Do Types of Information in an Animated Video Intervention Affect University Students' Autism Knowledge and Openness Towards Peers on the Autism Spectrum?

This pre-test post-test control group design sought to compare the effectiveness of delivering different types of information ([1] factual information vs. [2] factual information + descriptive and explanatory information vs. [3] factual information + descriptive, explanatory + directive information) in an animated video intervention in increasing university students' autism knowledge and openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. The sample consisted of 92 undergraduates (27 males, 65 females; age range = 18-36) from various universities in Singapore. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions/videos, where they completed a measure of their autism knowledge and openness scale, before viewing a 5-minute long animated video containing different types of information about autism. After which, participants completed the measure of autism knowledge and openness scale again, followed by a measure of their empathy level. Results indicated that participants' autism knowledge improved following the viewing of the animated video. However, the three different videos containing different types of information did not differ in influencing participants' openness toward peers on the autism spectrum. Nevertheless, qualitative responses proposed that the video containing factual information, with descriptive, explanatory, and directive information was useful in helping participants to know how to interact with their peers on the autism spectrum. The findings of this study provide preliminary support for the most effective method to educate and raise awareness about autism, among the general student population in order to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.

The effect of diagnostic labels on teachers' perceptions of behaviours of students with autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: In Singapore, despite the availability of specialized services and resources in mainstream schools for students with special educational needs, parents can still be hesitant to disclose their child's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), for fear of stigma or negative attitudes from teachers and peers. AIM: This study aims to understand how diagnostic labels affect teachers' perceptions of behaviours in students with ASD in mainstream primary schools, particularly behaviours which are difficult for educators to manage in the classroom setting. Based on research suggesting that a diagnostic label can provide an alternative explanation for atypical behaviours and reduce negative impressions, we hypothesize that teachers would perceive these behaviours of children with ASD less negatively as compared to children without any diagnostic labels. SAMPLE: The sample consisted of 120 mainstream primary school teachers who reported a mean of 9.97 years (SD = 7.96) of teaching experience. Majority of participants (65%) indicated that they had direct experience of teaching students with ASD in mainstream schools (mean years = 3.58, SD = 4.77). METHOD: Participants read a total of 20 vignettes depicting a range of behaviours typically observed in primary school-aged students with ASD. Participants were asked to rate the featured student's behaviour on a 5-point Likert scale (i.e., 1 = strongly negative, 2 = negative, 3 = neutral, 4 = positive, and 5 = strongly positive). The survey vignettes were presented in a randomized order, and participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (awareness of diagnostic label) or the control group (non-awareness of label). RESULTS: Results indicated that the experimental group rated the behaviours less negatively than the control group. Qualitative feedback from participants also indicated that knowledge of the diagnostic label helped them to perceive the behaviours more positively. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study have implications for parents regarding diagnosis disclosure and may serve as an encouragement to parents to consider disclosing their child's ASD diagnosis to the school.

Development of a brief version of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood.

While autism spectrum disorder screening tools provide a useful resource for practitioners, the reality is they are underused. The justifications often provided include the time required for administration and the training involved. A brief tool with good psychometric properties that require minimal training is required. This study examined the development and the psychometric properties of a brief version of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood. The data showed the potential of the brief version of Autism Detection in Early Childhood for screening children age 12-36 months. Our dataset comprised 106 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition autism spectrum disorder, 86 non-typical development and 78 typical development participants age 12-36 months. Analyses comparing autism spectrum disorder and non-typical development groups supported the use of five critical items (i.e. response to name, social smiling, gaze switch, response to verbal command and use of gestures) to form the brief version Autism Detection in Early Childhood. The brief version of Autism Detection in Early Childhood's optimal cutoff score of 4 had sensitivity of 0.81, specificity of 0.78, positive predictive value of 0.81 and negative predictive value of 0.78. However, the results would need to be viewed as preliminary given the nature of the study sample and the findings might not be generalisable to samples with higher levels of cognitive functioning.

Brief Report: Screening Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder for Anxiety and Depression.

Although depression and anxiety are the most common comorbidities in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), descriptive data for their prevalence among autistic adults are limited. This study provides descriptive data for a cohort of 155 autistic adults (mean age = 27.1 years, SD = 11.9) of average IQ on the short-form version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales and the Mini Social Phobia Inventory. Also included were 79 non-ASD participants (mean age = 26.2, SD = 10.2) who completed the mini-SPIN. A substantial percentage (39-46%) of autistic adults scored within the 'Moderate' to 'Extremely Severe' range on the DASS-21. The DASS-21 would be a valuable rapid screening device for these comorbid conditions in autistic adults.

Using the Autism Detection in Early Childhood (ADEC) and Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS) to predict long term outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorders.

This study evaluated the predictive validity of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood (ADEC; Young, Autism detection in early childhood: ADEC. Australian Council of Educational Research, Camberwell, VIC 2007) and a well-established screening tool, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS; Schopler et al. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS). Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles 1988), for long term outcomes of children with ASD engaged in an early intervention program. Participants were 55 children (44 male, 11 female) aged 19­42 months (M = 33.5, SD = 5.6) at initial assessment who were followed up 2 and 6 years after their initial assessment. The ADEC and the CARS performed similarly when predicting long term outcomes such as clinical diagnostic outcome and overall adaptive functioning level. However, only the ADEC score was significantly correlated with ASD symptom severity at the 6-year follow up. Although these findings need to be replicated with additional and larger samples, this study extends our understanding of the psychometric properties of both the ADEC and the CARS.

Autism detection in early childhood (ADEC): reliability and validity data for a Level 2 screening tool for autistic disorder.

The Autism Detection in Early Childhood (ADEC; Young, 2007) was developed as a Level 2 clinician-administered autistic disorder (AD) screening tool that was time-efficient, suitable for children under 3 years, easy to administer, and suitable for persons with minimal training and experience with AD. A best estimate clinical Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.; DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) diagnosis of AD was made for 70 children using all available information and assessment results, except for the ADEC data. A screening study compared these children on the ADEC with 57 children with other developmental disorders and 64 typically developing children. Results indicated high internal consistency (α = .91). Interrater reliability and test-retest reliability of the ADEC were also adequate. ADEC scores reliably discriminated different diagnostic groups after controlling for nonverbal IQ and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Composite scores. Construct validity (using exploratory factor analysis) and concurrent validity using performance on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord et al., 2000), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (Le Couteur, Lord, & Rutter, 2003), and DSM-IV-TR criteria were also demonstrated. Signal detection analysis identified the optimal ADEC cutoff score, with the ADEC identifying all children who had an AD (N = 70, sensitivity = 1.0) but overincluding children with other disabilities (N = 13, specificity ranging from .74 to .90). Together, the reliability and validity data indicate that the ADEC has potential to be established as a suitable and efficient screening tool for infants with AD.

The perception of social situations by children with autism spectrum disorders.

This study investigated how children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) make social judgments of social situations and provide justifications for their responses. Fifteen children with ASD and 15 typically developing children (ages from 9 to 13 years old) were presented with eight vignettes, based on the Dewey Story Test (Dewey, 1991) and developed for the purposes of this study. The participants rated the appropriateness (on a 4-point Likert scale) of the socially inappropriate event (test item) and non-social appropriate event (control item) in each vignette. Justifications for each rating were also elicited at the end of each vignette. The children with ASD rated socially inappropriate behaviors in vignettes no differently from their typically developing peers but rated control items as stranger. They also had a higher tendency to provide inappropriate/bizarre and don't know/no response justifications instead of appropriate/social justifications (that reflect social awareness). The impact of the method of eliciting social judgments of social situations and its impact on findings are discussed.