with adjusted incidence-rate ratios (IRRs) of 2.00 (95% CI, 1.69–2.35) and 2.27 (1.89–2.73), respectively. Former antipsychotic users had no significantly increased risk (IRR = 1.13 [0.98–1.30]). For both classes of drugs, the risk for current users increased significantly with dose. For typical antipsychotics the IRRs increased from 1.31 (0.97–1.77) for low doses to 2.42 (1.91–3.06) for high doses (p<.001). For atypical agents the IRRs increased from 1.59 (1.03–2.46) for low doses to 2.86 (2.25–3.65) for high doses (p=.015). The IRR for atypical vs typical antipsychotics was 1.14 (.93–1.39). Similar findings were present in the propensity-score matched cohort. Conclusion Current users of both typical and atypical antipsychotics had a similar, dose-related increased risk of sudden cardiac death. PMID:19144938

An investigation of the security of caregiver attachment during middle childhood in children with high-functioning autistic disorder.

PubMed

Chandler, Felicity; Dissanayake, Cheryl

2014-07-01

Previous research has investigated caregiver attachment relationships in children with autism during early childhood, with few differences found from matched control groups. However, little is known of this relationship during middle childhood (ages 8-12 years). In this study, the aim was to establish whether there are differences in the security of attachment in children with high-functioning autism compared to typically developing children. A secondary aim was to establish whether caregivers' perceptions of their child's attachment to them accorded with the children's own reports. Twenty-one children with high-functioning autism and 17 typically developing children were administered the Kerns Security Scale and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised, and caregivers completed the same questionnaires from the viewpoint of their child. There were no differences between the groups in the children's and parents' reports of attachment security. Parents' and children's reports were moderately correlated on the Kerns Security Scale but were not correlated on the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-Revised. The results indicate that levels of attachment security in children with high-functioning autism are not different from those in typically developing children. © The Author(s) 2013.

Working Memory, Language Skills, and Autism Symptomatology

PubMed Central

Schuh, Jillian M.; Eigsti, Inge-Marie

2012-01-01

While many studies have reported working memory (WM) impairments in autism spectrum disorders, others do not. Sample characteristics, WM domain, and task complexity likely contribute to these discrepancies. Although deficits in visuospatial WM have been more consistently documented, there is much controversy regarding verbal WM in autism. The goal of the current study was to explore visuospatial and verbal WM in a well-controlled sample of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typical development. Individuals ages 9–17 with HFA (n = 18) and typical development (n = 18), were carefully matched on gender, age, IQ, and language, and were administered a series of standardized visuospatial and verbal WM tasks. The HFA group displayed significant impairment across WM domains. No differences in performance were noted across WM tasks for either the HFA or typically developing groups. Over and above nonverbal cognition, WM abilities accounted for significant variance in language skills and symptom severity. The current study suggests broad WM limitations in HFA. We further suggest that deficits in verbal WM are observed in more complex tasks, as well as in simpler tasks, such as phonological WM. Increased task complexity and linguistic demands may influence WM abilities. PMID:25379222

Speech Rate Entrainment in Children and Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Wynn, Camille J; Borrie, Stephanie A; Sellers, Tyra P

2018-05-03

Conversational entrainment, a phenomenon whereby people modify their behaviors to match their communication partner, has been evidenced as critical to successful conversation. It is plausible that deficits in entrainment contribute to the conversational breakdowns and social difficulties exhibited by people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined speech rate entrainment in children and adult populations with and without ASD. Sixty participants including typically developing children, children with ASD, typically developed adults, and adults with ASD participated in a quasi-conversational paradigm with a pseudoconfederate. The confederate's speech rate was digitally manipulated to create slow and fast speech rate conditions. Typically developed adults entrained their speech rate in the quasi-conversational paradigm, using a faster rate during the fast speech rate conditions and a slower rate during the slow speech rate conditions. This entrainment pattern was not evident in adults with ASD or in children populations. Findings suggest that speech rate entrainment is a developmentally acquired skill and offers preliminary evidence of speech rate entrainment deficits in adults with ASD. Impairments in this area may contribute to the conversational breakdowns and social difficulties experienced by this population. Future work is needed to advance this area of inquiry.

Internal State Language in the Storybook Narratives of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Investigating Relations to Theory of Mind Abilities

PubMed Central

Siller, Michael; Swanson, Meghan R.; Serlin, Gayle; George, Ann

2014-01-01

The current study examines narratives elicited using a wordless picture book, focusing on language used to describe the characters’ thoughts and emotions (i.e., internal state language, ISL). The sample includes 21 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 24 typically developing controls, matched on children's gender, IQ, as well as receptive and expressive vocabulary. This research had three major findings. First, despite equivalent performance on standardized language assessments, the volume of children's narratives (i.e., the number of utterances and words, the range of unique verbs and adjectives) was lower in children with ASD than in typically developing controls. Second, after controlling for narrative volume, the narratives of children with ASD were less likely to reference the characters’ emotions than was the case for typically developing controls. Finally, our results revealed a specific association between children's use of emotion terms and their performance on a battery of experimental tasks evaluating children's Theory of Mind abilities. Implications for our understanding of narrative deficits in ASD as well as interventions that use narrative as a context for improving social comprehension are discussed. PMID:24748899

Explaining lexical-semantic deficits in specific language impairment: the role of phonological similarity, phonological working memory, and lexical competition.

PubMed

Mainela-Arnold, Elina; Evans, Julia L; Coady, Jeffry A

2010-12-01

In this study, the authors investigated potential explanations for sparse lexical-semantic representations in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing peers. The role of auditory perception, phonological working memory, and lexical competition were investigated. Participants included 32 children (ages 8;5-12;3 [years;months]): Sixteen children with SLI and 16 typically developing age- and nonverbal IQ-matched peers (CA). Children's word definitions were investigated. The words to be defined were manipulated for phonological neighborhood density. Nonword repetition and two lexical competition measures were tested as predictors of word definition abilities. Children with SLI gave word definitions with fewer content details than children in the CA group. Compared with the CA group, the definitions of children in the SLI group were not disproportionately impacted by phonological neighborhood density. Lexical competition was a significant unique predictor of children's word definitions, but nonword repetition was not. Individual differences in richness of lexical semantic representations as well as differences between children with SLI and typically developing peers may-at least, in part-be explained by processes of competition. However, difficulty with auditory perception or phonological working memory does not fully explain difficulties in lexical semantics.

Ambulatory Physical Activity Performance in Youth With Cerebral Palsy and Youth Who Are Developing Typically

PubMed Central

Bjornson, Kristie F; Belza, Basia; Kartin, Deborah; Logsdon, Rebecca; McLaughlin, John F

2007-01-01

Background and Purpose Assessment of walking activity in youth with cerebral palsy (CP) has traditionally been “capacity-based.” The purpose of this study was to describe the day-to-day ambulatory activity “performance” of youth with CP compared with youth who were developing typically. Subjects Eighty-one youth with CP, aged 10 to 13 years, who were categorized as being in Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels I to III and 30 age-matched youth who were developing typically were recruited. Methods Using a cross-sectional design, participants wore the StepWatch monitor for 7 days while documenting average daily total step counts, percentage of all time active, ratio of medium to low activity levels, and percentage of time at high activity levels. Results The youth with CP demonstrated significantly lower levels of all outcomes than the comparison group. Discussion and Conclusion Daily walking activity and variability decreased as functional walking level (GMFCS level) decreased. Ambulatory activity performance within the context of the daily life for youth with CP appears valid and feasible as an outcome for mobility interventions in CP. PMID:17244693

Internal State Language in the Storybook Narratives of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Investigating Relations to Theory of Mind Abilities.

PubMed

Siller, Michael; Swanson, Meghan R; Serlin, Gayle; George, Ann

2014-05-01

The current study examines narratives elicited using a wordless picture book, focusing on language used to describe the characters' thoughts and emotions (i.e., internal state language, ISL). The sample includes 21 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 24 typically developing controls, matched on children's gender, IQ, as well as receptive and expressive vocabulary. This research had three major findings. First, despite equivalent performance on standardized language assessments, the volume of children's narratives (i.e., the number of utterances and words, the range of unique verbs and adjectives) was lower in children with ASD than in typically developing controls. Second, after controlling for narrative volume, the narratives of children with ASD were less likely to reference the characters' emotions than was the case for typically developing controls. Finally, our results revealed a specific association between children's use of emotion terms and their performance on a battery of experimental tasks evaluating children's Theory of Mind abilities. Implications for our understanding of narrative deficits in ASD as well as interventions that use narrative as a context for improving social comprehension are discussed.

The Influence of Phonotactic Probability on Nonword Repetition and Fast Mapping in 3-Year-Olds With a History of Expressive Language Delay.

PubMed

MacRoy-Higgins, Michelle; Dalton, Kevin Patrick

2015-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of phonotactic probability on sublexical (phonological) and lexical representations in 3-year-olds who had a history of being late talkers in comparison with their peers with typical language development. Ten 3-year-olds who were late talkers and 10 age-matched typically developing controls completed nonword repetition and fast mapping tasks; stimuli for both experimental procedures differed in phonotactic probability. Both participant groups repeated nonwords containing high phonotactic probability sequences more accurately than nonwords containing low phonotactic probability sequences. Participants with typical language showed an early advantage for fast mapping high phonotactic probability words; children who were late talkers required more exposures to the novel words to show the same advantage for fast mapping high phonotactic probability words. Children who were late talkers showed similar sensitivities to phonotactic probability in nonword repetition and word learning when compared with their peers with no history of language delay. However, word learning in children who were late talkers appeared to be slower when compared with their peers.

Automatic conversational scene analysis in children with Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism and typically developing peers.

PubMed

Tavano, Alessandro; Pesarin, Anna; Murino, Vittorio; Cristani, Marco

2014-01-01

Individuals with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism fail to spontaneously attribute mental states to the self and others, a life-long phenotypic characteristic known as mindblindness. We hypothesized that mindblindness would affect the dynamics of conversational interaction. Using generative models, in particular Gaussian mixture models and observed influence models, conversations were coded as interacting Markov processes, operating on novel speech/silence patterns, termed Steady Conversational Periods (SCPs). SCPs assume that whenever an agent's process changes state (e.g., from silence to speech), it causes a general transition of the entire conversational process, forcing inter-actant synchronization. SCPs fed into observed influence models, which captured the conversational dynamics of children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism, and age-matched typically developing participants. Analyzing the parameters of the models by means of discriminative classifiers, the dialogs of patients were successfully distinguished from those of control participants. We conclude that meaning-free speech/silence sequences, reflecting inter-actant synchronization, at least partially encode typical and atypical conversational dynamics. This suggests a direct influence of theory of mind abilities onto basic speech initiative behavior.

Cognitive Profiles of Italian Children with Developmental Dyslexia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobia, Valentina; Marzocchi, Gian Marco

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate verbal and nonverbal cognitive deficits in Italian students with developmental dyslexia. The performances of 32 dyslexic students, 64 age-matched typically reading controls, and 64 reading age-matched controls were compared on tests of lexical knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming,…

Parent-Child Agreement Using the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale and a Thermometer in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

May, T.; Cornish, K.; Rinehart, N. J.

2015-01-01

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience high anxiety which often prompts clinical referral and requires intervention. This study aimed to compare parent and child reports on the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) and a child-reported “worry thermometer” in 88 children aged 8–13 years, 44 with ASD and 44 age, gender, and perceptual IQ matched typically developing children. There were no gender differences in child report on the SCAS and worry thermometers. Results indicated generally good correlations between parent and child self-reported SCAS symptoms for typically developing children but poor agreement in parent-child ASD dyads. The worry thermometer child-report did not reflect child or parent reports on the SCAS. Findings suggest 8–13-year-old children with ASD may have difficulties accurately reporting their anxiety levels. The clinical implications were discussed. PMID:25922765

How executive functions are related to intelligence in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Osório, Ana; Cruz, Raquel; Sampaio, Adriana; Garayzábal, Elena; Martínez-Regueiro, Rocío; Gonçalves, Óscar F; Carracedo, Ángel; Fernández-Prieto, Montse

2012-01-01

Williams syndrome is characterized by impairments in executive functions (EFs). However, it remains unknown how distinct types of EFs relate to intelligence in this syndrome. The present study analyzed performance on working memory, inhibiting and shifting, and its links to IQ in a sample of 17 individuals with WS, and compared them with a group of 17 typically developing individuals matched on chronological age and gender. In conclusion, our results suggest that working memory, inhibiting, and shifting relate differently to intelligence in WS as well as in typical development, with working memory being the EF most closely related to intelligence in both groups. Notably, the magnitude of the associations between the three EFs and IQ was substantially higher in the WS group than in the TD group, bringing further confirmation to the notion that frontal lobe impairments may produce a general compromise of several EFs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brief Report: Investigating Relations Between Self-Concept and Performance in Reading and Math for School-Aged Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

McCauley, James B; Zajic, Matthew C; Oswald, Tasha M; Swain-Lerro, Lindsey E; McIntyre, Nancy C; Harris, Michelle A; Trzesniewski, Kali; Mundy, Peter C; Solomon, Marjorie

2018-05-01

A typically developing student's perceptions of his or her own capabilities (academic self-concept), is predictive of later academic achievement. However, little is known about academic self-concept in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To understand whether students math self-concept and reading self-concept predicted their performance, 44 school-aged children and adolescents with ASD and 36 age-matched individuals with typical development (TYP) rated their perceived math and reading abilities and were administered standardized achievement measures. Results showed self-concept was predictive of performance in math and reading in the TYP group. For youth with ASD, there was agreement between self-concept and performance only in math. These findings suggest that educators should be cautious when interpreting the self-assessments of reading ability in students with ASD.

Atypical prosody in Asperger syndrome: perceptual and acoustic measurements.

PubMed

Filipe, Marisa G; Frota, Sónia; Castro, São Luís; Vicente, Selene G

2014-08-01

It is known that individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) may show no problems with regard to what is said (e.g., lexical content) but tend to have difficulties in how utterances are produced, i.e., they may show prosodic impairments. In the present study, we focus on the use of prosodic features to express grammatical meaning. Specifically, we explored the sentence type difference between statements and questions that is conveyed by intonation, using perceptual and acoustic measurements. Children aged 8 and 9 years with AS (n = 12) were matched according to age and nonverbal intelligence with typically developing peers (n = 17). Although children with AS could produce categorically accurate prosodic patterns, their prosodic contours were perceived as odd by adult listeners, and acoustic measurements showed alterations in duration and pitch. Additionally, children with AS had greater variability in fundamental frequency contours compared to typically developing peers.

Participation Patterns of Preschool Children With Intellectual Developmental Disabilities.

PubMed

Gilboa, Yafit; Fuchs, Reut

2018-04-01

We aim to examine the pattern of participation of children with intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD) or global developmental delay (GDD) in comparison with typically developing preschoolers. In addition, to identify environmental and personal factors associated with their participation, 20 children with mild to moderate GDD or IDD, and 24 age- and gender-matched controls, aged 3 to 6 years, were assessed using the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation and the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire. Significant differences were found between the groups, both for general scales of participation and for each activity area. For the IDD/GDD group, participation was significantly negatively correlated with environmental restrictions at home. For the control group, participation was correlated with demographic variables. Typically developing children participate at a higher frequency and in a more diverse range of activities compared with children with IDD/GDD. Associations between participation and contextual factors varied depending on the child's health condition.

Visuo-spatial processing in autism--testing the predictions of extreme male brain theory.

PubMed

Falter, Christine M; Plaisted, Kate C; Davis, Greg

2008-03-01

It has been hypothesised that autism is an extreme version of the male brain, caused by high levels of prenatal testosterone (Baron-Cohen 1999). To test this proposal, associations were assessed between three visuo-spatial tasks and prenatal testosterone, indexed in second-to-fourth digit length ratios (2D:4D). The study included children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD (N = 28), and chronological as well as mental age matched typically-developing children (N = 31). While the group with ASD outperformed the control group at Mental Rotation and Figure-Disembedding, these group differences were not related to differences in prenatal testosterone level. Previous findings of an association between Targeting and 2D:4D were replicated in typically-developing children and children with ASD. The implications of these results for the extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism are discussed.

Temporal context memory in high-functioning autism.

PubMed

Gras-Vincendon, Agnès; Mottron, Laurent; Salamé, Pierre; Bursztejn, Claude; Danion, Jean-Marie

2007-11-01

Episodic memory, i.e. memory for specific episodes situated in space and time, seems impaired in individuals with autism. According to weak central coherence theory, individuals with autism have general difficulty connecting contextual and item information which then impairs their capacity to memorize information in context. This study investigated temporal context memory for visual information in individuals with autism. Eighteen adolescents and adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS) and age- and IQ-matched typically developing participants were tested using a recency judgement task. The performance of the autistic group did not differ from that of the control group, nor did the performance between the AS and HFA groups. We conclude that autism in high-functioning individuals does not impair temporal context memory as assessed on this task. We suggest that individuals with autism are as efficient on this task as typically developing subjects because contextual memory performance here involves more automatic than organizational processing.

The Role of Morphological and Phonological Awareness in the Early Development of Word Spelling and Reading in Typically Developing and Disabled Arabic Readers.

PubMed

Saiegh-Haddad, Elinor; Taha, Haitham

2017-11-01

The study is a cross-sectional developmental investigation of morphological and phonological awareness in word spelling and reading in Arabic in reading-accuracy disabled (RD) children and in age-matched typically developing (TR) controls in grades 1-4 (N = 160). Morphological awareness tasks targeted the root and word pattern derivational system of Arabic, in both the oral and the written modalities. Phonological awareness employed a variety of orally administered segmentation and deletion tasks. The results demonstrated early deficits in morphological awareness, besides deficits in phonological awareness, in RD children as compared with typically developing controls, as well as in word and pseudoword spelling and reading (voweled and unvoweled). While phonological awareness emerged as the strongest predictor of reading, morphological awareness was also found to predict unique variance in reading, and even more so in spelling, beyond phonological awareness and cognitive skills. The results demonstrate the early emergence of morphological awareness deficits, alongside phonological deficits in Arabic RD, as well as the role of morphological processing in early reading and spelling. These findings reflect the centrality of derivational morphology in the structure of the spoken and the written Arabic word. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Home literacy experiences and early childhood disability: a descriptive study using the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) program database.

PubMed

Breit-Smith, Allison; Cabell, Sonia Q; Justice, Laura M

2010-01-01

The present article illustrates how the National Household Education Surveys (NHES; U.S. Department of Education, 2009) database might be used to address questions of relevance to researchers who are concerned with literacy development among young children. Following a general description of the NHES database, a study is provided that examines the extent to which parent-reported home literacy activities and child emergent literacy skills differ for children with (a) developmental disabilities versus those who are developing typically, (b) single disability versus multiple disabilities, and (c) speech-language disability only versus other types of disabilities. Four hundred and seventy-eight preschool-age children with disabilities and a typically developing matched sample (based on parent report) were identified in the 2005 administration of the Early Childhood Program Participation (ECPP) Survey in the NHES database. Parent responses to survey items were then compared between groups. After controlling for age and socioeconomic status, no significant differences were found in the frequency of home literacy activities for children with and without disabilities. Parents reported higher levels of emergent literacy skills for typically developing children relative to children with disabilities. These findings suggest the importance of considering the home literacy experiences and emergent literacy skills of young children with disabilities when making clinical recommendations.

Atypicalities in Perceptual Adaptation in Autism Do Not Extend to Perceptual Causality

PubMed Central

Karaminis, Themelis; Turi, Marco; Neil, Louise; Badcock, Nicholas A.; Burr, David; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2015-01-01

A recent study showed that adaptation to causal events (collisions) in adults caused subsequent events to be less likely perceived as causal. In this study, we examined if a similar negative adaptation effect for perceptual causality occurs in children, both typically developing and with autism. Previous studies have reported diminished adaptation for face identity, facial configuration and gaze direction in children with autism. To test whether diminished adaptive coding extends beyond high-level social stimuli (such as faces) and could be a general property of autistic perception, we developed a child-friendly paradigm for adaptation of perceptual causality. We compared the performance of 22 children with autism with 22 typically developing children, individually matched on age and ability (IQ scores). We found significant and equally robust adaptation aftereffects for perceptual causality in both groups. There were also no differences between the two groups in their attention, as revealed by reaction times and accuracy in a change-detection task. These findings suggest that adaptation to perceptual causality in autism is largely similar to typical development and, further, that diminished adaptive coding might not be a general characteristic of autism at low levels of the perceptual hierarchy, constraining existing theories of adaptation in autism. PMID:25774507

High-Resolution Topography of Mercury from Messenger Orbital Stereo Imaging - the Southern Hemisphere Quadrangles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preusker, F.; Oberst, J.; Stark, A.; Burmeister, S.

2018-04-01

We produce high-resolution (222 m/grid element) Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) for Mercury using stereo images from the MESSENGER orbital mission. We have developed a scheme to process large numbers, typically more than 6000, images by photogrammetric techniques, which include, multiple image matching, pyramid strategy, and bundle block adjustments. In this paper, we present models for map quadrangles of the southern hemisphere H11, H12, H13, and H14.

Performance of children with developmental dyslexia on high and low topological entropy artificial grammar learning task.

PubMed

Katan, Pesia; Kahta, Shani; Sasson, Ayelet; Schiff, Rachel

2017-07-01

Graph complexity as measured by topological entropy has been previously shown to affect performance on artificial grammar learning tasks among typically developing children. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of graph complexity on implicit sequential learning among children with developmental dyslexia. Our goal was to determine whether children's performance depends on the complexity level of the grammar system learned. We conducted two artificial grammar learning experiments that compared performance of children with developmental dyslexia with that of age- and reading level-matched controls. Experiment 1 was a high topological entropy artificial grammar learning task that aimed to establish implicit learning phenomena in children with developmental dyslexia using previously published experimental conditions. Experiment 2 is a lower topological entropy variant of that task. Results indicated that given a high topological entropy grammar system, children with developmental dyslexia who were similar to the reading age-matched control group had substantial difficulty in performing the task as compared to typically developing children, who exhibited intact implicit learning of the grammar. On the other hand, when tested on a lower topological entropy grammar system, all groups performed above chance level, indicating that children with developmental dyslexia were able to identify rules from a given grammar system. The results reinforced the significance of graph complexity when experimenting with artificial grammar learning tasks, particularly with dyslexic participants.

Morphology and Spelling in French: A Comparison of At-Risk Readers and Typically Developing Children.

PubMed

Koh, Poh Wee; Shakory, Sharry; Chen, Xi; Deacon, S Hélène

2017-11-01

We present two studies that examine the role of morphology in French spelling. In Study 1, we examined the concurrent and longitudinal relationships between inflectional awareness and derivational awareness and spelling within a sample of 77 children in a French immersion programme in Canada. Children completed a non-verbal reasoning measure and French measures of phonological awareness, word reading, vocabulary, morphological awareness, and spelling. Results showed that inflectional morphological awareness in Grade 3 was a predictor of spelling in the same grade. Inflectional awareness in Grade 2 predicted Grade 3 spelling, controlling for reading-related skills and spelling at Grade 2. These analyses support the role of inflectional morphological awareness in the development of spelling of children of a range of reading and spelling abilities. In contrast, derivational awareness in Grades 2 and 3 did not predict spelling concurrently in both grades respectively. Study 2 contrasted the morphological errors in the spellings of six children at risk for reading difficulties with those of six chronological age-matched and six reading level-matched children. Analyses showed that at-risk children exhibited more difficulties with spelling roots and suffixes in words as compared with their age-matched peers, although they performed similarly to children matched on reading level. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Speeding up 3D speckle tracking using PatchMatch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zontak, Maria; O'Donnell, Matthew

2016-03-01

Echocardiography provides valuable information to diagnose heart dysfunction. A typical exam records several minutes of real-time cardiac images. To enable complete analysis of 3D cardiac strains, 4-D (3-D+t) echocardiography is used. This results in a huge dataset and requires effective automated analysis. Ultrasound speckle tracking is an effective method for tissue motion analysis. It involves correlation of a 3D kernel (block) around a voxel with kernels in later frames. The search region is usually confined to a local neighborhood, due to biomechanical and computational constraints. For high strains and moderate frame-rates, however, this search region will remain large, leading to a considerable computational burden. Moreover, speckle decorrelation (due to high strains) leads to errors in tracking. To solve this, spatial motion coherency between adjacent voxels should be imposed, e.g., by averaging their correlation functions.1 This requires storing correlation functions for neighboring voxels, thus increasing memory demands. In this work, we propose an efficient search using PatchMatch, 2 a powerful method to find correspondences between images. Here we adopt PatchMatch for 3D volumes and radio-frequency signals. As opposed to an exact search, PatchMatch performs random sampling of the search region and propagates successive matches among neighboring voxels. We show that: 1) Inherently smooth offset propagation in PatchMatch contributes to spatial motion coherence without any additional processing or memory demand. 2) For typical scenarios, PatchMatch is at least 20 times faster than the exact search, while maintaining comparable tracking accuracy.

Is a cerebellar deficit the underlying cause of reading disabilities?

PubMed

Irannejad, Shahrzad; Savage, Robert

2012-04-01

This study investigated whether children with dyslexia differed in their performance on reading, phonological, rapid naming, motor, and cerebellar-related tasks and automaticity measures compared to reading age (RA)-matched and chronological age (CA)-matched control groups. Participants were 51 children attending mainstream English elementary schools in Quebec. All participants completed measures of IQ, word and nonword reading fluency, elision, nonword decoding, rapid naming, bead threading, peg moving, toe tapping, postural stability, and muscle tone. Results from both group contrasts and analyses at the individual case level did not provide support for claims of motor-cerebellar involvement in either typical or atypical reading acquisition. Results were more consistent with a phonological core process account of both typical reading and reading difficulty. Phonological deficits for children with dyslexia compared to RA-matched controls were, however, only evident in group contrasts. Findings thus also have important implications for identifying at-risk readers among their same-aged peers.

