How To Test For Emotional Intelligence In A Child With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Transcription

1 Lay abstracts autism 2011 SAGE Publications and The National Autistic Society Vol 15(6) ; (2011) Title: Emotion regulation and internalizing symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders Rieffe, Oosterveld, Meerum Terwogt, Mootz, Van Leeuwen, and Stockmann DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: Emotions are the motor behind our daily social activities. Many studies have shown that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties understanding others emotions. Yet, understanding of own emotions in children with ASD has been largely neglected. Acknowledging and understanding one s own emotions, and the ability to regulate these emotions to an extent that they can be expressed adaptively, is essential in many ways (for example, in commencing and maintaining social relationships, and in contributing to positive mental health). By examining these topics in 11-year-old high-functioning children/ adolescents with ASD, we found: i) There was no difference in the total level of mental health problems (e.g., depression, worry) between children with ASD and their typically developing peers based on self-reports, but parents did note more symptoms in their children with ASD; ii) Children with ASD reported that they used adaptive emotion regulation strategies (e.g. I think of what would be the best for me to do ) less often than their peers; iii) Unlike typical children, these adaptive strategies (trying to think positively or constructively about a problem) did not help children with ASD to prevent symptoms of depression; and iv) Children with ASD thought it was more useful to hide their emotions, and this was related to less worry in this group. Overall, it appears that children with ASD have more fragmented ideas about emotions and emotion regulation, which might make it more difficult for them to use and express emotions adaptively in their daily lives. More insight in these processes could help professionals to support children with ASD constructively in these domains of emotion regulation. Copyright The Author(s), Reprints and permissions: DOI: /

2 AUTISM 15(6) Title: A comparison of the trait emotional intelligence profiles of individuals with and without Asperger syndrome Petrides, Hudry, Michalaria, Swami and Sevdalis DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) concerns people s perceptions of their emotional abilities (how good we believe we are in understanding and managing our own and other people s emotions, rather than how good we actually are). Individuals with Asperger syndrome show clear deficits in a range of socio-emotional areas (e.g., social interaction and communication skills) and are also thought to have limited self-knowledge about their abilities in these areas. This creates an opportunity for a very interesting study in this group: if individuals with Asperger syndrome have limited understanding of the deficits of their condition, then they would score similarly to typically-developed adults on measures of trait EI; in contrast, if they have an accurate understanding of these deficits, then they would score significantly lower. Our findings supported the latter suggestion, with the Asperger group scoring significantly lower on 12 out of the 15 facets of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). They rated themselves particularly low on questions relating to social awareness, emotion management, adaptability, empathy, and emotion perception. Differences were much smaller, or non-existent, on questions relating to Self-control (especially, impulse control and emotion control), which is line with evidence suggesting that individuals with Asperger syndrome do not experience deficits in selfdiscipline and willpower. Overall, the findings strongly suggest that individuals with Asperger syndrome have extensive insight into the nature of their condition and are well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their personality. Detailed information about trait EI and the various facets of the TEIQue can be found at 762

3 LAY ABSTRACTS Title: College students on the autism spectrum: Prevalence and associated problems White, Ollendick and Bray DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: As we become better at identifying young people with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD), it is important that clinicians and scientists study the treatment and education needs of this growing population. In this study, we wanted to understand the degree to which HFASD is present among college students and to screen for psychiatric problems (e.g., anxiety, depression) that students with HFASD may experience.we examined the total number of people with ASD (out of 667 students at one university) and asked them about other behavioral and psychiatric problems that they may have. We found that between.7% and 1.9% of college students could meet criteria for HFASD. Of special interest, none of the five students who were found to meet the formal criteria for receiving a diagnosis of HFASD had been diagnosed previously. Regardless of diagnosis, those students with more symptoms of HFASD (n = 13) reported more problems with social anxiety than a group of students who had lower scores on a measure of autism severity. In addition, symptoms of HFASD were found to be associated with symptoms of social anxiety, as well as depression and aggression. These findings demonstrate the importance of screening for autism-related problems in university students. Title: Blame and Forgiveness Judgements Among Children, Adolescents and Adults with Autism Rogé and Mullet DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: Blaming and avoiding blame, and forgiving and seeking forgiveness are common social phenomena. In this research, we assessed 763

