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At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Schizoid personality in girls: a follow-up study--what are the links with Asperger's syndrome?

Child psychiatric records of 33 girls given a diagnosis of "schizoid" personality in childhood, were compared with records of a control group of other referred girls and with those of 32 pairs of "schizoid" and control boys. Seventeen "schizoid" girls were seen again in adult life and compared with 32 "schizoid" boys previously followed up at the same age. The features of "schizoid" girls in childhood and adult life were very similar to those of the boys. A striking finding, possible due to referral bias, was the high rate of antisocial conduct in "schizoid" girls, both in childhood and later life. The dilemmas of diagnostic classification of this group of patients are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Can the Children's Communication Checklist differentiate between children with autism, children with ADHD, and normal controls?

BACKGROUND: The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC; Bishop, 1998) is a questionnaire that was developed to measure pragmatic language use and may be completed by parents and teachers. Two studies are reported, which were designed to investigate: (1) whether children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) encounter pragmatic language problems in comparison with normal controls (NC), (2) whether children with ADHD and children with High Functioning Autism (HFA) can be differentiated using the CCC, (3) the usefulness of the CCC for parents and teachers in a clinical and in a research setting, and (4) the role of age in pragmatic language use in ADHD and HFA. METHOD: In the first study (clinical sample) 50 children with ADHD, 50 children with HFA, and 50 NC were compared to each other using the CCC. In the second study (research sample) CCC data was gathered on 23 children with ADHD (without co-morbid disorders), 42 children with HFA, and 35 NC. RESULTS: Compared to NC, children with HFA showed pragmatic deficits on all CCC scales. Children with ADHD demonstrated deficits compared to NC as well. Moreover, the ADHD and HFA groups differed from each other on most of the scales. Discriminant analyses showed that CCC scales were relevant for case identification in these samples. Furthermore, profiles of impairment seen in children with HFA and ADHD did not vary with age. CONCLUSION: Pragmatic difficulties do occur in both HFA and ADHD. The present studies indicate that the CCC is a useful instrument to obtain information concerning pragmatic language use in both a clinical and a research setting. Although the information of parents is more tightly linked to the diagnosis, combining the information of both parent and teacher slightly improves case identification.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Using rapidly alternating multiple schedules to assess and treat aberrant behavior in natural settings.

The validity of using rapidly alternating multiple schedules (RAMS) as a method for assessing and treating aggression and disruptive behavior was demonstrated by using the naturally occurring reinforces identified in the RAMS to develop treatments that were experimentally tested. The RAMS consists of a series of 2-minute components in which a naturally occurring consequence is applied contingent on the target's behavior, alternated with components in which the consequence is not applied, with no break between components. The aggressive and disruptive behaviors of four 2- to 11-year-old children were analyzed and treated in school and home settings. The RAMS analyses yielded clear results about the reinforcing function of naturally occurring consequences in all cases, and the treatments using the reinforcers identified in the RAMS were all effective. The possible uses of the RAMS as an efficient, ecologically and experimentally valid tool for clinical assessment are discussed.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1992

Nonneuroleptic treatment of disruptive behavior in organic mental syndromes.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the literature describing nonneuroleptic treatments of unacceptably disruptive behavior in chronically institutionalized psychiatric patients with mental retardation, autism, organic brain syndrome, and dementia. DATA SOURCES: Relevant articles were identified from a MEDLINE search of the above diagnoses linked with "aggression" and "psychomotor agitation." Additional references were found in the bibliographies of these articles. STUDY SELECTION/DATA EXTRACTION: The studies reviewed were limited to prospective evaluations of nonneuroleptic drug therapy of these behavior disturbances. Case reports, case series, and retrospective studies were excluded. Studies of patients with schizophrenia, affective disorders, and personality disorders were also excluded. DATA SYNTHESIS: Studies of lithium, beta-blockers, carbamazepine, benzodiazepines, and buspirone were adequate for review. As a rule, these studies are hampered by poor design. The lithium studies suggest that mentally retarded patients with behavior disturbances may respond to lithium treatment. The beta-blocker studies suggest improvement in patients with mental retardation, autism, organic brain syndrome, and dementia. Neuroleptic discontinuation or a decrease in dose was possible in some patients. The carbamazepine studies were inconclusive. Carbamazepine should be reserved for patients with concomitant seizure disorders. Benzodiazepines were helpful in treating elderly demented patients. Thus far, buspirone has been evaluated in only a few, poorly designed studies and is not yet recommended for treatment of behavior disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: Legislation has restricted the use of neuroleptics in many patients receiving long-term healthcare. Despite the questionable validity of the studies reviewed, lithium, beta-blockers, carbamazepine, and benzodiazepines may be considered as alternatives to neuroleptics in selected cases.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2004

Recognizing and treating rare behavioral and emotional disorders in children and adolescents who have been severely maltreated: schizophrenia.

Although schizophrenia is rare in younger adolescents and even rarer in prepubertal children, research over the past 2 decades has shown that schizophrenia does develop in some children and adolescents. This article reviews the symptoms of schizophrenia in children and adolescents and provides guidelines for distinguishing these symptoms from those of more common childhood disorders. Strategies for providing treatment to children who have schizophrenia and their families, including the use of medications, are reviewed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Neuropsychological functioning in adults with Asperger syndrome.

