Introduction  The Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) is an extensive tool used to assess children with autism and other developmental disabilities who have language delays. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) professionals frequently use the VB-MAPP to create personalized intervention programs catering to each child\'s needs. The lack of studies examining the VB-MAPP at the pretest, posttest, and differential scores using principal components analysis (PCA) suggests an opportunity to conduct PCAs on these different VB-MAPP scores. In doing so, researchers could better understand the VB-MAPP\'s dimensionality and factor structure at these levels. This, in turn, could inform the development of more effective assessment strategies and intervention plans for individuals with language and social communication challenges.  Materials and methods From January 2018 to July 2021, The Oxford Center in Brighton and Troy, Michigan, treated autistic children using ABA therapy. A convenience sample of 13 children was retrospectively analyzed using VB-MAPP, which evaluates various behavioral milestones using a pretest-posttest design. Descriptive data analysis and internal consistency reliability estimates (using Cronbach\'s alpha) were calculated for pretest, posttest, and difference scores. A Wilcoxen signed-rank test was conducted to determine the statistical significance between the pretest and posttest. Correlation matrices were inspected for relevant relationships between VB-MAPP scales, and a PCA with orthogonal rotation was also performed on this pretest, posttest, and difference scores. Results The mean age for the children was 4.083 years ± 1.083 years, (95%CI 3.64, 4.36). Around 66.6% of the children had an autism severity level of three, 33.3% had a severity level of two, and none were at level one. Cronbach\'s alpha for internal consistency reliability of the pretest, posttest, and difference scores, indicating excellent reliability with values of 0.948 for the pretest and 0.937 for the posttest, respectively. The difference scores had a lower but acceptable reliability coefficient of 0.752. PCA on the pretest scores identified three factors that explain 85.584% of the total variation, indicating that these components capture most of the data\'s structure. The posttest PCA also identified three factors, accounting for 84.293% of the variance, suggesting a similar complexity and good model fit as the pretest. PCA revealed four factors explaining 82.317% of the variation for the difference scores. The increase in factors suggests that changes between pretest and posttest scores are complex, likely due to the ABA treatment, and require an additional component to represent the data adequately. There is a good model fit; the underlying structure is more complex than the pretest or posttest alone. Conclusions Robust coefficient alphas combined with the shift to a more detailed factor structure post-ABA treatment highlight ABA therapy\'s diverse and multi-faceted impact on children. The increase from three to four principal components indicates a richer and more nuanced pattern of improvements across different domains of verbal and social behavior. This detailed factor structure is a testament to the comprehensive and individualized nature of ABA treatment, reflecting the therapy\'s effectiveness in addressing specific needs and fostering broad developmental gains in children.

UNASSIGNED: Over the past few decades, there has been growing concern about the concurrent trends of increasing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prevalence and declining sperm quality. These trends represent significant public health challenges that warrant thorough investigation of their underlying causes and implications.
UNASSIGNED: The primary objectives of this study are to analyze trends in ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters from 2000 to 2024, assess the statistical significance and effect size of these trends, explore potential correlations between ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters, and identify significant predictors among sperm quality parameters that influence ASD prevalence.
UNASSIGNED: This study employed a longitudinal approach using multiple regression, time series analysis, ANOVA, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering, logistic regression, and cross-correlation analysis. Data on ASD prevalence were sourced from the CDC Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, while sperm quality data were collected from various published studies.
UNASSIGNED: The findings reveal significant negative associations between ASD prevalence and sperm quality parameters such as sperm concentration and motility, suggesting that better sperm quality is linked to lower ASD rates. Conversely, parameters like sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), volume of ejaculate, pH level, and semen viscosity show positive associations with ASD prevalence, indicating higher values in these parameters correlate with higher ASD rates.
UNASSIGNED: The study highlights the importance of maintaining reproductive health to potentially mitigate ASD risk and calls for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these trends. These findings support the hypothesis that reproductive health factors play a crucial role in ASD etiology and suggest potential biological markers for assessing ASD risk.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2023.1168666.].

Pica is known to the medical community as an eating disorder in which individuals may ingest non-food items due to a nutritional deficiency and cause unintentional physical harm to themselves. This article discusses the cases of children with pica in addition to other comorbidities such as trichotillomania, depression, autism, and anxiety. Both patients were trialed on typical first-line treatments to address pica symptoms, including antidepressants, psychotherapy, and neurology consults, which were ineffective in treating pica symptoms. The introduction of naltrexone resulted in significant improvements, including decreased pica symptoms and improvements in depression, anxiety, and overall behaviors. These effects of naltrexone were further bolstered by the effects that occurred when both patients discontinued naltrexone for some time.

