8 Autism

Question 1

Q: What percentage of the UK population was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2018?

Answer 1

A: 0.82%. 2.12% were undiagnosed.

Question 2

Q: According to the DSM-5, what are the main criteria for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 2

A: Persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction, restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests, sensory hyper or hypo sensitivities, symptoms present in the early developmental period, and symptoms not better explained by intellectual disability.

Question 3

Q: What is a common myth about the cause of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 3

A: That it is caused by the MMR vaccine.

Question 4

Q: What do twin studies suggest about the genetic basis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 4

A: Monozygotic (MZ) twins have a 60% concordance rate, while dizygotic (DZ) twins have a 5% concordance rate.

Question 5

Q: What is the likelihood of siblings being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 5

A: 25%.

Question 6

Q: Is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) caused by a single gene?

Answer 6

A: No, it is not caused by a single gene.

Question 7

Q: What areas of brain development are implicated in the genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 7

A: Genes involved in brain systems development, cognition, and behavior.

Question 8

Q: What did Van Rooij et al’s mega-analysis reveal about the brains of autistic individuals compared to non-autistic individuals?

Answer 8

A: Smaller subcortical volumes of the pallidum, putamen, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens, increased cortical thickness in the frontal cortex, and decreased cortical thickness in the temporal cortex.

Question 9

Q: Are the brain differences found in autistic individuals age-specific?

Answer 9

A: No, there are no age differences.

Question 10

Q: Is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) limited to childhood?

Answer 10

A: No, different life stages bring new challenges and advantages.

Question 11

Q: What are some common co-occurring diagnoses in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 11

A: ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

Question 12

Q: What are some reasons for sex differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 12

A: Genetic differences, susceptibility, and underdiagnosis of autistic women and girls.

Question 13

Q: How do characteristics and traits differ in autistic individuals diagnosed later in life?

Answer 13

A: They show differences in psychosocial characteristics and areas of interest between males and females.

Question 14

Q: What is camouflaging in the context of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

Answer 14

A: Camouflaging involves autistic individuals developing coping strategies to fit in with neurotypical social communication.

Question 15

Q: What are the three subscales of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)?

Answer 15

A: Masking, Compensation, and Assimilation.

Question 16

Q: What does the Masking subscale of the CAT-Q measure?

Answer 16

A: Strategies to hide autistic characteristics.

Question 17

Q: What does the Compensation subscale of the CAT-Q measure?

Answer 17

A: Strategies to actively compensate for difficulties in social situations.

Question 18

Q: What does the Assimilation subscale of the CAT-Q measure?

Answer 18

A: Strategies that reflect trying to fit in with others.

Question 19

Q: According to Hull et al., how do autistic females score on the CAT-Q compared to males and non-binary individuals?

Answer 19

A: Autistic females scored higher than males and non-binary individuals on the CAT-Q.

Question 20

Q: How do autistic people generally score on the CAT-Q compared to non-autistic people?

Answer 20

A: Autistic people score higher than non-autistic people on the CAT-Q.

Question 21

Q: In Hull et al.’s study, how did females score on the CAT-Q subscales compared to males?

Answer 21

A: Females scored higher than males on all three subscales: Masking, Compensation, and Assimilation.

Question 22

Q: According to McQuaid et al., who scored higher on the CAT-Q, gender diverse individuals or cisgender individuals?

Answer 22

A: Gender diverse individuals scored higher than cisgender individuals.

Question 23

Q: Who scored higher on the CAT-Q, adults diagnosed with ASD or those diagnosed in childhood?

Answer 23

A: Adults diagnosed with ASD scored higher than those diagnosed in childhood.

Question 24

Q: What did Perry et al. find regarding perceived stigma and camouflaging behaviors?

Answer 24

A: Higher perceived stigma is associated with higher levels of self-reported camouflaging behaviors.

Question 25

Q: What is the relationship between autism-related stigma and mental wellbeing according to Perry et al.?

Answer 25

A: Autism-related stigma has a negative relationship with mental wellbeing.

Question 26

Q: According to Bernardin et al., what is camouflaging associated with in both non-autistic and autistic people?

Answer 26

A: Camouflaging is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety.

Question 27

Q: What is the ‘mindblindness’ theory of autism?

Answer 27

A: It suggests that autistic individuals have a primary deficit in theory of mind, meaning they have difficulty understanding the mental states of others.

Question 28

Q: What is the Sally-Anne test and who developed it?

Answer 28

A: The Sally-Anne test is a measure of theory of mind developed by Baron-Cohen et al., used to assess the ability to understand that others can hold false beliefs.

Question 29

Q: What was the hypothesis of Moessnang et al.’s study on autistic individuals’ brain activation in response to animated shapes?

Answer 29

A: The hypothesis was that autistic individuals would show reduced regional activation in key areas of the social brain.

Question 30

Q: What were the results of Moessnang et al.’s study regarding brain activation in autistic and non-autistic individuals?

Answer 30

A: The task led to activation of key regions of the social brain, but categorical comparisons did not reveal group differences.

Question 31

Q: What are two possible reasons for the lack of group differences found in Moessnang et al.’s study?

Answer 31

A: Differences in current autistic feature profiles might impact comparability to older studies, and earlier findings were obtained from smaller, more homogenous samples.

Question 32

Q: What is the ‘double empathy problem’ in the context of autism?

Answer 32

A: It refers to the mutual difficulty autistic and non-autistic people have in understanding each other.

Question 33

Q: What did Crompton et al. study in relation to autistic and non-autistic interactions?

Answer 33

A: They compared how autistic and non-autistic people interact when in matched or mixed pairs in an information-sharing context.