Application of high-throughput mini-bioreactor system for systematic scale-down modeling, process characterization, and control strategy development.

PubMed

Janakiraman, Vijay; Kwiatkowski, Chris; Kshirsagar, Rashmi; Ryll, Thomas; Huang, Yao-Ming

2015-01-01

High-throughput systems and processes have typically been targeted for process development and optimization in the bioprocessing industry. For process characterization, bench scale bioreactors have been the system of choice. Due to the need for performing different process conditions for multiple process parameters, the process characterization studies typically span several months and are considered time and resource intensive. In this study, we have shown the application of a high-throughput mini-bioreactor system viz. the Advanced Microscale Bioreactor (ambr15(TM) ), to perform process characterization in less than a month and develop an input control strategy. As a pre-requisite to process characterization, a scale-down model was first developed in the ambr system (15 mL) using statistical multivariate analysis techniques that showed comparability with both manufacturing scale (15,000 L) and bench scale (5 L). Volumetric sparge rates were matched between ambr and manufacturing scale, and the ambr process matched the pCO2 profiles as well as several other process and product quality parameters. The scale-down model was used to perform the process characterization DoE study and product quality results were generated. Upon comparison with DoE data from the bench scale bioreactors, similar effects of process parameters on process yield and product quality were identified between the two systems. We used the ambr data for setting action limits for the critical controlled parameters (CCPs), which were comparable to those from bench scale bioreactor data. In other words, the current work shows that the ambr15(TM) system is capable of replacing the bench scale bioreactor system for routine process development and process characterization. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Errorless Establishment of a Match-to-Sample Form Discrimination in Preschool Children. I. A Modification of Animal Laboratory Procedures for Children, II. A Comparison of Errorless and Trial-and-Error Discrimination. Progress Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

LeBlanc, Judith M.

A sequence of studies compared two types of discrimination formation: errorless learning and trial-and-error procedures. The subjects were three boys and five girls from a university preschool. The children performed the experimental tasks at a typical match-to-sample apparatus with one sample window above and four match (response) windows below.…

Atypical cross talk between mentalizing and mirror neuron networks in autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Fishman, Inna; Keown, Christopher L; Lincoln, Alan J; Pineda, Jaime A; Müller, Ralph-Axel

2014-07-01

Converging evidence indicates that brain abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involve atypical network connectivity, but it is unclear whether altered connectivity is especially prominent in brain networks that participate in social cognition. To investigate whether adolescents with ASD show altered functional connectivity in 2 brain networks putatively impaired in ASD and involved in social processing, theory of mind (ToM) and mirror neuron system (MNS). Cross-sectional study using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging involving 25 adolescents with ASD between the ages of 11 and 18 years and 25 typically developing adolescents matched for age, handedness, and nonverbal IQ. Statistical parametric maps testing the degree of whole-brain functional connectivity and social functioning measures. Relative to typically developing controls, participants with ASD showed a mixed pattern of both over- and underconnectivity in the ToM network, which was associated with greater social impairment. Increased connectivity in the ASD group was detected primarily between the regions of the MNS and ToM, and was correlated with sociocommunicative measures, suggesting that excessive ToM-MNS cross talk might be associated with social impairment. In a secondary analysis comparing a subset of the 15 participants with ASD with the most severe symptomology and a tightly matched subset of 15 typically developing controls, participants with ASD showed exclusive overconnectivity effects in both ToM and MNS networks, which were also associated with greater social dysfunction. Adolescents with ASD showed atypically increased functional connectivity involving the mentalizing and mirror neuron systems, largely reflecting greater cross talk between the 2. This finding is consistent with emerging evidence of reduced network segregation in ASD and challenges the prevailing theory of general long-distance underconnectivity in ASD. This excess ToM-MNS connectivity may reflect immature or aberrant developmental processes in 2 brain networks involved in understanding of others, a domain of impairment in ASD. Further, robust links with sociocommunicative symptoms of ASD implicate atypically increased ToM-MNS connectivity in social deficits observed in ASD.

Can You Play with Fire and Not Hurt Yourself? A Comparative Study in Figurative Language Comprehension between Individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Chahboun, Sobh; Vulchanov, Valentin; Saldaña, David; Eshuis, Hendrik

2016-01-01

Individuals with High functioning autism (HFA) are distinguished by relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive skills. However, problems with pragmatic language skills have been consistently reported across the autistic spectrum, even when structural language is intact. Our main goal was to investigate how highly verbal individuals with autism process figurative language and whether manipulation of the stimuli presentation modality had an impact on the processing. We were interested in the extent to which visual context, e.g., an image corresponding either to the literal meaning or the figurative meaning of the expression may facilitate responses to such expressions. Participants with HFA and their typically developing peers (matched on intelligence and language level) completed a cross-modal sentence-picture matching task for figurative expressions and their target figurative meaning represented in images. We expected that the individuals with autism would have difficulties in appreciating the non-literal nature of idioms and metaphors, despite intact structural language skills. Analyses of accuracy and reaction times showed clearly that the participants with autism performed at a lower level than their typically developing peers. Moreover, the modality in which the stimuli were presented was an important variable in task performance for the more transparent expressions. The individuals with autism displayed higher error rates and greater reaction latencies in the auditory modality compared to the visual stimulus presentation modality, implying more difficulty. Performance differed depending on type of expression. Participants had more difficulty understanding the culturally-based expressions, but not expressions grounded in human experience (biological idioms). This research highlights the importance of stimulus presentation modality and that this can lead to differences in figurative language comprehension between typically and atypically developing individuals. The current study also contributes to current debates on the role of structural language in figurative language comprehension in autism. PMID:28036344

Can You Play with Fire and Not Hurt Yourself? A Comparative Study in Figurative Language Comprehension between Individuals with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Chahboun, Sobh; Vulchanov, Valentin; Saldaña, David; Eshuis, Hendrik; Vulchanova, Mila

2016-01-01

Individuals with High functioning autism (HFA) are distinguished by relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive skills. However, problems with pragmatic language skills have been consistently reported across the autistic spectrum, even when structural language is intact. Our main goal was to investigate how highly verbal individuals with autism process figurative language and whether manipulation of the stimuli presentation modality had an impact on the processing. We were interested in the extent to which visual context, e.g., an image corresponding either to the literal meaning or the figurative meaning of the expression may facilitate responses to such expressions. Participants with HFA and their typically developing peers (matched on intelligence and language level) completed a cross-modal sentence-picture matching task for figurative expressions and their target figurative meaning represented in images. We expected that the individuals with autism would have difficulties in appreciating the non-literal nature of idioms and metaphors, despite intact structural language skills. Analyses of accuracy and reaction times showed clearly that the participants with autism performed at a lower level than their typically developing peers. Moreover, the modality in which the stimuli were presented was an important variable in task performance for the more transparent expressions. The individuals with autism displayed higher error rates and greater reaction latencies in the auditory modality compared to the visual stimulus presentation modality, implying more difficulty. Performance differed depending on type of expression. Participants had more difficulty understanding the culturally-based expressions, but not expressions grounded in human experience (biological idioms). This research highlights the importance of stimulus presentation modality and that this can lead to differences in figurative language comprehension between typically and atypically developing individuals. The current study also contributes to current debates on the role of structural language in figurative language comprehension in autism.

Attenuation of Typical Sex Differences in 800 Adults with Autism vs. 3,900 Controls

PubMed Central

Baron-Cohen, Simon; Cassidy, Sarah; Auyeung, Bonnie; Allison, Carrie; Achoukhi, Maryam; Robertson, Sarah; Pohl, Alexa; Lai, Meng-Chuan

2014-01-01

Sex differences have been reported in autistic traits and systemizing (male advantage), and empathizing (female advantage) among typically developing individuals. In individuals with autism, these cognitive-behavioural profiles correspond to predictions from the “extreme male brain” (EMB) theory of autism (extreme scores on autistic traits and systemizing, below average on empathizing). Sex differences within autism, however, have been under-investigated. Here we show in 811 adults (454 females) with autism and 3,906 age-matched typical control adults (2,562 females) who completed the Empathy Quotient (EQ), the Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R), and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), that typical females on average scored higher on the EQ, typical males scored higher on the SQ-R and AQ, and both males and females with autism showed a shift toward the extreme of the “male profile” on these measures and in the distribution of “brain types” (the discrepancy between standardized EQ and SQ-R scores). Further, normative sex differences are attenuated but not abolished in adults with autism. The findings provide strong support for the EMB theory of autism, and highlight differences between males and females with autism. PMID:25029203

Cerebellar malformations alter regional cerebral development.

PubMed

Bolduc, Marie-Eve; Du Plessis, Adre J; Evans, Alan; Guizard, Nicolas; Zhang, Xun; Robertson, Richard L; Limperopoulos, Catherine

2011-12-01

The aim of this study was to compare total and regional cerebral volumes in children with isolated cerebellar malformations (CBMs) with those in typically developing children, and to examine the extent to which cerebellar volumetric reductions are associated with total and regional cerebral volumes. This is a case-control study of children diagnosed with isolated CBMs. Each child was matched on age and sex to two typically developing children. Using advanced three-dimensional volumetric magnetic resonance imaging, the cerebrum was segmented into tissue classes and partitioned into eight regions. Analysis of variance was used to compare cerebral volumes between children with CBMs and control children, and linear regressions to examine the impact of cerebellar volume reduction on cerebral volumes. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at a mean age of 27 months in 20 children (10 males, 10 females) with CBMs and 40 typically developing children. Children with CBMs showed significantly smaller deep grey matter nuclei (p < 0.001), subgenual white matter (p = 0.03), midtemporal white matter (p = 0.02), and inferior occipital grey matter (p = 0.03) volumes than typically developing children. Greater cerebellar volumetric reduction in children with CBMs was associated with decreased total cerebral volume and deep grey matter nuclei (p = 0.02), subgenual white/grey matter (p = 0.001), midtemporal white (p = 0.02) and grey matter (p = 0.01), and parieto-occipital grey matter (p = 0.004). CBMs are associated with impaired regional cerebral growth, suggesting deactivation of principal cerebello-cerebral pathways. © The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2011 Mac Keith Press.

Digital receiver study and implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogle, D. A.; Lee, G. M.; Massey, J. C.

1972-01-01

Computer software was developed which makes it possible to use any general purpose computer with A/D conversion capability as a PSK receiver for low data rate telemetry processing. Carrier tracking, bit synchronization, and matched filter detection are all performed digitally. To aid in the implementation of optimum computer processors, a study of general digital processing techniques was performed which emphasized various techniques for digitizing general analog systems. In particular, the phase-locked loop was extensively analyzed as a typical non-linear communication element. Bayesian estimation techniques for PSK demodulation were studied. A hardware implementation of the digital Costas loop was developed.

Comparison of the Physical and Technical Demands of Cricket Players During Training and Match-Play.

PubMed

Vickery, Will; Duffield, Rob; Crowther, Rian; Beakley, David; Blanch, Peter; Dascombe, Ben J

2018-03-01

Vickery, W, Duffield, R, Crowther, R, Beakley, D, Blanch, P, and Dascombe, BJ. Comparison of the physical and technical demands of cricket players during training and match-play. J Strength Cond Res 32(3): 821-829, 2018-This study aimed to determine which training method (net-based sessions or center-wicket simulations) currently used in national level and U19 male players cricket provided a more physical and technical match-specific training response. The heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and movement patterns of 42 male cricket players were measured across the various training and match formats. Video analysis was coded retrospectively to quantify technical loads based on the cricket skills performed. Magnitude-based inferences were based on the standardization of effect and presented with ±90% confidence intervals. Regardless of playing position, differences in physiological demands between training modes and match-play were unclear, with the exception of higher heart rates in fielders during traditional net sessions (mean heart rate: d = -2.7 [-4.7 to -0.7]; 75% of maximum heart rate: d = -1.7 [-3.2 to -0.2]). Typically, the movement demands of center-wicket simulations were similar or greater than match-play, which was most evident in the distance traveled at a high intensity within each playing position (batsmen: d = 6.4 [3.7-9.2]; medium-fast bowlers: d = 1.71 [0.1-3.3]; spin bowlers: d = 6.5 [0.01-13.0]; fielders: d = 0.8 [-0.2 to 1.7]). The technical demands of traditional net cricket training exceeded that of a typical match for each playing position. Specifically, fast bowlers delivered a greater number of balls during net-bowling compared with a match (d = -2.2 [-3.6 to 0.9]). In conclusion, center-wicket simulations more closely matched the physical demands of a One-Day match within batsmen and spin bowlers, whereas traditional cricket training often exceeded match-specific demands.

Visual perspective taking impairment in children with autistic spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Hamilton, Antonia F de C; Brindley, Rachel; Frith, Uta

2009-10-01

Evidence from typical development and neuroimaging studies suggests that level 2 visual perspective taking - the knowledge that different people may see the same thing differently at the same time - is a mentalising task. Thus, we would expect children with autism, who fail typical mentalising tasks like false belief, to perform poorly on level 2 visual perspective taking as well. However, prior data on this issue are inconclusive. We re-examined this question, testing a group of 23 young autistic children, aged around 8years with a verbal mental age of around 4years and three groups of typical children (n=60) ranging in age from 4 to 8years on a level 2 visual perspective task and a closely matched mental rotation task. The results demonstrate that autistic children have difficulty with visual perspective taking compared to a task requiring mental rotation, relative to typical children. Furthermore, performance on the level 2 visual perspective taking task correlated with theory of mind performance. These findings resolve discrepancies in previous studies of visual perspective taking in autism, and demonstrate that level 2 visual perspective taking is a mentalising task.

Visuospatial, visuoperceptual, and visuoconstructive abilities in congenital hypothyroidism.

PubMed

Simic, Nevena; Khan, Sarah; Rovet, Joanne

2013-11-01

Individuals with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), even those diagnosed and treated early, experience selective cognitive deficits, the most striking of which involves the visuocognitive domain. However, the range and nature of their visuocognitive disturbances is not fully understood. We assessed a range of higher-order visuocognitive abilities in 19 children and adolescents with CH and 19 age- and sex-matched typically developing peers (TD) using a battery of neuropsychological tests and a novel self-report measure of sense of direction. CH scored lower than TD on direct tests of visuocognitive function (judging line orientation, parts-to-whole localization, copying three-dimensional block towers, discriminating designs, and matching unfamiliar faces in ¾ profile-view) as well as on self-reported problems in spatial ability. Visuocognitive problems were not global as CH and TD did not differ at copying two-dimensional block designs, mentally rotating and matching abstract shapes, or at matching unfamiliar front-view faces, design features, or designs that engaged either figure-ground segregation, visual constancy, or closure. Early and concurrent thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were associated with visuocognitive ability, although attention and working memory were not. Individuals with CH exhibit selective visuocognitive weaknesses, some of which are related to early and concurrent TSH levels.

An Attempt at Matching Waking Events Into Dream Reports by Independent Judges

PubMed Central

Wang, Jia Xi; Shen, He Yong

2018-01-01

Correlations between memories and dreaming has typically been studied by linking conscious experiences and dream reports, which has illustrated that dreaming reflects waking life events, thoughts, and emotions. As some research suggests that sleep has a function of memory consolidation, and dreams reflect this, researching this relationship further may uncover more useful insights. However, most related research has been conducted using the self-report method which asks participants to judge the relationship between their own conscious experiences and dreams. This method may cause errors when the research purpose is to make comparisons between different groups, because individual differences cannot be balanced out when the results are compared among groups. Based on a knowledge of metaphors and symbols, we developed two operationalized definitions for independent judges to match conscious experiences and dreams, the descriptive incorporation and the metaphorical incorporation, and tested their reliability for the matching purpose. Two independent judges were asked to complete a linking task for 212 paired event-dreams. Results showed almost half dreams can be matched by independent judges, and the independent-judge method could provide similar proportions for the linking task, when compared with the self-report method. PMID:29681873

Integrated High-Fidelity CFD/FE FSI Code Development and Benchmark Full-Scale Validation EFD for Slamming Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-30

measurements as well as of the stiffness of the hull can be obtained by using measurements (accelerometer and gyro data) from one location of the boat to...assuming a rigid hull ) to bulkhead #5. The two estimates match exceptionally well. The data shown are fairly typical from operating the Nurnerette in...indicated in dE~ figure. The hull was designed to 2: G so it should be no surprise that the structure under ..vent permanent deformation during this

A Novel Real-Time Reference Key Frame Scan Matching Method.

PubMed

Mohamed, Haytham; Moussa, Adel; Elhabiby, Mohamed; El-Sheimy, Naser; Sesay, Abu

2017-05-07

Unmanned aerial vehicles represent an effective technology for indoor search and rescue operations. Typically, most indoor missions' environments would be unknown, unstructured, and/or dynamic. Navigation of UAVs in such environments is addressed by simultaneous localization and mapping approach using either local or global approaches. Both approaches suffer from accumulated errors and high processing time due to the iterative nature of the scan matching method. Moreover, point-to-point scan matching is prone to outlier association processes. This paper proposes a low-cost novel method for 2D real-time scan matching based on a reference key frame (RKF). RKF is a hybrid scan matching technique comprised of feature-to-feature and point-to-point approaches. This algorithm aims at mitigating errors accumulation using the key frame technique, which is inspired from video streaming broadcast process. The algorithm depends on the iterative closest point algorithm during the lack of linear features which is typically exhibited in unstructured environments. The algorithm switches back to the RKF once linear features are detected. To validate and evaluate the algorithm, the mapping performance and time consumption are compared with various algorithms in static and dynamic environments. The performance of the algorithm exhibits promising navigational, mapping results and very short computational time, that indicates the potential use of the new algorithm with real-time systems.

The use of emotions in narratives in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Van Herwegen, Jo; Aznar, Ana; Tenenbaum, Harriet

2014-01-01

Although individuals with Williams syndrome are very sociable, they tend to have limited contact and friendships with peers. In typically developing children the use of positive emotions (e.g., happy) has been argued to be related to peer relationships and popularity. The current study investigated the use and development of emotion words in Williams syndrome using cross-sectional developmental trajectories and examined children's use of different types of emotion words. Nineteen children with Williams syndrome (WS) and 20 typically developing (TD) children matched for chronological age told a story from a wordless picture book. Participants with WS produced a similar number of emotion words compared to the control group and the use of emotion words did not change when plotted against chronological age or vocabulary abilities in either group. However, participants with WS produced more emotion words about sadness. Links between emotion production and friendships as well as future studies are discussed. After reading this article, readers will be able to: explain the development of positive and negative emotions in Williams syndrome and recognize that emotion production is atypical in this population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

False belief attribution in children with Williams syndrome: the answer is in the emotion.

PubMed

Campos, R; Martínez-Castilla, P; Sotillo, M

2017-11-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) show difficulties in attributing false beliefs, whereas they are better at attributing emotions. This study examines whether being asked about the emotion linked to a false belief, instead of explicitly about the belief, facilitates performance on theory of mind (ToM) tasks. Thirty children with WS and 90 typically developing children, who were individually matched on mental age (50-112 months), were administered six explicit (i.e. questions on belief) and six implicit (i.e. questions on emotion) trials of false belief tasks. Theory of mind competences were related to cognitive development. Children with WS performed comparably to typically developing children on the emotion questions. Correct answers to questions on emotion reveal an implicit understanding of false belief. The Representational redescription process could be impaired in the domain of ToM in this population. This finding has relevant implications for the design of supports aiming to optimise the development of ToM competences in individuals with WS. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Modality Shift Experiment in Adults and Children with High Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Diane L.; Goldstein, Gerald; Minshew, Nancy J.

2013-01-01

This study used the modality shift experiment, a relatively simple reaction time measure to visual and auditory stimuli, to examine attentional shifting within and across modalities in 33 children and 42 adults with high-functioning autism as compared to matched numbers of age- and ability-matched typical controls. An exaggerated "modality shift…

Equalizing Matching Grants and the Allocative and Distributive Objectives of Public School Financing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatti, James F.; Tashman, Leonard J.

1976-01-01

Argues that typical Equalizing Matching Grant (EMG) systems for distributing state school aid cannot be expected to achieve the allocative and distributive goals of school finance. Derives a generalized EMG system and specific school aid formula that satisfy the allocative and distributive criteria. Available from: NTA-TIA, 21 East State Street,…

An Investigation of Same- versus Cross-Gender Matching for Boys in Formal School-Based Mentoring Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kanchewa, Stella S.; Rhodes, Jean E.; Schwartz, Sarah E. O.; Olsho, Lauren E. W.

2014-01-01

Although assigned mentoring relationships have typically involved same-gender matches, a growing number of programs, particularly those in schools, have begun pairing female mentors with male mentees. This practice stems, in large part, from the relative dearth of male mentors and programs' efforts to increase the availability of youth mentoring…

Protracted dendritic growth in the typically developing human amygdala and increased spine density in young ASD brains.

PubMed

Weir, R K; Bauman, M D; Jacobs, B; Schumann, C M

2018-02-01

The amygdala is a medial temporal lobe structure implicated in social and emotional regulation. In typical development (TD), the amygdala continues to increase volumetrically throughout childhood and into adulthood, while other brain structures are stable or decreasing in volume. In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the amygdala undergoes rapid early growth, making it volumetrically larger in children with ASD compared to TD children. Here we explore: (a) if dendritic arborization in the amygdala follows the pattern of protracted growth in TD and early overgrowth in ASD and (b), if spine density in the amygdala in ASD cases differs from TD from youth to adulthood. The amygdala from 32 postmortem human brains (7-46 years of age) were stained using a Golgi-Kopsch impregnation. Ten principal neurons per case were selected in the lateral nucleus and traced using Neurolucida software in their entirety. We found that both ASD and TD individuals show a similar pattern of increasing dendritic length with age well into adulthood. However, spine density is (a) greater in young ASD cases compared to age-matched TD controls (<18 years old) and (b) decreases in the amygdala as people with ASD age into adulthood, a phenomenon not found in TD. Therefore, by adulthood, there is no observable difference in spine density in the amygdala between ASD and TD age-matched adults (≥18 years old). Our findings highlight the unique growth trajectory of the amygdala and suggest that spine density may contribute to aberrant development and function of the amygdala in children with ASD. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Differential Relationships of Anxiety and Autism Symptoms on Social Skills in Young Boys With Fragile X Syndrome.

PubMed

Reisinger, Debra L; Roberts, Jane E

2017-09-01

Social skills are critical for academic, social, and psychological success of children with both typical and atypical development. Boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) are at high risk for social skill impairments, given intellectual impairments and secondary conditions. The present study examines the impact of adaptive behavior, autism symptoms, and anxiety symptoms to social skills at the composite and subdomain level in boys with FXS across age. This cross-sectional study included boys with FXS (3-14 years) contrasted to age-matched typical control boys. Results revealed that social skills are generally within developmental expectations, with adaptive behavior as the primary predictor. Anxiety and autism symptoms emerged as additive risk factors, particularly in the areas of responsibility and self-control.

Enhancing emotion recognition in children with autism spectrum conditions: an intervention using animated vehicles with real emotional faces.

PubMed

Golan, Ofer; Ashwin, Emma; Granader, Yael; McClintock, Suzy; Day, Kate; Leggett, Victoria; Baron-Cohen, Simon

2010-03-01

This study evaluated The Transporters, an animated series designed to enhance emotion comprehension in children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). n = 20 children with ASC (aged 4-7) watched The Transporters everyday for 4 weeks. Participants were tested before and after intervention on emotional vocabulary and emotion recognition at three levels of generalization. Two matched control groups of children (ASC group, n = 18 and typically developing group, n = 18) were also assessed twice without any intervention. The intervention group improved significantly more than the clinical control group on all task levels, performing comparably to typical controls at Time 2. We conclude that using The Transporters significantly improves emotion recognition in children with ASC. Future research should evaluate the series' effectiveness with lower-functioning individuals.

Image matching as a data source for forest inventory - Comparison of Semi-Global Matching and Next-Generation Automatic Terrain Extraction algorithms in a typical managed boreal forest environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukkonen, M.; Maltamo, M.; Packalen, P.

2017-08-01

Image matching is emerging as a compelling alternative to airborne laser scanning (ALS) as a data source for forest inventory and management. There is currently an open discussion in the forest inventory community about whether, and to what extent, the new method can be applied to practical inventory campaigns. This paper aims to contribute to this discussion by comparing two different image matching algorithms (Semi-Global Matching [SGM] and Next-Generation Automatic Terrain Extraction [NGATE]) and ALS in a typical managed boreal forest environment in southern Finland. Spectral features from unrectified aerial images were included in the modeling and the potential of image matching in areas without a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) was also explored. Plot level predictions for total volume, stem number, basal area, height of basal area median tree and diameter of basal area median tree were modeled using an area-based approach. Plot level dominant tree species were predicted using a random forest algorithm, also using an area-based approach. The statistical difference between the error rates from different datasets was evaluated using a bootstrap method. Results showed that ALS outperformed image matching with every forest attribute, even when a high resolution DTM was used for height normalization and spectral information from images was included. Dominant tree species classification with image matching achieved accuracy levels similar to ALS regardless of the resolution of the DTM when spectral metrics were used. Neither of the image matching algorithms consistently outperformed the other, but there were noticeably different error rates depending on the parameter configuration, spectral band, resolution of DTM, or response variable. This study showed that image matching provides reasonable point cloud data for forest inventory purposes, especially when a high resolution DTM is available and information from the understory is redundant.

