Discrimination of temporal synchrony in intermodal events by children with autism and children with developmental disabilities without autism. Time-Based and Event-Based Prospective Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Roles of Executive Function and Theory of Mind, and Time-Estimation A Virtual Week study of prospective memory function in autism spectrum disorders. Do Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders Compensate in Naturalistic Prospective Memory Tasks? Neural Correlates of Visuomotor Learning in Autism Timing abilities among children with developmental coordination disorders (DCD) in comparison to children with typical development. Temporal processing in the basal ganglia. The bidirectional association between sleep problems and autism spectrum disorder: a population-based cohort study Impulsiveness as a timing disturbance: neurocognitive abnormalities in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder during temporal processes and normalization with methylphenidate Contextual probability evaluation in autistic, receptive developmental language disorder, and control children: Event-related brain potential evidence Autism Spectrum Conditions - Enhancing Nurture and Development (ASCEND): An evaluation of intervention support groups for parents Developmental Profiles of Infants and Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders Identified Prospectively in a Community-Based Setting Impact of comorbid autism spectrum disorders on stimulant response in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a retrospective and prospective effectiveness study. Evaluation of a New Computer Intervention to Teach People with Autism or Asperger Syndrome to Recognize and Predict Emotions in Others Early Language and Communication Development of Infants Later Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Effects and Moderators of a Short Theory of Mind Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial Attention does not modulate neural responses to social stimuli in autism spectrum disorders
BACKGROUND This project examined the intermodal perception of temporal synchrony in 16 young children ( ages 4 to 6 years ) with autism compared to a group of children without impairments matched on adaptive age , and a group of children with other developmental disabilities matched on chronological and adaptive age . METHOD A preferential looking paradigm was used , where participants viewed non-linguistic , simple linguistic or complex linguistic events on two screens displaying identical video tracks , but one offset from the other by 3 seconds , and with the single audio track matched to only one of the displays . RESULTS As predicted , both comparison groups demonstrated significant non-r and om preferential looking to violations of temporal synchrony with linguistic and non-linguistic stimuli . However , the group with autism showed an impaired , chance level of responding , except when presented with non-linguistic stimuli . CONCLUSIONS Several explanations are offered for this apparently autism-specific , language -specific pattern of responding to temporal synchrony , and potential developmental sequelae are discussed Prospect i ve memory ( remembering to carry out an action in the future ) has been studied relatively little in ASD . We explored time-based ( carry out an action at a pre-specified time ) and event-based ( carry out an action upon the occurrence of a pre-specified event )  prospect i ve memory , as well as possible cognitive correlates , among 21 intellectually high-functioning children with ASD , and 21 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical comparison children . We found impaired time-based , but undiminished event-based , prospect i ve memory among children with ASD . In the ASD group , time-based prospect i ve memory performance was associated significantly with diminished theory of mind , but not with diminished cognitive flexibility . There was no evidence that time-estimation ability contributed to time-based prospect i ve memory impairment in ASD Prospect i ve memory ( PM ) refers to the implementation of delayed intentions , a cognitive ability that plays a critical role in daily life because of its involvement in goal -directed behavior and consequently the development and maintenance of independence . Emerging evidence indicates that PM may be disrupted in autism spectrum disorders ( ASDs ) , potentially contributing to the functional difficulties that characterize this group . However , the degree , nature , and specificity of ASD-related impairment remains poorly understood . In the current study , children between 8 and 12 years of age who were diagnosed with ASDs ( n=30 ) were compared with typically developing children ( n=30 ) on a child-appropriate version of the Virtual Week board game . This measure provides an opportunity to investigate the different sorts of PM failures that occur . The ASD group showed significant PM impairment on measures of time-based ( but not event-based ) prospect i ve remembering . However , only a subtle difference emerged between regular and irregular PM tasks , and group differences were