Margot Prior

Comparison of Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autistic Children on a Test of Motor Impairment.

Compared the motor impairment levels of Asperger syndrome and high functioning autistic children using a standardized test, the Test of Motor Impairment-Henderson Revision. The two groups did not differ on either total or subscale impairment scores. Intelligence level was negatively correlated with motor impairment although the relationship was mostly accounted for by the Asperger children. There was considerable variability within both clinical groups but 50% of Asperger children and 67% of autistic children showed a clinically significant level of motor impairment. Results offer no support for clumsiness as a diagnostically differentiating feature of these disorders.

Motor imitation abilities and neurological signs in autistic children

Autistic children were compared with chronological and mental agematched normal children on two tests of motor imitation and on the Herzig Battery for Non-Focal Neurological Signs. The results indicated that autistic children have significant handicaps in the neurodevelopmental area, with very poor performance on motor imitation tasks and a universal and significant excess of soft signs of neurological dysfunction. Such “dyspraxias” may underlie the failure of these chlidren to learn to use gesture.

The structure of infant temperament: Factor analysis of the revised infant temperament questionnaire☆

Abstract Factor analyses of the Carey and McDevitt (1978) Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire (RITQ) with a representative sample of 2,443 Australian infants provided limited empirical support for its 9-dimension structure and indicated considerable redundancy in the scale. Of the 9 dimensions, only Rhythmicity and Persistence emerged as relatively pure factors. The other factors were formed from various combinations or divisions of the dimensions. Five infant temperament factors, Approach, Rhythmicity, Cooperation/Manageability, Activity/Reactivity, and Irritability, were chosen for the development of a short form (SITQ). This short form showed good internal consistency and replicability across subsamples of the total group, A 3-factor composite scale was also developed that allowed measurement of an easy to difficult continuum that was strongly related to concurrent behavior problems. Good test-retest reliability was demonstrated for both the 5 separate scales and the composite scale. Although similarities can be shown between the SITQ and various other infant temperament scales, the SITQ has the advantages of parsimony and a firm empirical basis.

Cognitive Abilities and Disabilities in Infantile Autism: A Review

The literature on various aspects of learning and performance in autistic children is reviewed and interpreted as indicating very little that is specific to autism. Inadequate and inconsistent methodology precludes generalizations concerning the nature of the disorder. It is suggested that future research should be particularly concerned with controlling for developmental influences on performance, and with investigation of the higher functioning autistic children who are less governed by retardation factors. The current evidence is considered to support a hypothesis concerning abnormal hemisphere functioning in this group of children.

Stability of Maternally Reported Temperament from Infancy to 8 Years.

This study explores the stability of temperament, measured by maternal report, from infancy to 8 years in a longitudinal sample of 450 children. Prior questionnaire-based, factor-analytic studies of stability have usually assumed that temperament dimensions show continuity during development and that, where the same temperament factors emerge at multiple measurement occasions, the factors show measurement equivalence. Structural equation modeling was used to test these assumptions. Approach, Irritability, Cooperation-Manageability, Inflexibility, Rhythmicity, and Persistence factors showed substantial continuity from infancy to 8 years. The levels of stability found were substantially higher than has generally been reported. Approach and Rhythmicity showed the highest stability over the full age range, whereas Inflexibility showed the highest absolute level of stability.

The development of patterns of stable, transient, and school-age onset aggressive behavior in young children.

OBJECTIVE To examine the development of patterns of aggressive behavior in children from the age of 2 to 8 years. METHOD Children with early histories of aggressive behavior were selected from a community sample of 2,400 infants participating in a longitudinal study. The sample was divided into four groups: children with stable aggressive behavior, those with transient aggression, those with aggression only after age 5 years (late onset), and a comparison group of nonaggressive children. RESULTS Children with stable aggressive behavior were characterized by a difficult temperament, hostile sibling interactions, maternal perception of the child as difficult, and harsher child-rearing practices. Children whose early aggression decreased over time and those who became aggressive only after entering school could not be reliably classified with the selected family variables. Teacher ratings of temperament factors of task orientation and reactivity and ability ratings correctly classified 74% of children whose aggression began at school-age. CONCLUSIONS Children with persistent aggressive behavior differed from those who improved, predominantly in terms of symptom severity. Problems with aggression can be identified early in development, and a significant proportion of aggressive children are at risk for continuing social and scholastic difficulties. Knowledge of associated factors may play an important role in prevention.

Hemisphere Functioning in Autistic Children

Recent research in childhood autism has provided support for the hypothesis that a central cognitive deficit involving severe language impairment underlies this disorder. In this study a group of autistic children were tested for handedness and for lateralization of speech function using a dichotic listening task. Contrary to earlier reports there were no left-handed children in the group although a number showed mixed preference. In the dischotic listening task using pairs of single syllable words the autistic group performed similarly to a matched group of normal children in terms of numbers of correct responses but over all did not show the right ear advantage characteristic of the normal children. There was a significant excess of right hemisphere dominance for verbal stimuli amongst the autistic children suggesting that for some at least, language functions had developed in the right hemisphere. Lateralization was shown to be related to presence or absence of speech before the age of 5 years and to IQ level.

Estimating WAIS-R IQ from the national adult reading test: A cross-validation

The National Adult Reading Test (NART) was devised to predict premorbid intellectual functioning in people suspected of having dementia, so that the extent of cognitive decline could be assessed by comparing these results with current performances. This study undertook a double cross-validation of the NART on a neurologically normal sample (N = 104) and on a clinically relevant sample (49 aged subjects). The results provide encouragement for the clinical utility of the NART. The study also demonstrated that the inclusion of demographic variables with the NART gives a substantially better estimate of premorbid cognitive functioning than that given by the NART or by demographic data alone.

Urinary Cortisol Circadian Rhythm in a Group of High-Functioning Children with Autism.

Previous research has suggested that there may be dysfunction in the control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in autistic children. Both an abnormal cortisol circadian rhythm and failure to suppress cortisol secretion in response to dexamethasome have been reported. This study investigated the basal urinary cortisol circadian rhythm in a group of high-functioning children with autism and matched controls. No evidence was found for abnormal temporal placement of the circadian rhythm in the autistic group. There was a tendency towards cortisol hypersecretion during the day, predominantly in those autistic children who were integrated into the normal school system. While the temporal parameters of the cortisol circadian rhythm in these children with autism were probably normal, the tendency towards cortisol hypersecretion may indicate an environmental stress response in this group.

Reading disability in an Australian community sample

Abstract As part of a prospective longitudinal study of a large and representative sample of Victorian school-aged children (the Australian Temperament Project), we assessed the prevalence of reading problems at the Grade 2 level. On the basis of scores on the ACER Primary Reading Survey - Level B, we designated 16% of children as reading disabled. We did not find the usual preponderance of boys with reading problems. There was a strong association between reading problems and behavioural maladjustment, as rated by parents and teachers, particularly amongst boys. It is likely that this association is responsible for the reported excess of boys in clinical samples. Follow-up assessments of the reading-disabled children two years later showed that few children “recovered” to a normal level of reading. Analyses of the reading and spelling errors made by these children confirmed that deficient phonological skills are particularly characteristic of reading-disabled children. It is suggested that more attention...