| 1. |
- Krieber, Magdalena, et al.
(författare)
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The Relation between Reading Skills and Eye Movement Patterns in Adolescent Readers : Evidence from a Regular Orthography
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Over the past decades, the relation between reading skills and eye movement behavior has been well documented in English-speaking cohorts. As English and German differ substantially with regard to orthographic complexity (i.e. grapheme-phoneme correspondence), we aimed to delineate specific characteristics of how reading speed and reading comprehension interact with eye movements in typically developing German-speaking (Austrian) adolescents. Eye movements of 22 participants (14 females; mean age = 13; 6 years; months) were tracked while they were performing three tasks, namely silently reading words, texts, and pseudowords. Their reading skills were determined by means of a standardized German reading speed and reading comprehension assessment (Lesegeschwindigkeits- und -verstandnistest fur Klassen 6-12). We found that (a) reading skills were associated with various eye movement parameters in each of the three reading tasks; (b) better reading skills were associated with an increased efficiency of eye movements, but were primarily linked to spatial reading parameters, such as the number of fixations per word, the total number of saccades and saccadic amplitudes; (c) reading speed was a more reliable predictor for eye movement parameters than reading comprehension; (d) eye movements were highly correlated across reading tasks, which indicates consistent reading performances. Contrary to findings in English-speaking cohorts, the reading skills neither consistently correlated with temporal eye movement parameters nor with the number or percentage of regressions made while performing any of the three reading tasks. These results indicate that, although reading skills are associated with eye movement patterns irrespective of language, the temporal and spatial characteristics of this association may vary with orthographic consistency.
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| 2. |
- Pokorny, Florian B., et al.
(författare)
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Earlier Identification of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder : An Automatic Vocalisation-based Approach
- 2017
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Ingår i: 18Th Annual Conference Of The International Speech Communication Association (INTERSPEECH 2017), Vols 1-6. - 9781510848764 ; , s. 309-313
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder usually diagnosed in or beyond toddlerhood. ASD is defined by repetitive and restricted behaviours, and deficits in social communication. The early speech-language development of individuals with ASD has been characterised as delayed. However, little is known about ASD-related characteristics of pre-linguistic vocalisations at the feature level. In this study. we examined pre-linguistic vocalisations of 10-month-old individuals later diagnosed with ASD and a matched control group of typically developing individuals (N = 20). We segmented 684 vocalisations from parent-child interaction recordings. All vocalisations were annotated and signal-analytically decomposed. We analysed ASD-related vocalisation specificities on the basis of a standardised set (eGeMAPS) of 88 acoustic features selected for clinical speech analysis applications. 54 features showed evidence for a differentiation between vocalisations of individuals later diagnosed with ASD and controls. In addition, we evaluated the feasibility of automated, vocalisation-based identification of individuals later diagnosed with ASD. We compared linear kernel support vector machines and a 1-layer bidirectional long short-term memory neural network. Both classification approaches achieved an accuracy of 75% for subject-wise identification in a subject-independent 3-fold cross-validation scheme. Our promising results may be an important contribution en-route to facilitate earlier identification of ASD.
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| 3. |
- Berggren, Steve, et al.
(författare)
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Emotion recognition training in autism spectrum disorder : A systematic review of challenges related to generalizability.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Developmental Neurorehabilitation. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1751-8423 .- 1751-8431. ; 21:3, s. 141-154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: To assess the generalizability of findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating emotion recognition (ER) training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).METHODS: We present a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the determinants of external validity in RCTs on ER training. Generalizability of the findings across situations, populations, settings, treatment delivery, and intervention formats was considered.RESULTS: We identified 13 eligible studies. Participants were predominantly boys with ASD in the normative IQ range (IQ > 70), with an age span from 4 to 18 years across studies. Interventions and outcome measures were highly variable. Several studies indicated that training may improve ER, but it is still largely unknown to what extent training effects are translated to daily social life.CONCLUSION: The generalizability of findings from currently available RCTs remains unclear. This underscores the importance of involving children with ASD and their caregivers in informed treatment decisions.
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| 4. |
- Bolte, Sven, et al.