Gender Profiles of Behavioral Attention in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

May, Tamara; Cornish, Kim; Rinehart, Nicole J

2016-07-01

The attention profile of girls with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is unclear compared with boys with ASD and typical children. This study aimed to investigate parent-reported ASD and ADHD symptoms in a large sample of boys and girls with and without ASD. A total of 124 normally intelligent children, half of them girls, 64 with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder, and 60 age- and gender-matched typically developing, aged 7 to 12 years, were recruited. Parents completed questionnaires regarding autistic and ADHD symptoms. No gender differences in social difficulties but more repetitive motor movements, communication difficulties, and inattention were reported in males, regardless of group. Younger boys with ASD had more elevated levels of hyperactivity-impulsivity than younger girls with ASD. Gender differences in autistic symptoms and inattention in ASD reflected gender differences in typical children. More pronounced hyperactivity in younger boys with ASD could contribute to higher rates of clinical referral than girls. © The Author(s) 2012.

A multi-segment foot model based on anatomically registered technical coordinate systems: method repeatability and sensitivity in pediatric planovalgus feet.

PubMed

Saraswat, Prabhav; MacWilliams, Bruce A; Davis, Roy B; D'Astous, Jacques L

2013-01-01

Several multisegment foot models have been proposed and some have been used to study foot pathologies. These models have been tested and validated on typically developed populations; however application of such models to feet with significant deformities presents an additional set of challenges. For the first time, in this study, a multisegment foot model is tested for repeatability in a population of children with symptomatic abnormal feet. The results from this population are compared to the same metrics collected from an age matched (8-14 years) typically developing population. The modified Shriners Hospitals for Children, Greenville (mSHCG) foot model was applied to ten typically developing children and eleven children with planovalgus feet by two clinicians. Five subjects in each group were retested by both clinicians after 4-6 weeks. Both intra-clinician and inter-clinician repeatability were evaluated using static and dynamic measures. A plaster mold method was used to quantify variability arising from marker placement error. Dynamic variability was measured by examining trial differences from the same subjects when multiple clinicians carried out the data collection multiple times. For hindfoot and forefoot angles, static and dynamic variability in both groups was found to be less than 4° and 6° respectively. The mSHCG model strategy of minimal reliance on anatomical markers for dynamic measures and inherent flexibility enabled by separate anatomical and technical coordinate systems resulted in a model equally repeatable in typically developing and planovalgus populations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automatic Conversational Scene Analysis in Children with Asperger Syndrome/High-Functioning Autism and Typically Developing Peers

PubMed Central

Tavano, Alessandro; Pesarin, Anna; Murino, Vittorio; Cristani, Marco

2014-01-01

Individuals with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism fail to spontaneously attribute mental states to the self and others, a life-long phenotypic characteristic known as mindblindness. We hypothesized that mindblindness would affect the dynamics of conversational interaction. Using generative models, in particular Gaussian mixture models and observed influence models, conversations were coded as interacting Markov processes, operating on novel speech/silence patterns, termed Steady Conversational Periods (SCPs). SCPs assume that whenever an agent's process changes state (e.g., from silence to speech), it causes a general transition of the entire conversational process, forcing inter-actant synchronization. SCPs fed into observed influence models, which captured the conversational dynamics of children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism, and age-matched typically developing participants. Analyzing the parameters of the models by means of discriminative classifiers, the dialogs of patients were successfully distinguished from those of control participants. We conclude that meaning-free speech/silence sequences, reflecting inter-actant synchronization, at least partially encode typical and atypical conversational dynamics. This suggests a direct influence of theory of mind abilities onto basic speech initiative behavior. PMID:24489674

Applying an Integrative Framework of Executive Function to Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment.

PubMed

Kapa, Leah L; Plante, Elena; Doubleday, Kevin

2017-08-16

The first goal of this research was to compare verbal and nonverbal executive function abilities between preschoolers with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The second goal was to assess the group differences on 4 executive function components in order to determine if the components may be hierarchically related as suggested within a developmental integrative framework of executive function. This study included 26 4- and 5-year-olds diagnosed with SLI and 26 typically developing age- and sex-matched peers. Participants were tested on verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention, working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The SLI group performed worse compared with typically developing children on both verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention and working memory, the verbal inhibition task, and the nonverbal shifting task. Comparisons of standardized group differences between executive function measures revealed a linear increase with the following order: working memory, inhibition, shifting, and sustained selective attention. The pattern of results suggests that preschoolers with SLI have deficits in executive functioning compared with typical peers, and deficits are not limited to verbal tasks. A significant linear relationship between group differences across executive function components supports the possibility of a hierarchical relationship between executive function skills.

Heavy-Ion Injector for the High Current Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bieniosek, F. M.; Henestroza, E.; Kwan, J. W.; Prost, L.; Seidl, P.

2001-10-01

We report on progress in development of the Heavy-Ion Injector at LBNL, which is being prepared for use as an injector for the High Current Experiment (HCX). It is composed of a 10-cm-diameter surface ionization source, an extraction diode, and an electrostatic quadrupole (ESQ) accelerator, with a typical operating current of 0.6 A of potassium ions at 1.8 MeV, and a beam pulse length of 4.5 microsecs. We have improved the Injector equipment and diagnostics, and have characterized the source emission and radial beam profiles at the diode and ESQ regions. We find improved agreement with EGUN predictions, and improved compatibility with the downstream matching section. Plans are to attach the matching section and the initial ESQ transport section of HCX. Results will be presented and compared with EGUN and WARP simulations.

Fluency Patterns in Narratives from Children with Localization Related Epilepsy

PubMed Central

Steinberg, Mara E.; Ratner, Nan Bernstein; Gaillard, William; Berl, Madison

2013-01-01

This study assessed the relationship between fluency and language demand in children with epilepsy, a group known to demonstrate depressed language skills. Disfluency type and frequencies were analyzed in elicited narratives from 52 children. Half of these children had localization-related epilepsy (CWE), while the others were age- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) peers. CWE were found to be significantly more disfluent overall than their matched TD peers during narrative productions, and demonstrated a higher proportion of stutter-like disfluencies, particularly prolongations. The current study adds to an emerging literature that has found depressed language skills and listener perceptions of verbal ability in children with chronic seizure activity, and contributes to the small but growing literature that suggests that disfluency during spoken language tasks may be a subtle marker of expressive language impairment. PMID:23773671

Automatic Detection and Evaluation of Solar Cell Micro-Cracks in Electroluminescence Images Using Matched Filters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spataru, Sergiu; Hacke, Peter; Sera, Dezso

A method for detecting micro-cracks in solar cells using two dimensional matched filters was developed, derived from the electroluminescence intensity profile of typical micro-cracks. We describe the image processing steps to obtain a binary map with the location of the micro-cracks. Finally, we show how to automatically estimate the total length of each micro-crack from these maps, and propose a method to identify severe types of micro-cracks, such as parallel, dendritic, and cracks with multiple orientations. With an optimized threshold parameter, the technique detects over 90 % of cracks larger than 3 cm in length. The method shows great potentialmore » for quantifying micro-crack damage after manufacturing or module transportation for the determination of a module quality criterion for cell cracking in photovoltaic modules.« less

Reading accuracy and speed of vowelized and unvowelized scripts among dyslexic readers of Hebrew: the road not taken.

PubMed

Schiff, Rachel; Katzir, Tami; Shoshan, Noa

2013-07-01

The present study examined the effects of orthographic transparency on reading ability of children with dyslexia in two Hebrew scripts. The study explored the reading accuracy and speed of vowelized and unvowelized Hebrew words of fourth-grade children with dyslexia. A comparison was made to typically developing readers of two age groups: a group matched by chronological age and a group of children who are 2 years younger, presumably at the end of the reading acquisition process. An additional purpose was to investigate the role of vowelization in the reading ability of unvowelized script among readers with dyslexia in an attempt to assess whether vowelization plays a mediating role for reading speed of unvowelized scripts. The present study found no significant differences in reading accuracy and speed between vowelized and unvowelized scripts among fourth-grade readers with dyslexia. The reading speed of fourth-graders with dyslexia was similar to typically developing second-graders for both the vowelized and unvowelized words. However, fourth-grade children with dyslexia performed lower than the typically developing second-graders in the reading accuracy of vowelized script. Furthermore, for readers with dyslexia, accuracy in reading both vowelized and unvowelized words mediated the reading speed of unvowelized scripts. These results may be a sign that Hebrew-speaking children with dyslexia have severe difficulties that prevent them from developing strategies for more efficient reading.

Better cancer biomarker discovery through better study design.

PubMed

Rundle, Andrew; Ahsan, Habibul; Vineis, Paolo

2012-12-01

High-throughput laboratory technologies coupled with sophisticated bioinformatics algorithms have tremendous potential for discovering novel biomarkers, or profiles of biomarkers, that could serve as predictors of disease risk, response to treatment or prognosis. We discuss methodological issues in wedding high-throughput approaches for biomarker discovery with the case-control study designs typically used in biomarker discovery studies, especially focusing on nested case-control designs. We review principles for nested case-control study design in relation to biomarker discovery studies and describe how the efficiency of biomarker discovery can be effected by study design choices. We develop a simulated prostate cancer cohort data set and a series of biomarker discovery case-control studies nested within the cohort to illustrate how study design choices can influence biomarker discovery process. Common elements of nested case-control design, incidence density sampling and matching of controls to cases are not typically factored correctly into biomarker discovery analyses, inducing bias in the discovery process. We illustrate how incidence density sampling and matching of controls to cases reduce the apparent specificity of truly valid biomarkers 'discovered' in a nested case-control study. We also propose and demonstrate a new case-control matching protocol, we call 'antimatching', that improves the efficiency of biomarker discovery studies. For a valid, but as yet undiscovered, biomarker(s) disjunctions between correctly designed epidemiologic studies and the practice of biomarker discovery reduce the likelihood that true biomarker(s) will be discovered and increases the false-positive discovery rate. © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Clinical Investigation © 2012 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

Neurofunctional Underpinnings of Audiovisual Emotion Processing in Teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Doyle-Thomas, Krissy A.R.; Goldberg, Jeremy; Szatmari, Peter; Hall, Geoffrey B.C.

2013-01-01

Despite successful performance on some audiovisual emotion tasks, hypoactivity has been observed in frontal and temporal integration cortices in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Little is understood about the neurofunctional network underlying this ability in individuals with ASD. Research suggests that there may be processing biases in individuals with ASD, based on their ability to obtain meaningful information from the face and/or the voice. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined brain activity in teens with ASD (n = 18) and typically developing controls (n = 16) during audiovisual and unimodal emotion processing. Teens with ASD had a significantly lower accuracy when matching an emotional face to an emotion label. However, no differences in accuracy were observed between groups when matching an emotional voice or face-voice pair to an emotion label. In both groups brain activity during audiovisual emotion matching differed significantly from activity during unimodal emotion matching. Between-group analyses of audiovisual processing revealed significantly greater activation in teens with ASD in a parietofrontal network believed to be implicated in attention, goal-directed behaviors, and semantic processing. In contrast, controls showed greater activity in frontal and temporal association cortices during this task. These results suggest that in the absence of engaging integrative emotional networks during audiovisual emotion matching, teens with ASD may have recruited the parietofrontal network as an alternate compensatory system. PMID:23750139

Measuring perceived ceiling height in a visual comparison task.

PubMed

von Castell, Christoph; Hecht, Heiko; Oberfeld, Daniel

2017-03-01

When judging interior space, a dark ceiling is judged to be lower than a light ceiling. The method of metric judgments (e.g., on a centimetre scale) that has typically been used in such tasks may reflect a genuine perceptual effect or it may reflect a cognitively mediated impression. We employed a height-matching method in which perceived ceiling height had to be matched with an adjustable pillar, thus obtaining psychometric functions that allowed for an estimation of the point of subjective equality (PSE) and the difference limen (DL). The height-matching method developed in this paper allows for a direct visual match and does not require metric judgment. It has the added advantage of providing superior precision. Experiment 1 used ceiling heights between 2.90 m and 3.00 m. The PSE proved sensitive to slight changes in perceived ceiling height. The DL was about 3% of the physical ceiling height. Experiment 2 found similar results for lower (2.30 m to 2.50 m) and higher (3.30 m to 3.50 m) ceilings. In Experiment 3, we additionally varied ceiling lightness (light grey vs. dark grey). The height matches showed that the light ceiling appeared significantly higher than the darker ceiling. We therefore attribute the influence of ceiling lightness on perceived ceiling height to a direct perceptual rather than a cognitive effect.

Word Detection in Sung and Spoken Sentences in Children With Typical Language Development or With Specific Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Planchou, Clément; Clément, Sylvain; Béland, Renée; Cason, Nia; Motte, Jacques; Samson, Séverine

2015-01-01

Background: Previous studies have reported that children score better in language tasks using sung rather than spoken stimuli. We examined word detection ease in sung and spoken sentences that were equated for phoneme duration and pitch variations in children aged 7 to 12 years with typical language development (TLD) as well as in children with specific language impairment (SLI ), and hypothesized that the facilitation effect would vary with language abilities. Method: In Experiment 1, 69 children with TLD (7–10 years old) detected words in sentences that were spoken, sung on pitches extracted from speech, and sung on original scores. In Experiment 2, we added a natural speech rate condition and tested 68 children with TLD (7–12 years old). In Experiment 3, 16 children with SLI and 16 age-matched children with TLD were tested in all four conditions. Results: In both TLD groups, older children scored better than the younger ones. The matched TLD group scored higher than the SLI group who scored at the level of the younger children with TLD . None of the experiments showed a facilitation effect of sung over spoken stimuli. Conclusions: Word detection abilities improved with age in both TLD and SLI groups. Our findings are compatible with the hypothesis of delayed language abilities in children with SLI , and are discussed in light of the role of durational prosodic cues in words detection. PMID:26767070

Verbal strategies and nonverbal cues in school-age children with and without specific language impairment (SLI)

PubMed Central

Eichorn, Naomi; Marton, Klara; Campanelli, Luca; Scheuer, Jessica

2014-01-01

Background Considerable evidence suggests that performance across a variety of cognitive tasks is effectively supported by the use of verbal and nonverbal strategies. Studies exploring the usefulness of such strategies in children with specific language impairment (SLI) are scarce and report inconsistent findings. Aim The present study examined effects of induced labelling and auditory cues on the performance of children with and without SLI during a categorization task. Methods & Procedures Sixty-six school-age children (22 with SLI, 22 age-matched controls, 22 language-matched controls) completed three versions of a computer-based categorization task: one baseline, one requiring overt labelling, and one with auditory cues (tones) on randomized trial blocks. Outcomes & Results Labelling had no effect on performance for typically developing children but resulted in lower accuracy and longer reaction time in children with SLI. The presence of tones had no effect on accuracy but resulted in faster reaction time and post-error slowing across groups. Conclusions & Implications Verbal strategy use was ineffective for typically developing children and negatively affected children with SLI. All children showed faster performance and increased performance monitoring as a result of tones. Overall, effects of strategy use in children appear to vary based on task demands, strategy domain, age, and language ability. Results suggest that children with SLI may benefit from auditory cues in their clinical intervention but that further research is needed to determine when and how verbal strategies might similarly support performance in this population. PMID:24861540

N -loop running should be combined with N -loop matching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braathen, Johannes; Goodsell, Mark D.; Krauss, Manuel E.; Opferkuch, Toby; Staub, Florian

2018-01-01

We investigate the high-scale behavior of Higgs sectors beyond the Standard Model, pointing out that the proper matching of the quartic couplings before applying the renormalization group equations (RGEs) is of crucial importance for reliable predictions at larger energy scales. In particular, the common practice of leading-order parameters in the RGE evolution is insufficient to make precise statements on a given model's UV behavior, typically resulting in uncertainties of many orders of magnitude. We argue that, before applying N -loop RGEs, a matching should even be performed at N -loop order in contrast to common lore. We show both analytical and numerical results where the impact is sizable for three minimal extensions of the Standard Model: a singlet extension, a second Higgs doublet and finally vector-like quarks. We highlight that the known two-loop RGEs tend to moderate the running of their one-loop counterparts, typically delaying the appearance of Landau poles. For the addition of vector-like quarks we show that the complete two-loop matching and RGE evolution hints at a stabilization of the electroweak vacuum at high energies, in contrast to results in the literature.

Robot-aided developmental assessment of wrist proprioception in children.

PubMed

Marini, Francesca; Squeri, Valentina; Morasso, Pietro; Campus, Claudio; Konczak, Jürgen; Masia, Lorenzo

2017-01-09

Several neurodevelopmental disorders and brain injuries in children have been associated with proprioceptive dysfunction that will negatively affect their movement. Unfortunately, there is lack of reliable and objective clinical examination protocols and our current knowledge of how proprioception evolves in typically developing children is still sparse. Using a robotic exoskeleton, we investigated proprioceptive acuity of the wrist in a group of 49 typically developing healthy children (8-15 years), and a group of 40 young adults. Without vision participants performed an ipsilateral wrist joint position matching task that required them to reproduce (match) a previously experienced target position. All three joint degrees-of-freedom of the wrist/hand complex were assessed. Accuracy and precision were evaluated as a measure of proprioceptive acuity. The cross-sectional data indicating the time course of development of acuity were then fitted by four models in order to determine which function best describes developmental changes in proprioception across age. First, the robot-aided assessment proved to be an easy to administer method for objectively measuring proprioceptive acuity in both children and adult populations. Second, proprioceptive acuity continued to develop throughout middle childhood and early adolescence, improving by more than 50% with respect to the youngest group. Adult levels of performance were reached approximately by the age of 12 years. An inverse-root function best described the development of proprioceptive acuity across the age groups. Third, wrist/forearm proprioception is anisotropic across the three DoFs with the Abduction/Adduction exhibiting a higher level of acuity than those of Flexion/extension and Pronation/Supination. This anisotropy did not change across development. Proprioceptive development for the wrist continues well into early adolescence. Our normative data obtained trough this novel robot-aided assessment method provide a basis against which proprioceptive function of pediatric population can be compared. This may aid the design of more effective sensorimotor intervention programs.

Dyspnea predicts mortality among patients undergoing coronary computed tomographic angiography.

PubMed

Nakanishi, Rine; Gransar, Heidi; Rozanski, Alan; Rana, Jamal S; Cheng, Victor Y; Thomson, Louise E J; Miranda-Peats, Romalisa; Dey, Damini; Hayes, Sean W; Friedman, John D; Min, James K; Berman, Daniel S

2016-02-01

The prognostic implications of dyspnea and typical angina in patients referred for coronary CT angiography have not been examined. We examined features associated with incident mortality risk among individuals undergoing coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) presenting with dyspnea, typical angina, and neither of these symptoms. 1147 consecutive individuals without known CAD (mean 61 years, 61.6 %men) undergoing CCTA comprised the study population 132 with dyspnea, 218 with typical angina, and 797 without dyspnea or typical angina (reference group). Mortality risk in relation to dyspnea or typical angina was evaluated with multivariable Cox proportional hazards models compared to reference. In addition, the prognosis associated with dyspnea or typical angina was assessed among age matched subgroups. Patients with dyspnea had a greater prevalence of C70 % stenosis (p\\0.001) and coronary segments with plaque (p = 0.02) compared to the other two groups. During a follow-up of 3.1 years, 52 individuals died. By multivariable Cox models, compared to patients in reference group, dyspnea patients experienced higher mortality (HR 2.0, 95 % CI 1.0–4.0, p = 0.049) while typical angina patients did not (HR 1.1, 95 % CI 0.6–2.3, p = 0.76). In the matched group, the patients with dyspnea (HR 2.2, 95 % CI 1.1–4.3, p = 0.03) still had significantly reduced survival compared to the other two groups, while those with typical angina did not (HR 1.2, 95 % CI 0.6–2.6,p = 0.62). Dyspnea is associated with increased mortality ate compared to patients with typical angina and those with neither of these symptoms among patients undergoing CCTA.

Spatial working memory deficits in children at ages 3-4 who were low birth weight, preterm infants.

PubMed

Vicari, Stefano; Caravale, Barbara; Carlesimo, Giovanni Augusto; Casadei, Anna Maria; Allemand, Federico

2004-10-01

The aim of this study was to investigate attention and perceptual and spatial working memory abilities in preterm, low birth weight preschool children without evident brain disorders as determined by normal cerebral ultrasound findings and normal motor development. The authors evaluated 19 preterm and 19 typically developing children who were matched for IQ and chronological age. Results indicated that children born prematurely without major neurological deficits and with a normal cognitive level may have specific difficulty in sustained attention, visuospatial processing, and spatial working memory when evaluated at ages 3-4. This finding is relevant for understanding the qualitative aspects of cognitive development in preterm children and the neurobiological substrate underlying this development.

Eyewitness recall and suggestibility in individuals with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Collins, D; Henry, L

2016-12-01

Many criminal justice professionals perceive the eyewitness skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities to be weaker than those of typically developing (TD) individuals. Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common genetic causes of intellectual disabilities, yet there is no research addressing eyewitness skills in this population. This study examined the eyewitness recall and suggestibility of young people with DS. Young people with DS and mental age-matched TD children viewed a video of a non-violent petty crime and were subsequently asked to freely recall the event before being asked general and specific questions incorporating both misleading and non-leading prompts. Compared with mental age-matched TD individuals, young people with DS produced as much information, were just as accurate and were no more suggestible. The eyewitness memory skills of young people with DS are comparable to those of mental age-matched TD children. The implications of these findings for the forensic context and eyewitness memory are discussed. © 2016 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

There's that scary picture: attention bias to threatening scenes in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Dodd, Helen F; Porter, Melanie A

2011-01-01

There is increasing evidence that Williams syndrome (WS) is associated with elevated anxiety that is non-social in nature, including generalised anxiety and fears. To date very little research has examined the cognitive processes associated with this anxiety. In the present research, attentional bias for non-social threatening images in WS was examined using a dot-probe paradigm. Participants were 16 individuals with WS aged between 13 and 34 years and two groups of typically developing controls matched to the WS group on chronological age and attentional control ability, respectively. The WS group exhibited a significant attention bias towards threatening images. In contrast, no bias was found for group matched on attentional control and a slight bias away from threat was found in the chronological age matched group. The results are contrasted with recent findings suggesting that individuals with WS do not show an attention bias for threatening faces and discussed in relation to neuroimaging research showing elevated amygdala activation in response to threatening non-social scenes in WS. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder scan own-race faces differently from other-race faces.

PubMed

Yi, Li; Quinn, Paul C; Fan, Yuebo; Huang, Dan; Feng, Cong; Joseph, Lisa; Li, Jiao; Lee, Kang

2016-01-01

It has been well documented that people recognize and scan other-race faces differently from faces of their own race. The current study examined whether this cross-racial difference in face processing found in the typical population also exists in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants included 5- to 10-year-old children with ASD (n=29), typically developing (TD) children matched on chronological age (n=29), and TD children matched on nonverbal IQ (n=29). Children completed a face recognition task in which they were asked to memorize and recognize both own- and other-race faces while their eye movements were tracked. We found no recognition advantage for own-race faces relative to other-race faces in any of the three groups. However, eye-tracking results indicated that, similar to TD children, children with ASD exhibited a cross-racial face-scanning pattern: they looked at the eyes of other-race faces longer than at those of own-race faces, whereas they looked at the mouth of own-race faces longer than at that of other-race faces. The findings suggest that although children with ASD have difficulty with processing some aspects of faces, their ability to process face race information is relatively spared. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Research on vehicles and cargos matching model based on virtual logistics platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yufeng; Lu, Jiang; Su, Zhiyuan

2018-04-01

Highway less than truckload (LTL) transportation vehicles and cargos matching problem is a joint optimization problem of typical vehicle routing and loading, which is also a hot issue of operational research. This article based on the demand of virtual logistics platform, for the problem of the highway LTL transportation, the matching model of the idle vehicle and the transportation order is set up and the corresponding genetic algorithm is designed. Then the algorithm is implemented by Java. The simulation results show that the solution is satisfactory.

mmpdb: An Open-Source Matched Molecular Pair Platform for Large Multiproperty Data Sets.

PubMed

Dalke, Andrew; Hert, Jérôme; Kramer, Christian

2018-05-29

Matched molecular pair analysis (MMPA) enables the automated and systematic compilation of medicinal chemistry rules from compound/property data sets. Here we present mmpdb, an open-source matched molecular pair (MMP) platform to create, compile, store, retrieve, and use MMP rules. mmpdb is suitable for the large data sets typically found in pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies and provides new algorithms for fragment canonicalization and stereochemistry handling. The platform is written in Python and based on the RDKit toolkit. It is freely available from https://github.com/rdkit/mmpdb .

A Novel Real-Time Reference Key Frame Scan Matching Method

PubMed Central

Mohamed, Haytham; Moussa, Adel; Elhabiby, Mohamed; El-Sheimy, Naser; Sesay, Abu

2017-01-01

Unmanned aerial vehicles represent an effective technology for indoor search and rescue operations. Typically, most indoor missions’ environments would be unknown, unstructured, and/or dynamic. Navigation of UAVs in such environments is addressed by simultaneous localization and mapping approach using either local or global approaches. Both approaches suffer from accumulated errors and high processing time due to the iterative nature of the scan matching method. Moreover, point-to-point scan matching is prone to outlier association processes. This paper proposes a low-cost novel method for 2D real-time scan matching based on a reference key frame (RKF). RKF is a hybrid scan matching technique comprised of feature-to-feature and point-to-point approaches. This algorithm aims at mitigating errors accumulation using the key frame technique, which is inspired from video streaming broadcast process. The algorithm depends on the iterative closest point algorithm during the lack of linear features which is typically exhibited in unstructured environments. The algorithm switches back to the RKF once linear features are detected. To validate and evaluate the algorithm, the mapping performance and time consumption are compared with various algorithms in static and dynamic environments. The performance of the algorithm exhibits promising navigational, mapping results and very short computational time, that indicates the potential use of the new algorithm with real-time systems. PMID:28481285

Linguistic and pragmatic aspects of narration in Finnish typically developing children and children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Mäkinen, Leena; Loukusa, Soile; Laukkanen, Päivi; Leinonen, Eeva; Kunnari, Sari

2014-06-01

This study investigates narratives of Finnish children with specific language impairment (SLI) from linguistic and pragmatic perspectives, in order to get a comprehensive overview of these children's narrative abilities. Nineteen children with SLI (mean age 6;1 years) and 19 typically developing age-matched children participated in the study. Their picture-elicited narrations were analysed for linguistic productivity and complexity, grammatical and referential accuracy, event content, the use of mental state expressions and narrative comprehension. Children with SLI showed difficulties in every aspect of narration in comparison to their peers. Only one measure of productivity, the number of communication units, did not reach statistical significance. Not only was linguistic structure fragile but also pragmatic aspects of storytelling (referencing, event content, mental state expressions and inferencing) were demanding for children with SLI. Results suggest that pragmatic aspects of narration should be taken into account more often when assessing narrative abilities of children with SLI.