consistent across these tasks . Because regular and irregular tasks differentially load retrospective memory , these data imply that the PM difficulties seen in ASDs may primarily reflect a monitoring deficit and not an encoding and memory storage deficit . PM performance was poorer under conditions of high ongoing task absorption , but the magnitude of this effect did not vary as a function of group . In both groups , time-based ( but not event-based ) PM difficulties were associated with functional outcomes in daily life , but only an inconsistent association with executive control emerged The present study is the first to directly compare event- and time-based prospect i ve memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders ( ASD ) using a context ual task mirroring real life dem and s of prospect i ve memory . Twenty-five individuals with ASD and 25 age- and ability-matched controls completed the Dresden Breakfast task which required participants to prepare breakfast following a set of rules and time restrictions . Overall , adults with ASD had less correct time- and event-based prospect i ve memory responses in comparison to controls , which is consistent with previous research in children with ASD . Moreover , ASD participants completed fewer tasks , followed rules less closely , and monitored the elapsing time less closely than controls . Individuals with ASD seem not to be compensating in naturalistic prospect i ve memory tasks Motor impairments are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder . The Serial Reaction Time Task , a well-established visuomotor sequence learning probe , has produced inconsistent behavioral findings in individuals with autism . Moreover , it remains unclear how underlying neural processes for visuomotor learning in children with autism compare to processes for typically developing children . Neural activity differences were assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging during a modified version of the Serial Reaction Time Task in children with and without autism . Though there was no group difference in visuomotor sequence learning , underlying patterns of neural activation significantly differed when comparing sequence ( ie , learning ) to r and om ( ie , nonlearning ) blocks . Children with autism demonstrated decreased activity in brain regions implicated in visuomotor sequence learning : superior temporal sulcus and posterior cingulate cortex . The findings implicate differences in brain mechanisms that support initial sequence learning in autism and can help explain behavioral observations of autism-associated impairments in skill development ( motor , social , communicative ) reliant on visuomotor integration Timing ability is essential for common everyday performance . The aim of the study was to compare timing abilities and temporal aspects of h and writing performance and relationships between these two components among children with Developmental Coordination Disorders ( DCD ) and a control group . Forty two children , 21 diagnosed as DCD and 21 with typical development , aged 7 - 12 , were matched for age , gender and school performed 14 tasks of the interactive metronome ( IM ) and three functional h and writing tasks on an electronic tablet that was part of a computerized system ( ComPET -- computerized penmanship evaluation tool ) . The IM supplies  response time  , while on-paper and in-air time per written stroke is received from the ComPET . Results indicated significant differences between the groups for both IM and h and writing tasks ( ComPET ) . Linear regression indicated that the mean IM response time explained 37 % of variance of the in-air time per stroke during a paragraph-copying task . Furthermore , based on one discriminate function including two measures reflected timing ability , 81 % of all participants were correctly classified into groups . Study results strongly recommend consideration of the IM as an evaluation and intervention tool for children with DCD who are faced with timing deficits in their everyday functioning This study investigated the role of the basal ganglia in timing operations . Nondemented , medicated Parkinson 's disease ( PD ) patients and controls were tested on 2 motor-timing tasks ( paced finger tapping at a 300- or 600-ms target interval ) , 2 time perception tasks ( duration perception wherein the interval between the st and ard tone pair was 300 or 600 ms ) , and 2 tasks that controlled for the auditory processing ( frequency perception ) dem and s of the time perception task and the movement rate ( rapid tapping ) in the motor-timing task . Using A.M. Wing and A.B. Kristofferson 's ( 1973 ) model , the total variability in motor timing was partitioned into a clock component , which reflects central timekeeping operations , and a motor delay component , which estimates r and om variability due to response implementation processes . The PD group was impaired at both target intervals of the time perception and motor-timing tasks . Impaired motor timing was due to elevated clock but not motor delay variability . The findings implicate the basal ganglia and its thalamocortical connections