Peer mediation in play settings for minimally verbal students with autism Spectrum disorder.

Background and aims: Peer-mediated interventions (PMIs) are effective strategies to foster socialization of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in natural settings. However, research examining the efficacy of peer mediation for students with ASD who have the greatest cognitive and language impairments remains limited. Additionally, previous studies essentially targeted communicative abilities of participants. To address this gap, the present study evaluated the effects of a play-based PMI on three socio-communicative skills (play, social engagement and imitation) of minimally verbal students with ASD who also have a comorbidity of intellectual disability (ID). Methods: Seven children with ASD attending ordinary school settings and 14 typically developing (TD) preschoolers participated. Seven single-sex groups were formed, and children played together during two 30 min weekly sessions. TD children were trained according to the principles of the integrated play group model. We used a multiple-baseline design across participants to measure the effects of the intervention on play skills, social engagement and motor imitation of students with ASD. Results: Outcomes revealed an intervention effect for most of the participants, despite some variations across children. After the peer training, four children increased their duration of functional/symbolic play, six children improved their duration of interactive play and five children increased their rates of motor imitation. Concerning maintenance gains, inter-individual differences are also important. Conclusions and implications: These findings suggest that a play-based PMI may be a feasible option for targeting inclusive education and improving socio-communicative skills of some minimally verbal students with ASD who also have an ID. However, variations across children invite further research to clarify how individual factors can moderate the effects of PMIs in children with ASD who are the most impaired.

Prenatal Exposure to Glycol Ethers and Neurocognitive Abilities in 6-Year-Old Children: The PELAGIE Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Glycol ethers (GE) are widely used organic solvents. Despite the potential neurotoxicity of several families of organic solvents, little is known about the impact of GE on the neurodevelopment of infants and children. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relation between urinary concentrations of GE metabolites in pregnant women and neurocognitive abilities in their 6-year-old children in the PELAGIE mother-child cohort. METHODS: Five GE metabolites were measured in first morning void urine samples of 204 French pregnant women in early pregnancy (< 19 weeks of gestation). Psychologists assessed the neurocognitive abilities of their 6-year-old children with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV (WISC) and the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY). We analyzed the results with linear (WISC) and Poisson regression models (NEPSY), adjusted for potential confounders, including child's stimulation at home. RESULTS: GE metabolites were detected in 90-100% of maternal urine samples. The WISC Verbal Comprehension score was significantly lower for children with the highest tertile of urinary phenoxyacetic acid (PhAA) [ß (third vs. first tertile) = -6.53; 95% CI: -11.44, -1.62]. Similarly, the NEPSY Design Copying subtest score was lower in those with the highest tertile of urinary ethoxyacetic acid (EAA) [ß (third vs. first tertile) = -0.11; 95% CI: -0.21, 0.00]. The other GE metabolites we studied were not significantly associated with WISC or NEPSY scores. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal urine concentrations of two GE metabolites were associated with lower WISC Verbal Comprehension Index scores and NEPSY Design Copying subscale scores, respectively, at age 6 years. PhAA is the primary metabolite of 2-phenoxyethanol (EGPhE), which is commonly found in cosmetics, and precursors of EAA are frequently used in cleaning agents. Additional research is needed to confirm our findings and further explore potential effects of prenatal GE exposures on neurocognitive performance in children.

Childhood exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and neurodevelopment at six years of age.

Mixtures of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are present in indoor environments. Studies of the developmental effects of exposure to these chemicals in large prospective mother-child cohorts are required, with data on prenatal exposure and long-term follow-up of the children. We aimed to investigate the relationship between prenatal and childhood exposure to PBDEs and neurodevelopment at the age of six years. We determined the levels of PBDEs and other neurotoxicants in cord blood and dust collected from the homes of children for 246 families included in the PELAGIE mother-child cohort in France. We assessed two cognitive domains of the six-year-old children using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV. Verbal comprehension scores were lower in children from homes with higher concentrations of BDE99 (ßDetects

Organophosphate Insecticide Metabolites in Prenatal and Childhood Urine Samples and Intelligence Scores at 6 Years of Age: Results from the Mother-Child PELAGIE Cohort (France).

