Despite reasoning skills, Asperger boys struggle to focus

Deborah Rudacille

16 May 2011

Attention deficit: Children with Asperger syndrome have trouble remembering where a colored square is located on a gray field.

Teenage boys with Asperger syndrome who have higher-than-average scores on tests of abstract reasoning fare worse than controls on short-term memory and ability to filter out distractions. Researchers reported the findings in a poster Saturday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in San Diego.
The results are surprising because in healthy people, superior abstract reasoning skills usually dovetail with better working memory — the short-term storage and management of information — and enhanced ability to filter out distractions.
Boys with Asperger syndrome consistently score better on tests assessing the ability to reason abstractly compared with typical peers of either sex.
In 2010, the first study to look at gender differences in abstract reasoning among children with Asperger syndrome showed that boys also score higher than girls with the disorder.
In the new study, researchers compared 34 teenagers with Asperger syndrome — 17 males and 17 females — with 34 typically developing controls on tasks assessing working memory and ability to filter out distractions.
All study participants score average or above average in verbal intelligence, but the boys with Asperger syndrome score higher on fluid intelligence, or abstract reasoning, than the girls with the disorder and typical controls.
To assess working memory in the participants, the researchers flashed an image of two colored squares on a screen for 150 milliseconds. After a 900-millisecond rest interval, just one square flashed on the screen. The participants had to recall the previous locations of the squares in order to say whether the single square was in the same location as in the previous screen.
The task progressively became more difficult, and participants had to recall the location of six colored squares in order to correctly pinpoint the location of one remaining square.
In a related task assessing the ability to filter out distractions, the researchers mixed in four rectangles with two squares on the first screen. The participants had to ignore the rectangles in order to correctly identify the location of the square in the second screen.
The researchers found no difference between males and females with Asperger syndrome on these tests — they both performed worse than the control group on both tasks.
"Working memory and attentional filtering do not appear to be the mechanisms driving this superior fluid intelligence performance in boys with Asperger syndrome," said lead investigator Tasha Oswald, a graduate student in the laboratory of Louis Moses, associate professor of psychology at the University of Oregon.
Oswald was pleased to see several studies exploring gender differences in autism at this year's conference. For the first time in IMFAR's ten-year history, she noted, an entire session was devoted to the topic.
Though her study shows that boys and girls with Asperger syndrome share deficits in memory and attention, it doesn't explain why boys with the disorder are better at abstract reasoning, she said.
Nor does it explain why girls with the disorder seem to be more prone to depression, a phenomenon she encountered in recruiting study participants.
"People are just starting to recognize that maybe we shouldn't be making all these assumptions about girls with Asperger syndrome based on boys," she said.

New Aspect Research

Investigating the experiences of adults with Asperger’s syndrome or high functioning autism

We are conducting a research project about the life experiences and support needs of people aged 18 years and over with high functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder. The goal of this project is to raise awareness and improve the kinds of services and supports offered to people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Australia.

The research is being conducted using survey responses from two groups:

• People aged 18 and over with a diagnosis of Asperger's disorder or high functioning autism (that is, autistic disorder or pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified without attendant intellectual disability)

• Their parents or family members who have primary caring responsibilities for them

If you are interested in contributing to this research, please follow the appropriate link:

• Questionnaire for adults with ASD

• Questionnaire for parents 

Please note, the questionnaire will open as a PDF form that you can fill in and submit online.  You will need Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to access and complete this form.  If you do not currently have either of these programs on your computer, click the link above and follow the prompts to download Adobe Reader free of charge.

For further information about this research project, please email Susanna Baldwin, Aspect Research Officer.

Participate in the research now

• Questionnaire for adults with ASD

• Questionnaire for parents

 http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/a2i1i3i2i1l593l633/new-aspect-research.htm

Dr Lisa Abel & Dr Vicki Bitsika Mental Health Outcomes Relationships & Aspergers

Dr Lisa Abel & Dr Vicki Bitsika from Bond University (Australia) are conducting research into the mental health outcomes for those individuals who are (or recently have been) in an intimate relationship with someone who has been diagnosed with (or is suspected of having) Asperger’s syndrome. The aim of the research is to investigate the influence of fatigue, resilience, and stress on depression and anxiety in partners of individuals with Asperger’s. While the impact on mental health and well-being in relation to parents with a child with Asperger’s syndrome is being researched in earnest, little empirical research has been carried out in relation to the experience of partners of individuals with the disorder. Just as the demands of parenting a child with autism-based difficulties can often tax the emotional and physical resources of caregivers, it is anticipated that being intimately involved with someone with Asperger’s syndrome would present its own set of unique challenges and difficulties. The project involves the completion of a questionnaire and an interview (optional). If you are interested in participating, please contact Dr Lisa Abel via email (label@bond.edu.au) or alternatively access the questionnaire using the following URL:
https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=137615&Label1=EnterData

