Tag: Autism

Posted on

Home Play-based Intervention for Parents and Infants

Conditions: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); Autism Spectrum Disorder; Premature Birth; Global Developmental Delay

Interventions: Behavioral: SPRINT Intervention; Other: Waitlist Protocol

Sponsors: Nanyang Technological University; Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital; Institute for Human Development and Potential (IHDP), Singapore

Not yet recruiting
Posted on

Effects of exercise interventions on executive function in autism spectrum disorder: a three-level meta-analytic review

ObjectiveThis study aimed to use a three-level meta-analysis to examine the effects of exercise interventions on executive function (EF) in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to explore the relationship between exercise dose and intervention effects through subgroup analyses.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library from database inception to November 17, 2025. All included studies were randomized controlled trials. A three-level random-effects model was applied to integrate multiple dependent effect sizes. Hedges’ g was used to calculate effect sizes, and negative values indicated improvements in EF following exercise interventions. Study quality was assessed using the PEDro scale, and publication bias was evaluated using Egger’s regression and the trim-and-fill method.ResultsSeventeen studies involving 626 participants were included. Exercise interventions produced a moderate and significant improvement in EF (g = –0.34, p < 0.0001) with low heterogeneity (Q = 50.42, p =0.268). Subgroup analyses showed that only intervention duration significantly moderated the effects, with programs lasting ≥10 weeks yielding the greatest benefits.ConclusionExercise interventions significantly improve EF in children and adolescents with ASD, with the largest effect sizes observed in interventions lasting ≥10 weeks. Further large-scale studies are needed to clarify dose–response relationships and inform optimal exercise prescriptions. This meta-analysis was designed and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) guidelines. Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD420251236112
Posted on

Social talk in virtual spaces: an observational study of pragmatic communication in children with autism spectrum disorder during avatar-mediated interaction

IntroductionImmersive virtual environments offer organized social contexts for the observation of communication behaviors under standardized and interactive conditions. This study adopts a VR-based observational approach to examine pragmatic social communication behaviors exhibited during structured social scenarios in autistic children, with a specific focus on social reciprocity and context-appropriate verbal communication. MethodsThe study included twenty-five children between the ages of 5 and 12 who were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A structured social scenario was presented by the Virtual Reality (VR) system to elicit social communication behaviors, including greeting initiation and response, attention to speakers, turn-taking, and context-appropriate verbal responses. Social communication outcomes were assessed using selected domains of the Indian Scale for Assessment of autism (ISAA). In addition, the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) and a VR-based Pragmatic Social Communication Observation Checklist (VR-PSCOC) were used to assess in-scenario behaviors. ResultsThe post-VR analysis revealed measurable changes across the assessed pragmatic social communication domains during repeated exposure to the VR scenarios. Variations were observed in the ISAA social-communication related domains, including speech-language, communication, and social relationship and reciprocity scores (p<0.001). Repeated VR exposure was associated with higher observational scores, indicating observable changes in social communication behaviors within the structured virtual environment. DiscussionThe findings indicate that the structured VR-based social scenarios provide a feasible environment for observing and characterizing social communication behaviors in children with ASD within controlled interaction settings.
Posted on

Beyond Theory of Mind: mentalization as a relational and developmental framework for autism

Autistic individuals and those around them often navigate social and emotional situations in which behaviors, intentions, and affects are difficult to interpret. Supporting mentalizing processes within child–caregiver interactions may help address these challenges; however, a broader conceptual shift is needed, moving beyond a narrow deficit-based perspective toward understanding mentalization as a multidimensional, relational, and developmental process. By shifting the focus from individual deficits to child–caregiver meaning-making processes, this framework may help clarify assessment and intervention targets and inform future research on psychopathological vulnerability in autism. This targeted narrative mini-review therefore aimed to summarize preliminary evidence suggests that other-related mentalizing may show greater difficulties than self-related mentalizing, although this hypothesis requires further replication. Findings also highlight caregiver mentalization, particularly parental reflective functioning, as a key relational process shaping how children’s behavior is interpreted, regulated, and responded to over time. In this light, preliminary intervention studies suggest that mentalization-based and mentalization-informed approaches may improve parental reflective functioning, cognitive reappraisal, self-efficacy, and inferential style, with potential indirect benefits for children’s emotional outcomes. We therefore propose a relational-developmental framework in which mentalization is conceptualized as a shared and dynamic process of meaning-making under conditions of social and emotional ambiguity. Adopting an individual, relational and developmentally informed perspective may contribute to the development of more precise assessment models, more targeted interventions, and a deeper understanding of mental health vulnerability in autism.
Posted on

