Discrepancias entre padres y maestros de estudiantes con trastorno de espectro autista (TEA) en funcionamiento ejecutivo según el BRIEF / Discrepancies between parents and teachers of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in executive functioning according to the BRIEF

Uno de los puntos críticos en la evaluación del trastorno del espectro autista es la manifestación del comportamiento en varios contextos del desarrollo, por lo que la valoración por parte de diferentes informantes es un aspecto clave. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la existencia de discrepancias entre padres y maestros en la evaluación del funionamiento ejecutivo en una muestra de 43 niños con un trastorno del espectro autista de nivel de gravedad 2. Para ello se compararon las puntuaciones obtenidas en las subescalas del BRIEF entre padres y maestros, y se analizó la relación entre tales puntuaciones. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron, en primer lugar, diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre padres y maestros en todas las escalas, siendo los maestros quienes informaron de una mayor disfunción ejecutiva, y en segundo lugar, la ausencia de correlaciones estadísticamente significativas entre las puntuaciones otorgadas por ambos informantes en casi todas las escalas. Se puede concluir que existen diferencias en cuanto a la percepción que tienen padres y maestros con respecto a las funciones ejecutivas de los niños con TEA, lo que puede estar en consonancia con la relevancia o el papel que tienen estas funciones en el contexto en el que son evaluadas.(AU)

One of the critical issues in the assessment of autism spectrum disorder is the behavior exhibited in various developmental contexts, and so the assessment by different informants is important in understanding this disorder. The aim of this study was to analyze parent-teacher agree-ment on executive functioning assessment in a sample of 43 children with autism spectrum disorder with level 2 severity. For this purpose, scores given by parents and teachers on the BRIEF subscales were compared, and the relationship between these scores was analyzed. The results obtained indicated, first, statistically significant differences between parents and teachers on all the subscales, with teachers reporting greater executive dys-function in all cases. Second, there were no statistically significant correla-tions between the scores given by the two informants on almost all the subscales. Overall, these results point to the different perceptions of par-ents and teachers regarding the executive functioning of children with ASD, which may reflect the relevance or role of these functions in the con-text where they are assessed.(AU)

Analysis of Spanish Parents' Knowledge about ASD and Their Attitudes towards Inclusive Education.

To make possible the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream settings, parental knowledge and attitudes towards the disorder play a key role between the home and the school setting. However, prior literature has not carried out an in-depth analysis of parents' knowledge about ASD and their attitudes toward the inclusion of children with this diagnosis. This study examined the parental attitudes towards inclusion and knowledge about ASD. Participants were parents of children with ASD (n = 75), parents of children without ASD whose children had prior or current contact with peers with ASD (n = 44), and parents of children with no previous interactions with a peer with ASD (n = 51). The Attitudes of Regular Educators Towards Inclusion for Students with Autism Survey and the Autism Knowledge Questionnaire were filled out. Nonparametric statistical tests were used. Results showed that parents of children with ASD have better knowledge about this disorder and hold more favorable attitudes towards the inclusion of children with ASD than the other parents. These findings suggest that the benefits of inclusive schooling are limited to the school setting and do not appear to affect families of children without ASD.

Joint Attention and Its Relationship with Autism Risk Markers at 18 Months of Age.

(1) Joint attention is the ability to coordinate attention to share a point of reference with another person. It has an early onset and is a clear indicator of understanding the representations of others, and it is essential in the development of symbolic thought and the acquisition of language. Deficiencies in this prelinguistic early communication skill are strong markers of the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD); (2) this longitudinal study aimed to evaluate joint attention skills in a group of 32 infants at two developmental moments (8 and 12 months) in order to explore whether their performance on this skill was related to the presence of early signs of ASD at 18 months. Logistic multiple regressions were carried out for the data analysis; (3) results of the analysis showed that the variables of initiating joint attention at 8 months and responding to joint attention at 12 months were linked to the risk of ASD at 18 months of age; (4) in conclusion, early joint attention skills had a pivotal role in defining early manifestations of ASD.

Symbolic Play among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Scoping Review.

