Feelings of loneliness and meaning in life in subjects with Asperger's syndrome: a pilot study.

Subjects with Asperger's syndrome without intellectual disabilities have significant difficulties in establishing social relationships despite their IQ being within the normal range. One of the effects of social deficit is depression. The question arises whether loneliness and dimensions of meaning in life correlate with the severity of depression and whether the average severity of depression, loneliness and dimensions of meaning in life differentiate the following groups: people with Asperger's syndrome and depression, people with Asperger's syndrome without depression, people with depression without Asperger's syndrome and healthy subjects. The study was conducted on a total of 170 people, including: 43 people with Asperger's syndrome and depression, 41 people with Asperger's syndrome without depression, 40 people with depression without Asperger's syndrome and 46 healthy people (without Asperger's syndrome and without depression). All were administered a demographic survey, Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, Life Attitude Profile-Revised. Asperger's syndrome and depressive episodes were diagnosed on the basis of ICD-10 research criteria still applicable in Poland. In the group with Asperger's syndrome and depression the highest levels of loneliness and the lowest values of the dimensions of the sense of meaning in life, except for the acceptance of death, were observed. This result was significantly different from the results obtained in the other study groups. Both in people with Asperger's syndrome without depression and in people with depression without Asperger's syndrome, the values of the dimensions of the sense of meaning in life and the level of loneliness differ significantly from the results obtained in the control group. The BDI-II scores correlated positively with the loneliness values and negatively with the sense of meaning in life values in all groups. The results indicate that both suffering from depression and having Asperger's syndrome are associated with an increased sense of loneliness and a reduced sense of meaning in life. People with Asperger's syndrome and depression have the highest values of loneliness and the lowest values of dimensions of the sense of meaning of life compared to the other groups studied. The limitation of the work is the deliberate selection of groups, because it would be interesting to answer the question whether Asperger's syndrome is a risk factor for depression in the population.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Psychosocial Well-being and Adaptation in Children and Adolescents with Asperger's Syndrome.

Mental health could worsen in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, their parents could be more at risk for an increase in anxiety and depression symptomatology. This study aims to understand the adaptation and the psychosocial well-being in a sample of 16 males aged 10-21 years old with Asperger's syndrome after the quarantine for COVID-19 when they return to school and partially to their activities in September 2020. The adopted approach is multi-informant with a battery of questionnaires on psychological health and adaptation given by a secure online web data Qualtrics both to adolescents and also to their parents. Paralleling matched peers with typical developments were assessed by adopting the same methodology. The results evidenced several difficulties in psychological health in population with Asperger's syndrome, especially in anxiety and socialization. Adaptation is put in crisis, even if they reported a good comprehension and adoption of the right behaviors anti-COVID-19. Parents of children with Asperger's syndrome reported similar psychological difficulties and general health to those of the group of children typically developing. Some clinical indications could be discussed for psychologists who follow children and adolescents with Asperger's syndrome.

Evidence from Characteristics and Comorbidities Suggesting That Asperger Syndrome Is a Subtype of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The current version of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) does not consider Asperger syndrome a diagnostic category. This study was undertaken to see if there is evidence that this diagnosis should be reinstated. An online survey was conducted to examine symptoms and behaviors associated with the current diagnostic criteria of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (DSM-V), and those associated with Asperger syndrome based on the previous version (DSM-IV-TR). The study also examined other characteristics historically associated with autism, as well as impairments often reported in infancy/young childhood and medical comorbidities frequently associated with autism. The sample included 251 individuals who had received a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and 1888 who were diagnosed with autism or ASD. Numerous similarities and differences were found between the two groups. The findings are discussed in relation to reestablishing Asperger syndrome as a valid diagnostic category as well as a subtype of ASD.

Online Attitudes and Information-Seeking Behavior on Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Greta Thunberg.

The purpose of this study was to examine Internet trends data and sentiment in tweets mentioning autism, Asperger syndrome, and Greta Thunberg during 2019. We used mixed methods in analyzing sentiment and attitudes in viral tweets and collected 1074 viral tweets on autism that were published in 2019 (tweets that got more than 100 likes). The sample from Twitter was compared with search patterns on Google. In 2019, Asperger syndrome was closely connected to Greta Thunberg, as of the tweets specifically mentioning Asperger (from the total sample of viral tweets mentioning autism), 83% also mentioned Thunberg. In the sample of tweets about Thunberg, the positive sentiment expressed that Greta Thunberg was a role model, whereas the tweets that expressed the most negativity used her diagnosis against her and could be considered as cyberbullying. The Google Trends data also showed that Thunberg was closely connected to search patterns on Asperger syndrome in 2019. The study showed that being open about health information while being an active participant in controversial debates might be used against you but also help break stigmas and stereotypes.

