Browsing by Subject "autismi"

Goals: The emphatizing-systemizing theory (E-S theory) states that emphatizing and systemizing helps us understand gender differences in normal population and the causes of autism spectrum disorders. Emphatizing is the capacity to recognize and predict other people's emotions and thoughts and to respond appropriately. Systemizing is the drive to analyze nonagentive systems and create if-then rules in order to predict their behavior. In general, women have a stronger drive to emphatize and men have a stronger drive to systemize. Extreme male brain theory (EMB Theory) is an extension to the E-S theory. According to the EMB Theory, autism is a result of the extreme of the normal male cognitive profile. In recent years, it has been noticed that autistic traits can also be found in normal population. One might expect that the relationship between emphatizing, systemizing and autistic traits would also be found in healthy individuals. However, not much research has been done on this subject and the results have been somewhat mixed. There have also been some weaknesses in the methods used in previous research. In this paper, I examine the relationship between emphatizing, systemizing and autistic traits in normal population using a wide variety of measurements. The hypothesis is that low emphatizing and high systemizing are related to the amount of autistic traits. Method: 3084 participants took part in an online study. The study consisted of questionnaires and computerized tests. Results and Discussion: Low emphatizing and high systemizing were related to the amount of autistic traits. The negative relationship between emphatizing and autistic traits was bigger than the relationship between systemizing and autistic traits. Tests that measured emphatizing and systemizing abilities correlated only weakly to the amount of autistic traits. Low emphatizing was related to autism's social difficulties. High systemizing was related to the interest toward numbers and patterns associated with autism. It seems that emphatizing and systemizing are linked to different parts of the autistic phenotype.

Objectives Autism generally refers to lingual, communicational and behavioral continuous traits, which are determined by genetics as well as environment. The purpose of this study was to examine to which extent the genetic autism risk explains the variation in autistic traits in two-year-old children in the normal population. Additionally the impact of the genetic autism risk was examined in conditions, where the mother of the child suffered from depressive symptoms during pregnancy and/or had alexithymia (trouble identifying feelings). Methods The sample was collected from the Child-Sleep cohort study (n=942). The child’s genetic autism risk was calculated by comparing the child’s genome with the genome of people with an autism diagnosis. All of the other information was collected with questionnaires. The child’s autistic traits were assessed according to the autism scale in BITSEA. The mother’s depressive symptoms during pregnancy were assessed according to the Ces-d (short) questionnaire and her trouble identifying feelings according to the TAS-20-questionnaire. The connections between the variables were examined with Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The autistic traits were examined with linear regression analysis. Results and conclusions The genetic autism risk explained 2% of the variation in the autistic traits of two-year-old children in the normal population. This result is in line with previous studies. Gender (autistic traits were more prevalent in males), maternal adolescence and the degree of maternal alexithymia were the best predictors of an autistic phenotype. Generally maternal maturity is considered a risk factor for the child’s more autistic phenotype, whereas our result possibly points out that the risk is rather created by paternal maturity instead. In addition of identifying the greatest risk factors, interactions between the genetic risk of autism and the psychological factors of the mother (depressive symptoms during pregnancy and trouble identifying emotions) were examined. However, these interactions were not statistically significant in this study. The impact of genes is already a verified fact – the next goal is to identify environments, where the genes interact, creating a more autistic phenotype.

To develop a closed-loop medication management process, monitoring the effects of medication should be integrated into patient information systems through structured recording methods. Sufficient documentation of medication monitoring is a prerequisite for implementing effective medication management and ensuring good quality, individualized care for patients. Medication management for patients with intellectual disabilities on the autism spectrum can be extremely challenging. The characteristics of intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, comorbidities, and polypharmacy make medication management and monitoring challenging. This study focused on patients with difficult behavioural symptoms. The study aimed to identify the most important symptoms to monitor in assessing the effects of medication in patients with intellectual disabilities on the autism spectrum. Additionally, it defined the time points from the initiation of medication when the effects should be assessed. The study was conducted as a two-round study using the Delphi consensus method in January-February 2024. The expert panel consisted of 12 experts in intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders or in the field of medicine. Lists of behavioural symptoms, other symptoms, and monitoring time points were compiled for the study based on literature and the expertise of the research group. Experts were presented with a list of symptoms, and in the first round, symptoms that exceeded a consensus threshold of 50% proceeded to the second round. In the second round, experts ranked symptoms based on their importance for monitoring using Likert-scale questions. The data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Experts considered 9 behavioural symptoms and 22 other symptoms as highly important or important to monitor. The experts identified severe symptoms indicating self-harm or harm to others as the most critical behavioural symptoms to monitor. The most important other monitored symptoms included common comorbidities and symptoms within the patient group or adverse effects of medication. The effects of medication should be evaluated regularly, at least at the 4-week mark after initiating medication and after 3 months evaluations should be conducted at intervals of every 6 months. Monitoring the effects of medication was perceived to pose many challenges, and monitoring is not always carried out at a sufficient level. Many different symptoms should be monitored because patients are individual and present a variety of symptoms. It is essential to have a good understanding of the patient's condition before starting medication to assess the medication's impact on the patient's behaviour or other symptoms. The study highlighted the lack of structured monitoring forms and the need for monitoring tools.

This study deals with social representations of social order in Finland. While empirically testing a recent theoretical model of social order representations (Staerklé, 2009), I also investigated the role of values in social representation. Additionally, by including a group diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) into my study, I explored the roles that reflexivity and perspective taking on the one hand, and marginalisation on the other, have in representing social order. I therefore compared social order representation contents and processes of an undefined group of Finnish people (N = 281) with a group of Finnish people diagnosed with ASDs (N = 36), using a mixed method, questionnaire-based design, which included both open and closed questions. Quantitatively, my methods were based primarily upon confirmatory factor analyses and correlation procedures. Qualitatively, I used discourse analysis based in Hallidayan (1978) linguistics, rhetorical analyses based in the methods outlined by Burke (1945; 1950), and Greimas’s (1966/1983) actantial model. While focusing upon the dialogism paradigm within social representations theory (Marková, 2003), I had two theoretical aims. First, I began an articulation of treating values as part of the meaning in representation. Second, I explored the development of a social semiotic approach to representation, which included power dynamics as part of representation processes. Empirically, the Staerklé model held up well and largely conformed to its theoretical underpinnings. The participants demonstrated all of the social order conceptions proposed by Staerklé. Based upon the results, I did, however, suggest some modifications to the model due to some awkwardness related to marginalisation, Finnish-style liberalism, and the welfare state. Results showed that overall, Finnish people conceptualise social order in terms of an equality/inequality thema influenced heavily by security value expressions and power dynamics, while anchoring that understanding in the modern welfare model. Differences in positioning towards that common understanding were related to marginalisation, differences in perspective taking, and different ways of expressing power. I concluded by suggesting that representation is very much a motivated process with value-laden contents, and that social representations research needs to better incorporate these dimensions into its agenda.