Autism-Related Information on Websites and General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence Chatbots: Comparative, Bilingual Study

Background: Parents increasingly consult the internet, both websites and, more recently, artificial intelligence chatbots, for information on autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the comparative quality of these two source types, especially across languages, remains underexplored. Objective: This study aimed to assess the completeness and accuracy of ASD information delivered by websites and 5 popular artificial intelligence chatbots and determine whether performance differs between English and Romanian content. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, 25 English-language and 25 Romanian-language websites and the responses of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, and DeepSeek were evaluated. Content was benchmarked against a 24-item checklist, yielding completeness and accuracy scores. Chatbots were tested in 2 scenarios: a single broad query (A) and 24 item-specific queries (B). Results: Websites achieved higher completeness in English than in Romanian (6.9 vs 5.1; =.007) and marginally higher accuracy (6.9 vs 6.1; =.045). In scenario A, chatbot completeness (English: 5.3 vs Romanian: 6.2; =.15) and accuracy (English: 6.0 vs Romanian: 5.6; =.32) did not show significant differences by language. In the single-query scenario, websites showed higher accuracy than chatbots in both English (6.9 vs 6.0; =.19) and Romanian (6.1 vs 5.6; =.53), with neither difference reaching statistical significance. Conversely, item-specific questioning favored chatbots, which yielded higher accuracy scores than websites in English (8.3 vs 6.9; =.053) and Romanian (8.0 vs 6.1; =.007). Accuracy scores improved significantly from the single-query to the item-specific scenario (English: 6.0 vs 8.3; =.002; Romanian: 5.6 vs 8.0; =.001). While an initial analysis suggested variation in performance between chatbots (repeated measures ANOVA; =.005), pairwise differences between individual models did not remain significant after adjustment for multiple testing. Conclusions: This exploratory study indicates that the quality of online ASD information varies by language and source context. English-language websites are more complete than Romanian-language websites. Among chatbots, targeted questioning yields more accurate answers than single broad queries in both languages. The findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the temporal gap between website and chatbot data collection.
<img src="https://jmir-production.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/thumbs/9a4cf01573ef68781c683a28400cae07" />

Posted on

Case Report: A novel de novo heterozygous truncating mutation in MED12L identified in a Chinese autistic boy

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. A previous study by Nizon et al. indicated that some children with intellectual disability (ID) carrying de novo MED12L mutations exhibited mild to moderate autistic features. However, the relationship between MED12L and ASD remains unclear.Case presentationHere we reported a male child with severe autistic features carrying a novel de novo heterozygous truncating mutation of MED12L (NM_053002.5:c.586C>T, p.(Arg196Ter)). He was diagnosed with ASD according to ICD-11 and DSM-5 criteria. Clinical examination indicated that this child exhibited severe autistic features and several dysmorphic features, including a flat nasal bridge, bulbous nasal tip, thin upper lip, and triangular face. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed an enlarged perivascular space in the right temporal lobe.ConclusionThis case demonstrates that this de novo heterozygous truncating mutation in MED12L may be involved in the development of ASD, and haploinsufficiency of MED12L may be associated with severe autistic features. Obvious clinical manifestations and dysmorphic features in this child with a truncating mutation in MED12L expand the phenotypic spectrum of MED12L-related cases and warrant further functional studies to elucidate the relationship between MED12L and ASD.