Symbolic play is considered an early indicator in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its assessment. The objective of this study was to analyze the difficulties in symbolic play experienced by children with ASD and to determine the existence of differences in symbolic play among children with ASD, children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development. A scoping review was carried out in the Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, ERIC, and PsycInfo databases, following the extension for scoping reviews of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The number of papers included in the review was 22. The results confirm that children with ASD have greater difficulties with symbolic play than children with other neurodevelopmental disorders and children with typical development, even when controlling for their verbal age. Difficulties are greater in situations of free or spontaneous play. Results evidenced that the absence or deficiency in the symbolic play can serve as an early indicator of ASD between the first and second year of life, the developmental moment in which this type of play begins.

Is It Possible to Educate, Intervene or "Cure" Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Content Analysis of YouTube Videos.

YouTube is one of the most well-known and widely accessed websites worldwide, thus having a powerful pedagogical potential. Nonetheless, the quality and the veracity of some YouTube videos are questionable. Doubts regarding the trustworthiness of factual content is a controversial factor that needs to be taken into account, especially when addressing public health issues. For this reason, the main objective of this work is to analyze the content of the most viewed videos in Spanish on YouTube related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To carry out this research, the terms "autism AND education", "autism AND intervention", and "autism AND cure" were used (in Spanish). The analysis of these searches results indicated that videos included in the "cure" category are shorter, and less valued by internet users, obtaining the lowest ratings on the "Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool" for audiovisual materials (PEMAT-A/V), in addition to present therapies that are in fact more harmful than videos in other categories. In general, videos containing recommendations for therapies that are harmful are the ones that have received most views, along with the videos that include alternative non-harmful therapies. Practical implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Representación del TEA en los medios de comunicación: análisis de un periódico generalista / Representation of ASD in mass media: analysis of a generalist newspaper

Los medios de comunicación influyen notablemente en sus consumidores, por lo que no son meros informadores, sino que también son creadores de opinión. Este hecho es relevante para el ámbito de la inclusión, en tanto que las necesidades específicas de apoyo educativo son también un tema tratado por los medios de comunicación. En el presente estudio se analizan los artículos que abordan la temática relacionada con el Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) en el diario El País durante el año 2017. Los resultados del análisis de contenido de los artículos indican que el TEA fue un tema de interés en el año 2017. Los contenidos más recurrentes fueron las causas del TEA, frecuentemente desmintiendo su relación con la administración de vacunas, así como la visibilización del trastorno. En este sentido destaca que los aspectos que se dan a conocer del TEA son en su mayoría negativos. Asimismo, una de las carencias más significativas que se ha detectado respecto a la imagen que se proyecta del TEA es el hecho de que no se menciona de manera específica su heterogeneidad, una característica esencial del diagnóstico. En las conclusiones se discuten algunas implicaciones de los resultados para el ámbito de la inclusión

Mass media influence significantly their users, so they don't just inform them but they generate opinions too. This fact is relevant to the field of inclusion, while the special educational needs are also an issue addressed by the media. In this study the articles that deal with the topic related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the news¬paper El País during the year 2017 are analysed. The results of the content analysis of the articles point out that ASD was a topic of interest during 2017. The most recurring contents were the causes of ASD, often denying their relation with the administration of vaccines, as well as the visibility of the disorder. In this sense, the study points out that the aspects that are shown about ASD are mostly negative. Additionally, regarding the projected image of ASD, one of the most significant deficiencies that has been figured out is the fact that its heterogeneity is not specifically mentioned, and it's an essential feature of the diagnosis. The conclusions discuss some implications of the results for the scope of inclusión

The impact of sensory processing on executive and cognitive functions in children with autism spectrum disorder in the school context.

BACKGROUND: Theoretical approaches propose a hierarchical organization of sensory and higher-order cognitive processes, in which sensory processing influence some cognitive and executive functions. AIMS: The main objective of this study was to analyze whether sensory processing dysfunctions can predict the cognitive and executive dysfunctions evaluated in a group of children with level 2 autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the school context. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Two groups of children participated: an ASD group (n = 40) and a group of children with typical development (the comparison group, n = 40). The children's sensory processing was evaluated based on their teachers' perceptions, and the children's executive and cognitive functions were evaluated using direct performance measures. RESULTS: In the ASD group, the sensory processing difficulties predicted executive and cognitive dysfunctions in the specific domains of inhibitory control, auditory sustained attention, and short-term verbal memory, after controlling the possible effect of ASD severity. Moreover, the ASD group showed higher levels of sensory, executive, and cognitive dysfunction than the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Future research should investigate whether adequate sensory interventions in children with ASD in the school context can improve these specific executive and cognitive functions.