The aim of this study is to identify autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits in adolescents who experience psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), often ignored in clinical practice but widely prevalent in the general population. A total of 57 adolescents and young adults (aged between 16 and 24 years old) were recruited consecutively in the outpatient services. A total of 37 were females (64.9%), 18 were males (31.6%), and two participants (3.5%) were non-binary or gender non-conforming, with a mean age at referral of 18.26 ± 2.06. To investigate these symptoms, three sets of standardized questionnaires were used, as follows: the Autism Spectrum Quotient-short form (AQ-10), the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42), and the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). We found significant associations between the ASRS and AQ-10 total scores and all CAPE scales. The model which explained the highest variance was CAPE Score\'s Total Frequency score (p < 0.001). Our findings underline the importance of investigating the presence of subthreshold ASD and ADHD symptoms in clinical populations, particularly in the period of adolescence and young adulthood, to promptly identify the presence of PLEs and, thus, prevent the onset of a frank psychotic disorder, particularly in the presence of a comorbid psychopathological condition, leading to better diagnosis and treatment for individuals with two or more of these conditions.

It is the current consensus amongst the psychiatric community that children undergoing evaluation for developmental delays and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be offered genetic testing early in the diagnostic process. Identifying genetic abnormalities can provide insight into patient prognosis and may reveal other medical complications that could arise throughout a patient\'s life. Despite these recognized benefits, genetic testing is often delayed or not offered and therefore deprives families of valuable knowledge about their child\'s future health outcomes. We present a case of a six-year-old patient who presented to our child and adolescent psychiatry office for behavioral concerns. She had received an ASD diagnosis years prior to presentation, but for unknown reasons, genetic testing had never been pursued. Genetic testing was obtained in our office, and the results revealed three different mutations that were linked to ASD and various other medical complications including epilepsy. With this knowledge, the patient\'s family gained important insight into their child\'s prognosis. This case highlights the necessity for adopting a point-of-care testing (POCT) model when evaluating children with developmental delays and/or ASD. Through this model, genetic testing would be offered to families during the initial visit for these patients. This would help streamline this process and allow for more widespread detection of genetic disorders linked to ASD and coexisting medical sequelae. Having this knowledge would empower families with a better understanding of their child\'s condition and would allow families to work together with providers to determine the best possible treatment plan.

This study had two aims. First, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of ACB, PCB, and oral habits among a group of Albanian children with ASD compared with a group of children without ASD. Second, we aimed to identify the associations of ASD with ACB, PCB, and oral habits. The sample inlcuded 125 children with ASD (91 males, 34 females) from 2 special schools for children with disabilities and 2 daily residential centers in Tirana. The control group included 125 children without ASD. The relationships between categorical variables were evaluated via the chi-square test. To identify the potential risk factors for ASD, we performed binary logistic regression. No statistically significant differences were found for CB or oral habits between the primary and adolescent dentition stages. A comparison of children with ASD with CB and oral habits revealed a significant difference in the prevalence of PCB. Binary logistic regression revealed that ACB, PCB and oral habits were not associated with ASD. CB was more prevalent among children with ASD in the primary and mixed dentition stages. Oral habits were more prevalent in the mixed and adolescent dentition stages. However, ASD is not a risk factor for CB or other oral habits.

BACKGROUND:  Caring for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a challenging and stressful task, especially in countries with limited resources. Additional research is necessary, considering the increasing prevalence of children with ASD, to gain increased knowledge of the complex difficulties faced by caregivers of ASD children and to offer insights into the coping strategies and support networks that parents utilise.
OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and coping mechanisms of caregivers of children with ASD in Dr Kenneth Kaunda district, North West province, South Africa.
METHODS:  Qualitative explorative, contextual and descriptive design with purposive sampling technique and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analysed following the six steps of reflexive thematic analysis.
RESULTS:  Two themes were identified: Caregivers\' experiences in raising a child with autism, and caregivers\' coping in raising a child with autism.
CONCLUSIONS:  The research established caregivers\' experiences and coping mechanisms in raising a child with ASD and the effects on different aspects of their lives including emotional, social and financial aspects, which contribute negatively to their holistic well-being. These impediments warrant the establishment of emotional support groups, empowerment of caregivers and awareness-raising through campaigns to educate the family and the community on the diverse challenges.Contribution: The findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted challenges faced by caregivers of children with ASD and provide insights into the support systems and coping mechanisms employed by these caregivers within the socio-ecological context.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is primarily characterized by core deficits in social skills, communication, and cognition and by repetitive stereotyped behaviors. These manifestations are variable between individuals, and ASD pathogenesis is complex, with over a thousand implicated genes, many epigenetic factors, and multiple environmental influences. The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) mediated brain reward system is held to play a key role, but the rapidly expanding literature reveals intricate, nuanced signaling involving a wide array of mesolimbic loci, neurotransmitters and receptor subtypes, and neuronal variants. How altered DA signaling may constitute a downstream convergence of the manifold causal origins of ASD is not well understood. A clear working framework of ASD pathogenesis may help delineate common stages and potential diagnostic and interventional opportunities. Hence, we summarize the known natural history of ASD in the context of emerging data and perspectives to update ASD reward signaling. Then, against this backdrop, we proffer a provisional framework that organizes ASD pathogenesis into successive levels, including (1) genetic and epigenetic changes, (2) disrupted mesolimbic reward signaling pathways, (3) dysregulated neurotransmitter/DA signaling, and finally, (4) altered neurocognitive and social behavior and possible antagonist/agonist based ASD interventions. This subdivision of ASD into a logical progression of potentially addressable parts may help facilitate the rational formulation of diagnostics and targeted treatments.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1226580.].