There is some consensus in the literature regarding the cognitive profile of people with Asperger syndrome (AS). Findings to date suggest that a proportion of people with AS have higher verbal than performance IQ, a non-verbal learning disability (NVLD) and impairments in some aspects of executive function (EF). However, there are few published studies on adults with AS and many have compared the AS group to an autistic control group alone. We compared cognitive functioning in 27 AS adults without a history of language delay and 20 normal controls who did not differ significantly in age, gender and IQ. People with AS had significant impairments on a test of visual memory and on EF tasks measuring flexibility and generativity, but not inhibition. There was no significant difference between verbal and performance IQ. Our results suggest that impairments on tests requiring flexibility of thought and generation occur at all ages and across a range of autistic disorders including AS.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of Asperger's syndrome in a secure hospital.

BACKGROUND: The hypothesis that Asperger's syndrome (AS) may go unrecognised in forensic populations was examined by ascertaining the prevalence in Broadmoor Special Hospital. METHOD: The entire male patient population was screened by examination of case notes. Identified cases were subject to the next stage of the study, which involved observation and interviewing of patients, and a semi-structured interview of key staff. RESULTS: A prevalence of 1.5% (0.6% to 3.3%, 95% CI) was found. The addition of equivocal cases increased the prevalence to 2.3%. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of AS in Broadmoor Hospital is greater than that reported for the general population.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Behavior problems of children with autism, parental self-efficacy, and mental health.

Self-efficacy has been identified in the general parenting literature as an important variable affecting parent outcomes. In the present study, 26 mothers and 20 fathers of children with autism reported on their self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression. Teachers rated the behavior problems of the children. Regression analyses showed that self-efficacy mediated the effect of child behavior problems on mothers' anxiety and depression, but there was no evidence that it functioned as a mediator for fathers. However, there was evidence that self-efficacy moderated the effect of child behavior problems on fathers' anxiety. No evidence for the moderating effect of self-efficacy was apparent for mothers. Methodological issues and the theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Divalproex sodium in the treatment of pediatric psychiatric disorders.

Divalproex sodium is an anticonvulsant that is used extensively in adults with indications for epilepsy, acute mania and migraine prophylaxis. It has been used in children and adolescents as a first-line agent for mania in bipolar disorder. Its efficacy as a mood stabilizer has been established, and there have been studies outlining its efficacy as an agent effective in the treatment of conduct disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, aggression and explosive disorder. Longer-acting formulations are now available that cause less gastrointestinal side effects and can also be taken once a day, thus potentially increasing adherence, an important factor in this patient population. Future directions would include developing a more potent valproic acid formulation with fewer side effects, completing randomized controlled trials to establish the efficacy of divalproex sodium in various other pediatric psychiatric disorders, establishing the relative efficacy of the compound in head-to-head comparisons with other mood stabilizers, examining systematically the value of the compound in multimodal pediatric psychiatric treatment packages, and complete effectiveness trials that demonstrate the short- and long-term effectiveness of the compound in the real world of clinicians. In this drug profile, divalproex sodium and its uses in the pediatric population for psychiatric conditions are reviewed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

The effects of directive and nondirective prompts on noncompliant vocal behavior exhibited by a child with autism.

Results of an analogue functional analysis indicated that noncompliant vocal behavior exhibited by a young girl with autism was maintained by negative reinforcement. Follow-up analyses suggested that the immediate escape contingency assessed in the demand condition did not appear to maintain the behavior. Instead, noncompliant vocal behavior occurred in response to directive prompts. Nondirective prompts reduced noncompliant vocal behavior to near zero.

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorder↗
PubMed2006

Analysis of factors that affect responding in a two-response chain in children with developmental disabilities.

A sequence of behaviors consisting of appropriate responses, inappropriate responses, or a combination of both can be linked together in a behavior chain. Several operant processes may disrupt behavior chains. For example, one or more members of the behavior chain may be affected when reinforcement is withheld for the last response in the chain (extinction), when the last response is reinforced even if it occurs without the other responses in the chain (unchaining), or when access to the terminal reinforcer is available independent of responding (satiation). However, few studies have examined the effects of these types of procedures on responding that occurs in the context of behavior chains. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of three clinically relevant procedures and processes (i.e., extinction, satiation, and unchaining) on behaviors that occur as part of a behavior chain. Overall, extinction and satiation resulted in a decrease in both responses in the chain. During the unchaining procedure, decreases were observed in the first response in the chain but not in the second response.

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorder↗
PubMed2006

A preliminary analysis of self-control with aversive events: the effects of task magnitude and delay on the choices of children with autism.

When faced with a choice between two aversive events, a person exhibits self-control by choosing a smaller, more immediate aversive event over a larger, delayed aversive event. Task demands are often aversive to children with autism and other developmental disabilities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate behavioral sensitivity to differences in the amount and delay of tasks as part of a preliminary study on self-control. Participants were 2 children with autism who engaged in problem behavior maintained by escape. Results indicated a lack of self-control with respect to choosing between two aversive tasks and suggested potential strategies for increasing self-control (i.e., choosing a small immediate task over a large delayed task).

Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorder↗