To investigate the effectiveness of a Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) intervention in schools for improving independent task performance in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
We screened relevant studies published up to December 2022 from Web of science, ERIC, PsycINFO and other databases using predefined inclusion/exclusion criteria to identify suitable intervention studies for meta-analysis. Tau-U effect sizes were calculated for each A-B comparison extracted from the included experiments. Moderated analyses were conducted to examine the type of intervention (independent variable), intervention target behaviours (dependent variable), participant characteristics, setting characteristics and intervener characteristics.
A total of 14 studies (38 participants) met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. The analysis results showed that TEACCH had a significant intervention effect, and the overall intervention effect size was Tau-U = 0.85[0.77, 0.91]. There were significant differences in the intervention target behaviour variables (p < 0.01), limited variation in the intervention type variables, but no differences in participant characteristics, setting characteristics and intervenor characteristics.
The use of TEACCH is effective in improving independent task completion in children with ASD and provides evidence-based recommendations for its extended use in schools.

Outdoor social participation in the school playground is crucial for children\'s socio-emotional and cognitive development. Yet, many children with disabilities in mainstream educational settings are not socially included within their peer group. We examined whether loose-parts-play (LPP), a common and cost-effective intervention that changes the playground play environment to enhance child-led free play, can promote social participation for children with and without disabilities.
Forty-two primary school children, out of whom three had hearing loss or autism, were assessed for two baseline and four intervention sessions. We applied a mixed-method design, combining advanced sensors methodology, observations, peer nominations, self-reports, qualitative field notes and an interview with the playground teachers.
Findings indicated for all children a decrease during the intervention in social interactions and social play and no change in network centrality. Children without disabilities displayed also an increase in solitude play and in the diversity of interacting partners. Enjoyment of LPP was high for all children, yet children with disabilities did not benefit socially from the intervention and became even more isolated compared with baseline level.
Social participation in the schoolyard of children with and without disabilities did not improve during LPP in a mainstream setting. Findings emphasize the need to consider the social needs of children with disabilities when designing playground interventions and to re-think about LPP philosophy and practices to adapt them to inclusive settings and goals.

There is uncertainty among researchers and clinicians about how to best measure autism spectrum dimensional traits in adults. In a sample of adults with high levels of autism spectrum traits and without intellectual disability (probands, n = 103) and their family members (n = 96), we sought to compare self vs. informant reports of autism spectrum-related traits and possible effects of sex on discrepancies. Using correlational analysis, we found poor agreement between self- and informant-report measures for probands, yet moderate agreement for family members. We found reporting discrepancy was greatest for female probands, often self-reporting more autism-related behaviors. Our findings suggest that autism spectrum traits are often underrecognized by informants, making self-report data important to collect in clinical and research settings.

OBJECTIVE: Pervasive refusal syndrome (PRS) is a rare psychiatric disease that affects children. It was first described by Lask in 1991 (Arch Dis Child 66:866-869, 1991). Recently, Otasowie and Collaborators reported a systematic review about PRS. Despite this, PRS has not yet been classified in DSM-5 and ICD-11 and the lack of evidence-based treatment makes this syndrome a real challenge for clinicians. The aim of this paper is to present our experience through the description of a case report and its treatment.
RESULTS: The case reported is a girl aged 11 years that fits the clinical picture described in the literature of PRS. In previous reports, behavioural treatment was not used or appreciated; our case adds new knowledge regarding the PRS diagnosis and the successful behavioural treatment during hospitalization, which we describe in all its phases.
CONCLUSIONS: PRS is a rare, life-threatening syndrome; it would be extremely important to have an official and evidence-based treatment guide.
METHODS: Level V, case report.

Pervasive refusal syndrome (PRS) is a complex condition that affects young people leading to social withdrawal, inability or refusal to eat, drink, mobilise or speak. The affected individual regresses and is unable to self-care and quite characteristically will resist rehabilitation, worsen with praise or remain entirely passive. This systematic review was aimed at describing clinical features of PRS, current interventions and to summarise some of the nosological aspects of the condition. Without language restriction, an electronic search was conducted in Embase, PsychInfo, Medline, Cochrane library, and PubMed databases yielding 29 articles with a total of 79 cases. We performed a risk of assessment bias using an adapted Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. 124 articles were identified, of which 29 were included and these yielded 79 cases. Seventy-six percent of the studies had a low rate of risk of assessment bias (good quality). Our results show that PRS overlaps with several conditions, mainly affects young females aged 7-15 years and has a recovery rate of 78% if diagnosed and treated early but the duration of inpatient treatment may last up to 9.44 months (8.82 SD). The patients had multiple inter-dependent risks. The major predisposing factors included vulnerable premorbid personality and pre-existing mental disorder. Precipitating factors were stressors such as infection and traumatic experiences. Enmeshed parent-child relationship served as a maintaining factor. The themes of treatment approach are essentially rehabilitative: (1) working collaboratively with patient and family, (2) having access to multidisciplinary team, and (3) peer/group supervision. This study has systematically evaluated a large sample of patients with PRS to ascertain its clinical features and the core elements of its treatment. Its key treatment approach is a multi-modal rehabilitative strategy that is compassionate, transparent and inclusive.

