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\"A key issue for researchers and practitioners is how to support the social engagement of children with autism in ordinary, everyday social processes that are transactional in nature and involve mixed groups of children, with and without autism, in rich and varied relationships. Autism and the Social World of Childhood brings together current understandings about the social engagement of children with autism, gained from psychology-based research into autism, with well-established ideas about children's everyday social worlds, gained from sociocultural theories of childhood. It describes the experiences of interaction, friendship and play from children's own point of view as a way of giving insight into children's lives as they are lived and understood by them. Such an understanding serves to inform educational practice and aids the provision of more effective learning environments. Autism and the Social World of Childhood includes sections on: the nature of play, social interaction and friendship in autism the nature of children's ordinary social worlds, including children's cultures of communication and variation in children's play research approaches to investigating the social engagement of children with and without autism in natural contexts educational approaches to supporting the integration of children with autism within a school setting the importance of assessment in autism education. Autism and the Social World of Childhood includes real life descriptions of children's social experiences taken from ethnographic research into the play and interaction of children with and without autism. Practical guidance is provided on educational approaches to supporting the inclusion of children with autism within the ordinary social worlds of childhood\"-- Provided by publisher.

Some suggest autistic people display impaired Interpersonal Synchrony. However, partners of different neurotypes can struggle to connect and empathise with one another. We used Motion Energy Analysis to examine Social Motor Synchrony (SMS) in familiar partners of the same neurotype: pairs of autistic and of neurotypical children. Partners played two shared tablet activities, one to support collaboration by facilitating engagement and other-awareness (Connect), and one with no additional design features to facilitate collaboration (Colours). The neurotypical group showed similar SMS to the autistic group in Colours but lower SMS in Connect. The autistic group displayed similar levels of SMS in each activity. Autistic children can synchronise to a similar, or greater, degree than neurotypical children when the social context and type of task are considered.

The current study explored whether people who camouflage autistic traits are more likely to experience thwarted belongingness and suicidality, as predicted by the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS). 160 undergraduate students (86.9% female, 18–23 years) completed a cross-sectional online survey from 8th February to 30th May 2019 including self-report measures of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, autistic traits, depression, anxiety, camouflaging autistic traits, and lifetime suicidality. Results suggest that camouflaging autistic traits is associated with increased risk of experiencing thwarted belongingness and lifetime suicidality. It is important for suicide theories such as the IPTS to include variables relevant to the broader autism phenotype, to increase applicability of models to both autistic and non-autistic people.

Clinical efficacy of intranasal administration of oxytocin is increasingly explored in autism spectrum disorder, but to date, the biological effects of chronic administration regimes on endogenous oxytocinergic function are largely unknown. Here exploratory biological assessments from a completed randomized, placebo-controlled trial showed that children with autism (n = 79, 16 females) receiving intranasal oxytocin for four weeks (12 IU, twice daily) displayed significantly higher salivary oxytocin levels 24 hours after the last oxytocin nasal spray administration, but no longer at a four-week follow up session. Regarding salivary oxytocin receptor gene ( OXTR) epigenetics (DNA-methylation), oxytocin-induced reductions in OXTR DNA-methylation were observed, suggesting a facilitation of oxytocin receptor expression in the oxytocin compared to the placebo group. Notably, heightened oxytocin levels post-treatment were significantly associated with reduced OXTR DNA-methylation and improved feelings of secure attachment. These findings indicate that four weeks of chronic oxytocin administration stimulated the endogenous oxytocinergic system in children with autism. Intranasal administration of oxytocin is increasingly considered as a new therapeutic option for alleviating stress and social problems in children with autism. Here, important insights are provided into how repeated administration of oxytocin influences the functioning of one’s own oxytocin system.

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) has been used to define the ‘broader’ (BAP), ‘medium’ (MAP) and ‘narrow’ autism phenotypes (NAP). We used a new Italian version of the AQ to test if difference on AQ scores and the distribution of BAP, MAP and NAP in autism parents (n = 245) versus control parents (n = 300) were replicated in a Sicilian sample. Parents of children with autism spectrum conditions scored higher than the control parents on total AQ, social skills and communication subscales, and exhibited higher rates of BAP, MAP and NAP. We conclude that the Italian AQ is a cross-culturally reliable measure of these different phenotypes, and can be used to identify a phenotypic gradient of severity of autistic traits in families. To understand the molecular basis of these phenotypes will require its use in genetic association studies.