[Autism spectrum disorder in verbal adults without intellectual disabilities (Asperger syndrome)]. / Trouble du spectre de l'autisme chez l'adulte verbal sans déficience intellectuelle (syndrome d'Asperger).

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associating persistent communication and social interaction deficits with behaviors, interests or activities of a restricted and repetitive nature. The etiology of ASD is not yet fully understood but appears to be multifactorial, including both genetic and environmental factors. The concept of autism underwent a major evolution before arriving at the current definition in DSM-5. The diagnosis has two parts: a categorical from cut-off and differential diagnosis established from a specification of the category by dimensional variables (intelligence, language, associated diseases, adaptation). These two parts (categorical diagnosis and specifiers) are complementary but pose a certain number of practical problems in establishing the diagnosis in adulthood.

Le trouble du spectre de l'autisme (TSA) est un trouble neurodéveloppemental associant des déficits persistants de la communication et des interactions sociales à des comportements, intérêts ou activités présentant un caractère restreint et répétitif. L'étiologie du TSA n'est pas complètement élucidée mais semble plurifactorielle, comportant des facteurs génétiques et environnementaux. La notion d'autisme a subi une évolution importante avant d'aboutir à l'actuelle définition dans le DSM-5. Le diagnostic comprend : a) un diagnostic catégoriel établi à partir de seuils et b) un diagnostic dimensionnel établi à partir de variables dimensionnelles (intelligence, langage, maladies associées, adaptation). Ces 2 parties sont complémentaires mais posent un certain nombre de problèmes pratiques à l'établissement du diagnostic à l'âge adulte.

The French Version of the Revised Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale: A Psychometric Validation and Diagnostic Accuracy Study.

The early recognition of ASD in adults is challenging, in particular due to the lack of appropriate and robust diagnostic tools. We performed a psychometric validation and diagnostic accuracy study of the French version of the RAADS-R on a sample of 305 adults: 105 with ASD without ID, 99 with psychiatric disorders, and 103 non-psychiatric control groups. The French version of the RAADS-R demonstrates good reliability and diagnostic validity, suggesting that it can help clinicians during the diagnostic process in adults with ASD without ID. However, the finding that a two-factor structure better fits the results requires further validation. This study point out the need of further study of RAADS in psychiatric disorders group due to the relatively high false positive rate (55.6%) of ASD.

What Motivates Internet Users to Search for Asperger Syndrome and Autism on Google?

Social campaigns are carried out to promote autism spectrum disorder (ASD) awareness, normalization, and visibility. The internet helps to shape perceptions of Asperger syndrome and autism. In fact, these campaigns often coincide with the increase in searches for both diagnoses on Google. We have two study objectives: to use Google Trends to identify the annual time points from 2015 to 2019 with the highest Google search traffic in Spain for the terms "autism" and "Asperger", and to identify news and trending topics related to ASD that took place during the weeks with the highest number of Google searches for these terms. Google Trend, MyNews and Trendinalia were used to analyze the volume of searches and trending topics related to ASD. As a result, social marketing campaigns, social networks and the publication of news items act as powerful voices that can provide a realistic or sensationalist picture of the disorder. For this reason, we concluded that campaigns play an important role in the normalization of ASD, and that it is important for organizations concerned with the visibility and social inclusion of people with ASD to check the way ASD is portrayed through the internet, media, and social networks.

Psychiatric comorbidities in Asperger syndrome are related with polygenic overlap and differ from other Autism subtypes.