Facilitating complex shape drawing in Williams syndrome and typical development.

PubMed

Hudson, Kerry D; Farran, Emily K

2013-07-01

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) produce drawings that are disorganised, likely due to an inability to replicate numerous spatial relations between parts. This study attempted to circumvent these drawing deficits in WS when copying complex combinations of one, two and three shapes. Drawing decisions were reduced by introducing a number of facilitators, for example, by using distinct colours and including facilitatory cues on the response sheet. Overall, facilitation improved drawing in the WS group to a comparable level of accuracy as typically developing participants (matched for non-verbal ability). Drawing accuracy was greatest in both groups when planning demands (e.g. starting location, line lengths and changes in direction) were reduced by use of coloured figures and providing easily distinguished and clearly grouped facilitatory cues to form each shape. This study provides the first encouraging evidence to suggest that drawing of complex shapes in WS can be facilitated; individuals with WS might be receptive to remediation programmes for drawing and handwriting. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From action to interaction: exploring the contribution of body motion cues to social understanding in typical development and in autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Centelles, Laurie; Assaiante, Christine; Etchegoyhen, Katallin; Bouvard, Manuel; Schmitz, Christina

2013-05-01

Two studies investigated whether typically developing children (TD) and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were able to decide whether two characters were communicating or not on the basis of point-light displays. Point-lights portrayed actors engaged or not in a social interaction. In study 1, TD children (4-10 years old; n = 36) grasped social intentions from body language, with a notable improvement around 7/8. In study 2, children with ASD (6-12 years old; n = 12) could categorize the point-light displays at above-chance levels, but performed less efficiently, especially for the social interaction displays, than TD children (matched to chronological and non-verbal mental age, 6-12 years old; n = 24). An action representation deficit is discussed in relation to a social representation deficit and it is suggested that these deficits might be linked to altered maturational process of the mirror system in ASD.

Brain basis of phonological awareness for spoken language in children and its disruption in dyslexia.

PubMed

Kovelman, Ioulia; Norton, Elizabeth S; Christodoulou, Joanna A; Gaab, Nadine; Lieberman, Daniel A; Triantafyllou, Christina; Wolf, Maryanne; Whitfield-Gabrieli, Susan; Gabrieli, John D E

2012-04-01

Phonological awareness, knowledge that speech is composed of syllables and phonemes, is critical for learning to read. Phonological awareness precedes and predicts successful transition from language to literacy, and weakness in phonological awareness is a leading cause of dyslexia, but the brain basis of phonological awareness for spoken language in children is unknown. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates of phonological awareness using an auditory word-rhyming task in children who were typical readers or who had dyslexia (ages 7-13) and a younger group of kindergarteners (ages 5-6). Typically developing children, but not children with dyslexia, recruited left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) when making explicit phonological judgments. Kindergarteners, who were matched to the older children with dyslexia on standardized tests of phonological awareness, also recruited left DLPFC. Left DLPFC may play a critical role in the development of phonological awareness for spoken language critical for reading and in the etiology of dyslexia.

Spontaneous lexical alignment in children with an autistic spectrum disorder and their typically developing peers.

PubMed

Branigan, Holly P; Tosi, Alessia; Gillespie-Smith, Karri

2016-11-01

It is well established that adults converge on common referring expressions in dialogue, and that such lexical alignment is important for successful and rewarding communication. The authors show that children with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and chronological- and verbal-age-matched typically developing (TD) children also show spontaneous lexical alignment. In a card game, both groups tended to refer to an object using the same name as their partner had previously used for the same or a different token of the object. This tendency to align on a pragmatically conditioned aspect of language did not differ between ASD and TD groups, and was unaffected by verbal/chronological age, or (in the ASD group) Theory of Mind or social functioning. The authors suggest that lexical priming can lead to automatic lexical alignment in both ASD and TD children's dialogue. Their results further suggest that ASD children's conversational impairments do not involve an all-encompassing deficit in linguistic imitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

The state-of-the-art of cryogenic thermometry and signal conditioners and their potential for standardized space hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The possibility of standard low temperature detector(s) for use in upcoming cryogenically cooled satellite and Space Shuttle payloads were investigated. These payloads operate from .3 kelvin to 300 kelvin. Standard detectors were selected and matching signal conditioning equipment compatible with the selected detector, typical spacecraft voltages, typical spacecraft telemetry systems, and the radiation encountered by a typical Earth orbiting spacecraft. Work statements to better define and advance detector performance were presented.

Fundamental movement skills proficiency in children with developmental coordination disorder: does physical self-concept matter?

PubMed

Yu, Jie; Sit, Cindy H P; Capio, Catherine M; Burnett, Angus; Ha, Amy S C; Huang, Wendy Y J

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to (1) examine differences in fundamental movement skills (FMS) proficiency, physical self-concept, and physical activity in children with and without developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and (2) determine the association of FMS proficiency with physical self-concept while considering key confounding factors. Participants included 43 children with DCD and 87 age-matched typically developing (TD) children. FMS proficiency was assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development - second edition. Physical self-concept and physical activity were assessed using self-report questionnaires. A two-way (group by gender) ANCOVA was used to determine whether between-group differences existed in FMS proficiency, physical self-concept, and physical activity after controlling for age and BMI. Partial correlations and hierarchical multiple regression models were used to examine the relationship between FMS proficiency and physical self-concept. Compared with their TD peers, children with DCD displayed less proficiency in various components of FMS and viewed themselves as being less competent in physical coordination, sporting ability, and physical health. Physical coordination was a significant predictor of ability in object control skills. DCD status and gender were significant predictors of FMS proficiency. Future FMS interventions should target children with DCD and girls, and should emphasize improving object control skills proficiency and physical coordination. Children with DCD tend to have not only lower FMS proficiency than age-matched typically developing children but also lower physical self-concept. Self-perceptions of physical coordination by children with DCD are likely to be valuable contributors to development of object control skills. This may then help to develop their confidence in performing motor skills. Children with DCD need supportive programs that facilitate the development of object control skills. Efficacy of training programs may be improved if children experience a greater sense of control and success when performing object control skills.

Three-dimensional particle tracking in concave structures made by ultraviolet nanoimprint via total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and refractive-index-matching method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujinami, Taku; Kigami, Hiroshi; Unno, Noriyuki; Taniguchi, Jun; Satake, Shin-ichi

2018-06-01

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) is a promising method for measuring fluid flow close to a wall with nanoscale resolution in a process that is termed "multilayer nanoparticle image velocimetry" (MnPIV). TIRFM uses evanescent light that is generated on a substrate (typically a glass slide) by total internal reflection of light. Many researchers have previously studied x- y- z (3D) flows of water close to flat glass slides using MnPIV. On the other hand, a fluid flow close to a structured surface is also important. To measure flows of water near micro-patterns, we previously developed an MnPIV technique that uses a refractive-index-matching method. In previous study, the micropattern is made of a thermoplastic material with a refractive index that closely matches that of water. In this study, ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography was used for fabricating the appropriate micro-patterns because this technique can fabricate a pattern with a high resolution. As a result, we succeeded in performing MnPIV in water with a circular hole array pattern made by ultraviolet nanoimprint using a refractive-index-matching method. We believe that this technique will be helpful in elucidating fluid flows around microstructures.

Emergent Literacy in Thai Preschoolers: A Preliminary Study.

PubMed

Yampratoom, Ramorn; Aroonyadech, Nawarat; Ruangdaraganon, Nichara; Roongpraiwan, Rawiwan; Kositprapa, Jariya

To investigate emergent literacy skills, including phonological awareness when presented with an initial phoneme-matching task and letter knowledge when presented with a letter-naming task in Thai preschoolers, and to identify key factors associated with those skills. Four hundred twelve typically developing children in their final kindergarten year were enrolled in this study. Their emergent reading skills were measured by initial phoneme-matching and letter-naming tasks. Determinant variables, such as parents' education and teachers' perception, were collected by self-report questionnaires. The mean score of the initial phoneme-matching task was 4.5 (45% of a total of 10 scores). The mean score of the letter-naming task without a picture representing the target letter name was 30.2 (68.6% of a total of 44 scores), which increased to 38.8 (88.2% of a total of 44 scores) in the letter-naming task when a picture representing the target letter name was provided. Both initial phoneme-matching and letter-naming abilities were associated with the mother's education and household income. Letter-naming ability was also influenced by home reading activities and gender. This was a preliminary study into emergent literacy skills of Thai preschoolers. The findings supported the importance of focusing on phonological awareness and phonics, especially in the socioeconomic disadvantaged group.

Three-dimensional particle tracking in concave structures made by ultraviolet nanoimprint via total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and refractive-index-matching method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujinami, Taku; Kigami, Hiroshi; Unno, Noriyuki; Taniguchi, Jun; Satake, Shin-ichi

2018-03-01

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) is a promising method for measuring fluid flow close to a wall with nanoscale resolution in a process that is termed "multilayer nanoparticle image velocimetry" (MnPIV). TIRFM uses evanescent light that is generated on a substrate (typically a glass slide) by total internal reflection of light. Many researchers have previously studied x-y-z (3D) flows of water close to flat glass slides using MnPIV. On the other hand, a fluid flow close to a structured surface is also important. To measure flows of water near micro-patterns, we previously developed an MnPIV technique that uses a refractive-index-matching method. In previous study, the micropattern is made of a thermoplastic material with a refractive index that closely matches that of water. In this study, ultraviolet nanoimprint lithography was used for fabricating the appropriate micro-patterns because this technique can fabricate a pattern with a high resolution. As a result, we succeeded in performing MnPIV in water with a circular hole array pattern made by ultraviolet nanoimprint using a refractive-index-matching method. We believe that this technique will be helpful in elucidating fluid flows around microstructures.

Which are the best predictors of theory of mind delay in children with specific language impairment?

PubMed

Andrés-Roqueta, Clara; Adrian, Juan E; Clemente, Rosa A; Katsos, Napoleon

2013-01-01

The relationship between language and theory of mind (ToM) development in participants with specific language impairment (SLI) it is far from clear due to there were differences in study design and methodologies of previous studies. This research consisted of an in-depth investigation of ToM delay in children with SLI during the typical period of acquisition, and it studied whether linguistic or information-processing variables were the best predictors of this process. It also took into account whether there were differences in ToM competence due to the degree of pragmatic impairment within the SLI group. Thirty-one children with SLI (3;5-7;5 years old) and two control groups (age matched and language matched) were assessed with False Belief (FB) tasks, a wide battery of language measures and additional information-processing measures. The members of the SLI group were less competent than their age-matched peers at solving FB tasks, but they performed similarly to the language-matched group. Regression analysis showed that overall linguistic skills of children with SLI were the best predictor of ToM performance, and especially grammar abilities. No differences between SLI subgroups were found according to their pragmatic level. A delay in ToM development in children with SLI around the critical period of acquisition is confirmed more comprehensively, and it is shown to be more strongly related to their general linguistic level than to their age and other information-processing faculties. This finding stresses the importance of early educational and clinical programmes aimed at reducing deleterious effects in later development. © 2013 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Metastable Eutectic Equilibrium in Natural Environments: Recent Developments and Research Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rietmeijer, Fans J. M.; Nuth, Joseph A., II; Jablonska, Mariola; Karner, James M.

2000-01-01

Chemical ordering at metastable eutectics was recognized in non-equilibrium gas-to- solid condensation experiments to constrain 'silicate' dust formation in O-rich circumstellar environments. The predictable metastable eutectic behavior successfully predicted the observed ferromagnesiosilica, compositions of circumstellar dust, presolar and solar nebula grains in the matrix of the collected aggregate IDPs. Many of the experimentally determined metastable eutectic solids match the fundamental building blocks of common rock-forming layer silicates: this could have implications for the origin of Life. The physical conditions conducive to metastable eutectic behavior, i.e. high temperature and (ultra)fast quenching, lead to unique amorphous, typically nano- to micrometer-sized, materials. The new paradigm of metastable eutectic behavior opens the door to new and exciting research opportunities in uncovering the many implications of these unique amorphous and typically nano- to micrometer-sized, metastable eutectic materials.

Schizophrenia: a review of neuropharmacology.

PubMed

Lyne, J; Kelly, B D; O'Connor, W T

2004-01-01

The last few decades have seen significant advances in our understanding of the neurochemical basis of schizophrenia. To describe the neurotransmitter systems and nerve circuits implicated in schizophrenia; to compare the neuropharmacology of typical and atypical anti-psychotic agents; and to describe recent developments in the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia. Relevant pharmacological, neurophysiological and psychiatric literature was examined and reviewed. Schizophrenia is associated with abnormalities of multiple neurotransmitter systems, including dopamine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid and glutamate. Typical and atypical antipsychotic agents differ in their receptor-binding affinities, which are related to their differing side-effect profiles. Novel therapeutic strategies include normalisation of synaptic dopamine or serotonin levels, serotonin receptor antagonism and modulation of cerebral protein synthesis. The ideal treatment for schizophrenia may not be a single pharmacological agent but several agents that match the different expressions of the illness, in combination with psycho-social interventions.

Using Propensity Score Matching Methods to Improve Generalization from Randomized Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tipton, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

The main result of an experiment is typically an estimate of the average treatment effect (ATE) and its standard error. In most experiments, the number of covariates that may be moderators is large. One way this issue is typically skirted is by interpreting the ATE as the average effect for "some" population. Cornfield and Tukey (1956)…

Perceived emotion genuineness: normative ratings for popular facial expression stimuli and the development of perceived-as-genuine and perceived-as-fake sets.

PubMed

Dawel, Amy; Wright, Luke; Irons, Jessica; Dumbleton, Rachael; Palermo, Romina; O'Kearney, Richard; McKone, Elinor

2017-08-01

In everyday social interactions, people's facial expressions sometimes reflect genuine emotion (e.g., anger in response to a misbehaving child) and sometimes do not (e.g., smiling for a school photo). There is increasing theoretical interest in this distinction, but little is known about perceived emotion genuineness for existing facial expression databases. We present a new method for rating perceived genuineness using a neutral-midpoint scale (-7 = completely fake; 0 = don't know; +7 = completely genuine) that, unlike previous methods, provides data on both relative and absolute perceptions. Normative ratings from typically developing adults for five emotions (anger, disgust, fear, sadness, and happiness) provide three key contributions. First, the widely used Pictures of Facial Affect (PoFA; i.e., "the Ekman faces") and the Radboud Faces Database (RaFD) are typically perceived as not showing genuine emotion. Also, in the only published set for which the actual emotional states of the displayers are known (via self-report; the McLellan faces), percepts of emotion genuineness often do not match actual emotion genuineness. Second, we provide genuine/fake norms for 558 faces from several sources (PoFA, RaFD, KDEF, Gur, FacePlace, McLellan, News media), including a list of 143 stimuli that are event-elicited (rather than posed) and, congruently, perceived as reflecting genuine emotion. Third, using the norms we develop sets of perceived-as-genuine (from event-elicited sources) and perceived-as-fake (from posed sources) stimuli, matched on sex, viewpoint, eye-gaze direction, and rated intensity. We also outline the many types of research questions that these norms and stimulus sets could be used to answer.

Phonological short-term memory impairment and the word length effect in children with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Poloczek, Sebastian; Büttner, Gerhard; Hasselhorn, Marcus

2014-02-01

There is mounting evidence that children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) of nonspecific aetiology perform poorer on phonological short-term memory tasks than children matched for mental age indicating a structural deficit in a process contributing to short-term recall of verbal material. One explanation is that children with ID of nonspecific aetiology do not activate subvocal rehearsal to refresh degrading memory traces. However, existing research concerning this explanation is inconclusive since studies focussing on the word length effect (WLE) as indicator of rehearsal have revealed inconsistent results for samples with ID and because in several existing studies, it is unclear whether the WLE was caused by rehearsal or merely appeared during output of the responses. We assumed that in children with ID only output delays produce a small WLE while in typically developing 6- to 8-year-olds rehearsal and output contribute to the WLE. From this assumption we derived several predictions that were tested in an experiment including 34 children with mild or borderline ID and 34 typically developing children matched for mental age (MA). As predicted, results revealed a small but significant WLE for children with ID that was significantly smaller than the WLE in the control group. Additionally, for children with ID, a WLE was not found for the first word of each trial but the effect emerged only in later serial positions. The findings corroborate the notion that in children with ID subvocal rehearsal does not develop in line with their mental age and provide a potential explanation for the inconsistent results on the WLE in children with ID. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergent symbolic relations in speakers and nonspeakers.

PubMed

Brady, N C; McLean, L K

2000-01-01

Eight adults with developmental disabilities and four typically developing preschool children participated in an experiment studying emergent stimulus-stimulus relations after match-to-sample instruction. Participants were taught to match lexigrams (arbitrary graphic stimuli) to objects. Each object was functionally related to another object in the teaching set. For example, brush and comb were members of the teaching set. Most participants were able to select objects when the objects were named in pretests. Postteaching probes assessed emergent relations between spoken names and lexigrams. In addition, we included probes to detect emergent relations between related lexigrams. That is, would participants select the lexigram for comb when the experimenter displayed the lexigram for brush (without explicit teaching)? Two preschool children and five adults with developmental disabilities showed emergent relations between lexigrams and spoken words. However, only two preschool children showed the emergent lexigram to related lexigram relations.

Order of stimulus presentation influences children's acquisition in receptive identification tasks.

PubMed

Petursdottir, Anna Ingeborg; Aguilar, Gabriella

2016-03-01

Receptive identification is usually taught in matching-to-sample format, which entails the presentation of an auditory sample stimulus and several visual comparison stimuli in each trial. Conflicting recommendations exist regarding the order of stimulus presentation in matching-to-sample trials. The purpose of this study was to compare acquisition in receptive identification tasks under 2 conditions: when the sample was presented before the comparisons (sample first) and when the comparisons were presented before the sample (comparison first). Participants included 4 typically developing kindergarten-age boys. Stimuli, which included birds and flags, were presented on a computer screen. Acquisition in the 2 conditions was compared in an adapted alternating-treatments design combined with a multiple baseline design across stimulus sets. All participants took fewer trials to meet the mastery criterion in the sample-first condition than in the comparison-first condition. © 2015 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Evaluation of goal kicking performance in international rugby union matches.

PubMed

Quarrie, Kenneth L; Hopkins, Will G

2015-03-01

Goal kicking is an important element in rugby but has been the subject of minimal research. To develop and apply a method to describe the on-field pattern of goal-kicking and rank the goal kicking performance of players in international rugby union matches. Longitudinal observational study. A generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze goal-kicking performance in a sample of 582 international rugby matches played from 2002 to 2011. The model adjusted for kick distance, kick angle, a rating of the importance of each kick, and venue-related conditions. Overall, 72% of the 6769 kick attempts were successful. Forty-five percent of points scored during the matches resulted from goal kicks, and in 5.7% of the matches the result of the match hinged on the outcome of a kick attempt. There was an extremely large decrease in success with increasing distance (odds ratio for two SD distance 0.06, 90% confidence interval 0.05-0.07) and a small decrease with increasingly acute angle away from the mid-line of the goal posts (odds ratio for 2 SD angle, 0.44, 0.39-0.49). Differences between players were typically small (odds ratio for 2 between-player SD 0.53, 0.45-0.65). The generalized linear mixed model with its random-effect solutions provides a tool for ranking the performance of goal kickers in rugby. This modelling approach could be applied to other performance indicators in rugby and in other sports in which discrete outcomes are measured repeatedly on players or teams. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The profile of social functioning in children with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Næss, Kari-Anne B; Nygaard, Egil; Ostad, Johanne; Dolva, Anne-Stine; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas

2017-06-01

Practitioners and researchers have asserted for decades that social functioning is a strength in children with Down syndrome (DS). Nevertheless, some studies have concluded that children with DS may be at greater risk of impaired social functioning compared to typically developing controls. This cross-sectional study explores the profile of social functioning (social capabilities and social problems) in six-year-old children with DS, compares it with that of typically developing children and reveals possible differences in predictors between groups. Parental reports and clinical tests were utilized. The children with DS had generally weaker social capabilities compared to nonverbal mental age-matched controls, but no significant differences were found for social interactive play, community functioning and prosocial behaviour. No significant differences in predictors for social capabilities between the groups were found. The children with DS had more social problems than the typically developing controls with a similar chronological age and those with a similar nonverbal mental age, but no significant differences in emotional symptoms were found between the children with DS and either comparison group. Vocabulary was a more important predictor of social problems in the children with DS than in the typically developing control groups. Interventions for children with DS should strongly focus on integrating vocabulary skills and social functioning starting at an early age. Implications for Rehabilitation Children with Down syndrome need help and support in social functioning. Systematic training to optimize social capabilities and to prevent social problems should be prioritized. Structured and explicit learning of words important for social interaction with peers and for conflict solutions should be emphasized. Integrated interventions focusing on social functioning and vocabulary should begin in preschool to prepare children for participation in mainstream education.

The Neural Substrates of Cognitive Control Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Solomon, Marjorie; Ozonoff, Sally; Ursu, Stefan; Ravizza, Susan; Cummings, Neil; Ly, Stanford; Carter, Cameron

2009-01-01

Executive functions deficits are among the most frequently reported symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), however, there have been few functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that investigate the neural substrates of executive functions deficits in ASDs, and only one in adolescents. The current study examined cognitive control –the ability to maintain task context online to support adaptive functioning in the face of response competition—in 22 adolescents aged 12–18 with autism spectrum disorders and 23 age, gender, and IQ matched typically developing subjects. During the cue phase of the task, where subjects must maintain information online to overcome a prepotent response tendency, typically developing subjects recruited significantly more anterior frontal (BA 10), parietal (BA 7, 40), and occipital regions (BA 18) for high control trials (25% of trials) versus low control trials (75% of trials). Both groups showed similar activation for low control cues, however the ASD group exhibited significantly less activation for high control cues. Functional connectivity analysis using time series correlation, factor analysis, and beta series correlation methods provided convergent evidence that the ASD group exhibited lower levels of functional connectivity and less network integration between frontal, parietal, and occipital regions. In the typically developing group, fronto-parietal connectivity was related to lower error rates on high control trials. In the autism group, reduced fronto-parietal connectivity was related to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. PMID:19410583

Reduced chromatic discrimination in children with autism spectrum disorders.

PubMed

Franklin, Anna; Sowden, Paul; Notman, Leslie; Gonzalez-Dixon, Melissa; West, Dorotea; Alexander, Iona; Loveday, Stephen; White, Alex

2010-01-01

Atypical perception in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is well documented (Dakin & Frith, 2005). However, relatively little is known about colour perception in ASD. Less accurate performance on certain colour tasks has led some to argue that chromatic discrimination is reduced in ASD relative to typical development (Franklin, Sowden, Burley, Notman & Alder, 2008). The current investigation assessed chromatic discrimination in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typically developing (TD) children matched on age and non-verbal cognitive ability, using the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test (Experiment 1) and a threshold discrimination task (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, more errors on the chromatic discrimination task were made by the HFA than the TD group. Comparison with test norms revealed that performance for the HFA group was at a similar level to typically developing children around 3 years younger. In Experiment 2, chromatic thresholds were elevated for the HFA group relative to the TD group. For both experiments, reduced chromatic discrimination in ASD was due to a general reduction in chromatic sensitivity rather than a specific difficulty with either red-green or blue-yellow subsystems of colour vision. The absence of group differences on control tasks ruled out an explanation in terms of general task ability rather than chromatic sensitivity. Theories to account for the reduction in chromatic discrimination in HFA are discussed, and findings are related to cortical models of perceptual processing in ASD.

Imitation of body postures and hand movements in children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Marton, Klara

2009-01-01

Within the domain-general theory of language impairment, this study examined body posture and hand movement imitation in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and in their age-matched peers. Participants included 40 children with SLI (5 years 3 months to 6 years 10 months of age) and 40 children with typical language development (5 years 3 months to 6 years 7 months of age). Five tests were used to examine imitation and its underlying cognitive and motor skills such as kinesthesia, working memory, and gross motor coordination. It was hypothesized that children with SLI show a weakness in imitation of body postures and that this deficit is not equally influenced by the underlying cognitive and motor skills. There was a group effect in each cognitive and motor task, but only gross motor coordination proved to be a strong predictor of imitation in children with SLI. In contrast, hand movement imitation was strongly predicted by performance in the Kinesthesia task in typically developing children. Thus, the findings show not only that children with SLI performed more poorly on the imitation tasks than their typically developing peers but also that the groups' performances showed qualitative differences. The results of the current study provide additional support to the view that the weaknesses in children with SLI are not limited to the verbal domain.