Efectividad de las historias sociales en la intervención en el trastorno del espectro autista: una revisión / Effectiveness of social stories in intervention in autistic spectrum disorder: a review

Las historias sociales, como técnica de intervención psicoeducativa, constituyen un elemento recurrente en la práctica de los profesionales responsables de la intervención con personas con Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA). Este trabajo presenta una revisión de la literatura científica de la última década en torno a la efectividad de la aplicación de las historias sociales en la intervención en habilidades comunicativas y sociales en personas con TEA. Se seleccionaron 29 trabajos empíricos bajo criterios específicos, analizados en función de seis categorías: edad de los participantes, objetivo de la intervención, contexto de aplicación, persona que aplica la intervención, validez social y comparación con otras estrategias de intervención. Aunque los resultados sobre su efectividad no son concluyentes, las historias sociales son valoradas como una herramienta significativa para implementar o desarrollar conductas en niños y preadolescentes con TEA en sus principales contextos de socialización y por parte de personas allegadas

Social stories, as a technique of psychoeducational intervention, constitute a recurring element in the practice of professionals responsible for intervention with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This work presents a review of the scientific literature of the last decade about the effectiveness of the application of social stories in the intervention in communication and social skills in people with ASD. Twenty-nine empirical studies were selected according to specific criteria, analyzed according to six categories: age of the participants, objective of the intervention, context of application, person applying the intervention, social validity, and comparison with other intervention strategies. Although the results about the effectiveness of this intervention are not conclusive, social stories are valued as a significant tool to implement or develop behaviors in children and preadolescents with ASD in their main socialization contexts and with people close to them

Corrigendum: Sensory Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Home and Classroom Contexts.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01772.].

Intervención en habilidades sociales de los niños con trastorno de espectro autista: una revisión bibliográfica / Intervention in social skills of children with autistic spectrum disorder: a bibliographical review

Los índices de prevalencia del trastorno del espectro autista (TEA) han aumentado notablemente en los últimos años. El TEA está cada vez más presente en las escuelas y en la sociedad y es por ello que resulta imprescindible conocer más sobre este trastorno y las posibilidades de intervención. El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una revisión bibliográfica de los artículos publicados en los últimos años en relación a distintos programas y técnicas de intervención que se han venido utilizando recientemente para trabajar con los niños con TEA una de las dificultades que en mayor medida definen el trastorno, las habilidades sociales. Las conclusiones más destacadas señalan que por la diversidad sintomática de los niños con TEA y sus diferentes características, los resultados de las intervenciones pueden ser variados; son muchos los programas que consiguen mejorar las habilidades sociales en estos niños; y obtienen resultados destacables aquellas intervenciones que incluyen a las familias en las sesiones y que se realizan con el uso de las nuevas tecnologías, como ordenadores o robots

The prevalence rates of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have increased markedly in recent years. ASD is increasingly present in schools and in society, so it is essential for us to know more about this disorder and the possibilities of intervention. The objective of this work is to carry out a bibliographic review of the articles published in recent years in relation to different intervention programs and techniques that have recently been used to work with children with ASD to train them in the difficulties that most define the disorder: social skills. The most important conclusions indicate that: despite the symptomatic diversity of children with ASD and their different characteristics which can lead to diverse results, there are many programs that improve social skills in these children; and remarkable results are obtained by interventions that include families in the sessions and that are carried out with the use of new technologies, such as computers or robots

Efectividad de las intervenciones basadas en metodología TEACCH en el trastorno del espectro autista: un estudio de revisión / The effectiveness of TEACCH intervention in autism spectrum disorder: a review study