(författare)
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Challenges and Inequalities of Opportunities in European Psychiatry Research The Example of Psychodiagnostic Tool Availability in Research on Early Autism Identification
- 2018
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Ingår i: European Journal of Psychological Assessment. - : Hogrefe Publishing Group. - 1015-5759 .- 2151-2426. ; 34:4, s. 270-277
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Europe is diverse in terms of economy, cultures, socio-demography, and languages. A crucial aspect of psychiatric research is the availability of standardized screening, diagnostic, and characterization instruments. We fine-mapped the accessibility of 14 clinical scales and cognitive tests for the assessment of early childhood Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD; e.g., ADOS, ADI-R, SCQ, SRS, CHAT, MESL) within 21 European countries. These tools are essential for internationally competitive early ASD detection research. We identified a considerable variation not only in the availability, but also psychometric standardization, and formal distribution of the instruments between the countries, privileging English speaking, high-income, and highly populated European countries. Absence of country-specific standardization was a problem across many countries, independent of income and size. Findings demonstrate, on a concrete level, the challenges in creating equal early ASD identification research opportunities in Europe, and the need for increased funding for instrument development and validation. We discuss the reasons, implications, and consequences of this inequity and ways of reducing it.
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| 5. |
- Bolte, Sven, et al.
(författare)
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Infants at risk for autism : a European perspective on current status, challenges and opportunities
- 2013
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Ingår i: European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1018-8827 .- 1435-165X. ; 22:6, s. 341-348
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Currently, autism cannot be reliably diagnosed before the age of 2 years, which is why longitudinal studies of high-risk populations provide the potential to generate unique knowledge about the development of autism during infancy and toddlerhood prior to symptom onset. Early autism research is an evolving field in child psychiatric science. Key objectives are fine mapping of neurodevelopmental trajectories and identifying biomarkers to improve risk assessment, diagnosis and treatment. ESSEA (Enhancing the Scientific Study of Early Autism) is a COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action striving to create a European collaboration to enhance the progress of the discovery and treatment of the earliest signs of autism, and to establish European practice guidelines on early identification and intervention by bringing together European expertise from cognitive neuroscience and clinical sciences. The objective of this article is to clarify the state of current European research on at-risk autism research, and to support the understanding of different contexts in which the research is being conducted. We present ESSEA survey data on ongoing European high-risk ASD studies, as well as perceived challenges and opportunities in this field of research. We conclude that although high-risk autism research in Europe faces several challenges, the existence of several key factors (e.g., new and/or large-scale autism grants, availability of new technologies, and involvement of experienced research groups) lead us to expect substantial scientific and clinical developments in Europe in this field during the next few years.
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| 6. |
- Bölte, Sven, et al.
(författare)
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Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Reviews Neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1759-4758 .- 1759-4766. ; 19:3, s. 136-159
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Health-related conditions often differ qualitatively or quantitatively between individuals of different birth-assigned sexes and gender identities, and/or with different gendered experiences, requiring tailored care. Studying the moderating and mediating effects of sex-related and gender-related factors on impairment, disability, wellbeing and health is of paramount importance especially for neurodivergent individuals, who are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions with uneven sex/gender distributions. Researchers have become aware of the myriad influences that sex-related and gender-related variables have on the manifestations of neurodevelopmental conditions, and contemporary work has begun to investigate the mechanisms through which these effects are mediated. Here we describe topical concepts of sex and gender science, summarize current knowledge, and discuss research and clinical challenges related to autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental conditions. We consider sex and gender in the context of epidemiology, behavioural phenotypes, neurobiology, genetics, endocrinology and neighbouring disciplines. The available evidence supports the view that sex and gender are important contributors to the biological and behavioural variability in neurodevelopmental conditions. Methodological caveats such as frequent conflation of sex and gender constructs, inappropriate measurement of these constructs and under-representation of specific demographic groups (for example, female and gender minority individuals and people with intellectual disabilities) limit the translational potential of research so far. Future research and clinical implementation should integrate sex and gender into next-generation diagnostics, mechanistic investigations and support practices.
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| 7. |
- Eriksson, Mårten, et al.
(författare)
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Differences between girls and boys in emerging language skills : Evidence from 10 language communities
- 2012
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Ingår i: British Journal of Developmental Psychology. - Oxford : John Wiley & Sons. - 0261-510X .- 2044-835X. ; 30:2, s. 326-343
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The present study explored gender differences in emerging language skills in 13,783 European children from 10 non-English language communities. It was based on a synthesis of published data assessed with adapted versions of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) from age 0;08-2;06. The results showed that girls are slightly ahead of boys in early communicative gestures, in productive vocabulary and in combining words. The difference increased with age. Boys were not found to be more variable than girls. Despite extensive variation in language skills between language communities, the difference between girls and boys remained. This suggests that the difference is caused by robust factors that do not change between language communities.