White Matter Integrity and Pictorial Reasoning in High-Functioning Children with Autism

PubMed Central

Sahyoun, Chérif P.; Belliveau, John W.; Mody, Maria

2010-01-01

The current study investigated the neurobiological role of white matter in visuospatial versus linguistic processing abilities in autism using diffusion tensor imaging. We examined differences in white matter integrity between high-functioning children with autism (HFA) and typically developing controls (CTRL), in relation to the groups’ response times (RT) on a pictorial reasoning task under three conditions: visuospatial, V, semantic, S, and V+S, a hybrid condition allowing language use to facilitate visuospatial transformations. Diffusion-weighted images were collected from HFA and CTRL participants, matched on age and IQ, and significance maps were computed for group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) and in RT-FA association for each condition. Typically developing children showed increased FA within frontal white matter and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). HFA showed increased FA within peripheral white matter, including the ventral temporal lobe. Additionally, RT-FA relationships in the semantic condition (S) implicated white matter near the STG and in the SLF within the temporal and frontal lobes to a greater extent in CTRL. Performance in visuospatial reasoning (V, V+S), in comparison, was related to peripheral parietal and superior precentral white matter in HFA, but to the SLF, callosal, and frontal white matter in CTRL. Our results appear to support a preferential use of linguistically-mediated pathways in reasoning by typically-developing children, whereas autistic cognition may rely more on visuospatial processing networks. PMID:20542370

A descriptive study of lexical organisation in bilingual children with language impairment: Developmental changes.

PubMed

Holmström, Ketty; Salameh, Eva-Kristina; Nettelbladt, Ulrika; Dahlgren Sandberg, Annika

2016-04-01

This study aimed to describe the development of Arabic and Swedish lexical organisation in bilingual children with language impairment (BLI). Lexical organisation was assessed through word associations in 10 BLI and 10 bilingual children with typical development (BTD), aged 6;2-8;0 years, matched for age and gender. The participants were assessed twice, with a 1-year interval. Word associations were coded as paradigmatic, syntagmatic, phonological, other and no answer. This study reports analyses of the semantically-related syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations. Using repeated measures ANOVA, main and interaction effects of Group, Time and Language were examined for paradigmatic and syntagmatic associations separately. The interaction between Group and Time was significant for both associations. The BLI group increased syntagmatic associations from time 1 to time 2, while the BTD group increased paradigmatic associations. Results showed a significant main effect of Language for both types of associations, with better performance in Swedish. Significant Group by Language interactions resulted from lower Arabic than Swedish syntagmatic and paradigmatic scores for the BLI and BTD groups, respectively. Differing developmental trajectories indicate that bilingual children with LI develop lexical organisation at a slower pace than bilingual peers with typical language development.

Player Load, Acceleration, and Deceleration During Forty-Five Competitive Matches of Elite Soccer.

PubMed

Dalen, Terje; Ingebrigtsen, Jørgen; Ettema, Gertjan; Hjelde, Geir Havard; Wisløff, Ulrik

2016-02-01

The use of time-motion analysis has advanced our understanding of position-specific work rate profiles and the physical requirements of soccer players. Still, many of the typical soccer activities can be neglected, as these systems only examine activities measured by distance and speed variables. This study used triaxial accelerometer and time-motion analysis to obtain new knowledge about elite soccer players' match load. Furthermore, we determined acceleration/deceleration profiles of elite soccer players and their contribution to the players' match load. The data set includes every domestic home game (n = 45) covering 3 full seasons (2009, 2010, and 2011) for the participating team (Rosenborg FC), and includes 8 central defenders (n = 68), 9 fullbacks (n = 83), 9 central midfielders (n = 70), 7 wide midfielders (n = 39), and 5 attackers (A, n = 50). A novel finding was that accelerations contributed to 7-10% of the total player load for all player positions, whereas decelerations contributed to 5-7%. Furthermore, the results indicate that other activities besides the high-intensity movements contribute significantly to the players' total match workload. Therefore, motion analysis alone may underestimate player load because many high-intensity actions are without a change in location at the pitch or they are classified as low-speed activity according to current standards. This new knowledge may help coaches to better understand the different ways players achieve match load and could be used in developing individualized programs that better meet the "positional physical demands" in elite soccer.

Executive abilities in children with congenital visual impairment in mid-childhood.

PubMed

Bathelt, Joe; de Haan, Michelle; Salt, Alison; Dale, Naomi Jane

2018-02-01

The role of vision and vision deprivation in the development of executive function (EF) abilities in childhood is little understood; aspects of EF such as initiative, attention orienting, inhibition, planning and performance monitoring are often measured through visual tasks. Studying the development and integrity of EF abilities in children with congenital visual impairment (VI) may provide important insights into the development of EF and also its possible relationship with vision and non-visual senses. The current study investigates non-visual EF abilities in 18 school-age children of average verbal intelligence with VI of differing levels of severity arising from congenital disorders affecting the eye, retina, or anterior optic nerve. Standard auditory neuropsychological assessments of sustained and divided attention, phonemic, semantic and switching verbal fluency, verbal working memory, and ratings of everyday executive abilities by parents were undertaken. Executive skills were compared to age-matched typically-sighted (TS) typically-developing children and across levels of vision (mild to moderate VI [MVI] or severe to profound VI [SPVI]). The results do not indicate significant differences or deficits on direct assessments of verbal and auditory EF between the groups. However, parent ratings suggest difficulties with everyday executive abilities, with the greatest difficulties in those with SPVI. The findings are discussed as possibly reflecting increased demands of behavioral executive skills for children with VI in everyday situations despite auditory and verbal EF abilities in the typical range for their age. These findings have potential implications for clinical and educational practices.

The development of individuation in autism

PubMed Central

O'Hearn, Kirsten; Franconeri, Steven; Wright, Catherine; Minshew, Nancy; Luna, Beatriz

2012-01-01

Evidence suggests that people with autism use holistic information differently than typical adults. The current studies examine this possibility by investigating how core visual processes that contribute to holistic processing – individuation and element grouping – develop in participants with autism and typically developing (TD) participants matched for age, IQ and gender. Individuation refers to the ability to `see' up to 4 elements simultaneously; grouping these elements can change the number of elements that are rapidly apprehended. We examined these core processes using two well-established paradigms, rapid enumeration and multiple object tracking (MOT). In both tasks, a performance limit of about 4 elements in adulthood is thought to reflect individuation capacity. Participants with autism has a smaller individuation capacity than TD controls, regardless of whether they were enumerating static elements or tracking moving ones. To manipulate holistic information and individuation performance, we grouped the elements into a design or had elements move together. Participants with autism were affected to a similar degree as TD participants by the holistic information, whether the manipulation helped or hurt performance, consistent with evidence that some types of gestalt/grouping information are processed typically in autism. There was substantial development in autism from childhood to adolescence, but not from adolescence to adulthood, a pattern distinct from TD participants. These results provide important information about core visual processes in autism, as well as insight into the architecture of vision (e.g., individuation appears distinct from visual strengths in autism, such as visual search, despite similarities). PMID:22963232

Age-Related Brain Activation Changes during Rule Repetition in Word-Matching.

PubMed

Methqal, Ikram; Pinsard, Basile; Amiri, Mahnoush; Wilson, Maximiliano A; Monchi, Oury; Provost, Jean-Sebastien; Joanette, Yves

2017-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the age-related brain activation changes during a word-matching semantic-category-based task, which required either repeating or changing a semantic rule to be applied. In order to do so, a word-semantic rule-based task was adapted from the Wisconsin Sorting Card Test, involving the repeated feedback-driven selection of given pairs of words based on semantic category-based criteria. Method: Forty healthy adults (20 younger and 20 older) performed a word-matching task while undergoing a fMRI scan in which they were required to pair a target word with another word from a group of three words. The required pairing is based on three word-pair semantic rules which correspond to different levels of semantic control demands: functional relatedness, moderately typical-relatedness (which were considered as low control demands), and atypical-relatedness (high control demands). The sorting period consisted of a continuous execution of the same sorting rule and an inferred trial-by-trial feedback was given. Results: Behavioral performance revealed increases in response times and decreases of correct responses according to the level of semantic control demands (functional vs. typical vs. atypical) for both age groups (younger and older) reflecting graded differences in the repetition of the application of a given semantic rule. Neuroimaging findings of significant brain activation showed two main results: (1) Greater task-related activation changes for the repetition of the application of atypical rules relative to typical and functional rules, and (2) Changes (older > younger) in the inferior prefrontal regions for functional rules and more extensive and bilateral activations for typical and atypical rules. Regarding the inter-semantic rules comparison, only task-related activation differences were observed for functional > typical (e.g., inferior parietal and temporal regions bilaterally) and atypical > typical (e.g., prefrontal, inferior parietal, posterior temporal, and subcortical regions). Conclusion: These results suggest that healthy cognitive aging relies on the adaptive changes of inferior prefrontal resources involved in the repetitive execution of semantic rules, thus reflecting graded differences in support of task demands.

Recall memory in children with Down syndrome and typically developing peers matched on developmental age.

PubMed

Milojevich, H; Lukowski, A

2016-01-01

Whereas research has indicated that children with Down syndrome (DS) imitate demonstrated actions over short delays, it is presently unknown whether children with DS recall information over lengthy delays at levels comparable with typically developing (TD) children matched on developmental age. In the present research, 10 children with DS and 10 TD children participated in a two-session study to examine basic processes associated with hippocampus-dependent recall memory. At the first session, the researcher demonstrated how to complete a three-step action sequence with novel stimuli; immediate imitation was permitted as an index of encoding. At the second session, recall memory was assessed for previously modelled sequences; children were also presented with two novel three-step control sequences. The results indicated that group differences were not apparent in the encoding of the events or the forgetting of information over time. Group differences were also not observed when considering the recall of individual target actions at the 1-month delay, although TD children produced more target actions overall at the second session relative to children with DS. Group differences were found when considering memory for temporal order information, such that TD children evidenced recall relative to novel control sequences, whereas children with DS did not. These findings suggest that children with DS may have difficulty with mnemonic processes associated with consolidation/storage and/or retrieval processes relative to TD children. © 2015 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predictive gaze during observation of irrational actions in adults with autism spectrum conditions.

PubMed

Marsh, L E; Pearson, A; Ropar, D; Hamilton, A F de C

2015-01-01

Understanding irrational actions may require the observer to make mental state inferences about why an action was performed. Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have well documented difficulties with mentalizing; however, the degree to which rationality understanding is impaired in autism is not yet clear. The present study uses eye-tracking to measure online understanding of action rationality in individuals with ASC. Twenty adults with ASC and 20 typically developing controls, matched for age and IQ watched movies of rational and irrational actions while their eye movements were recorded. Measures of looking time, scan path and saccade latency were calculated. Results from looking time and scan path analyses demonstrate that participants with ASC have reduced visual attention to salient action features such as the action goal and the hand performing the action, regardless of action rationality. However, when participants with ASC do attend to these features, they are able to make anticipatory goal saccades as quickly as typically developing controls. Taken together these results indicate that individuals with autism have reduced attention to observed actions, but when attention is maintained, goal prediction is typical. We conclude that the basic mechanisms of action understanding are intact in individuals with ASC although there may be impairment in the top-down, social modulation of eye movements.

Applying an Integrative Framework of Executive Function to Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Plante, Elena; Doubleday, Kevin

2017-01-01

Purpose The first goal of this research was to compare verbal and nonverbal executive function abilities between preschoolers with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The second goal was to assess the group differences on 4 executive function components in order to determine if the components may be hierarchically related as suggested within a developmental integrative framework of executive function. Method This study included 26 4- and 5-year-olds diagnosed with SLI and 26 typically developing age- and sex-matched peers. Participants were tested on verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention, working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Results The SLI group performed worse compared with typically developing children on both verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention and working memory, the verbal inhibition task, and the nonverbal shifting task. Comparisons of standardized group differences between executive function measures revealed a linear increase with the following order: working memory, inhibition, shifting, and sustained selective attention. Conclusion The pattern of results suggests that preschoolers with SLI have deficits in executive functioning compared with typical peers, and deficits are not limited to verbal tasks. A significant linear relationship between group differences across executive function components supports the possibility of a hierarchical relationship between executive function skills. PMID:28724132

Development of Grammatical Accuracy in English-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants: A Longitudinal Study

PubMed Central

Spencer, Linda J.

2017-01-01

Purpose We sought to evaluate the development of grammatical accuracy in English-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs) over a 3-year span. Method Ten children who received CIs before age 30 months participated in this study at 3, 4, and 5 years postimplantation. For the purpose of comparison, 10 children each at ages 3, 4, and 5 years with typical hearing were included as well. All children participated in a story-retell task. We computed percent grammatical communication units (PGCU) in the task. Results Children with CIs showed significant improvement in PGCU over the 3-year span. However, they produced lower PGCU than children with typical hearing who had matched hearing age at 4 and 5 years postimplantation. At the individual level, some children with CIs were able to produce PGCU comparable to children with typical hearing as early as 3 years after implantation. Better speech-perception skills at earlier time points were associated with higher PGCU at later time points. Moreover, children with and without CIs showed similar rankings in the types of grammatical errors. Conclusion Despite having auditory-perceptual and information-processing constraints, children who received CIs before age 30 months were able to produce grammatical sentences, albeit with a delayed pattern. PMID:28384729

Typicality effects in artificial categories: is there a hemisphere difference?

PubMed

Richards, L G; Chiarello, C

1990-07-01

In category classification tasks, typicality effects are usually found: accuracy and reaction time depend upon distance from a prototype. In this study, subjects learned either verbal or nonverbal dot pattern categories, followed by a lateralized classification task. Comparable typicality effects were found in both reaction time and accuracy across visual fields for both verbal and nonverbal categories. Both hemispheres appeared to use a similarity-to-prototype matching strategy in classification. This indicates that merely having a verbal label does not differentiate classification in the two hemispheres.

Specific language impairment in language-minority children from low-income families.

PubMed

Engel de Abreu, Pascale M J; Cruz-Santos, Anabela; Puglisi, Marina L

2014-11-01

Recent evidence suggests that specific language impairment (SLI) might be secondary to general cognitive processing limitations in the domain of executive functioning. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on monolingual children with SLI and offers little evidence-based guidance on executive functioning in bilingual children with SLI. Studying bilinguals with SLI is important, especially in the light of increasing evidence that bilingualism can bring advantages in certain domains of executive functioning. To determine whether executive functioning represents an area of difficulty for bilingual language-minority children with SLI and, if so, which specific executive processes are affected. This cross-cultural research was conducted with bilingual children from Luxembourg and monolingual children from Portugal who all had Portuguese as their first language. The data from 81 eight-year-olds from the following three groups were analysed: (1) 15 Portuguese-Luxembourgish bilinguals from Luxembourg with an SLI diagnosis; (2) 33 typically developing Portuguese-Luxembourgish bilinguals from Luxembourg; and (3) 33 typically developing Portuguese-speaking monolinguals from Portugal. Groups were matched on first language, ethnicity, chronological age and socioeconomic status, and they did not differ in nonverbal intelligence. Children completed a battery of tests tapping: expressive and receptive vocabulary, syntactic comprehension, verbal and visuospatial working memory, selective attention and interference suppression. The bilingual SLI group performed equally well compared with their typically developing peers on measures of visuospatial working memory, but had lower scores than both control groups on tasks of verbal working memory. On measures of selective attention and interference suppression, typically developing children who were bilingual outperformed their monolingual counterparts. For selective attention, performance of the bilingual SLI group did not differ significantly from the controls. For interference suppression the bilingual SLI group performed significantly less well than typically developing bilinguals but not monolinguals. This research provides further support to the position that SLI is not a language-specific disorder. The study indicates that although bilingual children with SLI do not demonstrate the same advantages in selective attention and interference suppression as typically developing bilinguals, they do not lag behind typically developing monolinguals in these domains of executive functioning. This finding raises the possibility that bilingualism might represent a protective factor against some of the cognitive limitations that are associated with SLI in monolinguals. © 2014 The Authors International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

Path similarity skeleton graph matching.

PubMed

Bai, Xiang; Latecki, Longin Jan

2008-07-01

This paper presents a novel framework to for shape recognition based on object silhouettes. The main idea is to match skeleton graphs by comparing the shortest paths between skeleton endpoints. In contrast to typical tree or graph matching methods, we completely ignore the topological graph structure. Our approach is motivated by the fact that visually similar skeleton graphs may have completely different topological structures. The proposed comparison of shortest paths between endpoints of skeleton graphs yields correct matching results in such cases. The skeletons are pruned by contour partitioning with Discrete Curve Evolution, which implies that the endpoints of skeleton branches correspond to visual parts of the objects. The experimental results demonstrate that our method is able to produce correct results in the presence of articulations, stretching, and occlusion.

Looking around houses: attention to a model when drawing complex shapes in Williams syndrome and typical development.

PubMed

Hudson, Kerry D; Farran, Emily K

2013-09-01

Drawings by individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) typically lack cohesion. The popular hypothesis is that this is a result of excessive focus on local-level detail at the expense of global configuration. In this study, we explored a novel hypothesis that inadequate attention might underpin drawing in WS. WS and typically developing (TD) non-verbal ability matched groups copied and traced a house figure comprised of geometric shapes. The house was presented on a computer screen for 5-s periods and participants pressed a key to re-view the model. Frequency of key-presses indexed the looks to the model. The order that elements were replicated was recorded to assess hierarchisation of elements. If a lack of attention to the model explained poor drawing performance, we expected participants with WS to look less frequently to the model than TD children when copying. If a local-processing preference underpins drawing in WS, more local than global elements would be produced. Results supported the first, but not second hypothesis. The WS group looked to the model infrequently, but global, not local, parts were drawn first, scaffolding local-level details. Both groups adopted a similar order of drawing and tracing of parts, suggesting typical, although delayed strategy-use in the WS group. Additionally both groups drew larger elements of the model before smaller elements, suggested a size-bias when drawing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Audio-visual speech perception in infants and toddlers with Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and Williams syndrome.

PubMed

D'Souza, Dean; D'Souza, Hana; Johnson, Mark H; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

2016-08-01

Typically-developing (TD) infants can construct unified cross-modal percepts, such as a speaking face, by integrating auditory-visual (AV) information. This skill is a key building block upon which higher-level skills, such as word learning, are built. Because word learning is seriously delayed in most children with neurodevelopmental disorders, we assessed the hypothesis that this delay partly results from a deficit in integrating AV speech cues. AV speech integration has rarely been investigated in neurodevelopmental disorders, and never previously in infants. We probed for the McGurk effect, which occurs when the auditory component of one sound (/ba/) is paired with the visual component of another sound (/ga/), leading to the perception of an illusory third sound (/da/ or /tha/). We measured AV integration in 95 infants/toddlers with Down, fragile X, or Williams syndrome, whom we matched on Chronological and Mental Age to 25 TD infants. We also assessed a more basic AV perceptual ability: sensitivity to matching vs. mismatching AV speech stimuli. Infants with Williams syndrome failed to demonstrate a McGurk effect, indicating poor AV speech integration. Moreover, while the TD children discriminated between matching and mismatching AV stimuli, none of the other groups did, hinting at a basic deficit or delay in AV speech processing, which is likely to constrain subsequent language development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metastable Eutectic Equilibrium in Natural Environments: Recent Development and Research Opportunities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rietmeijer, Frans J. M.; Nuth, Joseph A., III; Jablonska, Mariola; Karner, James M.

2000-01-01

Chemical ordering at metastable eutectics was recognized in non-equilibrium gas-to- solid condensation experiments to constrain 'silicate' dust formation in O-rich circumstellar environments. The predictable metastable eutectic behavior successfully predicted the observed ferromagnesiosilica compositions of circumstellar dust presolar and solar nebula grains in the matrix of the collected aggregate IDPs (Interplanetary Dust Particles). Many of the experimentally determined metastable eutectic solids match the fundamental building blocks of common rock-forming layer silicates: this could have implications for the origin of Life. The physical conditions conducive to metastable eutectic behavior, i.e. high temperature and (ultra) fast quenching, lead to unique amorphous, typically nano- to micrometer-sized, materials. The new paradigm of metastable eutectic behavior opens the door to new and exciting research opportunities in uncovering the many implications of these unique amorphous, and typically nano-to micrometer-sized, metastable eutectic materials.

Atypical Categorization in Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Church, Barbara A.; Krauss, Maria S.; Lopata, Christopher; Toomey, Jennifer A.; Thomeer, Marcus L.; Coutinho, Mariana V.; Volker, Martin A.; Mercado, Eduardo

2010-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder process many perceptual and social events differently from typically developing children, suggesting that they may also form and recognize categories differently. We used a dot pattern categorization task and prototype comparison modeling to compare categorical processing in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorder and matched typical controls. We were interested in whether there were differences in how children with autism use average similarity information about a category to make decisions. During testing, the group with autism spectrum disorder endorsed prototypes less and was seemingly less sensitive to differences between to-be-categorized items and the prototype. The findings suggest that individuals with high functioning autism spectrum disorder are less likely to use overall average similarity when forming categories or making categorical decisions. Such differences in category formation and use may negatively impact processing of socially relevant information, such as facial expressions. PMID:21169581

The role of morphological awareness in reading comprehension among typical and learning disabled native Arabic speakers.

PubMed

Mahfoudhi, Abdessatar; Elbeheri, Gad; Al-Rashidi, Mousa; Everatt, John

2010-01-01

This work examines the role of morphological awareness in contrast to phonological processing in reading comprehension amongst two groups of native Arabic children: a group with learning disabilities (LD) and a mainstream group who were matched to the LD group in age or reading level. Measures of reading comprehension fluency, phonological skills, and morphological ability were given to both groups in addition to tests of nonverbal ability. For the mainstream children, unique variability in comprehension was predicted by the morphological measures over that of the measures of phonological skills and general nonverbal ability. In contrast, for the LD data, variability in comprehension was not predicted by morphological ability even though the children with LD performed the morphology task as well as their typically developing peers did. These findings are discussed in terms of theories of reading acquisition across languages as well as recommendations for literacy teaching and LD intervention in Arabic.

In Pursuit of Neurophenotypes: The Consequences of Having Autism and a Big Brain

PubMed Central

Amaral, David G.; Li, Deana; Libero, Lauren; Solomon, Marjorie; Van de Water, Judy; Mastergeorge, Ann; Naigles, Letitia; Rogers, Sally; Nordahl, Christine Wu

2017-01-01

A consensus has emerged that despite common core features, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has multiple etiologies and various genetic and biological characteristics. The fact that there are likely to be subtypes of ASD has complicated attempts to develop effective therapies. The UC Davis MIND Institute Autism Phenome Project is a longitudinal, multidisciplinary analysis of children with autism and age-matched typically developing controls; nearly 400 families are participating in this study. The overarching goal is to gather sufficient biological, medical, and behavioral data to allow definition of clinically meaningful subtypes of ASD. One reasonable hypothesis is that different subtypes of autism will demonstrate different patterns of altered brain organization or development i.e., different neurophenotypes. In this Commentary, we discuss one neurophenotype that is defined by megalencephaly, or having brain size that is large and disproportionate to body size. We have found that 15% of the boys with autism demonstrate this neurophenotype, though it is far less common in girls. We review behavioral and medical characteristics of the large-brained group of boys with autism in comparison to those with typically sized brains. While brain size in typically developing individuals is positively correlated with cognitive function, the children with autism and larger brains have more severe disabilities and poorer prognosis. This research indicates that phenotyping in autism, like genotyping, requires a very substantial cohort of subjects. Moreover, since brain and behavior relationships may emerge at different times during development, this effort highlights the need for longitudinal analyses to carry out meaningful phenotyping. PMID:28239961

How convincing is a matching Y-chromosome profile?

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The introduction of forensic autosomal DNA profiles was controversial, but the problems were successfully addressed, and DNA profiling has gone on to revolutionise forensic science. Y-chromosome profiles are valuable when there is a mixture of male-source and female-source DNA, and interest centres on the identity of the male source(s) of the DNA. The problem of evaluating evidential weight is even more challenging for Y profiles than for autosomal profiles. Numerous approaches have been proposed, but they fail to deal adequately with the fact that men with matching Y-profiles are related in extended patrilineal clans, many of which may not be represented in available databases. The higher mutation rates of modern profiling kits have led to increased discriminatory power but they have also exacerbated the problem of fairly conveying evidential value. Because the relevant population is difficult to define, yet the number of matching relatives is fixed as population size varies, it is typically infeasible to derive population-based match probabilities relevant to a specific crime. We propose a conceptually simple solution, based on a simulation model and software to approximate the distribution of the number of males with a matching Y profile. We show that this distribution is robust to different values for the variance in reproductive success and the population growth rate. We also use importance sampling reweighting to derive the distribution of the number of matching males conditional on a database frequency, finding that this conditioning typically has only a modest impact. We illustrate the use of our approach to quantify the value of Y profile evidence for a court in a way that is both scientifically valid and easily comprehensible by a judge or juror. PMID:29099833

Characterization of Inductive loop coupling in a Cyclotron Dee Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, Lewis

Many of today's low to medium-energy cyclotrons apply RF power to the resonator structure (the dees) by inductive loop coupling through a feed-line driven by an RF transmitter employing a triode or tetrode power tube. The transmitter's output network transforms the tube's optimum load line (typically a few thousand ohms) down to Z0, typically 50 ohms. But the load-line is not a physical resistance, so one would not expect to see 50 ohms when looking back toward the transmitter. Moreover, if both the resonator's input and the transmitter's output are matched to Z0, then the coupled or working Q of the resonator is reduced to half that of the uncoupled Q, implying that half the power is being dissipated in the transmitter's output resistance- an inefficient and expensive solution for a high power RF application. More power is available if the transmitter's reverse-impedance is not matched to Z0, but this may result in misalignment between the frequency for correct forward match at the loop, versus the frequency for maximum power in the resonator. The misalignment can be eliminated, and the working Q maximized, by choosing the appropriate length of feed-line between the non-matched transmitter output and the matched resonator's input. In addition, the transmitter's output impedance may be complex, comprising resistance plus reactance, requiring a further process and means of measuring the output impedance so that an additional compensating length of feed-line can be incorporated. But a wrong choice of overall feed-line length- even though correctly load-matched at the resonator's operating frequency- can result in a curious degenerate condition, where the resonator's working Q appears to collapse, and the potential for transmitter overload increases substantially: a condition to be avoided!

