• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2015

Children with autistic spectrum disorder(ASD) have a strength in visual process and systemizing, and they show interest toward things and machines. Therefore, robots have been suggested as a useful tool for the rehabilitation of the children with ASD. A robot can attract children's interest and attention, and it can provide simplified social stimulus. A robot can be applied repetitively, and programmed for the special needs of an individual child. In this study, we review literature related to the use of robots for the rehabilitation of children with ASD. For this purpose, related literature was searched with the keywords of autism and robot. We selected eleven domestic papers, and analyzed their contents to identify robots, stimulus of robots, experiment process and dependent variables.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.57-66
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• 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of interactive metronome (IM) training on attention among children on the autistic spectrum. Methods: This is a single case study, using ABA design, of one child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who had attentional difficulties. A total of 20 sessions were conducted: 3 baseline sessions (A), 14 intervention sessions (B), and 3 follow-up baseline sessions (A'). During the intervention period (B), IM training was performed. Inattention and attention activities were measured as the dependent variables in all three phases (A, B, and A'). Results: Compared to baseline, the subject's inattention decreased in the IM training mediation period, and the performance of activities requiring attention also improved. The intervention effect was maintained even during the follow-up baseline period. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that IM training positively influences attention among children with ASD with attention deficit symptoms. Further, it provides the clinical basis of IM training as an intervention for children with ASD.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2010

To discover genetic markers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we previously applied genome-wide BAC array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) to 28 autistic patients and 62 normal controls in Korean population, and identified that chromosomal losses on 8p23.1 and on 17p11.2 are significantly associated with autism. In this study, we developed an 8.5K ASD-specific BAC array covering 27 previously reported ASD-associated CNV loci including ours and examined whether the associations would be replicated in 8 ASD patient cell lines of four different ethnic groups and 10 Korean normal controls. As a result, a CNV-loss on 8p23.1 was found to be significantly more frequent in patients regardless of ethnicity (p<0.0001). This CNV region contains two coding genes, DEFA1 and DEFA3, which are members of DEFENSIN gene family. Two other CNVs on 17p11.2 and Xp22.31 were also distributed differently between ASDs and controls, but not significant (p=0.069 and 0.092, respectively). All the other loci did not show significant association. When these evidences are considered, the association between ASD and CNV of DEFENSIN gene seems worthy of further exploration to elucidate the pathogenesis of ASD. Validation studies with a larger sample size will be required to verify its biological implication.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.19-31
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• 2019

Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine differences of psychological symptoms for mothers of infants with autism spectrum disorder(ASD) according to the level of parenting stress. Methods : The subjects were seventy-two mothers of infants with ASD(aged 22 months to 71 months) completed Korean Parenting Stress Index (K-PSI) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI-2). The data was analyzed using SPSS 23.0 program. Results : First, total and parent domain of parenting stress were positively correlated with several clinical scales of MMPI-2. However, there was no significant association between the child domain of parenting stress and clinical scale MMPI-2. Second, as a result of verified the difference of psychological symptoms according to level of total and parent domain of parenting stress, high-risks group was significantly higher scores in several clinical scales of MMPI-2 relative to those in normal range group. However, regarding the association between the child domain of parenting stress and psychological symptoms, there was no significant difference in psychological symptoms between high-risks group and normal range group. Conclusions : The results of this study have implications for verified the difference of psychological symptoms according to level of parenting stress among mothers of infants with ASD.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.84-93
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• 2010

The developmental disorder(intellectual disorder(ID) and autism spectrum disorder(ASD)) can severely impair a patient's ability to communicate and socialize. So they require physical management techniques, pharmacologic agents, and general anesthesia more than the normal at the dental clinic. The behavior therapy is a kind of the psychotherapy and is applied to the patient with behavioral problems. Seoul Dental Hospital for Disabled(SDHD) set up the Dental Behavior Clinic for the patients with developmental disorder and treated 32 patients with ID or ASD, blind. 18 patients were treated according to the ordinary plans, 14 patients stopped the treatment by different reasons. The various results of the treatment were produced by the kind or severity of the diseases, age and cooperation of the patients and the caregivers. Especially, the behavior therapist helped to figure out the characteristics of the patients and to make individualized treatment plans. In the future, it will be necessary to treat more patients and to make the dental behavior therapy objectify. And through the dental behavior therapy, it will be expected that the patients will become more cooperative to the dental clinic and can receive regular check-up peacefully, reducing the frequency of the general anesthesia.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.320-327
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• 2022