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| 8. |
- Isaksson, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Nonshared environmental factors in the aetiology of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions : a monozygotic co-twin control study.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Molecular autism. - : Springer Nature. - 2040-2392. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: A significant proportion of variation in likelihood of neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) has been attributed to nonshared environmental (NSE) factors, although it remains unclear which NSE factors pose specific risks for certain NDCs.METHODS: A monozygotic co-twin design was applied in a sample of 224 twins (mean age = 17.70 years, SD = 6.28) controlling for confounders such as genes and shared environment. Generalized estimating equation models were fitted, using perinatal and postnatal indications of NSEs as exposure, operationalized both as separate risk factors and as cumulative risk loads. Categorical and dimensional operationalizations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability and other NDCs were used as outcomes.RESULTS: Birth weight discordance was associated with dimensional autism and ADHD for the smaller twin, and medication during infancy was associated with dimensional autism. Among postnatal factors scarlet fever during early childhood was associated with lower IQ. Especially autism was associated with a greater cumulative perinatal or postnatal risk load.LIMITATIONS: When exploring the associations between each condition and specific NSEs the risk of being statistically underpowered increases. Hence, we limit the reported findings on specific indicators of NSEs to trait levels and present descriptive data for categorical NDCs.CONCLUSIONS: The findings support previous research by indicating an association between exposure to perinatal and postnatal risks and subsequent NDCs within twin pairs and suggest that autism may be especially linked to accumulative early environmental risks. The findings are potentially important for developmental outcomes prognoses and may inform targeted prevention and early interventions.
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| 9. |
- Jonsson, Ulf, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Annual Research Review : Quality of life and childhood mental and behavioural disorders - a critical review of the research.
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. - : Wiley. - 0021-9630 .- 1469-7610. ; 58:4, s. 439-469
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: An individual's subjective perception of well-being is increasingly recognized as an essential complement to clinical symptomatology and functional impairment in children's mental health. Measurement of quality of life (QoL) has the potential to give due weight to the child's perspective.SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY: Our aim was to critically review the current evidence on how childhood mental disorders affect QoL. First, the major challenges in this research field are outlined. Then we present a systematic review of QoL in children and adolescents aged 0-18 years formally diagnosed with a mental and behavioural disorder, as compared to healthy or typically developing children or children with other health conditions. Finally, we discuss limitations of the current evidence base and future directions based on the results of the systematic review and other relevant literature.FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: The systematic review identified 41 eligible studies. All were published after the year 2000 and 21 originated in Europe. The majority examined QoL in neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (k = 17), autism spectrum disorder (k = 6), motor disorders (k = 5) and intellectual disability (k = 4). Despite substantial heterogeneity, studies demonstrate that self-reported global QoL is significantly reduced compared to typical/healthy controls across several disorders and QoL dimensions. Parents' ratings were on average substantially lower, casting doubt on the validity of proxy-report. Studies for large diagnostic groups such as depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, (early onset) schizophrenia and eating disorders are largely lacking. We conclude that representative, well-characterized normative and clinical samples as well as longitudinal and qualitative designs are needed to further clarify the construct of QoL, to derive measures of high ecological validity, and to examine how QoL fluctuates over time and is attributable to specific conditions or contextual factors.
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| 10. |
- Ortqvist, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Reliability of the Motor Optimality Score- Revised: A study of infants at elevated likelihood for adverse neurological outcomes
- 2023
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Ingår i: Acta Paediatrica. - : WILEY. - 0803-5253 .- 1651-2227. ; 112:6, s. 1259-1265
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: To assess the inter--assessor reliability of the Motor Optimality Score-Revised (MOS-R) when used in infants at elevated likelihood for adverse neurological outcome. Methods: MOS-R were assessed in three groups of infants by two assessors/cohort. Infants were recruited from longitudinal projects in Sweden (infants born extremely preterm), India (infants born in low-resource communities) and the USA (infants prenatally exposed to SARS-CoV-2). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and kappa (.w) were applied. ICC of MOS- -R subcategories and total scores were presented for cohorts together and separately and for age-spans: 9-12, 13--16 and 17-25-weeks post--term age. Results: 252 infants were included (born extremely preterm n = 97, born in low-resource communities n = 97, prenatally SARS-CoV-2 exposed n = 58). Reliability of the total MOS-R was almost perfect (ICC: 0.98-0.99) for all cohorts, together and separately. Similar result was found for age-spans (ICC: 0.98-0.99). Substantial to perfect reliability was shown for the MO-R subcategories (.w: 0.67--1.00), with postural patterns showing the lowest value 0.67. Conclusion: The MOS-R can be used in high-risk populations with substantial to perfect reliability, both in regards of total/subcategory scores as well as in different age groups. However, the subcategory postural patterns as well as the clinical applicability of the MOS-R needs further study.
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