Limit load solution for electron beam welded joints with single edge weld center crack in tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Wei; Shi, Yaowu; Li, Xiaoyan; Lei, Yongping

2012-05-01

Limit loads are widely studied and several limit load solutions are proposed to some typical geometry of weldments. However, there are no limit load solutions exist for the single edge crack weldments in tension (SEC(T)), which is also a typical geometry in fracture analysis. The mis-matching limit load for thick plate with SEC(T) are investigated and the special limit load solutions are proposed based on the available mis-matching limit load solutions and systematic finite element analyses. The real weld configurations are simplified as a strip, and different weld strength mis-matching ratio M, crack depth/width ratio a/ W and weld width 2H are in consideration. As a result, it is found that there exists excellent agreement between the limit load solutions and the FE results for almost all the mis-matching ration M, a/ W and ligament-to-weld width ratio ( W-a)/ H. Moreover, useful recommendations are given for evaluating the limit loads of the EBW structure with SEC(T). For the EBW joints with SEC(T), the mis-matching limit loads can be obtained assuming that the components are wholly made of base metal, when M changing from 1.6 to 0.6. When M decreasing to 0.4, the mis-matching limit loads can be obtained assuming that the components are wholly made of base metal only for large value of ( W-a)/ H. The recommendations may be useful for evaluating the limit loads of the EBW structures with SEC(T). The engineering simplifications are given for assessing the limit loads of electron beam welded structure with SEC(T).

Stereo matching image processing by synthesized color and the characteristic area by the synthesized color

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akiyama, Akira; Mutoh, Eiichiro; Kumagai, Hideo

2014-09-01

We have developed the stereo matching image processing by synthesized color and the corresponding area by the synthesized color for ranging the object and image recognition. The typical images from a pair of the stereo imagers may have some image disagreement each other due to the size change, missed place, appearance change and deformation of characteristic area. We constructed the synthesized color and corresponding color area with the same synthesized color to make the distinct stereo matching. We constructed the synthesized color and corresponding color area with the same synthesized color by the 3 steps. The first step is making binary edge image by differentiating the focused image from each imager and verifying that differentiated image has normal density of frequency distribution to find the threshold level of binary procedure. We used Daubechies wavelet transformation for the procedures of differentiating in this study. The second step is deriving the synthesized color by averaging color brightness between binary edge points with respect to horizontal direction and vertical direction alternatively. The averaging color procedure was done many times until the fluctuation of averaged color become negligible with respect to 256 levels in brightness. The third step is extracting area with same synthesized color by collecting the pixel of same synthesized color and grouping these pixel points by 4 directional connectivity relations. The matching areas for the stereo matching are determined by using synthesized color areas. The matching point is the center of gravity of each synthesized color area. The parallax between a pair of images is derived by the center of gravity of synthesized color area easily. The experiment of this stereo matching was done for the object of the soccer ball toy. From this experiment we showed that stereo matching by the synthesized color technique are simple and effective.

Prototypicality in Sentence Production

PubMed Central

Onishi, Kristine H.; Murphy, Gregory L.; Bock, Kathryn

2008-01-01

Three cued-recall experiments examined the effect of category typicality on the ordering of words in sentence production. Past research has found that typical items tend to be mentioned before atypical items in a phrase—a pattern usually associated with lexical variables (like word frequency), and yet typicality is a conceptual variable. Experiment 1 revealed that an appropriate conceptual framework was necessary to yield the typicality effect. Experiment 2 tested ad-hoc categories that do not have prior representations in long-term memory and yielded no typicality effect. Experiment 3 used carefully matched sentences in which two category members appeared in the same or in different phrases. Typicality affected word order only when the two words appeared in the same phrase. These results are consistent with an account in which typicality has its origin in conceptual structure, which leads to differences in lexical accessibility in appropriate contexts. PMID:17631877

Integrating different tracking systems in football: multiple camera semi-automatic system, local position measurement and GPS technologies.

PubMed

Buchheit, Martin; Allen, Adam; Poon, Tsz Kit; Modonutti, Mattia; Gregson, Warren; Di Salvo, Valter

2014-12-01

Abstract During the past decade substantial development of computer-aided tracking technology has occurred. Therefore, we aimed to provide calibration equations to allow the interchangeability of different tracking technologies used in soccer. Eighty-two highly trained soccer players (U14-U17) were monitored during training and one match. Player activity was collected simultaneously with a semi-automatic multiple-camera (Prozone), local position measurement (LPM) technology (Inmotio) and two global positioning systems (GPSports and VX). Data were analysed with respect to three different field dimensions (small, <30 m 2 to full-pitch, match). Variables provided by the systems were compared, and calibration equations (linear regression models) between each system were calculated for each field dimension. Most metrics differed between the 4 systems with the magnitude of the differences dependant on both pitch size and the variable of interest. Trivial-to-small between-system differences in total distance were noted. However, high-intensity running distance (>14.4 km · h -1 ) was slightly-to-moderately greater when tracked with Prozone, and accelerations, small-to-very largely greater with LPM. For most of the equations, the typical error of the estimate was of a moderate magnitude. Interchangeability of the different tracking systems is possible with the provided equations, but care is required given their moderate typical error of the estimate.

The combined impact of social support and perceived stress on quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder and without intellectual disability.

PubMed

Bishop-Fitzpatrick, Lauren; Mazefsky, Carla A; Eack, Shaun M

2017-06-01

Identifying modifiable correlates of good quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder is of paramount importance for intervention development as the population of adults with autism spectrum disorder increases. This study sought to examine social support and perceived stress as potential modifiable correlates of quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder. We hypothesized that adults with autism spectrum disorder without co-occurring intellectual disabilities ( N = 40; aged 18-44 years) would report lower levels of social support and quality of life than typical community volunteers who were matched for age, sex, and race ( N = 25). We additionally hypothesized that social support would buffer the effect of perceived stress on quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Results indicated that adults with autism spectrum disorder reported significantly lower levels of social support and quality of life than matched typical community volunteers. In addition, findings showed significant direct effects of social support and perceived stress on quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Social support did not buffer the effect of perceived stress on quality of life. Interventions that teach adults with autism spectrum disorder skills to help them better manage stress and cultivate supportive social relationships have the potential to improve quality of life.

The developing human brain: age-related changes in cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar anatomy.

PubMed

Sussman, Dafna; Leung, Rachel C; Chakravarty, M Mallar; Lerch, Jason P; Taylor, Margot J

2016-04-01

This study is the first to characterize normal development and sex differences across neuroanatomical structures in cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar brain regions in a single large cohort. One hundred and ninety-two magnetic resonance images were examined from 96 typically developing females and 96 age-matched typically developing males from 4 to 18 years of age. Image segmentation of the cortex was conducted with CIVET, while that of the cerebellum, hippocampi, thalamus, and basal ganglia were conducted using the MAGeT algorithm. Cortical thickness analysis revealed that most cortical regions decrease linearly, while surface area increases linearly with age. Volume relative to total cerebrum followed a quadratic trend with age, with only the left supramarginal gyrus showing sexual dimorphism. Hippocampal relative volume increased linearly, while the thalamus, caudate, and putamen decreased linearly, and the cerebellum did not change with age. The relative volumes of several subcortical subregions followed inverted U-shaped trends that peaked at ~12 years of age. Many subcortical structures were found to be larger in females than in males, independently of age, while others showed a sex-by-age interaction. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar growth patterns during normal development, and draws attention to the role of sex on neuroanatomical maturation throughout childhood and adolescence.

How do you think she feels? Vulnerability in empathy and the role of attention in school-aged children born extremely preterm.

PubMed

Campbell, Catherine; Horlin, Chiara; Reid, Corinne; McMichael, Judy; Forrest, Laura; Brydges, Chris; French, Noel; Anderson, Mike

2015-09-01

The aim of this study was to examine empathic competence in children born extremely preterm (EP, <28 weeks) given vulnerabilities in social relationships. Empathy in typically developing children is mediated by executive functions. Executive functioning is also impaired in preterm children. Of particular interest in this study are the attentional components of executive functioning as mediators of empathic development. Thirty-two 7-year-old EP children and 40 age-matched term children participated in the Project K.I.D.S program and completed the Kids Empathy Development Scale (KEDS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), and Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch). Children born extremely preterm exhibited poorer performance on all measures. The mediating role of attention in empathy competence was not supported by mediation modelling when FSIQ was controlled. As predicted, the EP group showed weaker empathic development relative to typically developing children. They also showed poorer attentional abilities. However, the effect of preterm birth on empathy was not mediated by executive-level attention. The cognitive mechanisms underpinning poor empathy competence in EP children remain unclear. Future research needs to examine the role of inhibition, social-emotional recognition, and regulation. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Comparison of self-written waveguide techniques and bulk index matching for low-loss polymer waveguide interconnects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrell, Derek; Middlebrook, Christopher

2016-03-01

Polymer waveguides (PWGs) are used within photonic interconnects as inexpensive and versatile substitutes for traditional optical fibers. The PWGs are typically aligned to silica-based optical fibers for coupling. An epoxide elastomer is then applied and cured at the interface for index matching and rigid attachment. Self-written waveguides (SWWs) are proposed as an alternative to further reduce connection insertion loss (IL) and alleviate marginal misalignment issues. Elastomer material is deposited after the initial alignment, and SWWs are formed by injecting ultraviolet (UV) light into the fiber or waveguide. The coupled UV light cures a channel between the two differing structures. A suitable cladding layer can be applied after development. Such factors as longitudinal gap distance, UV cure time, input power level, polymer material selection and choice of solvent affect the resulting SWWs. Experimental data are compared between purely index-matched samples and those with SWWs at the fiber-PWG interface. It is shown that < 1 dB IL per connection can be achieved by either method and results indicate lowest potential losses associated with a fine-tuned self-writing process. Successfully fabricated SWWs reduce overall processing time and enable an effectively continuous low-loss rigid interconnect.

Neural correlates of cross-modal affective priming by music in Williams syndrome.

PubMed

Lense, Miriam D; Gordon, Reyna L; Key, Alexandra P F; Dykens, Elisabeth M

2014-04-01

Emotional connection is the main reason people engage with music, and the emotional features of music can influence processing in other domains. Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental genetic disorder where musicality and sociability are prominent aspects of the phenotype. This study examined oscillatory brain activity during a musical affective priming paradigm. Participants with WS and age-matched typically developing controls heard brief emotional musical excerpts or emotionally neutral sounds and then reported the emotional valence (happy/sad) of subsequently presented faces. Participants with WS demonstrated greater evoked fronto-central alpha activity to the happy vs sad musical excerpts. The size of these alpha effects correlated with parent-reported emotional reactivity to music. Although participant groups did not differ in accuracy of identifying facial emotions, reaction time data revealed a music priming effect only in persons with WS, who responded faster when the face matched the emotional valence of the preceding musical excerpt vs when the valence differed. Matching emotional valence was also associated with greater evoked gamma activity thought to reflect cross-modal integration. This effect was not present in controls. The results suggest a specific connection between music and socioemotional processing and have implications for clinical and educational approaches for WS.

Alien or Alike? How the Perceived Similarity between the Typical Science Teacher and a Student's Self-Image Correlates with Choosing Science at School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kessels, Ursula; Taconis, Ruurd

2012-01-01

By applying the self-to-prototype matching theory to students' academic choices, this study links the unpopularity of science in many industrialized countries with the perceived gap between typical persons representing science (e.g. physics teachers) on the one hand and students' self-image on the other. A sample of N = 308 Dutch and German…

Low immunosuppressive burden after HLA-matched related or unrelated BMT using posttransplantation cyclophosphamide.

PubMed

Kanakry, Christopher G; Bolaños-Meade, Javier; Kasamon, Yvette L; Zahurak, Marianna; Durakovic, Nadira; Furlong, Terry; Mielcarek, Marco; Medeot, Marta; Gojo, Ivana; Smith, B Douglas; Kanakry, Jennifer A; Borrello, Ivan M; Brodsky, Robert A; Gladstone, Douglas E; Huff, Carol Ann; Matsui, William H; Swinnen, Lode J; Cooke, Kenneth R; Ambinder, Richard F; Fuchs, Ephraim J; de Lima, Marcos J; Andersson, Borje S; Varadhan, Ravi; O'Donnell, Paul V; Jones, Richard J; Luznik, Leo

2017-03-09

The intensive and prolonged immunosuppressive therapy required to prevent or treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (alloBMT) puts patients at substantial risk for life-threatening infections, organ toxicity, and disease relapse. Posttransplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) can function as single-agent GVHD prophylaxis after myeloablative, HLA-matched related (MRD), or HLA-matched unrelated (MUD) donor T-cell-replete bone marrow allografting, obviating the need for additional prophylactic immunosuppression. However, patients who develop GVHD require supplemental treatment. We assessed the longitudinal requirement for immunosuppressive therapy in 339 patients treated with this transplantation platform: 247 receiving busulfan/cyclophosphamide (BuCy) conditioning (data collected retrospectively) and 92 receiving busulfan/fludarabine (BuFlu) conditioning (data collected prospectively). Approximately 50% of MRD patients and 30% of MUD patients never required immunosuppression beyond PTCy. In patients requiring further immunosuppression, typically only 1 to 2 agents were required, and the median durations of systemic pharmacologic immunosuppression for the BuCy MRD, BuFlu MRD, BuCy MUD, and BuFlu MUD groups all were 4.5 to 5 months. For these 4 groups, 1-year probabilities of being alive and off all systemic immunosuppression were 61%, 53%, 53%, and 51% and 3-year probabilities were 53%, 48%, 49%, and 56%, respectively. These data suggest that PTCy minimizes the global immunosuppressive burden experienced by patients undergoing HLA-matched alloBMT.

Testing a Matching Hypothesis for Emerging Adults in Project MATCH: During-Treatment and One-Year Outcomes

PubMed Central

Davis, Jordan P.; Bergman, Brandon G.; Smith, Douglas C.; Kelly, John F.

2017-01-01

Objective: Compared with older adults, emerging adults (18-29 years old) entering treatment typically have less severe alcohol use consequences. Also, their unique clinical presentations (e.g., modest initial abstinence motivation) and developmental contexts (e.g., drinking-rich social networks) may make a straightforward implementation of treatments developed for adults less effective. Yet, this has seldom been examined empirically. This study was a secondary analysis of Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity) data examining (a) overall differences between emerging adults and older adults (≥30 years old) on outcomes during treatment and at 1-year follow-up, and (b) whether emerging adults had poorer outcomes on any of the three Project MATCH treatments in particular. Method: Participants were 267 emerging adults and 1,459 older adults randomly assigned to individually delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational enhancement therapy (MET), or 12-step facilitation (TSF). Multilevel growth curve models tested differences on percentage of days abstinent (PDA) and drinks per drinking day (DDD) by age group and treatment assignment. Results: During treatment, compared with older adults, emerging adults reported more DDD but similar PDA. Further, emerging adults assigned to TSF had less PDA and more DDD than emerging adults and older adults assigned to CBT or MET during treatment (i.e., emerging adults in TSF has poorer outcomes initially), but this matching effect was not evident at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: This study is among the first to test age group differences across three psychosocial interventions shown to be efficacious treatments for alcohol use disorder. Although emerging adults generally did as well as their older counterparts, they may require a more developmentally sensitive approach to bolster TSF effects during treatment. PMID:27936374

Working memory impairment in people with Williams syndrome: effects of delay, task and stimuli.

PubMed

O'Hearn, Kirsten; Courtney, Susan; Street, Whitney; Landau, Barbara

2009-04-01

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with impaired visuospatial representations subserved by the dorsal stream and relatively strong object recognition abilities subserved by the ventral stream. There is conflicting evidence on whether this uneven pattern in WS extends to working memory (WM). The present studies provide a new perspective, testing WM for a single stimulus using a delayed recognition paradigm in individuals with WS and typically developing children matched for mental age (MA matches). In three experiments, participants judged whether a second stimulus 'matched' an initial sample, either in location or identity. We first examined memory for faces, houses and locations using a 5s delay (Experiment 1) and a 2s delay (Experiment 2). We then tested memory for human faces, houses, cat faces, and shoes with a 2s delay using a new set of stimuli that were better controlled for expression, hairline and orientation (Experiment 3). With the 5s delay (Experiment 1), the WS group was impaired overall compared to MA matches. While participants with WS tended to perform more poorly than MA matches with the 2s delay, they also exhibited an uneven profile compared to MA matches. Face recognition was relatively preserved in WS with friendly faces (Experiment 2) but not when the faces had a neutral expression and were less natural looking (Experiment 3). Experiment 3 indicated that memory for object identity was relatively stronger than memory for location in WS. These findings reveal an overall WM impairment in WS that can be overcome under some conditions. Abnormalities in the parietal lobe/dorsal stream in WS may damage not only the representation of spatial location but may also impact WM for visual stimuli more generally.

The Peer-Related Social Competence of Young Children with Down Syndrome

PubMed Central

Guralnick, Michael J.; Connor, Robert T.; Johnson, L. Clark

2014-01-01

The peer-related social competence of children with Down syndrome was examined in an observational study. Dyadic interactions with peers of children with Down syndrome were compared to the dyadic interactions of matched groups of typically developing children and with playmates differing in both familiarity and social skills. Results suggested that both risk and protective factors influenced the peer interactions of children with Down syndrome. Recommendations were made for applying contemporary models of peer-related social competence to etiologic subgroups to better understand the mechanisms involved and to provide direction for the design of intervention programs. PMID:21291310

Implicit learning deficit in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Evidence for a cerebellar cognitive impairment?

PubMed

Vicari, Stefano; Piccini, Giorgia; Mercuri, Eugenio; Battini, Roberta; Chieffo, Daniela; Bulgheroni, Sara; Pecini, Chiara; Lucibello, Simona; Lenzi, Sara; Moriconi, Federica; Pane, Marika; D'Amico, Adele; Astrea, Guja; Baranello, Giovanni; Riva, Daria; Cioni, Giovanni; Alfieri, Paolo

2018-01-01

This study aimed at comparing implicit sequence learning in individuals affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy without intellectual disability and age-matched typically developing children. A modified version of the Serial Reaction Time task was administered to 32 Duchenne children and 37 controls of comparable chronological age. The Duchenne group showed a reduced rate of implicit learning even if in the absence of global intellectual disability. This finding provides further evidence of the involvement of specific aspects of cognitive function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and on its possible neurobiological substrate.

a New Paradigm for Matching - and Aerial Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, T.; Zhuo, X.; Reinartz, P.; Fraundorfer, F.

2016-06-01

This paper investigates the performance of SIFT-based image matching regarding large differences in image scaling and rotation, as this is usually the case when trying to match images captured from UAVs and airplanes. This task represents an essential step for image registration and 3d-reconstruction applications. Various real world examples presented in this paper show that SIFT, as well as A-SIFT perform poorly or even fail in this matching scenario. Even if the scale difference in the images is known and eliminated beforehand, the matching performance suffers from too few feature point detections, ambiguous feature point orientations and rejection of many correct matches when applying the ratio-test afterwards. Therefore, a new feature matching method is provided that overcomes these problems and offers thousands of matches by a novel feature point detection strategy, applying a one-to-many matching scheme and substitute the ratio-test by adding geometric constraints to achieve geometric correct matches at repetitive image regions. This method is designed for matching almost nadir-directed images with low scene depth, as this is typical in UAV and aerial image matching scenarios. We tested the proposed method on different real world image pairs. While standard SIFT failed for most of the datasets, plenty of geometrical correct matches could be found using our approach. Comparing the estimated fundamental matrices and homographies with ground-truth solutions, mean errors of few pixels can be achieved.

Performance Evaluation and Analysis for Gravity Matching Aided Navigation.

PubMed

Wu, Lin; Wang, Hubiao; Chai, Hua; Zhang, Lu; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-04-05

Simulation tests were accomplished in this paper to evaluate the performance of gravity matching aided navigation (GMAN). Four essential factors were focused in this study to quantitatively evaluate the performance: gravity database (DB) resolution, fitting degree of gravity measurements, number of samples in matching, and gravity changes in the matching area. Marine gravity anomaly DB derived from satellite altimetry was employed. Actual dynamic gravimetry accuracy and operating conditions were referenced to design the simulation parameters. The results verified that the improvement of DB resolution, gravimetry accuracy, number of measurement samples, or gravity changes in the matching area generally led to higher positioning accuracies, while the effects of them were different and interrelated. Moreover, three typical positioning accuracy targets of GMAN were proposed, and the conditions to achieve these targets were concluded based on the analysis of several different system requirements. Finally, various approaches were provided to improve the positioning accuracy of GMAN.

Performance Evaluation and Analysis for Gravity Matching Aided Navigation

PubMed Central

Wu, Lin; Wang, Hubiao; Chai, Hua; Zhang, Lu; Hsu, Houtse; Wang, Yong

2017-01-01

Simulation tests were accomplished in this paper to evaluate the performance of gravity matching aided navigation (GMAN). Four essential factors were focused in this study to quantitatively evaluate the performance: gravity database (DB) resolution, fitting degree of gravity measurements, number of samples in matching, and gravity changes in the matching area. Marine gravity anomaly DB derived from satellite altimetry was employed. Actual dynamic gravimetry accuracy and operating conditions were referenced to design the simulation parameters. The results verified that the improvement of DB resolution, gravimetry accuracy, number of measurement samples, or gravity changes in the matching area generally led to higher positioning accuracies, while the effects of them were different and interrelated. Moreover, three typical positioning accuracy targets of GMAN were proposed, and the conditions to achieve these targets were concluded based on the analysis of several different system requirements. Finally, various approaches were provided to improve the positioning accuracy of GMAN. PMID:28379178

Iris recognition using possibilistic fuzzy matching on local features.

PubMed

Tsai, Chung-Chih; Lin, Heng-Yi; Taur, Jinshiuh; Tao, Chin-Wang

2012-02-01

In this paper, we propose a novel possibilistic fuzzy matching strategy with invariant properties, which can provide a robust and effective matching scheme for two sets of iris feature points. In addition, the nonlinear normalization model is adopted to provide more accurate position before matching. Moreover, an effective iris segmentation method is proposed to refine the detected inner and outer boundaries to smooth curves. For feature extraction, the Gabor filters are adopted to detect the local feature points from the segmented iris image in the Cartesian coordinate system and to generate a rotation-invariant descriptor for each detected point. After that, the proposed matching algorithm is used to compute a similarity score for two sets of feature points from a pair of iris images. The experimental results show that the performance of our system is better than those of the systems based on the local features and is comparable to those of the typical systems.

Self-regulated compliance in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder: The role of temperament and parental disciplinary style.

PubMed

Ostfeld-Etzion, Sharon; Feldman, Ruth; Hirschler-Guttenberg, Yael; Laor, Nathaniel; Golan, Ofer

2016-10-01

Regulatory difficulties are common in children with autism spectrum disorder. This study focused on an important aspect of self-regulation-the ability to willingly comply with frustrating demands of socialization agents, termed "self-regulated compliance." We studied compliance to parental demands in 40 preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder and 40 matched typically developing preschoolers, during separate interactions with mother and father, while engaging in two paradigms: toy pick-up and delayed gratification, which tap the "do" and "don't" aspects of self-regulated socialization at this age. Parents' disciplinary style was micro-coded from the two paradigms and child temperament was parent reported. Compared to their typically developing peers, children with autism spectrum disorder showed more noncompliance and less self-regulated compliance to parental demands and prohibitions and greater temperamental difficulties across several domains. No group differences were found in parental disciplinary style. Child self-regulated compliance was associated with parental supportive disciplinary style and with child attention focusing. Findings highlight the importance of parental supportive presence in structuring the development of socialization in children with autism spectrum disorder. Implications for parent-child emotion regulation interventions are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

Specific problems in visual cognition of dyslexic readers: Face discrimination deficits predict dyslexia over and above discrimination of scrambled faces and novel objects.

PubMed

Sigurdardottir, Heida Maria; Fridriksdottir, Liv Elisabet; Gudjonsdottir, Sigridur; Kristjánsson, Árni

2018-06-01

Evidence of interdependencies of face and word processing mechanisms suggest possible links between reading problems and abnormal face processing. In two experiments we assessed such high-level visual deficits in people with a history of reading problems. Experiment 1 showed that people who were worse at face matching had greater reading problems. In experiment 2, matched dyslexic and typical readers were tested, and difficulties with face matching were consistently found to predict dyslexia over and above both novel-object matching as well as matching noise patterns that shared low-level visual properties with faces. Furthermore, ADHD measures could not account for face matching problems. We speculate that reading difficulties in dyslexia are partially caused by specific deficits in high-level visual processing, in particular for visual object categories such as faces and words with which people have extensive experience. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Laterality and unilateral deafness: Patients with congenital right ear deafness do not develop atypical language dominance.