Neurodevelopmental disorders are complex conditions that pose difficulty in the modulation of proper motor, sensory and cognitive function due to dysregulated neuronal development. Previous studies have reported that an imbalance in the excitation/inhibition (E/I) in the brain regulated by glutamatergic and/or GABAergic neurotransmission can cause neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric behavioral deficits such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). NMDA acts as an agonist at the NMDA receptor and imitates the action of the glutamate on that receptor. NMDA however, unlike glutamate, only binds to and regulates the NMDA receptor subtypes and not the other glutamate receptors. This study seeks to determine whether NMDA administration in mice i.e., over-activation of the NMDA system would result in long-lasting behavioral deficits in the adolescent mice. Both gender mice were treated with NMDA or saline at early postnatal developmental period with significant synaptogenesis and synaptic maturation. On postnatal day 28, various behavioral experiments were conducted to assess and identify behavioral characteristics. NMDA-treated mice show social deficits, and repetitive behavior in both gender mice at adolescent periods. However, only the male mice but not female mice showed increased locomotor activity. This study implies that neonatal exposure to NMDA may illicit behavioral features similar to ASD. This study also confirms the validity of the E/I imbalance theory of ASD and that NMDA injection can be used as a pharmacologic model for ASD. Future studies may explore the mechanism behind the gender difference in locomotor activity as well as the human relevance and therapeutic significance of the present findings.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.21-37
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• 2014

The significant role of joint attention in the development of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has highlighted the importance of early intervention. With the emphasis on the effective cueing and reinforcer for orienting to social stimuli in improving responding to joint attention (RJA) of children with ASD, the use of musical cue was hypothesized. This study aimed to examine the occurrence of RJA behaviors depending on the attentional cue, which differed in the level of information and type of auditory modality. Nine children with ASD participated in this study. The use of eight different joint attention cues were analyzed in terms of the frequency and accuracy of RJA behaviors elicited. The results of the study showed that RJA behaviors occurred more frequently with musical cues than with verbal cues and the mean accuracy rate of RJA was higher with musical cues (p = .047). Musically delivered eliciting and directing cues accompanied with pointing elicited the highest attentional shift and RJA accuracy. The significant increases in RJA with the use of musical cues indicated that incorporating musical elements into an attentional cue may provide more accurate cue information, enough to improve RJA behaviors of children with autism.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.89-110
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• 2016

This study examined the effect of an interactive instrument playing program on the social interaction of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single subject design with multiple baselines across participants was applied, and three adults with severe ASD in their late 20s living at a group home participated in this study. Participants received a total of 25 group sessions. During the intervention, participants engaged in structured instrument playing in which initiation and response to socially interactive behaviors were musically cued, and target behaviors were reinforced in the musical environment. At pre- and posttest, the frequency of initiation of and responding to social interaction behaviors were recorded and analyzed. The results of this study showed that the frequency of both initiation of, and response to, social interaction increased for all participants during the intervention phase, compared to the baseline phase. This result demonstrates that interactive instrument playing increased social behaviors of adults with ASD. It also shows that musically delivered social information can facilitate adults with ASD understanding the intention of social partners in social contexts and motivate this population to engage in social interaction.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.43-52
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• 2021

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of 63 patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who received Korean medicine treatment. Methods This study identified and retrospectively reviewed the first visit records and clinical characteristics of all of the patients who visited the Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital and Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital at Gangdong in South Korea with ASD as their chief complaints. The herbal medicines that were prescribed according to the patient's symptoms were analyzed by separating them into categories. Results The data of 83 children with ASD were collected. Among them, the primary medical record charts of 63 patients were reviewed. Additional analysis was performed for 56 patients who were treated with herbal medicine. Through a retrospective chart review, the patients' clinical characteristics and the tendency of the prescribed herbal medicine was identified. Conclusions This study was conducted to provide preliminary data that proposes Korean medicine as a new alternative medical treatment. Our study is meaningful as it used the demographic and clinical records of 63 patients with ASD in Korea who visited an Korean medicine hospital in the last 11 years to identify tendencies and analyzed the prescriptions of two or more Korean medicine pediatricians.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 2024

We conducted a comprehensive review of behavioral and educational interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The most prominent type of intervention, Comprehensive Early Intervention, often referred to as Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), has been found to be particularly effective in improving intelligence and adaptive behaviors. The naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention, designed to enhance social and communication abilities, showed effectiveness in improving language, cognitive function, and social initiation. However, more studies are needed to examine its effectiveness. Intensive individualized intervention, which provides a tailored intervention for a specific target behavior, was effective in improving social skills and communication, as well as reducing sleep, eating, and toileting problems. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective method for dealing with emotional difficulties, but it has not been widely used because of the shortage of trained experts. Parent-mediated intervention (PMI) involves parents acquiring knowledge and specific skills to improve their child's functioning or reduce challenging behaviors. Speech and language therapy, sensory integration, Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communications Handicapped Children, developmental approaches, and social stories are frequently used interventions. However, evidence of their effectiveness has yet to be well established. Based on these findings, intervention recommendations for autism include EIBI, Early Start Denver Model, intensive individualized intervention, CBT, and PMI. The choice of intervention should be tailored to the individual's needs and delivered by qualified professionals with expertise in the specific intervention.