Brief Report: The Negev Hospital-University-Based (HUB) Autism Database

Meiri, Gal; Dinstein, Ilan; Michaelowski, Analya; Flusser, Hagit; Ilan, Michal; Faroy, Michal; Bar-Sinai, Asif; Manelis, Liora; D, Stolowicz; Yosef, Lili Lea; Davidovitch, Nadav; Golan, Hava M.; Arbelle, Shosh; Menashe, Idan

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3207-0

Cited by 44 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…There was no significant difference in the age of participating children across groups ( t (129)) = 0.64, p = 0.57, two-tailed t test). Children with autism were recruited through the Negev Autism Center [ 33 ]. Control children of the same age were recruited from the community through an online forum at Ben Gurion University.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism

et al. 2018

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BackgroundSensory abnormalities and sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in children with autism, but the potential relationship between these two domains has rarely been explored. Understanding such relationships is important for identifying children with autism who exhibit more homogeneous symptoms.MethodsHere, we examined this relationship using the Caregiver Sensory Profile and the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire, which were completed by parents of 69 children with autism and 62 age-matched controls.ResultsIn line with previous studies, children with autism exhibited more severe sensory abnormalities and sleep disturbances than age-matched controls. The sleep disturbance scores were moderately associated with touch and oral sensitivities in the autism group and with touch and vestibular sensitivities in the control group. Hypersensitivity towards touch, in particular, exhibited the strongest relationship with sleep disturbances in the autism group and single-handedly explained 24% of the variance in total sleep disturbance scores. In contrast, sensitivity in other sensory domains such as vision and audition was not associated with sleep quality in either group.ConclusionsWhile it is often assumed that sensitivities in all sensory domains are similarly associated with sleep problems, our results suggest that hypersensitivity towards touch exhibits the strongest relationship with sleep disturbances when examining children autism. We speculate that hypersensitivity towards touch interferes with sleep onset and maintenance in a considerable number of children with autism who exhibit severe sleep disturbances. This may indicate the existence of a specific sleep disturbance mechanism that is associated with sensitivity to touch, which may be important to consider in future scientific and clinical studies.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism

et al. 2018

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“…Our final analyzed sample included 111 children who were recruited at the National Autism Research Center of Israel [Meiri et al, 2017]. This sample consisted of 71 children diagnosed with ASD according to DSM-5 criteria (mean age: 5.1 years old AE 1.8, 59 males), and 40 typically developing children (mean age: 4.5 years old AE 2.1, 25 males).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children with autism observe social interactions in an idiosyncratic manner

et al. 2019

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Previous eye‐tracking studies have reported that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) fixate less on faces in comparison to controls. To properly understand social interactions, however, children must gaze not only at faces but also at actions, gestures, body movements, contextual details, and objects, thereby creating specific gaze patterns when observing specific social interactions. We presented three different movies with social interactions to 111 children (71 with ASD) who watched each of the movies twice. Typically developing children viewed the movies in a remarkably predictable and reproducible manner, exhibiting gaze patterns that were similar to the mean gaze pattern of other controls, with strong correlations across individuals (intersubject correlations) and across movie presentations (intra‐subject correlations). In contrast, children with ASD exhibited significantly more variable/idiosyncratic gaze patterns that differed from the mean gaze pattern of controls and were weakly correlated across individuals and presentations. Most importantly, quantification of gaze idiosyncrasy in individual children enabled separation of ASD and control children with higher sensitivity and specificity than traditional measures such as time gazing at faces. Individual magnitudes of gaze idiosyncrasy were also significantly correlated with ASD severity and cognitive scores and were significantly correlated across movies and movie presentations, demonstrating clinical sensitivity and reliability. These results suggest that gaze idiosyncrasy is a potent behavioral abnormality that characterizes a considerable number of children with ASD and may contribute to their impaired development. Quantification of gaze idiosyncrasy in individual children may aid in assessing symptom severity and their change in response to treatments. Autism Res 2020, 13: 935‐946. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary Typically, developing children watch movies of social interactions in a reliable and predictable manner, attending faces, gestures, actions, body movements, and objects that are relevant to the social interaction and its narrative. Here, we demonstrate that children with ASD watch such movies with significantly more variable/idiosyncratic gaze patterns that differ across individuals and across movie presentations. We demonstrate that quantifying this gaze variability may aid in identifying children with ASD and in determining the severity of their symptoms.

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“…Seventy studies were found on social, educational, and psychological research including Arabic individuals with ASD and their family members in the following Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Libya, Iraq, West Bank, Syria, Tunisia. A small number of studies (n = 12, 17%) were conducted in non-Arab countries but with Arab populations (Baker 2017;Barnevik-Olsson et al 2008;Dolev et al 2016;Esler et al 2017;Estrem and Zhang 2010;Fox et al 2017;Kediye et al 2009;Meiri et al 2017;Perepa 2014;Raz et al 2015;Sher-Censor et al 2017; Walker-Dalhouse and Dalhouse 2015). None of the 70 studies identified were published in Arabic.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There were few studies that explored the social and communication behaviour of Arab individuals with ASD (n = 10, 14%) (Table 3 and Online Resource S3). Of those 10, three studies were conducted in non-Arab countries but with Arab populations (Meiri et al 2017;Perepa 2014; Walker-Dalhouse and Dalhouse 2015). The total number of Arab participants included in these studies was 44.…”

Section: Social and Communication Behaviour Of Arab Individuals With Asdmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Scoping Review of Social, Educational, and Psychological Research on Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Family Members in Arab Countries and Cultures

Alallawi

Hastings

Gray

2020

Rev J Autism Dev Disord

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Cultural dimensions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are relatively unexplored in the research literature. The current study is a systematic scoping review describing social, educational, and psychological research focused on individuals with ASD and their family members in Arab countries and cultures. Seventy studies met eligibility criteria. Most of the studies were from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. Most of the identified research addressed three major domains: the prevalence of ASD and diagnosis issues, the experiences and outcomes for Arab caregivers of individuals with ASD, and social and communication behaviour of Arab individuals with ASD. There were significant gaps in research evidence base, including research on interventions and on ASD services. Overall, the included research was appraised as being of weak quality.

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Brief Report: The Negev Hospital-University-Based (HUB) Autism Database

Cited by 44 publications

References 62 publications

Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism

Sleep disturbances are associated with specific sensory sensitivities in children with autism

Children with autism observe social interactions in an idiosyncratic manner

A Systematic Scoping Review of Social, Educational, and Psychological Research on Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their Family Members in Arab Countries and Cultures

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