PubMed

Van der Haegen, Lise; Acke, Frederic; Vingerhoets, Guy; Dhooge, Ingeborg; De Leenheer, Els; Cai, Qing; Brysbaert, Marc

2016-12-01

Auditory speech perception, speech production and reading lateralize to the left hemisphere in the majority of healthy right-handers. In this study, we investigated to what extent sensory input underlies the side of language dominance. We measured the lateralization of the three core subprocesses of language in patients who had profound hearing loss in the right ear from birth and in matched control subjects. They took part in a semantic decision listening task involving speech and sound stimuli (auditory perception), a word generation task (speech production) and a passive reading task (reading). The results show that a lack of sensory auditory input on the right side, which is strongly connected to the contralateral left hemisphere, does not lead to atypical lateralization of speech perception. Speech production and reading were also typically left lateralized in all but one patient, contradicting previous small scale studies. Other factors such as genetic constraints presumably overrule the role of sensory input in the development of (a)typical language lateralization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feedback and reward processing in high-functioning autism.

PubMed

Larson, Michael J; South, Mikle; Krauskopf, Erin; Clawson, Ann; Crowley, Michael J

2011-05-15

Individuals with high-functioning autism often display deficits in social interactions and high-level cognitive functions. Such deficits may be influenced by poor ability to process feedback and rewards. The feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an event-related potential (ERP) that is more negative following losses than gains. We examined FRN amplitude in 25 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and 25 age- and IQ-matched typically developing control participants who completed a guessing task with monetary loss/gain feedback. Both groups demonstrated a robust FRN that was more negative to loss trials than gain trials; however, groups did not differ in FRN amplitude as a function of gain or loss trials. N1 and P300 amplitudes did not differentiate groups. FRN amplitude was positively correlated with age in individuals with ASD, but not measures of intelligence, anxiety, behavioral inhibition, or autism severity. Given previous findings of reduced-amplitude error-related negativity (ERN) in ASD, we propose that individuals with ASD may process external, concrete, feedback similar to typically developing individuals, but have difficulty with internal, more abstract, regulation of performance. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Social Attribution Skills Improve with Age in Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders?

PubMed

Bal, Elgiz; Yerys, Benjamin E; Sokoloff, Jennifer L; Celano, Mark J; Kenworthy, Lauren; Giedd, Jay N; Wallace, Gregory L

2013-01-01

Age-related changes in social attribution skills were assessed using the "Triangles Playing Tricks" task in 7-17 year old high functioning children with ASDs (n=41) and in typically developing (TD) children (n=58) matched on age, IQ, and sex ratio. Children with ASDs gave responses that received lower intentionality and appropriateness ratings than did TD children in both the goal-directed and theory of mind (ToM) conditions. Results remained unchanged when the effects of verbal output (i.e., number of clause produced) and verbal IQ were included as covariates in the analyses. Whereas age was highly associated with ToM performance in the TD children, this relationship was not as strong among children with ASDs. These results indicate not only a diminished tendency among high functioning children with ASDs to attribute social meaning and intentionality to ambiguous visual displays of interactive forms but also an aberrant developmental trajectory. That is, children with ASDs may fall further behind their typically developing peers in social attribution abilities as they get older.

The representation of roots in the spelling of children with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Deacon, S Hélène; Cleave, Patricia L; Baylis, Julia; Fraser, Jillian; Ingram, Elizabeth; Perlmutter, Signy

2014-01-01

Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have demonstrated general spelling and writing difficulties. We investigated the sensitivity of children with SLI to the consistent spelling of root morphemes, a feature to which young typically developing children demonstrate sensitivity. We asked children with SLI and two groups of typically developing children (n = 17 in each group) to spell the same letter-sound sequence (e.g., win) as a root, and as a component of inflected, derived, and control words (e.g., win, wins, winner, wink). Children with SLI and spelling-age-matched children (mean age of 9 and 7 years, respectively) were more accurate and more consistent in spelling the initial sections of the inflected and derived words than of the control words, a pattern that suggests sensitivity to the representation of roots in spelling. The absence of a group-level interaction suggests comparable sensitivity in the two groups. Our results suggest that elementary-school-aged children with SLI are sensitive to the consistent spelling of roots, at least to the extent predicted by their general spelling abilities.

Young children with autism spectrum disorder use predictive eye movements in action observation.

PubMed

Falck-Ytter, Terje

2010-06-23

Does a dysfunction in the mirror neuron system (MNS) underlie the social symptoms defining autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Research suggests that the MNS matches observed actions to motor plans for similar actions, and that these motor plans include directions for predictive eye movements when observing goal-directed actions. Thus, one important question is whether children with ASD use predictive eye movements in action observation. Young children with ASD as well as typically developing children and adults were shown videos in which an actor performed object-directed actions (human agent condition). Children with ASD were also shown control videos showing objects moving by themselves (self-propelled condition). Gaze was measured using a corneal reflection technique. Children with ASD and typically developing individuals used strikingly similar goal-directed eye movements when observing others' actions in the human agent condition. Gaze was reactive in the self-propelled condition, suggesting that prediction is linked to seeing a hand-object interaction. This study does not support the view that ASD is characterized by a global dysfunction in the MNS.

Mathematical difficulties in developmental coordination disorder: Symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing.

PubMed

Gomez, Alice; Piazza, Manuela; Jobert, Antoinette; Dehaene-Lambertz, Ghislaine; Dehaene, Stanislas; Huron, Caroline

2015-01-01

At school, children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) struggle with mathematics. However, little attention has been paid to their numerical cognition abilities. The goal of this study was to better understand the cognitive basis for mathematical difficulties in children with DCD. Twenty 7-to-10 years-old children with DCD were compared to twenty age-matched typically developing children using dot and digit comparison tasks to assess symbolic and nonsymbolic number processing and in a task of single digits additions. Results showed that children with DCD had lower performance in nonsymbolic and symbolic number comparison tasks than typically developing children. They were also slower to solve simple addition problems. Moreover, correlational analyses showed that children with DCD who experienced greater impairments in the nonsymbolic task also performed more poorly in the symbolic tasks. These findings suggest that DCD impairs both nonsymbolic and symbolic number processing. A systematic assessment of numerical cognition in children with DCD could provide a more comprehensive picture of their deficits and help in proposing specific remediation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of breathing rate on the cardiac autonomic dynamics among children with cerebral palsy compared to typically developed controls.

PubMed

Amichai, Taly; Eylon, Sharon; Berger, Itai; Katz-Leurer, Michal

2018-02-06

To describe the immediate effect of breathing rate on heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and a control group of typically developed (TD) age and gender-matched children. Twenty children with CP at gross motor function classification system levels I-III and 20 TD children aged 6-11 participated in the study. HR was monitored at rest and during paced breathing with biofeedback. Respiratory measures were assessed by KoKo spirometry. Children with CP have lower spirometry and HRV values at rest compared to TD children. The mean reduction of breathing rate during paced breathing among children with CP was significantly smaller. Nonetheless, while practicing paced breathing, both groups reduced their breathing rate and increased their HRV. The results of the current work present the immediate effect of paced breathing on HRV parameters in CP and TD children. Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of long-term treatment focusing on paced breathing for children with CP.

Theory of Mind in Children With Specific Language Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Nilsson, Kristine Kahr; de López, Kristine Jensen

2016-01-01

The relation between language and theory of mind (ToM) has been debated for more than two decades. In a similar vein, ToM has been examined in children with specific language impairment (SLI), albeit with inconsistent results. This meta-analysis of 17 studies with 745 children between the ages of 4 and 12 found that children with SLI had substantially lower ToM performance compared to age-matched typically developing children (d = .98). This effect size was not moderated by age and gender. By revealing that children with SLI have ToM impairments, this finding emphasizes the need for further investigation into the developmental interface between language and ToM as well as the extended consequences of atypical language development. © 2015 The Authors. Child Development © 2015 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Survey report on the state-of-the-art of cryogenic thermometry and signal conditioners and their potential for standardized space hardware

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The possibility of standard low temperature detector(s) for use in upcoming cryogenically cooled satellite and Space Shuttle Payloads was investigated. These payloads operate from .3 Kelvin to 300 Kelvin. Standard detectors were selected and matching signal conditioning equipment were specified. This equipment will operate in a spacecraft environment and be compatible with the selected detector, typical spacecraft voltages, typical spacecraft telemetry systems, and the radiation encountered by a typical earth orbiting spacecraft. Work statements to better define and advance detector performance are presented.

An easy game for frauds? Effects of professional experience and time pressure on passport-matching performance.

PubMed

Wirth, Benedikt Emanuel; Carbon, Claus-Christian

2017-06-01

Despite extensive research on unfamiliar face matching, little is known about factors that might affect matching performance in real-life scenarios. We conducted 2 experiments to investigate the effects of several such factors on unfamiliar face-matching performance in a passport-check scenario. In Experiment 1, we assessed the effect of professional experience on passport-matching performance. The matching performance of 96 German Federal Police officers working at Munich Airport was compared with that of 48 novices without specific face-matching experience. Police officers significantly outperformed novices, but nevertheless missed a high ratio of frauds. Moreover, the effects of manipulating specific facial features (with paraphernalia like glasses and jewelry, distinctive features like moles and scars, and hairstyle) and of variations in the physical distance between the faces being matched were investigated. Whereas manipulation of physical distance did not have a significant effect, manipulations of facial features impaired matching performance. In Experiment 2, passport-matching performance was assessed in relation to time constraints. Novices matched passports either without time constraints, or under a local time limit (which is typically used in laboratory studies), or under a global time limit (which usually occurs during real-life border controls). Time pressure (especially the global time limit) significantly impaired matching performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Smiles in face matching: Idiosyncratic information revealed through a smile improves unfamiliar face matching performance.

PubMed

Mileva, Mila; Burton, A Mike

2018-06-19

Unfamiliar face matching is a surprisingly difficult task, yet we often rely on people's matching decisions in applied settings (e.g., border control). Most attempts to improve accuracy (including training and image manipulation) have had very limited success. In a series of studies, we demonstrate that using smiling rather than neutral pairs of images brings about significant improvements in face matching accuracy. This is true for both match and mismatch trials, implying that the information provided through a smile helps us detect images of the same identity as well as distinguishing between images of different identities. Study 1 compares matching performance when images in the face pair display either an open-mouth smile or a neutral expression. In Study 2, we add an intermediate level, closed-mouth smile, to identify the effect of teeth being exposed, and Study 3 explores face matching accuracy when only information about the lower part of the face is available. Results demonstrate that an open-mouth smile changes the face in an idiosyncratic way which aids face matching decisions. Such findings have practical implications for matching in the applied context where we typically use neutral images to represent ourselves in official documents. © 2018 The British Psychological Society.

Visual Scan Paths and Recognition of Facial Identity in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

PubMed Central

Wilson, C. Ellie; Palermo, Romina; Brock, Jon

2012-01-01

Background Previous research suggests that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have impaired facial identity recognition, and also exhibit abnormal visual scanning of faces. Here, two hypotheses accounting for an association between these observations were tested: i) better facial identity recognition is associated with increased gaze time on the Eye region; ii) better facial identity recognition is associated with increased eye-movements around the face. Methodology and Principal Findings Eye-movements of 11 children with ASD and 11 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls were recorded whilst they viewed a series of faces, and then completed a two alternative forced-choice recognition memory test for the faces. Scores on the memory task were standardized according to age. In both groups, there was no evidence of an association between the proportion of time spent looking at the Eye region of faces and age-standardized recognition performance, thus the first hypothesis was rejected. However, the ‘Dynamic Scanning Index’ – which was incremented each time the participant saccaded into and out of one of the core-feature interest areas – was strongly associated with age-standardized face recognition scores in both groups, even after controlling for various other potential predictors of performance. Conclusions and Significance In support of the second hypothesis, results suggested that increased saccading between core-features was associated with more accurate face recognition ability, both in typical development and ASD. Causal directions of this relationship remain undetermined. PMID:22666378

Is schizophrenia associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease? A nationwide matched-cohort study.

PubMed

Tzeng, Nian-Sheng; Hsu, Yung-Ho; Ho, Shinn-Ying; Kuo, Yu-Ching; Lee, Hua-Chin; Yin, Yun-Ju; Chen, Hong-An; Chen, Wen-Liang; Chu, William Cheng-Chung; Huang, Hui-Ling

2015-01-27

The impact of schizophrenia on vital diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), has not as yet been verified. This study aims to establish whether there is an association between schizophrenia and CKD. A nationwide matched cohort study. Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 2338 patients with schizophrenia, and 7014 controls without schizophrenia (1:3), matched cohort for sex, age group, geography, urbanisation and monthly income, between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2007, based on the International Classifications of Disease Ninth Edition (ICD-9), Clinical Modification codes. After making adjustments for confounding risk factors, a Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare the risk of developing CKD during a 3-year follow-up period from the index date. Of the 2338-subject case cohort, 163 (6.97%) developed a CKD, as did 365 (5.20%) of the 7014 control participants. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that patients with schizophrenia were more likely to develop CKD (HR=1.36, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.63; p<0.001). After adjusting for gender, age group, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidaemia, heart disease and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) usage, the HR for patients with schizophrenia was 1.25 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.50; p<0.05). Neither typical nor atypical antipsychotics was associated an increased risk of CKD in patients with schizophrenia. The findings from this population-based retrospective cohort study suggest that schizophrenia is associated with a 25% increase in the risk of developing CKD within only a 3-year follow-up period. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Atomically Phase-Matched Second-Harmonic Generation in a 2D Crystal

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-26

thin mate- rials. However, despite the inversion asymmetry of the single layer, the typical crystal stacking restores inversion symmetry for even...typically do not produce SH signals when inversion symmetry is restored in their multilayer counterparts. Group VI transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs...group D3h). However, adjacent layers of the 2H are mirrored to restore the inversion symmetry, while the layers in the 3R phase retain the same

A Robust False Matching Points Detection Method for Remote Sensing Image Registration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, X. J.; Tang, P.

2015-04-01

Given the influences of illumination, imaging angle, and geometric distortion, among others, false matching points still occur in all image registration algorithms. Therefore, false matching points detection is an important step in remote sensing image registration. Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC) is typically used to detect false matching points. However, RANSAC method cannot detect all false matching points in some remote sensing images. Therefore, a robust false matching points detection method based on Knearest- neighbour (K-NN) graph (KGD) is proposed in this method to obtain robust and high accuracy result. The KGD method starts with the construction of the K-NN graph in one image. K-NN graph can be first generated for each matching points and its K nearest matching points. Local transformation model for each matching point is then obtained by using its K nearest matching points. The error of each matching point is computed by using its transformation model. Last, L matching points with largest error are identified false matching points and removed. This process is iterative until all errors are smaller than the given threshold. In addition, KGD method can be used in combination with other methods, such as RANSAC. Several remote sensing images with different resolutions and terrains are used in the experiment. We evaluate the performance of KGD method, RANSAC + KGD method, RANSAC, and Graph Transformation Matching (GTM). The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the KGD and RANSAC + KGD methods.

Beyond pragmatics: morphosyntactic development in autism.

PubMed

Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Bennetto, Loisa; Dadlani, Mamta B

2007-07-01

Language acquisition research in autism has traditionally focused on high-level pragmatic deficits. Few studies have examined grammatical abilities in autism, with mixed findings. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by providing a detailed investigation of syntactic and higher-level discourse abilities in verbal children with autism, age 5 years. Findings indicate clear language difficulties that go beyond what would be expected based on developmental level; specifically, syntactic delays, impairments in discourse management and increased production of non-meaningful words (jargon). The present study indicates a highly specific pattern of language impairments, and importantly, syntactic delays, in a group of children with autism carefully matched on lexical level and non-verbal mental age with children with developmental delays and typical development.

Maternal responsivity in mothers of young children with Down syndrome.

PubMed

Sterling, Audra; Warren, Steven F

2014-10-01

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal responsivity and directive behaviors in mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS). Participants included 22 mothers with a young child with DS compared to 22 mothers of chronologically age-matched typically developing (TD) children using a cross-sectional design. The dyads participated in videotaped structured activities that were coded for responsive and directive behaviors. RESULTS indicated that the mothers of children with DS used a more facilitative style with the older children while these behaviors decreased with older children with TD; one directive behavior, request for behavioral comply, increased with the older children with DS. The mothers of children with DS adapted their parenting style to be facilitative of their children's linguistic development.

Comparison of Grammar in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: The Case of Binding in Williams Syndrome and Autism With and Without Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Modyanova, Nadya; Wexler, Ken

2013-01-01

This study investigates whether distinct neurodevelopmental disorders show distinct patterns of impairments in particular grammatical abilities and the relation of those grammatical patterns to general language delays and intellectual disabilities. We studied two disorders (autism and Williams syndrome [WS]) and two distinct properties (Principle A that governs reflexives and Principle B that, together with its associated pragmatic rule, governs pronouns) of the binding module of grammar. These properties are known to have markedly different courses of acquisition in typical development. We compare the knowledge of binding in children with autism with language impairment (ALI) and those with normal language (ALN) to that of children with WS, matched on age to the ALN group, and on age and nonverbal mental age (MA) to the ALI group, as well as to two groups of typically developing (TD) controls, matched on nonverbal MA to ALI and ALN groups. Our results reveal a remarkably different pattern of comprehension of personal pronouns and reflexives in ALI as opposed to ALN, WS, and two groups of TD controls. All five groups demonstrated an equal delay in their comprehension of personal pronouns, in line with widely reported delays in TD literature, argued to be due to delayed pragmatic abilities. However, and most strikingly, the ALI group also showed a pronounced difficulty in comprehension of reflexive pronouns, and particularly of the knowledge that the antecedent of a reflexive must c-command it. The revealed pattern confirms the existence of a particular impairment concerning Principle A in this module of grammar, unrelated to general language delays or cognitive deficits generally present in a large portion of individuals with autism as well as WS, or to general pragmatic deficits, known to be particularly prevalent in the population with autism. PMID:25170241

Children with developmental coordination disorder play active virtual reality games differently than children with typical development.

PubMed

Gonsalves, Leandra; Campbell, Amity; Jensen, Lynn; Straker, Leon

2015-03-01

Active virtual reality gaming (AVG) may be useful for children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) to practice motor skills if their movement patterns are of good quality while engaged in AVG. This study aimed to examine: (1) the quality of motor patterns of children with DCD participating in AVG by comparing them with children with typical development (TD) and (2) whether differences existed in the motor patterns utilized with 2 AVG types: Sony PlayStation 3 Move and Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect. This was a quasi-experimental, biomechanical laboratory-based study. Twenty-one children with DCD, aged 10 to 12 years, and 19 age- and sex-matched children with TD played a match of table tennis on each AVG type. Hand path, wrist angle, and elbow angle were recorded using a motion analysis system. Linear mixed-model analyses were used to determine differences between DCD and TD groups and Move and Kinect AVG type for forehands and backhands. Children with DCD utilized a slower hand path speed (backhand mean difference [MD]=1.20 m/s; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]=0.41, 1.98); greater wrist extension (forehand MD=34.3°; 95% CI=22.6, 47.0); and greater elbow flexion (forehand MD=22.3°; 95% CI=7.4, 37.1) compared with children with TD when engaged in AVG. There also were differences in movement patterns utilized between AVG types. Only simple kinematic measures were compared, and no data regarding movement outcome were assessed. If a therapeutic treatment goal is to promote movement quality in children with DCD, clinical judgment is required to select the most appropriate AVG type and determine whether movement quality is adequate for unsupervised practice. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

Objectifying when to halt a boxing match: a video analysis of fatalities.

PubMed

Miele, Vincent J; Bailes, Julian E

2007-02-01

Although numerous prestigious medical organizations have called for its abolishment, participation in the sport of boxing has reached an all-time high among both men and women, and its elimination is unlikely in the near future. Physicians should strive to increase boxing safety by improving the rules of competition, which have evolved minimally over the past two centuries. Currently, subjective criteria are used to determine whether or not a contest should be halted. Developing a standardized, objective method of determining when a contest should be halted would be a significant paradigm shift and could increase the safety of the sport's participants. This study analyzed the number and types of punches landed in a typical professional match, in bouts considered to be competitive and in those that ended in fatalities, to determine whether or not this would be a practical method of differentiating between these groups. Three groups of professional boxing matches were defined at the beginning of the study: 1) a "fatal" group, consisting of bouts that resulted in the death of a participant; 2) a "classic" group that represented competitive matches; and 3) a "control" group of 4000 professional boxing matches representing the average bout. A computer program known as Punchstat (Compubox, Inc., Manorville, NY) was used in the objective analysis of these matches via videotape playback. Several statistically significant differences were discovered between matches that resulted in fatalities and the control group. These include the number of punches landed per round, the number of power punches landed per round, and the number of power punches thrown per round by losing boxers. However, when the fatal bouts were compared with the most competitive bouts, these differences were no longer evident. Based on the data analyzed between the control and fatal-bout groups, a computerized method of counting landed blows at ringside could provide sufficient data to stop matches that might result in fatalities. However, such a process would become less effective as matches become more competitive, and implementing such a change would significantly decrease the competitive nature of the sport. Therefore, other methods of quantifying acceleration-deceleration brain injuries are necessary to improve the safety of boxing.

A Surrogate-based Adaptive Sampling Approach for History Matching and Uncertainty Quantification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Weixuan; Zhang, Dongxiao; Lin, Guang

A critical procedure in reservoir simulations is history matching (or data assimilation in a broader sense), which calibrates model parameters such that the simulation results are consistent with field measurements, and hence improves the credibility of the predictions given by the simulations. Often there exist non-unique combinations of parameter values that all yield the simulation results matching the measurements. For such ill-posed history matching problems, Bayesian theorem provides a theoretical foundation to represent different solutions and to quantify the uncertainty with the posterior PDF. Lacking an analytical solution in most situations, the posterior PDF may be characterized with a samplemore » of realizations, each representing a possible scenario. A novel sampling algorithm is presented here for the Bayesian solutions to history matching problems. We aim to deal with two commonly encountered issues: 1) as a result of the nonlinear input-output relationship in a reservoir model, the posterior distribution could be in a complex form, such as multimodal, which violates the Gaussian assumption required by most of the commonly used data assimilation approaches; 2) a typical sampling method requires intensive model evaluations and hence may cause unaffordable computational cost. In the developed algorithm, we use a Gaussian mixture model as the proposal distribution in the sampling process, which is simple but also flexible to approximate non-Gaussian distributions and is particularly efficient when the posterior is multimodal. Also, a Gaussian process is utilized as a surrogate model to speed up the sampling process. Furthermore, an iterative scheme of adaptive surrogate refinement and re-sampling ensures sampling accuracy while keeping the computational cost at a minimum level. The developed approach is demonstrated with an illustrative example and shows its capability in handling the above-mentioned issues. Multimodal posterior of the history matching problem is captured and are used to give a reliable production prediction with uncertainty quantification. The new algorithm reveals a great improvement in terms of computational efficiency comparing previously studied approaches for the sample problem.« less

Gesture and speech during shared book reading with preschoolers with specific language impairment.

PubMed

Lavelli, Manuela; Barachetti, Chiara; Florit, Elena

2015-11-01

This study examined (a) the relationship between gesture and speech produced by children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers, during shared book-reading, and (b) the potential effectiveness of gestures accompanying maternal speech on the conversational responsiveness of children. Fifteen preschoolers with expressive SLI were compared with fifteen age-matched and fifteen language-matched TD children. Child and maternal utterances were coded for modality, gesture type, gesture-speech informational relationship, and communicative function. Relative to TD peers, children with SLI used more bimodal utterances and gestures adding unique information to co-occurring speech. Some differences were mirrored in maternal communication. Sequential analysis revealed that only in the SLI group maternal reading accompanied by gestures was significantly followed by child's initiatives, and when maternal non-informative repairs were accompanied by gestures, they were more likely to elicit adequate answers from children. These findings support the 'gesture advantage' hypothesis in children with SLI, and have implications for educational and clinical practice.

Pragmatics abilities in narrative production: a cross-disorder comparison.

PubMed

Norbury, Courtenay Frazier; Gemmell, Tracey; Paul, Rhea

2014-05-01

We aimed to disentangle contributions of socio-pragmatic and structural language deficits to narrative competence by comparing the narratives of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; n = 25), non-autistic children with language impairments (LI; n = 23), and children with typical development (TD; n = 27). Groups were matched for age (6½ to 15 years; mean: 10;6) and non-verbal ability; ASD and TD groups were matched on standardized language scores. Despite distinct clinical presentation, children with ASD and LI produced similarly simple narratives that lacked semantic richness and omitted important story elements, when compared to TD peers. Pragmatic errors were common across groups. Within the LI group, pragmatic errors were negatively correlated with story macrostructure scores and with an index of semantic-pragmatic relevance. For the group with ASD, pragmatic errors consisted of comments that, though extraneous, did not detract from the gist of the narrative. These findings underline the importance of both language and socio-pragmatic skill for producing coherent, appropriate narratives.

a Compact, Rf-Driven Pulsed Ion Source for Intense Neutron Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkins, L. T.; Celata, C. M.; Lee, Y.; Leung, K. N.; Picard, D. S.; Vilaithong, R.; Williams, M. D.; Wutte, D.

1997-05-01

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is currently developing a compact, sealed-accelerator-tube neutron generator capable of producing a neutron flux in the range of 109 to 1010 D-T neutrons per second. The ion source, a miniaturized variation of earlier 2 MHz radio-frequency (rf)-driven multicusp ion sources, is designed to fit within a #197# 5 cm diameter borehole. Typical operating parameters include repetition rates up to 100 pps, with pulse widths between 10 and 80 us and source pressures as low as #197# 5 mTorr. In this configuration, peak extractable hydrogen current exceeding 35 mA from a 2 mm diameter aperture together with H1+ yields over 94% have been achieved. The required rf impedance matching network has been miniaturized to #197# 5 cm diameter. The accelerator column is a triode design using the IGUN ion optics codes and allows for electron suppression. Results from the testing of the integrated matching network-ion source-accelerator system will be presented.

Prosodic constraints on inflected words: an area of difficulty for German-speaking children with specific language impairment?