There is great phenotypic heterogeneity within autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which has led to question their classification into a single diagnostic category. The study of the common genetic variation in ASD has suggested a greater contribution of other psychiatric conditions in Asperger syndrome (AS) than in the rest of the DSM-IV ASD subtypes (Non_AS). Here, using available genetic data from previously performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we aimed to study the genetic overlap between five of the most related disorders (schizophrenia (SCZ), major depression disorder (MDD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and anxiety (ANX)), and AS, comparing it with the overlap in Non_AS subtypes. A Spanish cohort of autism trios (N = 371) was exome sequenced as part of the Autism Sequencing Consortium (ASC) and 241 trios were extensively characterized to be diagnosed with AS following DSM-IV and Gillberg's criteria (N = 39) or not (N = 202). Following exome imputation, polygenic risk scores (PRS) were calculated for ASD, SCZ, ADHD, MDD, ANX, and OCD (from available summary data from Psychiatric Genomic Consortium (PGC) repository) in the Spanish trios' cohort. By using polygenic transmission disequilibrium test (pTDT), we reported that risk for SCZ (Pscz = 0.008, corrected-PSCZ = 0.0409), ADHD (PADHD = 0.021, corrected-PADHD = 0.0301), and MDD (PMDD = 0.039, corrected-PMDD = 0.0501) is over-transmitted to children with AS but not to Non_AS. Indeed, agnostic clustering procedure with deviation values from pTDT tests suggested two differentiated clusters of subjects, one of which is significantly enriched in AS (P = 0.025). Subsequent analysis with S-Predixcan, a recently developed software to predict gene expression from genotype data, revealed a clear pattern of correlation between cortical gene expression in ADHD and AS (P < 0.001) and a similar strong correlation pattern between MDD and AS, but also extendable to another non-brain tissue such as lung (P < 0.001). Altogether, these results support the idea of AS being qualitatively distinct from Non_AS autism and consistently evidence the genetic overlap between AS and ADHD, MDD, or SCZ.

Adult Manifestation of Milder Forms of Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic and Non-autistic Psychopathology.

We compared the presence of autistic and comorbid psychopathology and functional impairments in young adults who received a clinical diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified or Asperger's Disorder during childhood to that of a referred comparison group. While the Autism Spectrum Disorder group on average scored higher on a dimensional ASD self- and other-report measure than clinical controls, the majority did not exceed the ASD cutoff according to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Part of the individuals with an ASD diagnosis in their youth no longer show behaviors that underscribe a clinical ASD diagnosis in adulthood, but have subtle difficulties in social functioning and a vulnerability for a range of other psychiatric disorders.

The quality of life and the future of young adults with Asperger syndrome.

Purpose: This pilot study describes the socio-professional development and quality of life of young adults with Asperger syndrome in France.Methods: Those young adults, between 18 and 30 years old, receiving care in a child psychiatry department for autistic spectrum disorder, were requested to respond to the Ad Hoc, World Health Organization Quality Of Life - Bref and Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaires regarding their socio-professional background and feelings about their future.Results: Of the 79 eligible subjects, 24 were selected to participate in our study. Their average age at the time of the pilot study was 22.2 years (standard deviation 3.4 years), and their average age when they were diagnosed was 17.5 years (standard deviation 3.7 years.). There were 54% who reported a psychiatric comorbidity anxiety disorder. Half stated they had completed secondary school and benefitted from being professionally employed. During this study, only six were employed, while the others remained financially dependent on their parents. The group's quality of life self-assessment scores were significantly lower compared to the French general population in overall psychology (43.6 versus 68.7) and social relationships (48.9 versus 76.5). However, the study's participants perceived work as an important means to their personal development. Hence, in order to cope with their difficulties, they hoped to benefit from customized support adapted to their autistic disorder and for their workplace colleagues to be better informed about Asperger syndrome.Conclusions: Our results are in line with international data. Additional studies need to be done in order to determine socio-professional integration factors and, in particular, the integration of potential contributions by occupational health departments with those social and medical teams supporting these young adults.Implications for rehabilitationYoung adults with Asperger syndrome benefit from the support of their family in determining their professional goals.Support may be required to enhance social and communicative abilities to help integration.Employees would benefit from information on the syndrome and how best to support.

Internet Use Habits, Parental Control and Psychiatric Comorbidity in Young Subjects with Asperger Syndrome.

We aimed to investigate the characteristics of internet use in a clinical sample of 60 young subjects with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and its relationship with parental control and psychiatric comorbidity. Of the participants, 38.3% were classified as having problematic internet use (PIU). Subjects with normal internet use (NIU), compared to the subjects with PIU, had significantly higher scores on parental control scale. While there was no significant difference in terms of any comorbid diagnoses between subjects with NIU versus PIU, severity of depressive symptoms was found to predict higher scores on Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS). In conclusion, PIU may be common in AS and may be associated with internalizing problems, while parental control may protect against it.

