(Press-News.org) A long-term study by UC Davis Health researchers sheds new light on the relationship between autism traits and mental health in middle childhood. The paper, published in the journal Autism, finds that changes in core autism characteristics are related to whether children develop additional mental health challenges during their elementary school years.
“Our findings suggest that different aspects of a child’s development may affect each other over time,” explained Einat Waizbard-Bartov, a doctoral researcher in developmental psychology at the UC Davis MIND Institute and the lead author on the paper. “Core autism traits and mental health challenges likely interact throughout development.”
A key finding was that a reduction in restrictive and repetitive behaviors during elementary school was linked to the emergence of mental health challenges, lending support to the idea that these behaviors may benefit autistic individuals. An increase in social-communication difficulties during this time was also linked to anxiety and other mental health challenges.
Study design
Waizbard-Bartov has published previous research showing autism characteristics can change significantly from ages 3 to 11.
The current study included 75 autistic children ages 6 to 11, including 15 girls. All were part of the MIND Institute’s Autism Phenome Project, a large, long-term study aimed at identifying different subtypes of autism.
Through parental interviews and questionnaires, the research team evaluated the children for mental health symptoms and restricted and repetitive behaviors, which can include seeking sensory stimulation, hand-flapping or sticking to set routines.
They tracked changes in autism characteristics using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Calibrated Severity Score.
About a fifth (21%) of the youth had more severe social-communication difficulties, as well as an increase in anxiety, ADHD and behavioral challenges. In contrast, nearly 23% had decreased restricted and repetitive behaviors but higher anxiety levels by age 11. Nearly all — 94% —met the criteria for an anxiety disorder.
About a third of the participants had both decreasing restricted and repetitive behaviors and increased social-communication difficulties.
“We were pleased to see that our results confirmed what has been suspected by other autism researchers and clinicians as well as autistic individuals, that some forms of restricted and repetitive behaviors can potentially help to self-soothe,” said David Amaral, distinguished professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MIND Institute faculty member and senior author on the paper.
Waizbard-Bartov notes that the findings question the wisdom of therapies that try to eliminate these behaviors.
“In light of this, when thinking about interventions, it might be that trying to eliminate repetitive behaviors without providing alternative self-soothing tools is not the ideal way to go,” she said.
The study is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to demonstrate an association between mental health challenges and increases in the severity of social-communication difficulties for autistic children.
“This occurred in children who showed decreases in core autism traits during early childhood and whose cognitive functioning was in the typical range. We don’t currently understand why this happened. One possibility is that due to their relatively high cognitive ability, they became aware of their social challenges, and this may have contributed to increasing anxiety,” Amaral explained. “It’s definitely an area where we need more research.”
Co-authors included Emilio Ferrer, Brianna Heath, Derek Andrews, Sally Rogers, Christine Wu Nordahl and Marjorie Solomon of UC Davis and Conner M. Kerns of the University of British Columbia.
This research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01MH128814, R01MH127046, R01MH106518 and R01MH103284) and the MIND Institute Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (P50HD103526).
Related resources
Read the paper
Autism characteristics can change significantly from ages 3 to 11
END
Study explores how changing autism traits are linked to mental health conditions
Findings suggest that some restrictive and repetitive behaviors may help reduce anxiety for autistic individuals
2023-10-13
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Dan M. Frangopol wins inaugural EuroStruct International Award of Merit
2023-10-13
Professor Dan M. Frangopol is the winner of the EuroStruct2023 International Award of Merit presented by the EuroStruct Executive Committee in recognition of outstanding contributions to bridge and structural asset management and structural engineering.
Frangopol, the inaugural Fazlur R. Khan Endowed Chair of Structural Engineering and Architecture in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh, was presented with the award during EuroStruct 2023, the second Conference of the European ...
Not getting enough sleep? Your vascular cells are drowning in oxidants
2023-10-13
NEW YORK, NY--Does this sound like you? You wake up at the same time each morning, get the kids out the door, and rush to catch the subway to work. But at night, maybe you stay up until midnight doing laundry or 1 a.m. to catch up on the bills.
Lots of Americans—about one-third of us—are in the same situation and habitually get only five to six hours of sleep instead of the recommended seven to eight hours.
But even a mild chronic sleep deficit may heighten the risk of developing heart disease later in life: Surveys of thousands of people ...
UMSOM researchers provide first statewide prevalence data on two new emerging pathogens in healthcare settings
2023-10-13
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers conducted a statewide survey of all patients on breathing machines in hospitals and long-term care facilities and found that a significant percentage of them harbored two pathogens known to be life-threatening in those with compromised immune systems. One pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii, was identified in nearly 31 percent of all patients on ventilators to assist with their breathing; Candida auris was identified in nearly 7 percent of patients on ventilators, according to the study which was published this week in the Journal ...
Calorie restriction in humans builds strong muscle and stimulates healthy aging genes
2023-10-13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Oct. 13, 2023
CONTACT: NIAPressTeam@mail.nih.gov, 301-496-1752
Reducing overall calorie intake may rejuvenate your muscles and activate biological pathways important for good health, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues. Decreasing calories without depriving the body of essential vitamins and minerals, known as calorie restriction, has long been known to delay the progression of age-related diseases in animal models. This new study, published in Aging Cell, suggests the same ...