4 AUTISM 15(6) how well children, adolescents and adults with and without autism could (1) use intent and severity of consequences information for attributing blame to an offender, and (2) use intent and apologies information for inferring willingness to forgive. This was achieved using a series of scenarios, for example: Peter is jealous of Jim s portable radio receptor. He asks Jim to let him use the receptor. Intentionally, Peter lets the radio receptor fall down on the ground. Despite the shock, the receptor is not broken. It keeps functioning. In your opinion, what level of blame does Peter deserve? We found that people with autism were able to consistently use intent information to determine blame, but not to the same degree as their comparison counterparts. Regarding forgiveness scenarios, people with autism, irrespective of their age, did not take intent into account. This finding indicates that the use of intent information by people with autism may be strongly dependent on the nature of the scenario. In particular it may be dependent on the type of relationship that is involved in making judgments: direct as in the case of blame (i.e., the more severe the consequences and clearer the intent, the stronger the blame) or inverse as in the case of forgiveness (i.e., the more complete the apology, the stronger is the willingness to forgive, but the clearer the intent, the weaker is the willingness to forgive). Future studies, using a full range of moral situations (duty, envy, honesty, atonement, deserving, unkindness, unfairness), and a full range of responses types (blame, punishment, permissibility) should explore further the differences between people with and without autism regarding the use of circumstantial information. Title: Validation of the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire, Mandarin Chinese Version (CH-ASSQ) in Beijing, China Guo, Tang, Rice, Lee, Wang and Cubells DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: Background: Autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) occur throughout the world, but methods for screening for such disorders require adjustments for language and cultural context. The present study tested the utility of a Mandarin Chinese translation of an English-language parental questionnaire designed to screen for ASD, the Autism Symptom Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ). Methods: We recruited children diagnosed with ASD, 764

5 LAY ABSTRACTS comparison children with other psychiatric disorders (attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder and childhood-onset schizophrenia), and typical school children. The parents of all of these children were asked to complete the Chinese ASSQ (known as the CH-ASSQ). Results: Total scores on the CH-ASSQ were significantly higher in the children with ASD than in any other group. The results suggested that a cutoff score of 12 on the CH-ASSQ was optimal for distinguishing children with ASD from both typical children and children with other clinical conditions. Conclusions: Our pilot data suggest that the CH-ASSQ successfully differentiates clinically diagnosed patients with ASD from unaffected children, as well as from those with other clinical conditions (attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder, and childhoodonset schizophrenia). The instrument might therefore be useful for screening for ASD in urban Mandarin Chinese-speaking populations. Title: Cerebellar Dysfunction, Cognitive Flexibility and Autistic Traits in a non-clinical Sample Ridley, Homewood and Walters DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: There is growing evidence that key characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), such as repetitive behaviours, circumscribed interests and social difficulties, are not restricted to individuals with ASD but may also carry over, to a greater or lesser degree, to typical individuals in the form of autistic traits. However, no research has yet examined if there is any relationship in the typically developed population between levels of autistic traits and two key features of ASD abnormalities to the cerebellum (a part of the brain responsible for coordination of movement) and difficulties with cognitive flexibility (the ability to move from one way of thinking to another). This study used a questionnaire called the Autism Spectrum Quotient to measure levels of autistic traits in university students. These students were enrolled in either systems-oriented (e.g., mathematics, computer science) or humanities (e.g., arts, languages, social sciences) degree programs. We chose to compare these groups of students as an interest in systems is thought to be key feature of ASD, and may therefore be related to levels of autistic traits in typical individuals. Participants also completed a battery of motor tasks and tasks assessing verbal and non-verbal cognitive 765

6 AUTISM 15(6) flexibility. Results indicated that students enrolled in systems degrees had, on average, higher levels of autistic traits than students enrolled in humanities degrees. Levels of autistic traits were found to be related to motor function scores, as well as verbal cognitive flexibility. This suggests that important features of ASD are found in the general population. Title: Minor physical anomalies in children with autism spectrum disorders Angkustsiri, Krakowiak, Moghaddam, Wardinsky, Gardner, Kalamkarian, Hertz-Picciotto and Hansen DOI: / LAY ABSTRACT: It is likely that there are many factors that lead to the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and the identification of subgroups may be one way to study potential causes of the disorder. One possible tool for defining an important subset of individuals with ASD is the presence of unusual physical features, also called dysmorphology or minor physical anomalies (MPAs). This study used photographs to identify significant physical characteristics (such as unusual eye folds, curving of the fingers, etc.) among children with ASD, typically developing children, and children with developmental delay (e.g., speech or cognitive delay) who did not have ASD. All children were between 2 and 5 years of age. Paediatricians classified photographs for 324 children as either normal (nondysmorphic) or abnormal (dysmorphic) based on the number of MPAs present. Children with ASD were more likely to have an abnormal number of MPAs compared to typically developing children. In children with ASD, seizures were more common in children rated as dysmorphic. There were no meaningful differences between children with ASD and developmental delay after removing those with known syndromes (e.g., Down syndrome, velocardiofacial syndrome). The authors conclude that photographs can be used to detect abnormal physical features in children who are often difficult to examine due to their young age, sensory difficulties, and/or intellectual disability. This is important for clinicians, as children with multiple physical abnormalities can be identified through the use of photographs and should be evaluated for brain abnormalities and underlying genetic disorders. 766