A shared aetiology for autism? Despite high heritability, autism is genetically very heterogeneous. This raises the question of whether there are many different pathologies presenting as autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), or whether the myriad genetic causes converge on a few biological pathways affected in most individuals, which could be therapeutically targeted. A study using transcriptome and gene co-expression network analysis suggests that the latter, convergent model is the case. The gene expression patterns that typically distinguish frontal and temporal cortex are much less pronounced in the ASD brain, and specific splicing abnormalities and modules of co-expressed genes associated with autism are enriched for previously identified genetic association signals. This points to transcriptional and splicing dysregulation as underlying mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction in this disorder. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common, highly heritable neurodevelopmental condition characterized by marked genetic heterogeneity 1 , 2 , 3 . Thus, a fundamental question is whether autism represents an aetiologically heterogeneous disorder in which the myriad genetic or environmental risk factors perturb common underlying molecular pathways in the brain 4 . Here, we demonstrate consistent differences in transcriptome organization between autistic and normal brain by gene co-expression network analysis. Remarkably, regional patterns of gene expression that typically distinguish frontal and temporal cortex are significantly attenuated in the ASD brain, suggesting abnormalities in cortical patterning. We further identify discrete modules of co-expressed genes associated with autism: a neuronal module enriched for known autism susceptibility genes, including the neuronal specific splicing factor A2BP1 (also known as FOX1 ), and a module enriched for immune genes and glial markers. Using high-throughput RNA sequencing we demonstrate dysregulated splicing of A2BP1 -dependent alternative exons in the ASD brain. Moreover, using a published autism genome-wide association study (GWAS) data set, we show that the neuronal module is enriched for genetically associated variants, providing independent support for the causal involvement of these genes in autism. In contrast, the immune-glial module showed no enrichment for autism GWAS signals, indicating a non-genetic aetiology for this process. Collectively, our results provide strong evidence for convergent molecular abnormalities in ASD, and implicate transcriptional and splicing dysregulation as underlying mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction in this disorder.

Purpose: Internalizing conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and difficulties with developing and maintaining friendships are common among autistic children and adolescents. Participation in extracurricular activities may buffer against these challenges as they provide naturalistic opportunities to bring peers with shared interests and skills together. As such, the purpose of the current study was to examine associations between sport and club participation and (1) friendship success and (2) co-occurring anxiety and depression in a large sample of autistic youth. Methods: Secondary analysis was performed using data from the 2018–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health. Participants were 562 autistic children (ages 6–11 years) and 818 autistic adolescents (ages 12–17 years). Within each age group, a series of binary logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: Club participation was not associated with friendship or internalizing conditions. However, participation in sports was positively associated with friendship success among both children ( OR  = 2.07, p  = .006) and adolescents ( OR  = 2.35, p  = .001). Results also found that adolescents who participated in sports were 34% less likely to have diagnosis of depression ( p  = .048). Conclusion: Findings suggest that participation in sports may play a meaningful role in protecting against depression during adolescence and serve as a context for friendship development across childhood and adolescence. Future research should address barriers to extracurricular activity participation and identify the specific components of sports that are most beneficial to autistic youth to inform activity offerings and the development of interventions targeting friendship formation and mental health outcomes.

Although the core characteristics associated with autistic traits are impaired social interactions, there are few studies examining how autistic traits translate into prosocial behaviour in daily life. The current study explored the effect of autistic traits on prosocial behaviour and the mediating role of multimodal empathy (trait empathy and state empathic concern). The results showed that autistic traits reduced prosocial behaviour directly and indirectly through complex mediation by multimodal empathy. The findings revealed the internal mechanism of autistic traits impeding prosocial behaviour and expanded our understandings of social behaviour in autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) and autistic traits in the general population. Furthermore, the results have implications for social adaptability interventions for individuals with ASCs and high levels of autistic traits.

We conducted a case–control study using 190 Han children with and without autism to investigate prenatal and perinatal risk factors for autism in China. Cases were recruited through public special education schools and controls from regular public schools in the same region (Tianjin), with frequency matching on sex and birth year. Unadjusted analyses identified seven prenatal and seven perinatal risk factors significantly associated with autism. In the adjusted analysis, nine risk factors showed significant association with autism: maternal second-hand smoke exposure, maternal chronic or acute medical conditions unrelated to pregnancy, maternal unhappy emotional state, gestational complications, edema, abnormal gestational age (<35 or >42 weeks), nuchal cord, gravidity >1, and advanced paternal age at delivery (>30 year-old).

This study explored whether the Interpersonal Theory of suicide informs our understanding of high rates of suicidality in autistic adults. Autistic and non-autistic adults (n = 695, mean age 41.7 years, 58% female) completed an online survey of self-reported thwarted belonging, perceived burden, autistic traits, suicidal capability, trauma, and lifetime suicidality. Autistic people reported stronger feelings of perceived burden, thwarted belonging and more lifetime trauma than non-autistic people. The hypothesised interaction between burdensomeness and thwarted belonging were observed in the non-autistic group but not in the autistic group. In both groups autistic traits influenced suicidality through burdensomeness/thwarted belonging. Promoting self-worth and social inclusion are important for suicide prevention and future research should explore how these are experienced and expressed by autistic people.