in timing operations Background Sleep difficulties are prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) . The temporal nature of the association between sleep problems and ASD is unclear because longitudinal studies are lacking . Our aim is to clarify whether sleep problems precede and worsen autistic traits and ASD or occur as a consequence of the disorder . Methods Repeated sleep measures were available at 1.5 , 3 , 6 , and 9 years of age in 5151 children participating in the Generation R Study , a large prospect i ve birth cohort in the Netherl and s. Autistic traits were determined with the Pervasive Developmental Problems score ( PDP ) of the Child Behavior Checklist ( CBCL ) at 1.5 and 3 years and the Social Responsiveness Scale ( SRS ) at 6 years . This cohort included 81 children diagnosed with ASD . Results Sleep problems in early childhood were prospect ively associated with a higher SRS score , but not when correcting for baseline PDP score . By contrast , a higher SRS score and an ASD diagnosis were associated with more sleep problems at later ages , even when adjusting for baseline sleep problems . Likewise , a trajectory of increasing sleep problems was associated with ASD . Conclusions Sleep problems and ASD are not bidirectionally associated . Sleep problems do not precede and worsen autistic behavior but rather co-occur with autistic traits in early childhood . Over time , children with ASD have an increase in sleep problems , whereas typically developing children have a decrease in sleep problems . Our findings suggest that sleep problems are part of the construct ASD We argue that impulsiveness is characterized by compromised timing functions such as premature motor timing , decreased tolerance to delays , poor temporal foresight and steeper temporal discounting . A model illustration for the association between impulsiveness and timing deficits is the impulsiveness disorder of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) . Children with ADHD have deficits in timing processes of several temporal domains and the neural substrates of these compromised timing functions are strikingly similar to the neuropathology of ADHD . We review our published and present novel functional magnetic resonance imaging data to demonstrate that ADHD children show dysfunctions in key timing regions of prefrontal , cingulate , striatal and cerebellar location during temporal processes of several time domains including time discrimination of milliseconds , motor timing to seconds and temporal discounting of longer time intervals . Given that impulsiveness , timing abnormalities and more specifically ADHD have been related to dopamine dysregulation , we tested for and demonstrated a normalization effect of all brain dysfunctions in ADHD children during time discrimination with the dopamine agonist and treatment of choice , methylpheni date . This review together with the new empirical findings demonstrates that neurocognitive dysfunctions in temporal processes are crucial to the impulsiveness disorder of ADHD and provides first evidence for normalization with a dopamine reuptake inhibitor Compared 8- to 14-year-old children with either autism or receptive developmental language disorder ( RDLD ) to age- and IQ-matched normal controls in their ability to detect both frequent ( p=.70 ) and infrequent ( p=.30 ) r and omly presented auditory stimuli under task and no-task conditions . Event-related brain potentials ( ERPs ) , behavioral reaction times , and target detection accuracy rates were measured . Although the three groups of children performed in a similar manner on behavioral measures , only the children with autism demonstrated an abnormally small amplitude of the P3b , a component of the ERP . This result is interpreted in terms of ( a ) the consistency of this finding with other ERP studies involving older individuals with autism ; and ( b ) its significance with respect to the difficulty children with autism have in modifying their expectancies to context ually relevant sequences of auditory information There is relatively little evidence about the effectiveness of parent-training programmes for children with autism spectrum conditions ( ASCs ) . Here we evaluate a programme developed to fill a gap in the provision of parent interventions after EarlyBird , which is only available for parents of pre-school ASC children . This programme ( ASCEND ) has now been running for five years . Question naires were used to evaluate seven consecutive 11-session programmes from 2004 to 2007 , involving 79 parents representing 58 children . We measured satisfaction ratings in all seven groups ; the latter five groups ( 59 parents representing 44 children ) were given  Developmental Behaviour Checklists ( DBCs )  and  parental knowledge question naires pre- and post-course . Eighty-eight per cent of respondents found the course useful or very useful while parental knowledge and skills improved significantly across a range of learning outcomes . DBC scores showed significant changes post-course for total problem behaviours and disruptive/antisocial behaviours , with a trend towards reductions in anxiety as reported by parents . Changes in behaviour scores moderately correlated with specific learning items relating to improved skills in behaviour management . This preliminary evaluation suggests that the course produces positive outcomes in terms of parent satisfaction , parent learning and perceived changes in child behaviour , although further independent analysis is required in the form of a r and omized controlled trial This prospect i ve , longitudinal , study charted the developmental profiles of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders ( ASD ) identified through routine developmental surveillance . 