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We provide a conceptual model on the complex interaction between stress, psychological predisposition, and personality traits, accounting for gender, in parents of children with and without autism. We performed a path analysis using a structural equation modeling approach in a sample of parents including 60 ASD and 53 TD couples. In parents of typically developing children (TD), depression level and age are the main direct predictors of stress through the mediating effect of anxiety. Otherwise, in the ASD parent group, the personality trait 'openness' directly predicts the defensive response and stress levels without the mediating effect of anxiety. Our data suggest a route of action in promoting new behavioral strategies to prevent parenting stress, making families run smoothly.

A plethora of neuroimaging studies have focused on the discovery of potential neuroendophenotypes useful to understand the etiopathogenesis of autism and predict treatment response. Social robotics has recently been proposed as an effective tool to strengthen the current treatments in children with autism. However, the high clinical heterogeneity characterizing this disorder might interfere with behavioral effects. Neuroimaging is set to overcome these limitations by capturing the level of heterogeneity. Here, we provide a preliminary evaluation of the neural basis of social robotics and how extracting neural hallmarks useful to design more effective behavioral applications. Despite the endophenotype-oriented neuroimaging research approach is in its relative infancy, this preliminary evidence encourages innovation to address its current limitations.

This study is a randomized control trial aimed at testing the role of a human-assisted social robot as an intervention mediator in a socio-emotional understanding protocol for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Fourteen children (4-8 years old) were randomly assigned to 10 sessions of a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention implemented in a group setting either with or without the assistance of a social robot. The CBT protocol was based on Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) principles. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted using the Test of Emotional Comprehension (TEC) and the Emotional Lexicon Test (ELT). Substantial improvements in contextualized emotion recognition, comprehension and emotional perspective-taking through the use of human-assisted social robots were attained.

Identifying effective, community-based specialized interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder is an international clinical and research priority. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model intervention in a group of young children with autism spectrum disorder living in an Italian community compared to a group of Italian children who received treatment as usual. A total of 22 young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder received the Early Start Denver Model in a center-based context for 6 h per week over 6 months. The Early Start Denver Model group was compared to a group of 70 young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who received treatment as usual for an average of 5.2 h over 6 months. Children in both groups improved in cognitive, adaptive, and social skills after 3 months and 6 months of treatment. Children in the Early Start Denver Model group made larger gains in cognitive and social skills after 3 and 6 months of treatment. The Early Start Denver Model group made larger gains in adaptive skills after 3 months of treatment. Our results are discussed in terms of implications for intervention research and clinical practice. Our study supports the positive impact of the Early Start Denver Model in a non-English-speaking community.

Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorder represents a burdensome condition in early childhood, with a number of risk factors proposed to explain its pathogenesis, most of which without a reliable scientific basis. Allergic asthma is likely to be one of the possible comorbilities of autism., Evidence Acquisition: In this paper, the relationship between autism and allergic asthma was analyzed through a systematic literature review, conducted according to the PRISMA Guidelines. The review was performed on PubMed and Science Direct database and covered the period January 1, 2004-July 9, 2016. The search was limited to articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The obtained results were sorted by relevance and the most significant case-control, epidemiological and nationwide-based works associating autism and allergic asthma in humans were selected., Evidence Synthesis: A slight correlation between these conditions has been found in more than a half studies selected, suggesting a possible association between the two diseases. Small sample sizes of some works and some methodological limitations rise uncertainty about this link., Conclusions: Autism Spectrum Disorder and asthma could be associated conditions, as evidenced by the higher prevalence of asthma in autistic children with respect to typically developed controls, with also a verisimilar biological basis. Despite that, future studies are required to provide more reliable data, also by employing animal models, to better clarify this, still unsure, relationship. Methods for study selection and inclusion criteria were specified in advance and documented in PROSPERO protocol #CRD42014012851.

Atypical responsivity to social rewards has been observed in young children with or at risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). These observations contributed to the hypothesis of reduced social motivation in ASD. In the current study we develop a novel task to test social reward preference using a tablet computer (iPad), where two differently coloured buttons were associated with a social and a nonsocial rewarding image respectively. 63 young children, aged 14-68 months, with and without a diagnosis of ASD took part in the study. The experimental sessions were also recorded on video, using an in-built webcam on the tablet as well as an external camera. Children with ASD were found to show a reduced relative preference for social rewards, indexed by a lower proportion of touches for the button associated with the social reward image. Greater social preference as measured using the tablet-based task was associated with increased use of social communicative behaviour such as eye contact with the experimenter and social smile in response to the social reward image. These results are consistent with earlier findings from eye-tracking studies, and provide novel empirical insights into atypical social reward responsivity in ASD.

Olfactory function is a well-known early biomarker for neurodegeneration and neural functioning in the adult population, being supported by a number of brain structures that could be dysfunctioning in neurodegenerative processes. Evidence has suggested that atypical sensory and, particularly, olfactory processing is present in several neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In this paper, we present data obtained by a systematic literature review, conducted according to PRISMA guidelines, regarding the possible association between olfaction and ASDs, and analyze them critically in order to evaluate the occurrence of olfactory impairment in ASDs, as well as the possible usefulness of olfactory evaluation in such conditions. The results obtained in this analysis suggested a possible involvement of olfactory impairment in ASDs, underlining the importance of olfactory evaluation in the clinical assessment of ASDs. This assessment could be potentially included as a complementary evaluation in the diagnostic protocol of the condition. Methods for study selection and inclusion criteria were specified in advance and documented in PROSPERO protocol #CRD42014013939.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an allergic disorder caused by both immunological dysregulation and epidermal barrier defect. Several studies have investigated the association between AD and mental health disorders. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by impairments in social communication and restricted, stereotyped interests and behaviors. The concurrent increased prevalence of AD and ASD in the last decades has led many scientists to investigate the relationship between the two diseases., Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to examine the association between AD and ASD., Methods: A systematic review was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. PubMed and ScienceDirect were searched up to March 2015 for all reports examining the association between ASD and AD. Descriptive statistics of the studies are reported., Results: The review included 18 studies assessing the association between ASD and AD. Of these studies, two focused on ASD in relation to AD alone, 14 discussed ASD in relation to both AD and other atopic disorders, and two evaluated AD in parents of children with ASD. Most of these studies found a positive association between the two disorders, although there were some studies going in the opposite direction. The entity of the association is somewhat inconsistent among the different studies given that the frequencies of AD in ASD compared with a control group ranged from 7 to 64.2%. In addition, odds ratios (ORs) or hazard ratios (HRs) gave different results as three studies found a weak association with an OR below 2 and a nonsignificant p value, and three other studies found a moderate or strong association with an OR ranging from 1.52 to 7.17 and a significant p value. When all atopic disorders were considered when evaluating the risk of ASD, the association was strong with an HR of 3.4 or an OR of 1.24 and p < 0.001., Conclusions: Overall, the results of this systematic review seem to reveal an association between ASD and AD, suggesting that subjects with ASD have an increased risk of presenting with AD compared with typically developing controls, and vice versa. This association is supported by clinical/epidemiological aspects, shared genetic background and common immunological and autoimmune processes. However, the variability in study population and design, and the presence of other risk factors acting as confounding factors, sometimes contribute to inconsistent results. Further studies are needed to clarify the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism explaining the association between ASD and AD and to explore the causal association between the two conditions.