Este trabajo incluye una revisión de la literatura para analizar la efectividad de la metodología TEACCH, así como el efecto de esta metodología en el nivel de estrés de los padres y los maestros de niños con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA). Considerando los criterios de inclusión, se analizaron un total de 14 estudios. Independientemente del contexto de intervención, todos los estudios revelaron mejoras en el desarrollo de los niños y una reducción en los síntomas autistas y comportamientos desadaptativos. En 11 de los 14 estudios se obtuvieron mejoras estadísticamente significativas. En cuanto al efecto en el nivel de estrés de los padres o maestros, de los 7 estudios que evaluaron el estrés, 5 de ellos obtuvieron una disminución significativa entre las mediciones pre y post. Teniendo en cuenta estos resultados, la metodología TEACCH puede ser eficaz no sólo para mejorar el desarrollo del niño, sino también para mejorar el nivel de bienestar de los adultos

This work includes a review of the literature to analyze the effectiveness of the TEACCH intervention, as well as the effect of this intervention on the level of parental and teachers' stress of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Considering the inclusion criteria, a total of 14 studies were analyzed. Regardless of the context of intervention, all the studies revealed developmental abilities improvements and a reduction in autistic symptoms and maladaptative behaviors. In 11 of the 14 studies, statistically significant improvements were obtained. As for the effect of the TEACCH intervention in the level of the parents or teachers stress, out of the 7 studies that evaluated stress, 5 of them obtained a significant decrease between pre and post measurements. Considering these results, TEACCH intervention could be effective not only improving the child's development, but also enhancing the adults' level of well-being

Comprehension of Generalized Conversational Implicatures by Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study evaluates the comprehension of generalized conversational implicatures (GCI) in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), using a GCI test constructed based on the Levinson model, which distinguishes between three types of implicatures: type Q (or scalar: "what is not referred to does not occur"); type I ("by default, it is not necessary to say what can be assumed"); and type M ("if someone is expressing something in a not very simple or marked way, it is because s/he is describing a situation that is not very typical, frequent, or prototypical"). In addition to the ASD group (n = 22), two comparison groups were utilized: a group matched on chronological age with the ASD group, but with a higher linguistic age (TCD group, n = 22), and a group matched on linguistic age with the ASD group, but with a lower chronological age (TLD group, n = 22). In all cases, linguistic age was assessed with the Peabody test. The performance of the three groups on the GCI test was compared (overall and on each type of implicature), and performance on the three types of implicature was compared within each group. The ASD group obtained worse performance than the other two groups, both overall and for each implicature type, without also obtaining differences in performance on the three implicature types. The TCD group obtained better performance than the TLD group on overall performance, but not on each implicature type, and both groups obtained lower performance on the type M heuristics than on the type I. Based on these results, the children with ASD in our study presented limitations in the comprehension of the three types of GCI, but it was not possible to obtain evidence for an inferential continuum of the three types of GCI. However, in the two typical development groups, this evidence was obtained, leading us to propose an inferential continuum model based on the different levels of dependence on the context of each of the three types of implicatures, with type M implicatures being more contextually dependent.

Sensory Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the Home and Classroom Contexts.

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders often show impairments in sensory processing (SP) and higher functions. The main objective of this study was to compare SP, praxis and social participation (SOC) in four groups of children: ASD Group (n = 21), ADHD Group (n = 21), ASD+ADHD Group (n = 21), and Comparison Group (n = 27). Participants were the parents and teachers of these children who were 5-8 years old (M = 6.32). They completed the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) to evaluate the sensory profile, praxis and SOC of the children in both the home and classroom contexts. In the home context, the most affected was the ASD+ADHD group. The ADHD group obtained higher scores than the ASD group on the Body Awareness (BOD) subscale, indicating a higher level of dysfunction. The ASD group, however, did not obtain higher scores than the ADHD group on any subscale. In the classroom context, the most affected were the two ASD groups: the ASD+ADHD group obtained higher scores than the ADHD group on the Hearing (HEA) and Social Participation (SOC) subscales, and the ASD group obtained higher scores than the ADHD group on the SOC subscale. Regarding sensory modalities, difficulties in proprioception seem to be more characteristic to the ADHD condition. As for higher-level functioning, social difficulties seem to be more characteristic to the ASD condition. Differences between the two contexts were only found in the ASD group, which could be related to contextual hyperselectivity, an inherent autistic feature. Despite possible individual differences, specific intervention programs should be developed to improve the sensory challenges faced by children with different diagnoses.

Semantic Verbal Fluency in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: Relationship with Chronological Age and IQ.