Question 34

Q: What technique did Crompton et al. use to study information sharing among autistic and non-autistic individuals?

Answer 34

A: The diffusion chain technique, involving 72 participants divided into three groups per chain with 8 people, sharing a 30-point story.

Question 35

Q: What were the results of Crompton et al.’s study regarding information sharing in matched versus mixed pairs?

Answer 35

A: Matched pairs shared information better, while mixed groups of autistic and non-autistic individuals shared less information and experienced lower rapport.

Question 36

Q: What conclusion did Crompton et al. draw about communication difficulties in autistic individuals?

Answer 36

A: Difficulties in autistic communication are only apparent when interacting with non-autistic people.

Question 37

Q: How do autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in recalling information from peers of the same neurotype versus mixed neurotype interactions?

Answer 37

A: Autistic and non-autistic individuals do not differ in how accurately they recall information from peers of the same neurotype, but selective difficulties occur when sharing between autistic and non-autistic individuals.

Question 38

Q: What does the term ‘neurodiversity’ refer to?

Answer 38

A: It refers to the biological truism that there is limitless variability in the human nervous system, where no two individuals can ever be exactly alike.

Question 39

Q: What is the neurodiversity movement?

Answer 39

A: It is a civil rights movement for psycho-medically labeled minorities and their allies, advocating for recognizing neurocognitive differences as a minority class and promoting the diversity of minds.

Question 40

Q: How does the medical model of disability view impairment?

Answer 40

A: The medical model views impairment as the primary cause of being unable to access goods/services or participate in society, focusing on fixing specific problems and often overemphasizing what the person cannot do.

Question 41

Q: How does the social model of disability view autism?

Answer 41

A: The social model views autism as a different ‘way of being,’ seeks to remove barriers to allow disabled people to participate in society, and differentiates between impairment and disability.

Question 42

Q: Who created the social model of disability, and why is it preferred?

Answer 42

A: The social model was created by disabled people and is preferred because it emphasizes removing societal barriers rather than focusing on the individual’s impairments.

Question 43

Q: What barriers do autistic people face according to the social model of disability?

Answer 43

A: Environmental, institutional, and attitudinal barriers that exclude them from society for behaving differently from the norm.

Question 44

Q: Why is collaboration with the autistic community important in research?

Answer 44

A: Collaboration ensures acceptance, involves the autism community throughout the research process, and leads to more impactful research when co-designed by autistic people.

Question 45

Q: According to Keatin et al. (2022), what type of language is preferred by the autistic community?

Answer 45

A: Language that emphasizes ‘difference’ instead of ‘deficit.’

Question 46

Q: What does Bottenna-Beutel (2021) say about ableist language?

Answer 46

A: Ableist language assumes that disabled people are inferior to nondisabled people and should be avoided by using terms like ‘areas of interest’ instead of ‘special interests,’ ‘features/traits’ instead of ‘symptoms,’ and ‘impact/affect’ instead of ‘suffer.’

Question 47

Q: What is the impact of using ableist language?

Answer 47

A: It perpetuates the assumption that disabled people are inferior, which can harm their dignity and reinforce negative stereotypes.

Question 48

Q: How can research co-designed by autistic people impact the field?

Answer 48

A: It tends to have more relevance, accuracy, and impact, reflecting the real needs and experiences of the autistic community.

Question 49

Q: What is required for a reliable marker in autism?

Answer 49

A: Adequate sensitivity (found in all members of the group) and specificity (exclusive to all members of that group).

Question 50

Q: What makes a good theory in the context of autism research?

Answer 50

A: Concrete predictions, rigorous tests, clear interpretation, detailed explanation of characteristics, causal account, alignment with basic scientific truths, and being informed by community perspectives and priorities.

Question 51

Q: What is the challenge with creating a universal theory of autism?

Answer 51

A: A universal theory must explain how one modular component accounts for autism in all autistic people, but there are many interacting factors that complicate this.

Question 52

Q: How are standardized tests used in autism research often limited?

Answer 52

A: They are standardized against societal norms based on narrow samples and a normative lens, and are often not informed by community perspectives.

Question 53

Q: What mixed findings exist regarding emotion recognition in autistic individuals?

Answer 53

A: Some studies suggest differences, while others do not, with neuroimaging studies showing neural differences in the amygdala and posterior fusiform gyrus during emotion processing tasks.

Question 54

Q: What were the key findings of Mayer-Lindenburg et al. (2022) regarding emotion recognition in autistic individuals?

Answer 54

A: No significant differences in amygdala/fusiform gyrus activation overall or within age groups, but autistic people who performed worse on emotion recognition tasks showed less activation in these areas and had more clinical features indicating difficulties with social processing.

Question 55

Q: What is alexithymia?

Answer 55

A: Alexithymia is the impaired ability to be aware of, explicitly identify, and describe one’s feelings.

Question 56

Q: What is the prevalence of alexithymia in autistic versus non-autistic people according to Kinnaird et al. (2019)?

Answer 56

A: 49.93% in autistic people compared to 4.89% in non-autistic people.

Question 57

Q: What did Oakley et al. (2022) find regarding alexithymia in autistic individuals over two time points?

Answer 57

A: Higher alexithymia reported by autistic participants, with 47.3% of autistic women and 21% of autistic men meeting the cut-off for clinically relevant alexithymia. Difficulties describing feelings were associated with self-reported difficulties in social communication, and difficulties identifying feelings were associated with anxiety symptom severity.

Question 58

Q: How do difficulties in identifying versus describing emotions affect clinical outcomes in autism?

Answer 58

A: Difficulties identifying emotions are associated with anxiety symptom severity, while difficulties describing emotions are associated with self-reported difficulties in social communication.