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that exposure to organophosphate insecticides (OP) during pregnancy impairs neurodevelopment in children. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated associations between biomarkers of prenatal and postnatal OP exposure and cognitive function of 6-year-olds in a French longitudinal birth cohort. METHODS: In 2002-2006, the PELAGIE mother-child cohort enrolled pregnant women from Brittany. For a random subcohort, we measured nonspecific dialkylphosphate metabolites (DAP) of OP in one maternal urine sample, collected before 19 weeks' gestation, and in one urine sample collected from their 6-year-old children. Six subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV) were administered when the children were 6 years of age to evaluate cognitive function (n = 231). Linear regression models controlling for factors including maternal intelligence and the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment score were used. RESULTS: WISC-IV scores were not significantly associated with prenatal or childhood total DAP metabolites. WISC verbal comprehension score was significantly higher in association with the highest maternal urinary concentrations of diethylphosphate (DE) metabolites (5.5; 95% CI: 0.8, 10.3 for > 13.2 nmol/L vs. < LOQ), whereas WISC working memory score was significantly lower in association with the highest urinary concentrations of DE metabolites at age 6 years (-3.6; 95% CI: -7.8, -0.6 for > 11.1 nmol/L vs. < LOD). CONCLUSION: We found no evidence that prenatal OP exposure adversely affected cognitive function in 6-year-olds, perhaps because of the population's socioeconomic status, which was higher than in previous studies, though other causal and noncausal explanations are also possible. The negative association between WISC score and concurrent DE urinary concentrations requires replication by longitudinal studies investigating childhood OP exposure. CITATION: Cartier C, Warembourg C, Le Maner-Idrissi G, Lacroix A, Rouget F, Monfort C, Limon G, Durand G, Saint-Amour D, Cordier S, Chevrier C. 2016. Organophosphate insecticide metabolites in prenatal and childhood urine samples and intelligence scores at 6 years of age: results from the mother-child PELAGIE cohort (France). Environ Health Perspect 124:674-680; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409472.

Pyrethroid insecticide exposure and cognitive developmental disabilities in children: The PELAGIE mother-child cohort.

Pyrethroid insecticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, few studies have examined whether lower-level exposures could adversely affect children's neurodevelopment. The PELAGIE cohort included 3421 pregnant women from Brittany, France between 2002 and 2006. When their children reached their sixth birthday, 428 mothers from the cohort were randomly selected, successfully contacted and found eligible. A total of 287 (67%) mothers agreed to participate with their children in the neuropsychological follow-up. Two cognitive domains were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: verbal comprehension and working memory. Five pyrethroid and two organophosphate insecticide metabolites were measured in maternal and child first-void urine samples collected between 6 and 19 gestational weeks and at 6years of age, respectively. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between cognitive scores and urinary pyrethroid metabolite concentrations, adjusting for organophosphate metabolite concentrations and potential confounders. Maternal prenatal pyrethroid metabolite concentrations were not consistently associated with any children's cognitive scores. By contrast, childhood 3-PBA and cis-DBCA concentrations were both negatively associated with verbal comprehension scores (P-trend=0.04 and P-trend<0.01, respectively) and with working memory scores (P-trend=0.05 and P-trend<0.01, respectively). No associations were observed for the three other childhood pyrethroid metabolite concentrations (4-F-3-PBA, cis-DCCA, and trans-DCCA). Low-level childhood exposures to deltamethrin (as cis-DBCA is its principal and selective metabolite), in particular, and to pyrethroid insecticides, in general (as reflected in levels of the 3-PBA metabolite) may negatively affect neurocognitive development by 6years of age. Whatever their etiology, these cognitive deficits may be of importance educationally, because cognitive impairments in children interfere with learning and social development. Potential causes that can be prevented are of paramount public health importance.

Boys and girls on the playground: sex differences in social development are not stable across early childhood.

Sex differences in human social behaviors and abilities have long been a question of public and scientific interest. Females are usually assumed to be more socially oriented and skillful than males. However, despite an extensive literature, the very existence of sex differences remains a matter of discussion while some studies found no sex differences whereas others reported differences that were either congruent or not with gender stereotypes. Moreover, the magnitude, consistency and stability across time of the differences remain an open question, especially during childhood. As play provides an excellent window into children's social development, we investigated whether and how sex differences change in social play across early childhood. Following a cross-sectional design, 164 children aged from 2 to 6 years old, divided into four age groups, were observed during outdoor free play at nursery school. We showed that sex differences are not stable over time evidencing a developmental gap between girls and boys. Social and structured forms of play emerge systematically earlier in girls than in boys leading to subsequent sex differences in favor of girls at some ages, successively in associative play at 3-4 years, cooperative play at 4-5 years, and social interactions with peers at 5-6 years. Preschool boys also display more solitary play than preschool girls, especially when young. Nevertheless, while boys catch up and girls move on towards more complex play, sex differences in social play patterns are reversed in favor of boys at the following ages, such as in associative play at 4-5 years and cooperative play at 5-6 years. This developmental perspective contributes to resolve apparent discrepancies between single-snapshot studies. A better understanding of the dynamics of sex differences in typical social development should also provide insights into atypical social developments which exhibit sex differences in prevalence, such as autism.