109 children with Autistic Disorder ( AD ) , ‘ broader ’ ASD , and developmental and /or language delays ( DD/LD ) were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning ( MSEL ) at 12-months ( n = 10 assessment s ) , 18-months ( n = 45 assessment s ) , and 24-months ( n = 99 assessment s ) . The children with AD performed most poorly , overall , than the ASD and DD/LD groups on the MSEL . Furthermore , the children with AD/ASD displayed an uneven cognitive profile , with poorer performance on verbal ( particularly receptive language ) relative to nonverbal skills . There was also evidence of developmental slowing in verbal skills from 18- to 24-months for children on the spectrum , especially those with AD . Given that the poor receptive , relative to expressive , language profile emerges very early in life for children with AD/ASD , this cognitive profile may serve as an additional red flag to social attention and communication deficits . Receptive language should therefore be stringently monitored in any developmental surveillance program for autism spectrum disorders in the second year of life BACKGROUND In the recent past , psychiatrists and paediatricians have avoided prescribing stimulant medication , such as methylpheni date and dexamphetamine to patients with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) because of both doubts about efficacy and concern that these medications make stereotypies worse . Recently , a number of small trials have suggested that methypheni date does have a role in the management of hyperactivity in children with autistic spectrum disorders . METHODS Children with ASD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) , and children with ADHD without ASD received st and ard treatment with methypheni date from one specialist centre . A combination of st and ardized and novel outcome tools was used to allow both an exploratory retrospective study of 174 children and then a prospect i ve study of a further 52 children to be carried out . RESULTS After treatment with stimulants , the subjects in both groups showed statistically significant improvements in target symptoms of ' hyperactivity ' , ' impulsivity ' , ' inattention ' , ' oppositionality ' , ' aggression ' and ' intermittent explosive rage ' . The Clinical Global Impression-Improvement and efficacy index measures also improved in each group . In both the retrospective and the prospect i ve studies , there was no statistically significant difference in the degree of improvements between each group . Importantly , neither tics nor repetitive behaviours worsened in either group . Children in the ' ADHD-only ' group who were prescribed stimulants experienced significant ' nausea ' , ' giddiness ' , ' headaches ' and ' sleep difficulties ' , whereas sleep difficulties were the only side effect that emerged in children in the ASD with ADHD group . CONCLUSIONS Both studies presented here support previous findings from smaller studies that show children with autism and ADHD can respond as well to stimulants as children with ADHD alone . Although r and omized controlled trials remain the gold st and ard for efficacy studies , systems like this that allow clinicians to continue rigorous and consistent monitoring for many years have a valuable role to play . Furthermore , such monitoring systems which now exist electronically can easily accumulate large data sets and reveal details about long-term effectiveness and long-term side effects of medication that are unlikely to be discovered in short-term trials This r and omized controlled trial looked at the effect of a new computer program design ed to teach people with autistic spectrum disorders to better recognize and predict emotional responses in others . Two groups of 11 children ( age 12 - 18 ) with autism or Asperger syndrome at two special schools participated :  one group used the computer program for 10 half-hour sessions over 2 weeks . Within-program data showed a significant reduction in errors made from first to last use . Students were assessed pre- and post-intervention using facial expression photographs , cartoons depicting emotion-laden situations , and non-literal stories . Scores were not related to age or verbal ability . The experimental group made gains relative to the control group on all three measures . Gains correlated significantly with the number of times the computer program was used and results suggest positive effects . Further research could assess whether these gains generalized into real life or improved performance on theory of