“Encouraging Friendship Skills”

 “Encouraging Friendship Skills” Program for Children with Asperger’s Syndrome and their parents”

The Aims of the Study

Parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), including Asperger’s syndrome (AS), often report that they experience significant stress in their daily lives. In addition, many children with AS have difficulty with friendship skills in particular affectionate communication, which can lead to a number of difficulties in everyday life.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed stress management approach that has been adapted for parents of children with AS and a child program developed by Professor Tony Attwood to encourage friendship skills in children with AS.

Who can participate?

• Children aged 7 to 12 years old with a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome or High Functioning Autism who have difficulties with friendship skills.
• Parent/s of the child with AS who is/are experiencing parenting stress or distress.

The Study

First phase: both parent/s and child will be required to come to the University of Queensland, St Lucia Psychology Clinic for an assessment session. At this assessment session, the parent/s will be asked to complete a battery of questionnaires and answer questions about their child’s diagnosis, friendship difficulties and own stress levels. The child will complete a brief measure of intelligence and answer questions about a hypothetical situation designed to assess their friendship skills. This assessment session will take approximately 1.5 hours. Parents will be asked to complete the same battery of questionnaires at three different time points: at the assessment session, immediately following the program and 3 months following the program. These questionnaires take approximately 30 to 40 minutes to complete. The questionnaires are about parenting, stress, coping and your child’s affection and friendship skills.
Second phase: involves completing the 7 week intervention program. The program will be conducted at the UQ Psychology Clinic, St Lucia campus, for two hours each week on consecutive Saturday mornings. There are two groups planned: one to start the first weekend of School Term 3 and the second on to start the first weekend of School Term 4. To meet research requirements, parent/s and their child will be randomly allocated to one of two groups.

The first two weeks are for the parents only. These two weeks will cover the stress management techniques. During these two weeks, parents will work in large groups to learn stress management techniques specifically designed for parents of a child with AS.

The last five weeks are for both the parent/s and their child. These five weeks will cover the ‘Encouraging Friendship Skills’ program developed by Professor Tony Attwood. These sessions will focus on teaching the children friendship skills and the importance of affectionate communication for making and keeping friends. The children will be in groups of three with two therapists. The parents will cover the child content in a large group so they are able to support and help their children learn the skills and complete homework tasks.
The program will be conducted by Postgraduate Provisional Clinical Psychologists and supervised by Clinical Psychologist, Dr Kate Sofronoff. Please also note to participate in the program, $50 will be charged. This cost is to cover the program resources and facilities provided.

Joining the Study

If you would like to participate in this project or you would like more information, please contact a member of the research team:
Lize Andrews
Ph: 0432 438 600
Email: lize.andrews@uqconnect.edu.au
Celia Bird
Ph: 0430 179 174
Email: celia.bird@uqconnect.edu.au

Coloured light and sleep - Blue Light Treatment

Researchers Use Blue Light to Treat Sleep Disturbances in the Elderly Seniors receive the experimental light treatment while playing cards in the residence dining room.

In a recent pilot study, scientists at the Lighting Research Center demonstrated how exposure to blue light can reduce sleep disturbances and increase the likelihood of stable, consolidated sleep in seniors. The study included subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), an illness often accompanied by severely irregular sleep/wake patterns, as well as those without dementia who simply have trouble sleeping.
The occurrence of sleep disturbances increases as we age. Researchers have long believed the disturbances often result from a disruption of the body’s circadian rhythms—biological cycles that repeat approximately every 24 hours, including the sleep/wake cycle.

“Our circadian rhythms are synchronized by the 24-hour light/dark cycle, and exposure to light and dark stimuli help to set the body’s internal ‘master clock’ to match the solar day,” says LRC light and health researcher Mariana Figueiro, Ph.D., principal investigator of the sleep study. “Light stimulus travels through the retina, the light-sensitive nerve tissue lining the back wall of the eye, to reach the master clock in the brain. However, a combination of age-related changes may influence the amount and magnitude of light/dark stimulus affecting the circadian system.”