Asperger's syndrome: What to consider?

Asperger's syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder which is part of the large family of autism spectrum disorders. People with Asperger's syndrome have difficulties in social interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication, and may display behavioural oddities, with stereotypies and limited interests. They show no language delay and their cognitive development is not marked by an overall delay but by specific impairments in certain areas such as the executive functions. The clinical presentations are very heterogeneous, varying according to age and psychiatric comorbidities. Screening, diagnosis and specialized treatment are not made any easier by the diversity of the clinical manifestations. Asperger's syndrome is often diagnosed belatedly, at 11years of age on average and even in adulthood in some cases. This late diagnosis has a significant impact on the risks of depression and a poor quality of life. However, in adulthood or in adolescence, certain situations, personality traits and cognitive profiles or certain comorbidities should suggest the hypothesis of an Asperger-type autism spectrum disorder. We propose here a review of the clinical situations at different ages of life that could help with the screening and the referral of patients to specialized clinicians for diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

[The diagnostics of autism spectrum disorder in children, adolescents and adults: Overview of the key questions and main results of the first part of the German AWMF-S3 - clinical guideline]. / Diagnostik von Autismus- Spektrum-Störungen im Kindes-, Jugend- und Erwachsenenalter: Überblick zu den wesentlichen Fragestellungen und Ergebnissen des ersten Teils der S3-Leitlinie.

The diagnostics of autism spectrum disorder in children, adolescents and adults: Overview of the key questions and main results of the first part of the German AWMF-S3 - clinical guideline Abstract. Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include ICD-10 diagnoses of childhood autism, Asperger syndrome, and atypical autism; there is a lifetime prevalence of ~1 %. The aim of the evidence-based clinical guideline (AWMF-S3-Guideline) is to summarize the current evidence concerning diagnostic and therapeutic processes for professionals working in healthcare and social welfare and to provide consensus on clinical recommendations. The present study summarizes the most important results of the diagnostic part of this guideline. Method: The guideline group comprised 14 clinical and scientific expert associations from the German healthcare system, in addition to representatives of relatives and patients. Recommendations were based on results of a systematic literature search, data extraction, the evaluation of study quality, and, if possible, meta-analytic aggregation of included data in combination with the clinical expertise of the respective representatives. Consensus-based recommendations were determined via nominal group technique. Results: The AWMF-S3-Clinical Guideline, Diagnostic Part, summarizes current research on this topic. The main focus is put on the question of obligatory versus redundant diagnostic procedures. After a general introduction to the clinical picture of ASD, essential aspects like obtaining the medical history, the effective use of screening and diagnostic instruments, medical examination, the full diagnostic work-up as well as communicating the diagnostic results to relatives and patients are described in detail. We also conducted a meta-analysis on the stability of early diagnosis. Conclusion: This first part of the ASD guideline offers users the opportunity to inform themselves about the background of ASD as well as evidence-based and broadly consented information on the correct diagnostic process of ASD from infancy to adulthood.

Psychiatric comorbidity in persons with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders: Findings from a tertiary care neuropsychiatric hospital.

BACKGROUND: The literature on co-morbid psychiatric illnesses in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) spectrum disorder is sparse. PURPOSE: To examine the nature of psychiatric comorbidity and treatment response in adults with HFA spectrum disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Case records of subjects (age ≥17 years) who presented over a period of 16 years with primary psychiatric symptoms and further detected to have an HFA spectrum disorder, were analyzed. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) along with near normal to normal verbal communication and general intelligence were considered as HFA spectrum disorders. RESULTS: 33 subjects met the study criteria. Nine subjects (27%) were diagnosed to have an underlying Asperger's syndrome and the rest 24 (73%) had pervasive developmental disorders unspecified (PDD NOS). None of the subjects were diagnosed to be suffering from ASD prior to the visit to our hospital. Mean age at the time of psychiatric consultation was 22.7 (s.d=4.8) years and mean age at the onset of psychiatric comorbidity was 16.48 (s.d=4.4) years. Nearly half of the sample had more than one type of psychiatric illness. Most common lifetime psychiatric diagnosis was obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (n=16, 48.4%). Bipolar disorder (BD) was the second most common type of psychiatric manifestation (n=13, 39.3%) followed by psychotic spectrum disorders (n=9, 27.2%). Overall response to treatment was minimal. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with HFA spectrum disorders suffer from multiple psychiatric comorbidities. OCD is the most common type of psychiatric comorbidity followed by BD and psychotic spectrum disorders. Comorbid psychiatric illnesses in individuals with HFA show poor response to treatment.

