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- Afsharnejad, B., et al.
(author)
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“I Met Someone Like Me!” : Autistic Adolescents and Their Parents’ Experience of the KONTAKT® Social Skills Group Training
- 2022
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 52, s. 1458-1477
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study captured the experiences of 35 autistic adolescents and their parents after completing a 16-session variant of social skills group training KONTAKT® (ACTRN12617001117303). Semi-structured interviews explored participants' and relatives' perceptions of KONTAKT® and associated social outcomes. Adolescents were classified as either high (HR, n = 23) or low (LR, n = 12) responders based on the primary outcome effects during the previous trial. Thematic analysis revealed that both HR and LR participants their parents were satisfied with KONTAKT®, noting consistent patterns of improvement in adolescents' social understanding, communication, relationships, and empowerment, although positive reports were more frequent among HR than LR groups. This study enhances the understanding of the impact of SSGT, which is key in improving their content, principles, and administration.
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| 2. |
- Horlin, C., et al.
(author)
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Visual search strategies of children with and without autism spectrum disorders during an embedded figures task
- 2014
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In: Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. - : Elsevier. - 1750-9467 .- 1878-0237. ; 8:5, s. 463-471
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Individuals with ASD often demonstrate superior performance on embedded figures tasks (EFTs). We investigated visual scanning behaviour in children with ASD during an EFT in an attempt replicating a previous study examining differences in visual search behaviour. Twenty-three children with, and 31 children without an ASD were shown 16 items from the Figure-Ground subtest of the TVPS-3 while wearing an eye tracker. Children with ASD exhibited fewer fixations, and less time per fixation, on the target figure. Accuracy was similar between the two groups. There were no other noteworthy differences between children with and without ASD. Differences in visual scanning patterns in the presence of typical behavioural performance suggest that any purported differences in processing style may not be detrimental to cognitive performance and further refinement of the current methodology may lead to support for a purported advantageous cognitive style. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.
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| 3. |
- Ordqvist, A., et al.
(author)
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Information and repetition change children's visual strategies when viewing magic tricks and without gaze cues
- 2013
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In: Perceptual and Motor Skills. - : SAGE Publications. - 0031-5125 .- 1558-688X. ; 116:1, s. 144-162
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gaze cues and direct gaze attract visual attention. However, few studies have explored visual cues in children within realistic contexts. The effect of information and repetitive stimulus presentation has not been thoroughly studied with dynamic stimuli. The aim of the present study was to investigate how information affects the visual strategies of children measured by the number of fixations on certain areas of interest and their durations. Furthermore, this study examined the effect of gaze cues and direct gaze. In two consecutive experiments, children's visual strategies when viewing magic tricks were measured by an eye tracker. Gaze cues were only present in Experiment 1. The results showed that repetitive stimulus presentation and information caused children to change their visual strategies when viewing magic tricks with and without gaze cues. However, the effect was larger when the gaze cues were not present. These findings in children were similar to those in adults.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Afsharnejad, Bahareh, et al.
(author)
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Cross-cultural adaptation to Australia of the KONTAKT© Social Skills Group Training Program for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder : A feasibility study
- 2020
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In: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 50, s. 4297-4316
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated the feasibility and cultural validity of KONTAKT©, a manualised social skills group training, in improving the social functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). KONTAKT© was delivered to 17 adolescents (mage = 14.09, SDage = 1.43; 70% male) with ASD over sixteen 90 min sessions. A pre-test post-test design evaluated changes in personally meaningful social goals, symptom severity, quality of life, interpersonal efficacy, social anxiety, loneliness, and facial emotion recognition at pre, post and 3 months follow-up. Focus groups were conducted post intervention. Findings indicate that KONTAKT© may support Australian adolescents with ASD in achieving their personally meaningful social goals. This study resulted in finalisation of KONTAKT© in preparation for evaluation of its efficacy in a randomised controlled trial (Australian New Zealand Clinical Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12617001117303, ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03294668).
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| 7. |
- Afsharnejad, Bahareh, et al.
