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One key to better mental health: cognitive flexibility

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Stressful life events, among other things, affect autistics more than those who are typically developing. Why? What would cause this vulnerability? New studies suggest that cognitive inflexibility may be the key. Autistic people tend to have problems with cognitive flexibility. As a whole, they show problems with flexible thinking, changing direction and being adaptable to new situations. This is clearly tied to insistence on sameness, a core feature of ASD. Can anything help? Research needs to look at the link between improving cognitive flexibility and mental health, but in the meantime, there are things that can be done to improve skills in this area. Check out a few below.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36196666/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36113122/

https://researchautism.org/cognitive-flexibility-keeping-thinking-limber-and-flexible/
Cognitive Rigidity in Autism

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Little things to help the autism community

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We’ve heard a lot about social robots – do they help? One or two studies are not going to answer this, but a systematic review and meta analysis will! It turns out when you combined all the data, they do help in social abilities, but not other areas. This is how technology can help those with autism, especially technology which can be adapted to address the heterogeneity across the spectrum. And what about more subtle changes in the environment like light, sound, the built environment in classrooms and the home? Are there things that can be done that should be taken into account when these things are being built or modified? Again, a review article can help decipher all of the little studies that have been published over the year. Listen to specific recommendations for builders, architects, and even you as you make your home more autism friendly.

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269800

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13623613221102753?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

https://lukerosen212.medium.com/the-supreme-courts-decision-impact-on-the-rare-genetic-disease-community-f9ac22bd1411

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Pasta, music pieces and pills

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This week, the #ASFpodcast explores different types of interventions for which the core autism features are not necessarily the target, but those that enhance quality of life and provide help for irritability and emotional dysregulation. They include cooking, music therapies and antipsychotic medications. While they may not be effective in core autism features, they may help in other ways.

https://www.jaacap.org/article/S0890-8567(22)00198-8/fulltext

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004381.pub4/full

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0891422222000890?via%3Dihub

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Tooth brushing: It’s not for sissies

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Parents or caregivers of children with ASD sometimes have a lot of difficulty helping their child brush their teeth. Parents and caregivers of children not on the spectrum have difficulty helping their child brush their teeth. By working with families on an individual level, coaching, encouraging and breaking down each of the steps of tooth brushing into something manageable, a group of Medicaid-eligible parents helped their children learn these skills on some level by the end of the study. Incredibly, 93% of parents who are trying to do it all with less, stayed in the program and felt more confident about their abilities. This study also used a randomized clinical trial design which compared the training and coaching with just those who got some toothbrushes and toothpastes in the mail. In this week’s #ASFpodcast, you get to hear from the leaders and the therapists who helped these families, what they did, and what worked. Join me with Dr. Eric Butter, Kelly Birmingham and Dr. Rachel Fenning to hear more about this study.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35211746/

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Help for those with minimal verbal ability

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On this week’s ASF weekly science podcast, we provide a recent review on influences of speech and language both in those with ASD who are verbally fluent, as those who have minimal verbal ability. What does the brain look like in those with minimal verbal ability and are there interventions to help improve social communication ability in those with not just minimal verbal ability but also cognitive disability? What are some early markers or behaviors that predict understanding and communicating? Listen to learn more.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32909382/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32881387/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32827357/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32812191/

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Psychiatric decompensation and autism: Two words you never want to hear together

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A series of three scientific articles explore the link between the onset of psychiatric symptoms in adolescence in people with Phelan McDermid Syndrome, or PMS.  PMS is caused by a mutation in the SHANK3 gene, leading to a wide range of medical, behavioral and intellectual challenges, as well as autism spectrum disorder.  Scientists used a broad literature review as well as the PMS patient registry to better describe what was going on, and a group at Duke compiled a case series of girls affected that were responsive to treatment.  While so far this decompensation as a result of onset of psychiatric illness has only been documented in PMS, families across the spectrum should be aware so they can seek immediate help for their child if they see similar symptoms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32050889

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31879555

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32015180

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“ASADHD” – where does ASD and ADHD join together, and go their separate ways?

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One the surface, symptoms of ADHD and ASD may seem very similar.  However, they come from very different places.  The genetic and behavioral makeup may be on the same spectrum across the two disorders, but they are actually farther apart than you might think.  Dr. Meghan Miller from UC Davis MIND Institute who studies both ADHD and ASD and people with ADHD and ASD explains what those differences and similarities are, how to make the right diagnosis, and what’s on the horizon for treatments for ADHD in people with ASD.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31974800

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30535156

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30658861

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This one’s for the girls

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In this week’s podcast, I semi-plagiarize from a recent summary of sex differences in ASD, written by Drs. Meng-Chuan Lai and Peter Szatmari from the University of Toronto.  They delve into why more males are diagnosed with females, and differences in the presentation of those features of ASD that differ between males and females.  These include camouflaging, differences in language style, differences based on behaviors determined by sex, and associated features like anxiety and internalizing behaviors.  Thank you to the authors for putting together the information in a way that makes sense.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31815760

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30962869

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CBT and ADDM – two acronyms in the autism news

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Two studies missed last year (sorry) but are of importance to the autism community include a modified version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to treat anxiety, which was adapted and updated for people with ASD.  It also works better than traditional CBT, which is good news for  the 80% of people with ASD that also suffer from anxiety.  Also, in recognition of MLK day today, the CDC released information last year that shows that 1/4 of those that they counted in their prevalence numbers were missed by schools or other health care providers.  Unfortunately, those who were black or hispanic were more likely to be those that were missed but still met criteria.  This just shows that educators have to do better in helping those with ASD from all racial and ethnic backgrounds.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31868321

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31755906

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#thisisanautismmentalhealthcrisis

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Mental health disorders are a serious problem across the lifespan in people with autism.  This has been shown by over 2 decades of research and further proven by a new meta analysis and a systematic review of the last 25 years of data.  What is the result of these mental health disorder co-morbidities?  Many times, these mental health disorders trigger a crisis situation: the police are called, someone goes to the hospital, may end up hospitalized, and family members are traumatized.  This week’s podcast summarizes the evidence and provides recommendations from scientists to help those with autism and possibly prevent crises from occurring.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31447415 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31652032