PubMed

Kauschke, Christina; Renner, Lena; Domahs, Ulrike

2013-08-01

Recent studies suggest that morphosyntactic difficulties may result from prosodic problems. We therefore address the interface between inflectional morphology and prosody in typically developing children (TD) and children with SLI by testing whether these groups are sensitive to prosodic constraints that guide plural formation in German. A plural elicitation task was designed consisting of 60 words and 20 pseudowords. The performance of 14 German-speaking children with SLI (mean age 7.5) was compared to age-matched controls and to younger children matched for productive vocabulary. TD children performed significantly better than children with SLI. Error analyses revealed that children with SLI produced more forms that did not meet the optimal shape of a noun plural. Beyond the fact that children with SLI have deficits in plural marking, the findings suggest that they also show reduced sensitivity to prosodic requirements. In other words, the prosodic structure of inflected words seems to be vulnerable in children with SLI.

The art of camouflage: Gender differences in the social behaviors of girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Dean, Michelle; Harwood, Robin; Kasari, Connie

2017-08-01

This study examined the extent to which gender-related social behaviors help girls with autism spectrum disorder to seemingly mask their symptoms. Using concurrent mixed methods, we examined the social behaviors of 96 elementary school children during recess (autism spectrum disorder = 24 girls and 24 boys, typically developing = 24 girls and 24 boys). Children with autism spectrum disorder had average intelligence (IQ ⩾ 70), a confirmed diagnosis, and were educated in the general education classroom. Typically developing children were matched by sex, age, and city of residence to children with autism spectrum disorder. The results indicate that the female social landscape supports the camouflage hypothesis; girls with autism spectrum disorder used compensatory behaviors, such as staying in close proximately to peers and weaving in and out of activities, which appeared to mask their social challenges. Comparatively, the male landscape made it easier to detect the social challenges of boys with autism spectrum disorder. Typically developing boys tended to play organized games; boys with autism spectrum disorder tended to play alone. The results highlight a male bias in our perception of autism spectrum disorder. If practitioners look for social isolation on the playground when identifying children with social challenges, then our findings suggest that girls with autism spectrum disorder will continue to be left unidentified.

Deferred and immediate imitation in regressive and early onset autism

PubMed Central

Rogers, Sally J.; Young, Gregory S.; Cook, Ian; Giolzetti, Angelo; Ozonoff, Sally

2010-01-01

Deferred imitation has long held a privileged position in early cognitive development, considered an early marker of representational thought with links to language development and symbolic processes. Children with autism have difficulties with several abilities generally thought to be related to deferred imitation: immediate imitation, language, and symbolic play. However, few studies have examined deferred imitation in early autism. The present study examined both deferred, spontaneous imitation and immediate, elicited imitation on a set of carefully matched tasks in 36 young children with autism: 16 with early onset autism, 20 with regressive autism and two contrast groups, younger typically developing children (n = 20) and age matched children with significant developmental delays (n = 21). Analyses of co-variance controlling for differences in verbal mental age revealed significant main effects for task, but no main effect of group and no interaction of task by group. Deferred imitation scores were lower than immediate imitation scores for all groups. Imitation performance was related to overall intellectual functioning for all groups, and there were moderate and significant relations between imitation in the immediate elicited condition and in the spontaneous deferred condition for all groups. Finally, there were no differences between onset subgroups in imitation scores, suggesting that the two share a similar phenotype involving both types of imitation. PMID:18221343

Feedback-Driven Trial-by-Trial Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorders

PubMed Central

Solomon, Marjorie; Frank, Michael J.; Ragland, J. Daniel; Smith, Anne C.; Niendam, Tara A.; Lesh, Tyler A.; Grayson, David S.; Beck, Jonathan S.; Matter, John C.; Carter, Cameron S.

2017-01-01

Objective Impairments in learning are central to autism spectrum disorders. The authors investigated the cognitive and neural basis of these deficits in young adults with autism spectrum disorders using a well-characterized probabilistic reinforcement learning paradigm. Method The probabilistic selection task was implemented among matched participants with autism spectrum disorders (N=22) and with typical development (N=25), aged 18–40 years, using rapid event-related functional MRI. Participants were trained to choose the correct stimulus in high-probability (AB), medium-probability (CD), and low-probability (EF) pairs, presented with valid feedback 80%, 70%, and 60% of the time, respectively. Whole-brain voxel-wise and parametric modulator analyses examined early and late learning during the stimulus and feedback epochs of the task. Results The groups exhibited comparable performance on medium- and low-probability pairs. Typically developing persons showed higher accuracy on the high-probability pair, better win-stay performance (selection of the previously rewarded stimulus on the next trial of that type), and more robust recruitment of the anterior and medial prefrontal cortex during the stimulus epoch, suggesting development of an intact reward-based working memory for recent stimulus values. Throughout the feedback epoch, individuals with autism spectrum disorders exhibited greater recruitment of the anterior cingulate and orbito-frontal cortices compared with individuals with typical development, indicating continuing trial-by-trial activity related to feedback processing. Conclusions Individuals with autism spectrum disorders exhibit learning deficits reflecting impaired ability to develop an effective reward-based working memory to guide stimulus selection. Instead, they continue to rely on trial-by-trial feedback processing to support learning dependent upon engagement of the anterior cingulate and orbito-frontal cortices. PMID:25158242

Thinking or feeling? An exploratory study of maternal scaffolding, child mental state talk, and emotion understanding in language-impaired and typically developing school-aged children.

PubMed

Yuill, Nicola; Little, Sarah

2018-06-01

Mother-child mental state talk (MST) supports children's developing social-emotional understanding. In typically developing (TD) children, family conversations about emotion, cognition, and causes have been linked to children's emotion understanding. Specific language impairment (SLI) may compromise developing emotion understanding and adjustment. We investigated emotion understanding in children with SLI and TD, in relation to mother-child conversation. Specifically, is cognitive, emotion, or causal MST more important for child emotion understanding and how might maternal scaffolding support this? Nine 5- to 9-year-old children with SLI and nine age-matched typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers. We assessed children's language, emotion understanding and reported behavioural adjustment. Mother-child conversations were coded for MST, including emotion, cognition, and causal talk, and for scaffolding of causal talk. Children with SLI scored lower than TD children on emotion understanding and adjustment. Mothers in each group provided similar amounts of cognitive, emotion, and causal talk, but SLI children used proportionally less cognitive and causal talk than TD children did, and more such child talk predicted better child emotion understanding. Child emotion talk did not differ between groups and did not predict emotion understanding. Both groups participated in maternal-scaffolded causal talk, but causal talk about emotion was more frequent in TD children, and such talk predicted higher emotion understanding. Cognitive and causal language scaffolded by mothers provides tools for articulating increasingly complex ideas about emotion, predicting children's emotion understanding. Our study provides a robust method for studying scaffolding processes for understanding causes of emotion. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Phonological skills and their role in learning to read: a meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lyster, Solveig-Alma Halaas; Hulme, Charles

2012-03-01

The authors report a systematic meta-analytic review of the relationships among 3 of the most widely studied measures of children's phonological skills (phonemic awareness, rime awareness, and verbal short-term memory) and children's word reading skills. The review included both extreme group studies and correlational studies with unselected samples (235 studies were included, and 995 effect sizes were calculated). Results from extreme group comparisons indicated that children with dyslexia show a large deficit on phonemic awareness in relation to typically developing children of the same age (pooled effect size estimate: -1.37) and children matched on reading level (pooled effect size estimate: -0.57). There were significantly smaller group deficits on both rime awareness and verbal short-term memory (pooled effect size estimates: rime skills in relation to age-matched controls, -0.93, and reading-level controls, -0.37; verbal short-term memory skills in relation to age-matched controls, -0.71, and reading-level controls, -0.09). Analyses of studies of unselected samples showed that phonemic awareness was the strongest correlate of individual differences in word reading ability and that this effect remained reliable after controlling for variations in both verbal short-term memory and rime awareness. These findings support the pivotal role of phonemic awareness as a predictor of individual differences in reading development. We discuss whether such a relationship is a causal one and the implications of research in this area for current approaches to the teaching of reading and interventions for children with reading difficulties.

Identifying stimuli that alter immediate and subsequent levels of vocal stereotypy: a further analysis of functionally matched stimulation.

PubMed

Lanovaz, Marc J; Fletcher, Sarah E; Rapp, John T

2009-09-01

We used a three-component multiple-schedule with a brief reversal design to evaluate the effects of structurally unmatched and matched stimuli on immediate and subsequent vocal stereotypy that was displayed by three children with autism spectrum disorders. For 2 of the 3 participants, access to matched stimuli, unmatched stimuli, and music decreased immediate levels of vocal stereotypy; however, with the exception of matched stimuli for one participant, none of the stimuli produced a clear abolishing operation for subsequent vocal stereotypy. That is, vocal stereotypy typically increased to baseline levels shortly after alternative stimulation was removed. Detection of motivating operations for each participant's vocal stereotypy was aided by the analysis of component distributions. The results are discussed in terms of immediate and subsequent effects of preferred stimuli on automatically reinforced problem behavior.

Discovering frequently recurring movement sequences in team-sport athlete spatiotemporal data.

PubMed

Sweeting, Alice J; Aughey, Robert J; Cormack, Stuart J; Morgan, Stuart

2017-12-01

Athlete external load is typically analysed from predetermined movement thresholds. The combination of movement sequences and differences in these movements between playing positions is also currently unknown. This study developed a method to discover the frequently recurring movement sequences across playing position during matches. The external load of 12 international female netball athletes was collected by a local positioning system during four national-level matches. Velocity, acceleration and angular velocity were calculated from positional (X, Y) data, clustered via one-dimensional k-means and assigned a unique alphabetic label. Combinations of velocity, acceleration and angular velocity movement were compared using the Levenshtein distance and similarities computed by the longest common substring problem. The contribution of each movement sequence, according to playing position and relative to the wider data set, was then calculated via the Minkowski distance. A total of 10 frequently recurring combinations of movement were discovered, regardless of playing position. Only the wing attack, goal attack and goal defence playing positions are closely related. We developed a technique to discover the movement sequences, according to playing position, performed by elite netballers. This methodology can be extended to discover the frequently recurring movements within other team sports and across levels of competition.

Experiences of Dental Care and Dental Anxiety in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Dahllöf, Göran; Bejerot, Susanne

2014-01-01

Dental anxiety is associated with previous distressing dental experiences, such as lack of understanding of the dentist intentions, perceptions of uncontrollability and experiences of pain during dental treatment. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impaired in building flexible predictions and expectations, which is very much needed during a dental visit. The aims of the study were to investigate if people with ASD have more negative dental experiences and a higher level of dental anxiety compared to a matched control group. Forty-seven adults with ASD and of normal intellectual performance, and 69 age- and sex-matched typically developing controls completed questionnaires on previous dental experiences and dental anxiety, the Dental Anxiety Scale, and the Dental Beliefs Survey. The ASD group experienced pain during dental treatments more often than the controls and 22% had repeatedly experienced being forced to dental treatment they were not prepared for, compared to 3% of the controls. A higher level of dental anxiety was reported by the ASD group. Dental treatment and methods for supporting the communication with patients with ASD need to be developed, in order to reduce the negative dental experiences and dental anxiety in people with ASD. PMID:25530879

The expression and understanding of jealousy in children with autism.

PubMed

Bauminger, Nirit

2004-01-01

We investigated the expression and understanding of jealousy in 16 high-functioning children with autism and 17 typically developing children matched for IQ, chronological age, gender, and maternal education. We examined the expression of jealousy via children's behaviors, verbalizations, and affects demonstrated during two jealousy-provoking triadic scenarios (drawing and playing) enacted among the child in the experimental group (autism or typical), that child's main caregiver (mostly mothers), and a familiar peer or sibling. The two scenarios corresponded with the two types of jealousy described in past studies: social-comparison jealousy (drawing scenario) and social-relational jealousy (playing scenario). To tap children's understanding, we asked them to identify jealousy from a picture, to provide examples of times they felt jealous, and to offer suggestions for coping with jealousy. The main results revealed that children with autism expressed jealousy in situations similar to their typical age mates but manifested it in different behaviors. Moreover, children with autism revealed a less coherent understanding of the feeling. We discuss the meaning of the gap between demonstrating and understanding jealousy in light of the two central theoretical views conceptualizing the core emotional deficit in children with autism.

Object-based attention benefits reveal selective abnormalities of visual integration in autism.

PubMed

Falter, Christine M; Grant, Kate C Plaisted; Davis, Greg

2010-06-01

A pervasive integration deficit could provide a powerful and elegant account of cognitive processing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, in the case of visual Gestalt grouping, typically assessed by tasks that require participants explicitly to introspect on their own grouping perception, clear evidence for such a deficit remains elusive. To resolve this issue, we adopt an index of Gestalt grouping from the object-based attention literature that does not require participants to assess their own grouping perception. Children with ASD and mental- and chronological-age matched typically developing children (TD) performed speeded orientation discriminations of two diagonal lines. The lines were superimposed on circles that were either grouped together or segmented on the basis of color, proximity or these two dimensions in competition. The magnitude of performance benefits evident for grouped circles, relative to ungrouped circles, provided an index of grouping under various conditions. Children with ASD showed comparable grouping by proximity to the TD group, but reduced grouping by similarity. ASD seems characterized by a selective bias away from grouping by similarity combined with typical levels of grouping by proximity, rather than by a pervasive integration deficit.

Improved Real-Time Scan Matching Using Corner Features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohamed, H. A.; Moussa, A. M.; Elhabiby, M. M.; El-Sheimy, N.; Sesay, Abu B.

2016-06-01

The automation of unmanned vehicle operation has gained a lot of research attention, in the last few years, because of its numerous applications. The vehicle localization is more challenging in indoor environments where absolute positioning measurements (e.g. GPS) are typically unavailable. Laser range finders are among the most widely used sensors that help the unmanned vehicles to localize themselves in indoor environments. Typically, automatic real-time matching of the successive scans is performed either explicitly or implicitly by any localization approach that utilizes laser range finders. Many accustomed approaches such as Iterative Closest Point (ICP), Iterative Matching Range Point (IMRP), Iterative Dual Correspondence (IDC), and Polar Scan Matching (PSM) handles the scan matching problem in an iterative fashion which significantly affects the time consumption. Furthermore, the solution convergence is not guaranteed especially in cases of sharp maneuvers or fast movement. This paper proposes an automated real-time scan matching algorithm where the matching process is initialized using the detected corners. This initialization step aims to increase the convergence probability and to limit the number of iterations needed to reach convergence. The corner detection is preceded by line extraction from the laser scans. To evaluate the probability of line availability in indoor environments, various data sets, offered by different research groups, have been tested and the mean numbers of extracted lines per scan for these data sets are ranging from 4.10 to 8.86 lines of more than 7 points. The set of all intersections between extracted lines are detected as corners regardless of the physical intersection of these line segments in the scan. To account for the uncertainties of the detected corners, the covariance of the corners is estimated using the extracted lines variances. The detected corners are used to estimate the transformation parameters between the successive scan using least squares. These estimated transformation parameters are used to calculate an adjusted initialization for scan matching process. The presented method can be employed solely to match the successive scans and also can be used to aid other accustomed iterative methods to achieve more effective and faster converge. The performance and time consumption of the proposed approach is compared with ICP algorithm alone without initialization in different scenarios such as static period, fast straight movement, and sharp manoeuvers.

Abnormal functional lateralization and activity of language brain areas in typical specific language impairment (developmental dysphasia)

PubMed Central

De Guibert, Clément; Maumet, Camille; Jannin, Pierre; Ferré, Jean-Christophe; Tréguier, Catherine; Barillot, Christian; Le Rumeur, Elisabeth; Allaire, Catherine; Biraben, Arnaud

2011-01-01

Atypical functional lateralization and specialization for language have been proposed to account for developmental language disorders, yet results from functional neuroimaging studies are sparse and inconsistent. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study compared children with a specific subtype of specific language impairment affecting structural language (n=21), to a matched group of typically-developing children using a panel of four language tasks neither requiring reading nor metalinguistic skills, including two auditory lexico-semantic tasks (category fluency and responsive naming) and two visual phonological tasks based on picture naming. Data processing involved normalizing the data with respect to a matched pairs pediatric template, groups and between-groups analysis, and laterality indexes assessment within regions of interest using single and combined task analysis. Children with specific language impairment exhibited a significant lack of left lateralization in all core language regions (inferior frontal gyrus-opercularis, inferior frontal gyrus-triangularis, supramarginal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus), across single or combined task analysis, but no difference of lateralization for the rest of the brain. Between-group comparisons revealed a left hypoactivation of Wernicke’s area at the posterior superior temporal/supramarginal junction during the responsive naming task, and a right hyperactivation encompassing the anterior insula with adjacent inferior frontal gyrus and the head of the caudate nucleus during the first phonological task. This study thus provides evidence that this specific subtype of specific language impairment is associated with atypical lateralization and functioning of core language areas. PMID:21719430

The effect of macro- and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits on their sensory properties and on hedonic liking of older people.

PubMed

Tsikritzi, Roussa; Moynihan, Paula J; Gosney, Margot A; Allen, Victoria J; Methven, Lisa

2014-08-01

Under-nutrition in older adults is widespread. Oral nutritional supplement beverages (ONS) are prescribed, yet consumption by older people is often insufficient. A variety of supplement formats may improve nutrient intake. This study developed protein and micro-nutrient fortified biscuits and evaluated their sensory attributes and liking by older people. Two micro-nutrient strategies were taken, to match typical ONS and to customise to the needs of older people. Oat biscuits and gluten-free biscuits developed contained over 12% protein and over 460 kcal 100 g(-1). Two small (40 g) biscuits developed to match ONS provided approximately 40% of an ONS portion of micro-nutrients and 60% of macro-nutrients; however, the portion size was considered realistic whereas the average ONS portion (200 mL) is excessive. Biscuits developed to the needs of older adults provided, on average, 18% of the reference nutrient intake of targeted micro-nutrients. Sensory characteristics were similar between biscuits with and without micro-nutrient fortification, leading to no differences in liking. Fortified oat biscuits were less liked than commercial oat biscuits, partly attributed to flavour imparted by whey protein fortification. Macro- and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits could provide an alternative fortified snack to help alleviate malnutrition in older adults. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

The effect of macro- and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits on their sensory properties and on hedonic liking of older people

PubMed Central

Tsikritzi, Roussa; Moynihan, Paula J; Gosney, Margot A; Allen, Victoria J; Methven, Lisa

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Under-nutrition in older adults is widespread. Oral nutritional supplement beverages (ONS) are prescribed, yet consumption by older people is often insufficient. A variety of supplement formats may improve nutrient intake. This study developed protein and micro-nutrient fortified biscuits and evaluated their sensory attributes and liking by older people. Two micro-nutrient strategies were taken, to match typical ONS and to customise to the needs of older people. RESULTS Oat biscuits and gluten-free biscuits developed contained over 12% protein and over 460 kcal 100 g−1. Two small (40 g) biscuits developed to match ONS provided approximately 40% of an ONS portion of micro-nutrients and 60% of macro-nutrients; however, the portion size was considered realistic whereas the average ONS portion (200 mL) is excessive. Biscuits developed to the needs of older adults provided, on average, 18% of the reference nutrient intake of targeted micro-nutrients. Sensory characteristics were similar between biscuits with and without micro-nutrient fortification, leading to no differences in liking. Fortified oat biscuits were less liked than commercial oat biscuits, partly attributed to flavour imparted by whey protein fortification. CONCLUSION Macro- and micro-nutrient fortification of biscuits could provide an alternative fortified snack to help alleviate malnutrition in older adults. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry PMID:24318046

Vocal learning beyond imitation: mechanisms of adaptive vocal development in songbirds and human infants

PubMed Central

Tchernichovski, Ofer; Marcus, Gary

2014-01-01

Studies of vocal learning in songbirds typically focus on the acquisition of sensory templates for song imitation and on the consequent process of matching song production to templates. However, functional vocal development also requires the capacity to adaptively diverge from sensory templates, and to flexibly assemble vocal units. Examples of adaptive divergence include the corrective imitation of abnormal songs, and the decreased tendency to copy overabundant syllables. Such frequency-dependent effects might mirror tradeoffs between the assimilation of group identity (culture) while establishing individual and flexibly expressive songs. Intriguingly, although the requirements for vocal plasticity vary across songbirds, and more so between birdsong and language, the capacity to flexibly assemble vocal sounds develops in a similar, stepwise manner across species. Therefore, universal features of vocal learning go well beyond the capacity to imitate. PMID:25005823

Relationship between repetitive behaviour and fear across normative development, autism spectrum disorder, and down syndrome.

PubMed

Uljarević, Mirko; Evans, David W

2017-03-01

The present study had two aims: first to compare levels of restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) across two groups of typically developing (TD) children, and two disorders: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Down syndrome (DS), and second to explore the relationship between fear and repetitive behaviours in these four groups. Parents of 41 offspring with ASD (M age  = 123.39 months, SD age  = 27.67), 38 offspring with DS (M age  = 125.37 months, SD age  = 45.71), 45 typically developing children matched to the mental age (MA) of the DS group (TD MA; M age  = 51.13 months, SD age  = 22.1), and 42 chronological age (TD CA; M age  = 117.93 months, SD age  = 22.91) matched TD children, completed measures of RRB and fear. ANOVAs revealed differences across the four groups on the RRB subscale scores: "Just Right" F(3,162) = 16.62, P < 0.001; Rigid Routines F(3,162) = 52.76, P < 0.001; Sensory behaviours F(3,162) = 23.26, P < 0.001. Post-hoc comparisons revealed that children with ASD had the highest RRB levels followed by DS, TD MA, and TD CA children. In children with ASD, higher levels of fear were related to higher RRB levels. Similar, albeit less strong, patterns of associations was found among DS and TD MA children but not in older TD CA children. This study provided evidence of a fear-RRB association in children with ASD, DS, and two groups of TD children. Autism Res 2017, 10: 502-507. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Three-Particle Complexes in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganchev, Bogdan; Drummond, Neil; Aleiner, Igor; Fal'ko, Vladimir

2015-03-01

We evaluate binding energies of trions X±, excitons bound by a donor or acceptor charge XD (A ) , and overcharged acceptors or donors in two-dimensional atomic crystals by mapping the three-body problem in two dimensions onto one particle in a three-dimensional potential treatable by a purposely developed boundary-matching-matrix method. We find that in monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides the dissociation energy of X± is typically much larger than that of localized exciton complexes, so that trions are more resilient to heating, despite the fact that their recombination line in optics is less redshifted from the exciton line than the line of XD (A ) .

Normative Topographic ERP Analyses of Speed of Speech Processing and Grammar Before and After Grammatical Treatment

PubMed Central

Yoder, Paul J.; Molfese, Dennis; Murray, Micah M.; Key, Alexandra P. F.

2013-01-01

Typically developing (TD) preschoolers and age-matched preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) received event-related potentials (ERPs) to four monosyllabic speech sounds prior to treatment and, in the SLI group, after 6 months of grammatical treatment. Before treatment, the TD group processed speech sounds faster than the SLI group. The SLI group increased the speed of their speech processing after treatment. Post-treatment speed of speech processing predicted later impairment in comprehending phrase elaboration in the SLI group. During the treatment phase, change in speed of speech processing predicted growth rate of grammar in the SLI group. PMID:24219693

Acute Cholecystitis in Patients with Scrub Typhus.

PubMed

Lee, Hyun; Ji, Misuk; Hwang, Jeong-Hwan; Lee, Ja-Yeon; Lee, Ju-Hyung; Chung, Kyung Min; Lee, Chang-Seop

2015-11-01

Acute cholecystitis is a rare complication of scrub typhus. Although a few such cases have been reported in patients with scrub typhus, the clinical course is not well described. Of 12 patients, acute cholecystitis developed in 66.7% (8/12) of patients older than 60 yr. The scrub typhus group with acute cholecystitis had marginal significant longer hospital stay and higher cost than the group without cholecystitis according to propensity score matching. Scrub typhus should be kept in mind as a rare etiology of acute cholecystitis in endemic areas because the typical signs of scrub typhus such as skin rash and eschar can present after the abdominal pain.

Referential communication in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Dahlgren, Svenolof; Sandberg, Annika Dahlgren

2008-07-01

Referential communication was studied in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) including children with autism and Asperger syndrome. The aim was to study alternative explanations for the children's communicative problems in such situations. Factors studied were theory of mind, IQ, verbal ability and memory. The main results demonstrated diminished performance in children with autism spectrum disorder, mirroring performance in everyday life, in comparison to verbal IQ and mental age matched typically developing children. Among children with autism spectrum disorders, there was a positive relationship between performance in referential communication and theory of mind. Memory capacity also proved to play a role in success in the task.

Solid Micro Horn Array (SMIHA) for Acoustic Matching

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherrit, S.; Bao, X.; Bar-Cohen, Y.

2008-01-01

Transduction of electrical signals to mechanical signals and vice-versa in piezoelectric materials is controlled by the material coupling coefficient. In general in a loss-less material the ratio of energy conversion per cycle is proportional to the square of the coupling coefficient. In practical transduction however the impedance mismatch between the piezoelectric material and the electrical drive circuitry or the mechanical structure can have a significant impact on the power transfer. This paper looks at novel methods of matching the acoustic impedance of structures to the piezoelectric material in an effort to increase power transmission and efficiency. In typical methods the density and acoustic velocity of the matching layer is adjusted to give good matching between the transducer and the load. The approach discussed in this paper utilizes solid micro horn arrays in the matching layer which channel the stress and increase the strain in the layer. This approach is found to have potential applications in energy harvesting, medical ultrasound and in liquid and gas coupled transducers.