(author)
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KONTAKT© for Australian adolescents on the autism spectrum : Protocol of a randomized control trial
- 2019
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In: Trials. - : BioMed Central. - 1745-6215. ; 20:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND:Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience impairing challenges in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts. While social skills group training (SSGT) has shown moderate effects on various sociability outcomes in ASD, there is a need for (1) replication of effects in additional clinical and cultural contexts, (2) designs that employ active control groups, (3) calculation of health economic benefits, (4) identification of the optimal training duration, and (5) measurement of individual goals and quality of life outcomes.METHOD/DESIGN:With the aim of investigating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a SSGT, KONTAKT©, a two-armed randomized control trial with adolescents aged 12-17 years (N = 90) with ASD and an intelligence quotient (IQ) of over 70 will be undertaken. Following stratification for centre and gender, participants will be randomly assigned to either KONTAKT© or to an active control group, a group-based cooking programme. Participants will attend both programmes in groups of 6-8 adolescents, over 16 one-and-a-half-hour sessions. The primary outcome examined is adolescent self-rated achievement of personally meaningful social goals as assessed via the Goal Attainment Scaling during an interview with a blinded clinician. Secondary outcomes include adolescent self-reported interpersonal efficacy, quality of life, social anxiety, loneliness, face emotion recognition performance and associated gaze behaviour, and parent proxy reports of autistic traits, quality of life, social functioning, and emotion recognition and expression. Cost-effectiveness will be investigated in relation to direct and indirect societal and healthcare costs.DISCUSSION:The primary outcomes of this study will be evidenced in the anticipated achievement of adolescents' personally meaningful social goals following participation in KONTAKT© as compared to the active control group. This design will enable rigorous evaluation of the efficacy of KONTAKT©, exercising control over the possibly confounding effect of exposure to a social context of peers with a diagnosis of ASD.TRIAL REGISTRATION:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). ACTRN12617001117303. Registered on 31 July 2017. anzctr.org.au ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03294668. Registered on 22 September 2017. https://clinicaltrials.gov.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Black, Melissa H., et al.
(author)
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Mechanisms of facial emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders : Insights from eye tracking and electroencephalography
- 2017
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In: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. - : Elsevier. - 0149-7634 .- 1873-7528. ; 80, s. 488-515
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While behavioural difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) have been observed in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), behavioural studies alone are not suited to elucidate the specific nature of FER challenges in ASD. Eye tracking (ET) and electroencephalography (EEG) provide insights in to the attentional and neurological correlates of performance, and may therefore provide insight in to the mechanisms underpinning FER in ASD. Given that these processes develop over the course of the developmental trajectory, there is a need to synthesise findings in regard to the developmental stages to determine how the maturation of these systems may impact FER in ASD. We conducted a systematic review of fifty-four studies investigating ET or EEG meeting inclusion criteria. Findings indicate divergence of visual processing pathways in individuals with ASD. Altered function of the social brain in ASD impacts the processing of facial emotion across the developmental trajectory, resulting in observable differences in ET and EEG outcomes.
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| 10. |
- Black, Melissa H., et al.
(author)
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The use of wearable technology to measure and support abilities, disabilities and functional skills in autistic youth: a scoping review
- 2020
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology. - : EXELEY INC. - 2245-8875. ; 8, s. 48-69
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Wearable technology (WT) to measure and support social and non-social functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been a growing interest of researchers over the past decade. There is however limited understanding of the WTs currently available for autistic individuals, and how they measure functioning in this population. Objective: This scoping review explored the use of WTs for measuring and supporting abilities, disabilities and functional skills in autistic youth. Method: Four electronic databases were searched to identify literature investigating the use of WT in autistic youth, resulting in a total of 33 studies being reviewed. Descriptive and content analysis was conducted, with studies subsequently mapped to the ASD International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core-sets and the ICF Child and Youth Version (ICF-CY). Results: Studies were predominately pilot studies for novel devices. WTs measured a range of physiological and behavioural functions to objectively measure stereotypical motor movements, social function, communication, and emotion regulation in autistic youth in the context of a range of environments and activities. Conclusions: While this review raises promising prospects for the use of WTs for autistic youth, the current evidence is limited and requires further investigation.
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