Intensive Early Screen Exposure (IESE) has been associated with detrimental outcomes on different variables including attention, language, emotion regulation and socialisation, some of which are central to the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD and learning disorders. Following Bradford-Hill\'s recommendations, we argue that there is growing clinical and empirical evidence supporting a causal relationship between intensive early screen exposure (more than 4 h a day) and subsequent symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders in some possibly vulnerable younger children (less than 6 years old). Clinicians should also be aware of the existence of cases of recovery or dramatic improvement after parents accept to stop screen exposure for a few months, associated with daily moments of dyadic interaction, since this intervention has repeatedly been found to be effective with no known side-effects.

Left temporal arachnoid cyst and specific learning disorders associated with pervasive developmental disorders - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS): contributions of an integrative neuro-psychomotor, neuropsychological, psychopathological and neurosurgical approach about a case report in a child (François). With DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR, the terminology of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) covers two main categories of infantile disorders: disorders of \"strictly\" autistic nature and pervasive developmental disorders - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Under the terminology of multiple complex developmental disorder (MCDD), it is proposed to classify children presenting symptoms approaching the psychotic disharmonies and usually diagnosed as PDD-NOS. Such a category of developmental disorders is now included without nosographic distinction in the autistic spectrum in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM-V).
METHODS: We are reporting a case report of a 6-year-old boy which shows a PDD-NoS/MCDD complex symptomatology type. This child presents multiple disorders: minor neurological signs (soft signs), neuro-psychomotor disorders, developmental coordination disorder (DCD), communication, thought, and regulation of emotions disorders, attention deficit disorders (ADD); in the presence of a high verbal intellectual potential, which makes it difficult to establish a clear diagnosis. A cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was carried out due to the presence of minor neurological signs (soft signs) and of neurodevelopmental multiple disorders. The MRI revealed a voluminous arachnoid temporo-polar left cyst with a marked mass effect on the left temporal lobe.
CONCLUSIONS: A neurosurgical intervention allowed to observe the gradual disappearance of the specific symptomatology (in particular soft signs, neuro-psychomotor functions and autistic symptoms) secondary to the interference of the cyst\'s pressure with intracranial areas involving neurological and psychopathological abnormalities, underlying at the same time the reversibility of the disorders after decompression as demonstrated in some studies. There are always, with a quantitative and qualitative decrease, an emotional dysregulation, a DCD, an ADD as well as impairments in the executive functions.
CONCLUSIONS: This clinical case underlines the necessity of an evaluation in a transdisciplinary way and to follow the developmental evolution of the child in order to focus adapted therapeutics. Furthermore, with neurodevelopmental disorders not specified, it is important to examine the presence of soft signs with standardized neuro-psychomotor assessment, and then, to propose an MRI investigation. To our knowledge, this is the first report in the literature with a school age child of an unusual association between a temporal arachnoid cyst associated with PDD-NOS/MCDD.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), a clinical syndrome distinctfrom childhood autism, is a rare unremittingly pervasive developmental disorder resultingfrom disintegration ofmentalfunctions and progressive neurological abnormality. This rare condition is characterized by regression or loss ofpreviously acquired language and social skills after a period of at least 2 years of normal development. This report presenting a case of a 10-year-old boy who presented with normal development until 3-4 years of age followed by gradually developmental deterioration in previously acquired social skills, language and intellectual functions with aberrant behaviors suggestive of childhood disintegrative disorder This case is reported as a very rare case and there is no previous official report in Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: The Questionnaire: Children with Difficulties (QCD) is a parent-assessed questionnaire designed to evaluate child\'s difficulties in functioning during specific periods of the day. This study aimed to evaluate difficulties in daily functioning of children and adolescents with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) using the QCD. Results were compared with those for a community sample.
METHODS: A case-control design was used. The cases comprised elementary school students (182 males, 51 females) and junior high school students (100 males, 39 females) with PDD, whereas a community sample of elementary school students (568 males, 579 females) and junior high school students (180 males, 183 females) was enrolled as controls. Their behavior was assessed using the QCD, the Tokyo Autistic Behavior Scale (TABS), the ADHD-rating scale (ADHD-RS), and the Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI) for elementary and junior high school students, respectively. Effects of gender and diagnosis on the QCD scores were analyzed. Correlation coefficients between QCD and TABS, ADHD-RS, and ODBI scores were analyzed.
RESULTS: The QCD scores for the children with PDD were significantly lower compared with those from the community sample (P < 0.001). Significantly strong correlations were observed in more areas of the ADHD-RS and ODBI scores compared with the TABS scores.
CONCLUSIONS: Children with PDD experienced greater difficulties in completing basic daily activities; moreover, their QCD scores revealed stronger associations with their ADHD-RS and ODBI scores in comparison with their TABS scores. The difficulties of PDD, ADHD and OBDI symptoms combined in children makes it necessary to assess all diagnoses before any therapy for PDD is initiated in order to be able to evaluate its results properly.

BACKGROUND: Catatonia develops in children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorders.
OBJECTIVE: To review catatonia in autism spectrum disorders.
METHODS: A case-report is presented and discussed.
RESULTS: Catatonia is a comorbid syndrome occurring in 12-17% of selected groups of adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders who have been referred for specialised care or admitted to hospital. Clinical experience and case-reports indicate that benzodiazepines and electroconvulsive therapy can be used safely and effectively in both the treatment in acute cases and maintenance treatments for catatonia patients with autism spectrum disorders.
CONCLUSIONS: Catatonia is a recognisable and treatable syndrome in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.