The LRC designed the luminaires for the study using LEDs donated by Nichia.
Age-related influences on the circadian system

As we age, the lens in the eye thickens and the pupil shrinks, reducing the amount of light passing through to the retina. Moreover, as we age, the circadian system may require a stronger light/dark stimulus due to deteriorating neural processes in the brain. Finally, adoption of an indoor lifestyle can create an environment with little variation in light/dark intensity, resulting in a weak light/dark stimulus to the circadian system.
“Physical changes to the eye, neural changes in the brain, and lifestyle changes can mute the light/dark signal sent to the body’s master clock, presumably contributing to major sleep disturbances in seniors,” said Mark Rea, Ph.D., LRC director and co-principal investigator on the pilot study. “There needs to be a distinct, repeated pattern of light and dark to tell the circadian system the solar time.”

The power of blue

Daylight is a mixture of wavelengths dominated by short, visible wavelength light that, in isolation, gives a blue visual sensation, like the blue sky. In fact, according to Rea, blue sky is the best stimulus for the circadian system.

“Blue sky is ideal for stimulating the circadian system because it’s the right color and intensity, and it’s ‘on’ at the correct time for the right duration—the entire day,” said Rea.
Figueiro agrees that blue light is the most effective and efficient at stimulating the circadian system. However, she explains that it isn’t just the color that is important, but rather the entire 24-hour pattern of light intensity, spatial distribution, timing, and duration, all in combination with the color.

Exposure to other light colors, as well as exposure to white light, can stimulate the circadian system, but it may take longer to get the desired response and the intensity required may cause visual discomfort, according to Figueiro.

The LRC research team set out to demonstrate that exposure to blue light, followed by darkness at bedtime, would create a light/dark pattern that the circadian system would recognize and react to.

Details of the pilot study

The research team studied the effects of blue-light treatment on seniors at a skilled nursing facility in upstate New York. In the four-week study, the residents were exposed to tabletop LED luminaires for two hours every day from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For the first two weeks, one group composed of both AD and non-AD residents was exposed to blue LEDs, while another group of both AD and non-AD residents was exposed to red LEDs, a condition introduced as a placebo control. While the circadian system responds best to blue light, it is essentially non-responsive to long-wavelength radiation (red light), according to Figueiro.

After a short break, the second two-week phase of the experiment began. The residents exposed to blue light in the first phase were exposed to red light in the second phase, and vice versa.

Blue-light treatment results in longer sleep intervals

Over the course of the experimental light treatment, the research team analyzed the percentage of time the subjects slept between midnight and 6 a.m. The study showed statistically significant increases in sleep after blue-light treatment during this period for all subjects.

The non-AD subjects were found asleep 90 percent of the time between midnight and 6:00 a.m. after blue light exposure and only 67 percent of the time after red light (placebo) exposure. The AD subjects exposed to the blue-light treatment were found asleep 67 percent of the time compared to AD subjects exposed to the placebo treatment who were found asleep only 54 percent of the time.

The non-AD subjects’ stronger response to the blue-light treatment was expected, according to Figueiro, as AD patients have more fragmented sleep patterns than healthy older adults.

Next steps

Figueiro had previously studied the effects of blue light exposure on the sleep efficiency of AD subjects in 2002, but this recent pilot study was the first time she tested the theory on non-AD subjects having sleep problems.

“It was exciting to replicate our earlier study and expand our research to include non-AD subjects in order to demonstrate that blue-light treatment can have a significant, positive effect on the sleep efficiency of older adults,” said Figueiro. “The consistencies in our research support the theory that blue light can be a powerful, non-pharmacological treatment for sleep disorders in seniors and should be considered in the design and operation of senior housing.”

The LRC is pursuing additional funding for further research on the subject and hopes to motivate manufacturers to design luminaires that can be attached to glasses, television sets, or computer screens for the purpose of providing light treatment for those with sleep disorders, according to Rea.

The study was sponsored by the Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies (ASSIST). The LEDs were provided by Nichia America Corp., and the luminaires were custom-built by the LRC.

About the LRC

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is the leading university-based research center devoted to lighting. Founded in 1988, the Lighting Research Center has built an international reputation as a trusted and reliable source for objective information about lighting technologies, applications, and products. Its mission is to advance the effective use of light and create a positive legacy of change for society and the environment.