• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.150-150
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• 2024

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.341-353
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• 2006

Learning disorders are diagnosed when the individual's achievement on standardized tests in reading, mathematics, or written expression is substantially below that expected for age, schooling, and level of intelligence. Subtypes of learning disorders may be classified into two groups, language-based type learning disorders including reading and writing disorder, and nonverbal type learning disorder (NLD) such as those relating to mathematics & visuospatial skills, and those in the autism spectrum. Converging evidence indicates that reading disorder represents a disorder within the language system and more specifically within a particular subcomponent of that system, phonological processing. Recent advances in neuroimaging technology, particularly the development of fMRI, provide evidences of a neurobiological basis for reading disorder, specifically a disruption of two left hemisphere posterior brain systems, one parieto-temporal, the other occipito-temporal. The former is the reading system for beginner reading, the latter for skilled reading. Compensatory engagement of anterior systems around the inferior frontal gyrus(Broca's area) and a posterior(right occipito-temporal) system is noted in persistent poor readers in long-term follow up study. The theoretical model proposed to explain NLD's source is not right hemisphere damage, but rather the white matter model. The working hypothesis of the white matter model is that the underdevelopment of, damage to, or dysfunction of cerebral white matter(long myelinated fibers) is the source of this disorder. The role of an evidence-based effective intervention in the remediation of children with learning disorder is discussed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Neurocognitive Rehabilitation
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.35-44
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• 2018

This study was conducted to explore the effects of semi-structured $DIRFloortime^{(R)}$ treatment on the enhancement of language comprehension and information processing of children with high-performance autistic spectrum disabilities. We measured the general characteristics of the test subjects, which are level of autism, total intelligence, language comprehension and information processing indicators. The intervention method used was a semi-structured $DIRFloortime^{(R)}$ therapy using board game intervention program after revising and supplementing the expert content validity. A pre/post-test for a group was designed as a similar experiment and the pre/post test was initiated with the t certification at .05 of significance level. After initiating the program, the post test has shown that the language comprehension indicators showed statistically significant levels of difference (p<.001) and the information processing indicator also had a statistically significant effect (p<.001). There was a statistically significant difference (p<.001) in the level of verbal comprehension index after the program implementation, and statistically significant differences in the information processing index (p<.001). The semi-structured $DIRFloortime^{(R)}$ treatment using boardgames for enhancing the language comprehension and information processing indicators of children with high performance autistic spectrum disorder had a significant effect.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.80-85
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• 2018

Objectives: We aimed to assess the test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the Korean version of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT). Methods: The Korean version of the Q-CHAT and the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1.5-5 were completed by parents of 24 toddlers and preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 80 unselected toddlers and preschoolers. Parents of the ASD group also completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores were obtained from medical records. Results: The ASD group scored higher on the Q-CHAT than the unselected group. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the Q-CHAT was 0.658, and test-retest reliability was calculated to be 0.836. The estimated area under the curve was 0.793. The total scores of the Q-CHAT in the ASD group demonstrated significant positive correlations with findings regarding pervasive development problems in the CBCL, SCQ, and CARS. A total score of 33.5 may be a useful cutoff point to use when identifying toddlers at risk of ASD. Conclusion: The Korean version of the Q-CHAT has good reliability and validity and can be used as a screening tool in order to identify toddlers and preschool children at risk of ASD.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2006

Social deficits are the most critical and core deficits of the children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder(ASD) and they are qualitatively as well as qualitatively different from typically developing children. It is proposed that the attachment between the mother and the autistic child should be promoted foremost and early as possible, to improve social deficits, just like early social developments in normal children depend largely on interactions between the mother and the child who are attached to each other we have developed an interventional program, 'Attachment Promotion Therapy', largely based on the attachment theory. The Attachment promotion Therapy mandates the participation of both the mother and the autistic child, and consists of mutually enjoying play activities, close physical contacts and parental training on intense mother-child interactions, focusing on improving maternal sensitivity, responsiveness, and nurturing behaviors during their interactions. The program was found to be effective in improving attachment behaviors, attachment security and acquiring joint attention skills. Attachment Promotion Therapy is therefore proposed here as the important earliest intervention method for children with ASD and could become the base for many other educational and therapeutic interventions.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.39-53
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• 2021

