Dataset Information

Scoping Review: Physical Activity and Social Functioning in Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

ABSTRACT: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects ~1 in 59 people in North America and diagnoses continue to rise (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Unfortunately, the exact cause of ASD is unknown and therapy remains the primary means of intervention. People with ASD experience social and behavioral deficits associated with the disorder, which affect all aspects of life such as academics, relationships, and physical activity. Research has shown a relationship between physical activity and social skills in typically developing individuals; however, this relationship is less understood in people with ASD. The purpose of this scoping review was to uncover what is known about ASD, physical activity, and social functioning. The authors searched four databases and included 40 primary research articles in the review, most of which demonstrated a relationship between physical activity and social functioning for people with ASD. The relationship appears bidirectional: social functioning influences physical activity (to a lesser extent) and physical activity influences social functioning (to a greater extent). Regrettably, there were many limitations in these articles, such as small sample sizes and the under-representation of females and adults. Therefore, the review highlights several directions for future research.

SUBMITTER: Reinders NJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6381857 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Scoping Review: Physical Activity and Social Functioning in Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Reinders Nicole J NJ Branco Alexandra A Wright Kristen K Fletcher Paula C PC Bryden Pamela J PJ

Frontiers in psychology 20190213

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects ~1 in 59 people in North America and diagnoses continue to rise (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Unfortunately, the exact cause of ASD is unknown and therapy remains the primary means of intervention. People with ASD experience social and behavioral deficits associated with the disorder, which affect all aspects of life such as academics, relationships, and physical activity. Research has shown a relationship between physical activity and ...[more]

PMID: 30814964

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Project description:Impairments in social communication (coupled with intact nonsocial language skills) are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the neural correlates of these social communication deficits in adolescents and young adults with ASD are not fully understood. The communication checklist self-report (CC-SR) was administered to adolescents and young adults with ASD (n = 52) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 64) to assess structural-language, pragmatic-language, and social-engagement. One high-resolution T1-weighted structural image was obtained from each participant. FreeSurfer was used to quantify cortical thickness. A main effect of diagnosis, with the ASD group performing worse than the TD group on all three CC-SR scales, and a diagnosis by scale interaction, driven by low social-engagement self-ratings in the ASD group, were found. There were also group differences in the relationship between scores on two of the three CC-SR scales and cortical thickness in multiple regions (pragmatic-language: left rostral frontal; social-engagement: left medial prefrontal). These interactions were driven by poorer self-ratings of language/social skills associated with decreased cortical thickness in the ASD group, while in the TD group worse self-ratings were associated with thicker cortex. Self-ratings of language/social-communication were lower in the ASD than the TD group. Moreover, language/social-communication self-ratings showed a different relationship with cortical thickness for the ASD and TD groups in the left inferior frontal region for pragmatic language ratings and the left medial prefrontal cortex for social engagement ratings. These findings suggest thinner cortex is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1175-1186. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The present study examines the associations between brain structure and language/social communication ability in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as compared to neurotypical adolescents and young adults. We utilized thickness of the cerebral cortex as a measure of brain structure, and we found different correlations between language or social communication ability and cortical thickness in distinct regions for the ASD and TD groups. These findings suggest that for regions implicated in language/social communication ability, decreased cortical thickness is associated with more impaired pragmatic language and social communication abilities in ASD.

Project description:There is increasing recognition that adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) would benefit from treatment to improve social functioning, a key factor in adults' overall quality of life. However, the various behavioral components of social functioning (i.e., categories of behaviors underlying social functioning), including social motivation, social anxiety, social cognition, and social skills, have not all been assessed together in any sample of adults with ASD, making it difficult to know the relative levels of impairment in these various categories, the relationships among these categories, or promising targets for treatments. We hypothesized there would be significant correlations among measures within the same category, but fewer correlations of measures between categories, indicating the heterogeneity of impairments in adults with ASD. Twenty-nine adults with ASD without co-occurring intellectual disability completed multiple assessments measuring social motivation, social anxiety, social cognition, and social skills, as well as measures of overall ASD symptom levels and community functioning. Results revealed significant positive correlations among measures within most categories; positive correlations between measures of social motivation and all other categories, except for social cognition; as well as positive cross-domain correlations between measures of anxiety and ASD phenotype; measures of social skills and community functioning; and measures of social skills and ASD phenotype. Further studies are warranted to determine causal relationships among these behavioral categories, across developmental stages. However, the lack of correlations between many categories suggests the potential importance of multidimensional treatments that target the particular components of social functioning most in need of improvement in individuals. Autism Res 2018, 11: 488-502. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY:The goal of this study was to measure behaviors that contribute to social functioning difficulties in adults with ASD, with the ultimate goal of guiding treatment development. We found that motivation to interact with others was significantly related to social anxiety and social skill. Our results suggest that motivation may be important to target in treatment, and that treatments should be tailored to the areas most in need of improvement in each individual.

Dataset Information

Scoping Review: Physical Activity and Social Functioning in Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Publications

Scoping Review: Physical Activity and Social Functioning in Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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