Deep brain stimulation induces more healthy neurons and sustained memory benefits in Rett animals
2023-10-13
A recent study from the lab of Dr. Jianrong Tang, associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital shows that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of a specific brain region results in a significant and sustained improvement of memory in Rett mice. Moreover, they found that this treatment promotes the generation of new healthy neurons in these mice.
The study, ...
DOT1L gene variants associated with a new neurological disorder
2023-10-13
A study from the laboratory of Dr. Hugo J. Bellen, a distinguished service professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital, has discovered that gain-of-function variants in the DOT1L gene cause a new disorder. Further studies revealed that the majority of the symptoms in the patients were surprisingly due to an increase in the enzymatic activity of a histone methylase encoded by this gene. This study was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
“This project originated when the Undiagnosed ...
New UNCG research will help better predict the health and sustainability of ‘grassy’ ecosystems
2023-10-13
Greensboro, N.C. (October 13, 2023) – Newly published research from UNC Greensboro’s Dr. Kevin Wilcox and colleagues will help scientists better predict how global changes – such as droughts, fires, and heat waves – will impact the health and sustainability of the Earth’s grassy ecosystems.
The article, published October 10, 2023, in Global Change Biology, provides key steps forward to improving mathematical models that forecast changes to our planet’s savannas, prairies, grasslands, and arctic tundras.
“Forest ecosystems tend to get the lion’s share of public ...
Recent UH graduate develops 3D printable prostheses to restore amputees’ finger mobility
2023-10-13
A groundbreaking, easy-to-use 3D printable finger prosthesis created by a recent University of Houston graduate could offer amputees a low-cost solution to restore finger functionality. David Edquilang first designed Lunet, which doesn’t need metal fasteners, adhesives or special tools to assemble, as an undergraduate student at the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design. While standard prostheses can cost thousands of dollars, Edquilang aims to make his design open access on the internet, instead of selling it.
“Not every good idea needs to be turned ...
American Society of Plant Biologists announces new peer review report policy
2023-10-13
Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell, published by the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), are introducing a new mechanism for publishing peer review reports on each journal’s website.
A version of peer review reports has been published with the supplemental material of original research articles in The Plant Cell for some time. However, for the first time the ASPB Editorial Office is introducing a uniform process for formatting and publishing these reports with Plant Physiology original research articles, as well.
The ...
Investigational drug restores parathyroid function in rare disease
2023-10-13
An investigational drug, encaleret, restored calcium levels in people with autosomal dominant hypocalcemia type 1 (ADH1), a rare genetic disorder marked by an imbalance of calcium in the blood and urine, as well as abnormally low levels of parathyroid hormone, which regulates blood calcium levels. Led by clinician-scientists from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) at the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical Center, results from the clinical trial are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the mid-phase clinical ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Routine scans could detect early prostate radiotherapy changes
Fairness in AI: Study shows central role of human decision-making
Pandemic ‘beneath the surface’ has been quietly wiping out sea urchins around the world
Tea linked to stronger bones in older women, while coffee may pose risks
School feeding programs lead to modest but meaningful results
Researchers develop AI Tool to identify undiagnosed Alzheimer's cases while reducing disparities
Seaweed based carbon catalyst offers metal free solution for removing antibiotics from water
Simple organic additive supercharges UV treatment of “forever chemical” PFOA
£13m NHS bill for ‘mismanagement’ of menstrual bleeds
The Lancet Psychiatry: Slow tapering plus therapy most effective strategy for stopping antidepressants, finds major meta-analysis
Body image issues in adolescence linked to depression in adulthood
Child sexual exploitation and abuse online surges amid rapid tech change; new tool for preventing abuse unveiled for path forward
Dragon-slaying saints performed green-fingered medieval miracles, new study reveals
New research identifies shared genetic factors between addiction and educational attainment
Epilepsy can lead to earlier deaths in people with intellectual disabilities, study shows
Global study suggests the underlying problems of ECT patients are often ignored
Mapping ‘dark’ regions of the genome illuminates how cells respond to their environment
ECOG-ACRIN and Caris Life Sciences unveil first findings from a multi-year collaboration to advance AI-powered multimodal tools for breast cancer recurrence risk stratification
Satellite data helps UNM researchers map massive rupture of 2025 Myanmar earthquake
Twisting Spins: Florida State University researchers explore chemical boundaries to create new magnetic material
Mayo Clinic researchers find new hope for toughest myeloma through off-the-shelf immunotherapy
Cell-free DNA Could Detect Adverse Events from Immunotherapy
American College of Cardiology announces Fuster Prevention Forum
AAN issues new guideline for the management of functional seizures
Could GLP-1 drugs affect risk of epilepsy for people with diabetes?
New circoviruses discovered in pilot whales and orcas from the North Atlantic
Study finds increase in risk of binge drinking among 12th graders who use 2 or more cannabis products
New paper-based technology could transform cancer drug testing
Opioids: clarifying the concept of safe supply to save lives
New species of tiny pumpkin toadlet discovered in Brazil highlights need for conservation in the mountain forests of Serra do Quiriri
[Press-News.org] Study explores how changing autism traits are linked to mental health conditionsFindings suggest that some restrictive and repetitive behaviors may help reduce anxiety for autistic individuals