Objective : The purpose of this study was to systematically review dysphagia rehabilitation treatment for children with feeding disorders. Methods : The articles evaluated in this study were collected from the PubMed, Medline Complete, and CINAHL databases and subsequently reviewed using the PRISMA flow chart and PICOS approach. A total of 13 papers were analyzed for study quality, disease groups, evaluation tools, interventions, and post-intervention effects. Results : Of the reviewed papers, six (46.15%) related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and seven (53.85%) to cerebral palsy (CP) with age ranges of between 2 and 8 years for the ASD studies and between 12 months and 18 years for CP. In evaluating the types of feeding disorder involved, the ASD group exhibited predominantly behavioral conditions while the CP subjects had a larger number of functional oral and swallowing issues. In terms of interventions, behavior modifications were used most frequently with ASD while oral-sensory motor, texture modifications, and electrical stimulation were applied at the same frequency with children with CP. All interventions were found to be effective. Conclusion : In this study, research into children with feeding disorders was reviewed according to condition, evaluation tool, and method of intervention. It is expected that this review can be used as basic data for developing a protocol that will allow clinicians to efficiently apply condition-specific interventions for eating disorders without resorting to trial and error.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2011

Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the prevalence and characteristics of savant skills and the relationship between the savant skills and autistic symptoms in Korean ASD children. Methods: 141 ASD subjects participated in this study and they were divided in to two groups based on the presence or lack of savant skills. The domain scores and total scores of the K-ADI-R, K-ASDS and SRS were used for evaluating the ASD symptoms between the groups. Results: Memory (N=47) was the most prevalent savant skill in the savant ASD group (N=60). The savant ASD group had a statistically higher mean age and IQ score than did the nonsavant ASD group. Despite their high IQ profile, the savant ASD group showed a higher restricted, repetitive and stereotype behavior score on the K-ADI-R and higher language and cognitive scores on the K-ASDS than did the nonsavant ASD group. Conclusions: These results suggest savant syndrome in ASD might be related to the severity of some subdomain of autistic symptoms even though their IQ scores were higher than nonsavant ASD patients.

• 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 the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2023

Objectives: This study examined the changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms in the parents of Korean adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after participating in the Korean version of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills for Young Adults (PEERS^® -YA-K). Methods: Forty-six parents were enrolled (mean age 54.7 years; 22 fathers and 24 mothers), of whom 27 participated in the PEERS^® - YA-K as social coaches. Participants completed self-report scales, including the Test of Young Adult Social Skills Knowledge (TYASSK), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Symptom Check-List-90-R (SCL-90-R). The scales were administered three times: before and after the 16-week program and 4 months after the program ended. Differences between participant variables at pretreatment, post-treatment, and follow-up were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests. Results: Participants showed a significant improvement in their social skills knowledge (TYASSK) (p<0.01). There was a significant improvement in the BAI and BDI scores of parents with severe depressive and anxiety symptoms at the baseline (p<0.05). Paternal paranoia and maternal hostility results also significantly improved on the SCL-90-R. Conclusion: This study suggests that PEERS^® -YA-K can reduce parental anxiety and depressive symptoms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first to compare the degree of depression and anxiety after PEERS^® -YA-K in parents of adults with ASD.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.123-139
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• 2023

The study examined the mediating effect of internalized shame on the relationship between affiliate stigma and interpersonal anxiety among adolescents with siblings who had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the moderated mediating effect of mother-adolescent communication openness. The participants consisted of 139 adolescents (boys 48.9%, high-school students 79.8%) who had siblings with ASD. Interpersonal anxiety, affiliate stigma, internalized shame, and mother-adolescent communication openness were measured using the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (La Greca & Lopez, 1998), the Affiliate Stigma Scale (Mak & Cheung, 2008), the Internalized Shame Scale (Cook, 1988), and the Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (Barnes & Olson, 1982), respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficients. Process Macro Models 4 and 7 were used to examine the mediating effect and the moderated mediating effect. The results indicated that internalized shame mediated the effect of affiliate stigma on interpersonal anxiety among adolescents who had siblings with ASD. However, there was no significant moderated mediating effect of mother-adolescent communication openness on the relationship between affiliate stigma, internalized shame and interpersonal anxiety. These findings suggest that it is necessary to improve social awareness of individuals with ASD and their family members to prevent adolescents who have siblings with ASD from having affiliate stigma and to help them reduce interpersonal anxiety. The results also highlight the importance of counseling programs for adolescents with siblings with ASD as a way of preventing or alleviating their interpersonal anxiety by reducing internalized shame, even where they experience affiliate stigma.