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Biomedical subjects

P Howlin

Publications and source records attributed to P Howlin.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Assessing children with language tests--which tests to use?

A group of 28 children attending a unit for children with developmental language disorders was assessed on a battery of cognitive and language tests. No relationship was found between verbal IQ and scores on other language measures. However, although correlations between the specialist language tests used were highly significant, the mean age scores obtained on the different tests were found to vary by as much as 2 years. The implications of these findings for clinical and experimental studies of children with language impairments are discussed.

Child↗
PubMed1989

Mothers' speech to autistic children: a preliminary causal analysis.

Changes over time in the language patterns of autistic children and their parents were examined during the course of a home-based intervention programme. Although the language used by parents to their autistic children was not deficient, language modification procedures were found to lead to rapid changes in the verbal interaction between parents and children. Parents in the non-intervention, control group showed little change in their communication style. In the experimental group, but not in the control group, a close relationship was found between increases in the use of language-eliciting utterances by their mothers and improvements in children's socialized language. The pattern of association between parent and child language suggested that the main effect was of the parent on the child but that the extent of the child's language handicap constrained what could be achieved by treatment.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1989

Recognition and expression of emotional cues by autistic and normal adults.

High-functioning autistic adults were compared with normal adults using a battery of tests devised to assess the recognition and expression of emotional cues in both facial and vocal modalities. The autistic subjects were relatively impaired in both the appreciation and production of emotional expressions. Although no one test provided a clear-cut separation of the groups at the individual level, composite scores did separate the groups quite well. It is suggested that this battery of tasks may have some value in family genetic studies of autism that need to identify subclinical deficits that might be aetiologically linked with autism.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Changing approaches to communication training with autistic children.

The characteristic language deficit of autism affects many aspects of the child's functioning. Because of its pervasive nature and the implications for outcome, numerous attempts have been made to remediate problems in this area. However, the results of communication training with this group of children have not always been particularly encouraging. This review traces changes in approaches to language training over the last 25 years and recommends ways in which procedures might be improved to bring about more generalised benefits to autistic children.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed1988

Selective subcortical abnormalities in autism.

Nine physically healthy, adult autistic men, with normal or near normal intelligence, and 13 healthy male controls were examined in a CT brain scan study. CT scans were analysed with a fully automated computer-assisted program, and regional brain radiodensities were measured with careful attention to artefacts. Autistic patients revealed significantly larger third, but not lateral, ventricular size and significantly lower mean caudate, but equivalent mean frontal and thalamic, radiodensities compared to controls. The sizes of the Sylvian fissures and interhemispheric fissure were equivalent between groups. The findings are consistent with selective subcortical abnormalities in autism.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cerebral blood flow and metabolism of oxygen and glucose in young autistic adults.

Regional cerebral blood flow, oxygen consumption and glucose consumption were measured by positron emission tomography in six young autistic men. No significant differences were found between patients and normal controls for any of the physiological variables. The results do not substantiate the previous finding of glucose hypermetabolism in autism; the likely reasons for the variance in findings are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Living with impairment: the effects on children of having an autistic sibling.

Although children of impaired siblings are generally believed to be at risk of suffering from a variety of problems themselves, research studies indicate that living with impairment is not necessarily a harmful experience. This report reviews studies in this area, with particular emphasis on those involving autistic sibships. Although often lacking adequate experimental controls, the current literature suggests various factors that are likely to influence the risks on siblings. Possible ways of minimizing such risk factors are discussed.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessing and diagnosing developmental disorders that are not evident at birth: parental evaluations of intake procedures.

Studies of parental satisfaction with the way in which diagnostic information is imparted have generally focused on conditions that are evident from birth. Diagnostic disclosure for disorders in which the onset is later, and less readily identifiable, has received less attention. The present study investigated parents' views of diagnostic procedures for children whose developmental delays only became apparent as they grew older. The degree of satisfaction was related to the type of diagnosis given but 2 weeks after the assessment 87% of parents described themselves as being very or fairly satisfied. However, levels of satisfaction were lower at a later follow-up than they had been initially. Moreover, several specific aspects of the assessment fell short of the ideal model and parents offered a number of practical and cost-effective suggestions as to how these could be remedied. These ranged from ways in which pre-assessment procedures could be made more useful, how diagnostic information should be presented and how the physical setting could be improved.

Adolescent↗