Doctors with Asperger's: the impact of a diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Asperger syndrome (AS) is part of a spectrum of disorders encompassing difficulties with social interaction that may result in specific educational needs for doctors in training. There is currently limited research on the impact of AS on working as a doctor. METHODS: This is a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to explore the perceptions of trainees diagnosed with AS following input from a professional support service, and the perspectives of the staff involved in their professional development. FINDINGS: Receiving a diagnosis of AS was viewed as a double-edged sword, allowing the development of insight into lifelong difficulties, but also creating the potential for prejudice. Understanding AS traits provided an explanation for challenges in the workplace and therefore opportunities to find solutions. Understanding AS traits provided an explanation for challenges in the workplace DISCUSSION: This study explores the benefits and disadvantages of defining and labelling a specific professional support need for a group of trainees. It also reveals the need for improved awareness of AS amongst all clinical educators.

The Coexistence of Disabling Conditions in Children Who Stutter: Evidence From the National Health Interview Survey.

Purpose: Stuttering is a disorder that has been associated with coexisting developmental disorders. To date, detailed descriptions of the coexistence of such conditions have not consistently emerged in the literature. Identifying and understanding these conditions can be important to the overall management of children who stutter (CWS). The objective of this study was to generate a profile of the existence of disabling developmental conditions among CWS using national data. Method: Six years of data from the National Health Interview Survey (2010-2015) were analyzed for this project. The sample consisted of children whose respondents clearly indicated the presence or absence of stuttering. Chi-square tests of independence were used for comparing categorical variables; and independent-samples t tests, for comparing continuous variables. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used for determining the odds of having a coexisting disabling developmental condition. Results: This study sample included 62,450 children, of which 1,231 were CWS. Overall, the presence of at least 1 disabling developmental condition was 5.5 times higher in CWS when compared with children who do not stutter. The presence of stuttering was also associated with higher odds of each of the following coexisting developmental conditions: intellectual disability (odds ratio [OR] = 6.67, p < .001), learning disability (OR = 5.45, p < .001), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder/attention-deficit disorder (OR = 3.09, p < .001), seizures (OR = 7.52, p < .001), autism/Asperger's/pervasive developmental disorder (OR = 5.48, p < .001), and any other developmental delay (OR = 7.10, p < .001). Conclusion: Evidence from the National Health Interview Survey suggests a higher prevalence of coexisting developmental disabilities in CWS. The existence of coexisting disabling developmental conditions should be considered as part of an overall management plan for CWS.

Violence is Rare in Autism: When It Does Occur, Is It Sometimes Extreme?

A small body of literature has suggested that, rather than being more likely to engage in offending or violent behavior, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may actually have an increased risk of being the victim rather than the perpetrator of violence (Sobsey, Wells, Lucardie, & Mansell, 1995 ). There is no evidence that people with ASD are more violent than those without ASD (Im, 2016). There is nevertheless a small subgroup of individuals with ASD who exhibit violent offending behaviours and our previous work has suggested that other factors, such as adverse childhood experiences, might be important in this subgroup (Allely, Minnis, Thompson, Wilson, & Gillberg, 2014 ). Fitzgerald ( 2015 ) highlights that school shootings and mass killings are not uncommonly carried out by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, with frequent evidence of warning indicators. The aim of the present review is to investigate this in more detail using the 73 mass shooting events identified by Mother Jones (motherjones.com) in their database for potential ASD features. There are 73 mass shooting events but there are two events where there is a pair of shooters which meant that 75 mass shooter cases were investigated. This exercise tentatively suggests evidence of ASD in six of 75 included cases (8%) which is about eight times higher when compared to the prevalence of ASD found in the general population worldwide (motherjones.com). The 8% figure for individuals with ASD involved mass killings is a conservative estimate. In addition to the six cases which provide the 8% figure, there were 16 other cases with some indication of ASD. Crucially, ASD may influence, but does not cause, an individual to commit extreme violent acts such as a mass shooting episode.