The elopement of a child with Asperger syndrome was assessed using functional analyses and was treated in two school settings (classroom and resource room). Functional analyses indicated that elopement was maintained by access to attention in the resource room and obtaining a preferred activity in the classroom. Attention- and tangible-based interventions were compared in an alternating treatme...

The purpose of the study described was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive behavioural intervention for anger management with children diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Forty-five children and their parents were randomly assigned to either intervention or wait-list control conditions. Children in the intervention participated in six 2-h weekly sessions while parents participated in a l...

Details are given of a new advanced theory of mind task, developed to approximate the demands of real-life mentalizing in able individuals with autism. Excerpts of films showing characters in social situations were presented, with participants required to answer questions on characters' mental states and on control, nonsocial questions. When compared with control participants, adults with high-...

Individuals with Asperger syndrome/High Functioning Autism fail to spontaneously attribute mental states to the self and others, a life-long phenotypic characteristic known as mindblindness. We hypothesized that mindblindness would affect the dynamics of conversational interaction. Using generative models, in particular Gaussian mixture models and observed influence models, conversations were c...

Utilizing relevance theory, this study investigated the ability of children with Asperger syndrome (AS) and high-functioning autism (HFA) to use context when answering questions and when giving explanations for their correct answers. Three groups participated in this study: younger AS/HFA group (age 7-9, n=16), older AS/HFA group (age 10-12, n=23) and a normally functioning control group (age 7...

One of the main diagnostic criteria for Asperger Syndrome is a severe social impairment (American Psychiatric Association [DSM-IV-TR] 2000), something that has often been connected to a more specific impairment in facial recognition. However, the main diagnostic tool (the DSM-IV-TR) has received much criticism during later years and is soon to be revised (Woodbury-Smith & Volkmar 2009). Among o...

Escolas com orientação inclusiva são consideradas um meio eficaz de combate às atitudes discriminatórias. No caso dos alunos superdotados, tem-se observado interesse pela realização estudos envolvendo aqueles que apresentam, simultaneamente habilidades superiores, dificuldades comportamentais, emocionais e aprendizagem, fenômeno denominado dupla excepcionalidade. O objetivo deste estudo foi ana...

We report on elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels in 22 individuals with Asperger syndrome compared with well-matched controls, after accounting for lifestyle variables and clinical symptomatology that could affect them. A potential role for dyslipidemia in the pathogenesis of some forms of autism is discussed.

The relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and autobiographical memory (AM) in high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger syndrome (AS) has never been investigated. Here, we show that ToM abilities could be predicted by levels of AM in HFA and AS as compared to controls, suggesting that difficulties in AM are closely related to ToM impairments in HFA and AS.