No abstract available.
Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that has gained increasing attention in Malaysia. Much effort is now being taken to include children with autism spectrum disorder in the school system, either in inclusive settings or in special educational settings. However, this endeavor raises many challenges for the children with autism spectrum disorder, their families and for service providers. The current study uses a qualitative approach to investigate parents’ perceptions of problems faced by their children with autism spectrum disorder in issues related to academic skills. A face-to-face interview was performed with parents of children with autism spectrum disorders who were receiving occupational therapy services for their difficulties in academic related skills. Findings indicate that most of the difficulties faced by these children are related to skills needed to be accepted at school, such as ability to communicate and socialize and this often limit their performance at school. These findings not only raise and discuss important implications for service providers such as teachers, health care professionals and policy makers, but also lead to suggestions for future research.
Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental childhood disorder associated with cognitive and language impairments. Previous research found that children with developmental disorders increase parenting stress but parents of children with ASD, specifically have recorded higher parenting stress than any other developmental disabilities. Hence, this study investigates the difference in parenting stress levels among parents of children with ASD compared to a typical development (TD) control group. Parenting Stress Index, 3rd Edition Short Form was used to assess the parenting stress levels of 30 parents of children with ASD and 36 parents of TD children. Parents of children with ASD were sampled at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Tangkak Hospital and National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) in Muar and Segamat. Parents of children with ASD recorded significantly higher levels of parenting stress compared to the TD group (p<0.001). Parents of male children of ASD recorded significantly higher levels of parenting stress compared to the parents of male children of TD group (p<0.001). Parents of female children of ASD also recorded significantly higher levels of parenting stress compared to parents of female children of TD group (p<0.001). Intervention towards ASD children should not only focus on minimizing the core symptoms but should also pay attention to the family’s mental health as well.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Parenting

Autism Spectrum Disorder/therapy* ; Humans

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a phenotypically heterogenous group of neurodevelopmental syndromes characterized by a wide range of impairments in socialcommunication and restricted and repetitive behaviors. (1) The majority of individualswith ASD go through puberty and experience the same physical and psychosexual aspectsof sexual development as their peers. However, there are notable problems with regardsto sexuality especially at the start of puberty when the development of social skillscannot keep up with the increasing social demands, and the difficulties of formingromantic and sexual relationships become evident. (2)The case presented here is a 26-year-old male with a history of engaging in paraphilicactivities that showed the complexities of ASD (Asperger Syndrome) in their sexualbehavior.PJPCASE REPORTTYING IT ALL TOGETHER:CASE OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER WITH PARAPHILIC ACTIVITIESMELANIE TONGOL, MDTHE MEDICAL CITYDEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY34 · PJP 2023 · Volume 4 (1-2) · ISSN 2980-4884CASE PRESENTATIONChief ComplaintJay was a 26-year-old Filipino male, Christian,single, seeking consult for intrusive thoughts withthemes of bondage & discipline, dominance& submission and sadism &masochism (BDSM).History of Present IllnessJay described himself as curious, ambitious, andpeculiar. Despite trying to be sociable andextroverted, he had difficulty connecting withfriends and he often ended up alone. This hasbeen a recurring experience since childhood.Five years prior to consult, Jay’s excitement washyped, as a female chatmate opened up thetopic of BDSM.He shared his long-term fantasies of tying up agirl and subjecting her to pain, humiliation andsexual stimulation, which was never realizedgiven his Christian belief that it was wrong.After meeting someone who shared his hiddendesires, he was able to muster the strength to liveout his fantasies and met with the said chatmate.They planned their BDSM roles and restrictions,with Jay as the dominant and the chatmate assubmissive. On the day of their meeting, Jaypacked ropes in his bag, as he remembered hispast fascination with them when he was still aboy scout. he met his chatmate at the deliveryarea of a mall and there began his string of novel sexual pursuits. He started binding herhands and legs behind her. Both lying on thefloor, fully clothed, he kept on tying her as if hewas in a trance. Merely having his partner
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Asperger Syndrome

Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Autistic Disorder ; Occupational Therapy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder marked by impaired social communication and repetitive, restricted behaviors and activities. The prevalence of ASD has been increasing for the past 2 decades, but evidence-based therapeutic approaches are lacking for patients with ASD. To date, there is no cure for the core symptoms of ASD, and the existing treatments focus on improving the patient's function and adaptation by using behavioral intervention methods. Behavioral interventions have been proven to show the greatest effect when applied before the age of 2 years, for at least 40-60 hours per week. Many clinicians and ASD families are unfamiliar with the treatment methods, and consequently, may seek unproven and potentially hazardous methods. The purpose of this article was to present an extensive and updated review on evidence-based ASD behavioral interventions that are commonly used in clinical settings.
Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Humans ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the development of social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related influencing factors. METHODS: A total of 889 children with ASD in 10 cities of China were enrolled as subjects. The Autism Social Skills Scale was used to assess their social skills. RESULTS: The children with ASD had a lower score of each factor than the theoretical median, with the lowest score for social communication and the highest score for self-regulation. There were significant differences in the total score of social skills and the scores of social cognition and social participation between the children with ASD in different age groups (P<0.05). There were also significant differences in the total score of social skills and the scores of social orientation, social communication, social participation, and self-regulation between the ASD children with different language levels (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Children with ASD have low social skills, and their social skills are associated with age and language level.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child ; Humans ; Social Skills

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the prevalence and characteristics of savant skills and the relationship between the savant skills and autistic symptoms in Korean ASD children. METHODS: 141 ASD subjects participated in this study and they were divided in to two groups based on the presence or lack of savant skills. The domain scores and total scores of the K-ADI-R, K-ASDS and SRS were used for evaluating the ASD symptoms between the groups. RESULTS: Memory (n=47) was the most prevalent savant skill in the savant ASD group (n=60). The savant ASD group had a statistically higher mean age and IQ score than did the nonsavant ASD group. Despite their high IQ profile, the savant ASD group showed a higher restricted, repetitive and stereotype behavior score on the K-ADI-R and higher language and cognitive scores on the K-ASDS than did the nonsavant ASD group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest savant syndrome in ASD might be related to the severity of some subdomain of autistic symptoms even though their IQ scores were higher than nonsavant ASD patients.
Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Humans ; Memory ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the professional knowledge and perceptions of the early screening of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in practitioners who have contact with patients with ASD. METHODS: A survey was carried out among 674 practitioners in total, where practitioners are defined as those who work at primary medical centers, public institutions, educational institutions and treatment institutions. The survey was carried out both online and offline, and it mainly focused on 1) knowledge about ASD symptoms, 2) knowledge about the early screening of ASD, 3) measures taken after ASD detection, 4) thoughts on the development of early screening tools for ASD, and 5) the current status of ASD treatment. The data collected were analyzed through descriptive statistics, analysis of frequency and cross tabulation analysis using SPSS WIN 22.0. RESULTS: The results of this study suggest that the practitioners were not aware of the exact symptoms of ASD and their professional knowledge and the environment for early screening were insufficient. Furthermore, very few and inappropriate measures were taken after the detection of ASD. In addition, there was a high demand for early ASD screening tools to be used on site and, regarding treatment, the significance of the implementation of evidence based treatments as well as the continuity of relevant research came to the fore. CONCLUSION: It seems that there is a lack of knowledge and perception of the early screening of ASD and that education and training among practitioners is urgently required. This issue is discussed in more detail in the paper.
Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Autistic Disorder* ; Education ; Humans ; Mass Screening*