We administered a semantic verbal fluency (SVF) task to two groups of children (age range from 5 to 8): 47 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD Group) and 53 with typical development (Comparison Group), matched on gender, chronological age, and non-verbal IQ. Four specific indexes were calculated from the SVF task, reflecting the different underlying cognitive strategies used: clustering (component of generativity and lexical-semantic access), and switching (executive component, cognitive flexibility). First, we compared the performance of the two groups on the different SVF task indicators, with the ASD group scoring lower than the Comparison Group, although the difference was greater on switching than on clustering. Second, we analyzed the relationships between the different SVF measures and chronological age, verbal IQ and non-verbal IQ. While in the Comparison Group chronological age was the main predictor of performance on the SVF task, in the ASD Group verbal IQ was the best predictor. In the children with ASD, therefore, greater linguistic competence would be associated with better performance on the SVF task, which should be taken into account in speech therapies designed to achieve improvements in linguistic generativity and cognitive flexibility.

Sensory processing in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Relationship with non-verbal IQ, autism severity and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptomatology.

The main objective of this study was to analyze in a sample of children with ASD the relationship between sensory processing, social participation and praxis impairments and some of the child's characteristics, such as non-verbal IQ, severity of ASD symptoms and the number of ADHD symptoms (inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity), both in the home and main-classroom environments. Participants were the parents and teachers of 41 children with ASD from 5 to 8 years old (M=6.09). They completed the Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) to evaluate sensory processing, social participation and praxis; the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS-2) to evaluate autism severity; and a set of items (the DSM-IV-TR criteria) to evaluate the number of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in the child. Non-verbal IQ - measured by the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test - did not show a relationship with any of the SPM variables. The SPM variables were significant predictors of autism severity and had similar weights in the two environments. In the case of ADHD symptoms, the SPM variables had a greater weight in the home than in the classroom environment, and they were significant predictors of both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity - especially inattention - only in the family context. The moderate association between inattention and auditory processing found in the main-classroom suggests the possible utility of certain measures aimed to simplify any classroom's acoustic environment.

A comparative study of sensory processing in children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder in the home and classroom environments.

Sensory processing and higher integrative functions impairments are highly prevalent in children with ASD. Context should be considered in analyzing the sensory profile and higher integrative functions. The main objective of this study is to compare sensory processing, social participation and praxis in a group of 79 children (65 males and 14 females) from 5 to 8 years of age (M=6.09) divided into two groups: ASD Group (n=41) and Comparison Group (n=38). The Sensory Processing Measure (SPM) was used to evaluate the sensory profile of the children: parents reported information about their children's characteristics in the home environment, and teachers reported information about the same characteristics in the classroom environment. The ASD Group obtained scores that indicate higher levels of dysfunction on all the assessed measures in both environments, with the greatest differences obtained on the social participation and praxis variables. The most affected sensory modalities in the ASD Group were hearing and touch. Only in the ASD Group were significant differences found between the information reported by parents and what was reported by teachers: specifically, the teachers reported greater dysfunction than the parents in social participation (p=.000), touch (p=.003) and praxis (p=.010). These results suggest that the context-specific qualities found in children with ASD point out the need to receive information from both parents and teachers during the sensory profile assessment process, and use context-specific assessments.

Exploración visual y movimientos oculares en conductores con distinta experiencia: una revisión / Visual search and eye movements in drivers with different experience. A review

Una deficiente exploración visual de la carretera y su entorno es uno de los factores que contribuyen a la siniestralidad del tráfico. Este artículo revisa los trabajos que han analizado la exploración visual de conductores con distinto grado de experiencia a partir del registro de sus movimientos oculares. Se incluyen estudios en entorno real de conducción, con simuladores y con escenas de tráfico proyectadas en vídeo. La revisión pone de manifiesto las diferencias entre conductores noveles y experimentados en medidas como la duración de las fijaciones oculares, la variabilidad de las posiciones de las fijaciones y el patrón de exploración sobre los objetos y lugares presentes en la situación de tráfico. Tomados en conjunto, los trabajos indican que la experiencia en la conducción permite desarrollar una mayor flexibilidad para obtener la información visual relevante con objeto de adaptarse a las condiciones de la situación de tráfico. Finalmente, se proponen ciertas mejoras metodológicas así como la necesidad de diseñar programas de intervención con objeto de mejorar la seguridad vial (AU)