mind measures ABSTRACT . It is well recognized that delayed " first words " is among the most common presenting symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders ( ASD ) . However , data on earlier language and communication development in children with ASD are limited to retrospective reports from parents and from home videos . In this study , we prospect ively collected parent report data on early communication and language development in 97 infant siblings of children with ASD and 49 low-risk controls . Parents completed the  MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory-Infant Form  at 12 and 18 months . Analysis compared 3 groups defined on the basis of diagnostic assessment at 24 months : ( 1 ) siblings with ASD ( n = 15 ) , ( 2 ) siblings not meeting diagnostic criteria for ASD ( n = 82 ) , and ( 3 ) low-risk controls , none of whom had ASD ( n = 49 ) . Children with ASD showed delays in early language and communication compared with non-ASD siblings and controls . At 12 months , the ASD group was reported to underst and significantly fewer phrases and to produce fewer gestures . At 18 months , they showed delays in their underst and ing of phrases , comprehension and production of single words , and use of gestures . Siblings not diagnosed with ASD also used fewer play-related gestures at 18 months than low-risk controls , even when children with identified language delays were excluded . Overall , this prospect i ve study confirms that delays in communication and language development are apparent early in life in children with ASD , and emphasizes that developmental surveillance should include monitoring for delays in gesture , which may be among the earliest signs of ASD Limited perspective taking or “ Theory of Mind ” ( ToM ) abilities are a core deficit of autism , and many interventions are aim ed to improve ToM abilities . In this study , we investigated the effectiveness of a ToM treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) and , for the first time , the moderating roles of social interaction style ( SIS ) and disruptive behavior ( DB ) , to determine which children are most likely to respond to this intervention . The trial protocol is registered at www.trialregister.nl , trial number 2327 and published before the data collection was finished ( www.trialsjournal.com ) . Children with autism aged 7–12 years ( n = 97 ) were r and omized over a waitlist control or a treatment condition . Outcome measures included ToM and emotion underst and ing , parent and teacher question naires on children 's social skills , ToM‐related social behavior , and autistic traits . Six‐month follow‐up parent reported data were collected for the treatment group . The treatment had a positive effect on ToM underst and ing , parent‐reported ToM behavior , and autistic traits , but not on parent or teacher‐reported social behavior . Passive SIS was associated with diminished treatment effects on autistic traits , but DB was unrelated to outcomes . The ToM intervention  improved conceptual social underst and ing and ToM‐related behavior of children with ASD . However , broader application of learned skills to other domains of functioning was limited . Individual differences with regard to treatment response are discussed . Autism Res 2015 , 8 : 738–748 . © 2015 International Society for Autism Research , Wiley Periodicals , We investigated whether individuals with autism spectrum disorders ( ASD ) would show attentional modulation for social ( face ) and non-social ( house ) stimuli . Sixteen individuals with ASD and 16 matched control participants completed a task in which pairs of face and house stimuli were present on every trial , with one of the pairs r and omly assigned to attended locations and the other to unattended locations . Both mass-univariate ( SPM ) and region of interest analyses suggested that responses to houses were modulated by attention in both groups , but that only the control participants demonstrated attentional modulation of face-selective regions . Thus , the participants with ASD demonstrated a lack of attentional modulation which was particularly evident for the social stimulus . Analyses of effective connectivity indicated that these results were due to a failure of attention to modulate connectivity between extrastriate areas and V1 . We discuss how these results may suggest a mechanism to explain the reduced salience of social stimuli in ASD
The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability .
The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high-level time perception studies .
It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment .
Overall , there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals , but some studies do not find such differences .
Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks .
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition ( ASC ) .
Studies and personal accounts from clinicians , parents , caregivers , and self-reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time .
Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals , there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism .