Paola Bernabei

An Investigation of Sleep Characteristics, EEG Abnormalities and Epilepsy in Developmentally Regressed and Non-regressed Children with Autism

This study investigated sleep of children with autism and developmental regression and the possible relationship with epilepsy and epileptiform abnormalities. Participants were 104 children with autism (70 non-regressed, 34 regressed) and 162 typically developing children (TD). Results suggested that the regressed group had higher incidence of circadian rhythm disorders than non-regressed children. The regressed group showed higher Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire Bedtime Resistance, Sleep Onset Delay, Sleep Duration and Night-Wakings scores. Epilepsy and frequent epileptiform EEG abnormalities were more frequent in regressed children. Past sleep disorders and a history of developmental regression were significantly associated with sleep disorders. This study is an initial step in better understanding sleep problems in regressed children with autism, further studies are necessary to better investigate these aspects.

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Profiles in Children with Autism and Moderate to Severe Developmental Delay

The purpose of this study was to examine adaptive behaviour profiles in children with autism and moderate to severe developmental delay. Previous research has found that children with autism present a characteristic pattern of adaptive behaviour, as measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) (deficit in the domain of socialization, relative deficit in the domain of communication and relative strength in the domain of daily living). In this study VABS were administered (as part of a comprehensive evaluation of abilities) to a sample of 50 children with moderate to severe developmental delay (23 children with autism and 27 chronological and developmental age matched non-autistic children). Contrary to initial predictions, the sample presented fairly homogeneous adaptive behaviour profiles. Results are discussed with respect to the effectiveness of adaptive behaviour profiles in the detection of autism and the importance of employing limited chronological and developmental age ranges in the study of autism in infancy.

An Evaluation of Early Development in Children with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders from Home Movies: Preliminary Findings

Family videos of 10 children later diagnosed as having autism or pervasive developmental disorders were analysed using a newly devised instrument. The checklist comprises 3 0 individual items and 20 functional categories. It evaluates behaviours in three areas: social interaction, communication and language, functional and symbolic play. The age range covered by home movies was divided into four periods (0-6, 6-12, 12-18 and 18-24 months) and analysed accordingly. The checklist data allow for the derivation of a general developmental profile as well as individual profiles. The most common profile was one in which children made progress from the first to the second or third age period, whereas from the second or third to the fourth period they showed a loss of previously mastered behaviours. The loss was statistically significant in socio-interactive behaviours, less evident in communication/language, and moderate in the area of action schemes and play. Mutual attention (dyadic eye contact), attachment behaviours, emotional reactions and vocalizations were present in almost all the children studied. On the other hand, communicative gestures (pointing, showing, ritualized requests), pretend play and conventional social games were rarely observed. The implications of these results for early diagnosis as well as for theories of early development in autism and severe developmental disorders are briefly discussed.

Developmental Profile and Regression in a Child with Autism A Single Case Study

The developmental profile of a child with autism during the first 3 years of life is presented. Clinical material obtained from different sources is discussed: home videos from birth to 3 years, and cognitive and communicative evaluations at 24, 34 and 38 months. The videos show how the child appeared to make progress up to 12 months, but from 12 to 18 months some abilities that had been previously acquired were lost, and a decrease in social interaction, communication and language was observed. From 18 to 38 months communicative and linguistic abilities remained unchanged, but social interactive behaviours continued to decrease. The particular profile identified is discussed as one of the possible pathways through which autism may develop.

PROFILES OF SENSORIMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY

Aim of the study was (1) to evaluate sensorimotor development of children with autism in comparison with that of children with developmental delay, (2) to verify the possible unevenness of the developmental profiles through correlations amongst domains and between domains and chronological age. 46 children with autism were compared with 45 children with developmental delay. Mean chronological age was 3.7 yr. in children with autism and 3.6 yr. in children with mental retardation. Mean mental age was 1.3 yr. in children with autism and 1.1 yr. in children with developmental delay. Ordinal scales of Uzgiris-Hunt show that the two groups score significantly differently on the scales of Object Permanence, Means-Ends, Operational Causality, and Spatial Relations and that scores were higher for the children with autism. The comparison made between the developmental levels of each group indicate that the sensorimotor profile in children with developmental delay is fairly homogeneous, while it appears uneven in autistic children, for whom Object Permanence appears to be the most advanced skill, Verbal and Gestural Imitation and Schemes for Relating to Objects the lowest. The results are in keeping with the assumption that the pivotal defect of autism is a deficit in social interactive skills.

Specific language disorders in twins during childhood.

The delay in the development of the language often found in twins is usually interpreted as being strictly connected with the twinning situation and on the assumption that a model of verbal, tendentially cryptophasic, communication would more easily exist between twins. Two types of language pathology in twins, diverging from this classic framework, are presented: (1) Developmental dyslalia (or developmental dysarthria); in these cases no abnormality could be found in the modality of verbal communication between the cotwin; (2) developmental dysphasia; in these cases not only no tendency toward cryptophasia was observed, but indeed the verbal communication between the twins was markedly reduced. These two types of language disorders, as well as the classic one, are discussed in the light of a neurolinguistic interpretation.

Disturbance of imagination and symbolization in pervasive developmental disorders: preliminary study utilizing the Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Two clinical cases of children of 6 and 7 years are presented with their respective Rorschach records. The first case had a diagnosis of autism, the second of Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. The modes of elaboration and responses to the ambiguous stimuli of the Rorschach test were compared with the clinical symptoms of the two subjects, which are centered on the two opposite poles of absence of imagination in the first case and distortion of the imaginative processes in the second.