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Lecciso F, Martis C, Levante A. The Use of Griffiths III in the Appraisal of the Developmental Profile in Autism: A Systematic Search and Review. Brain Sci 2025; 15:506. [PMID: 40426677 PMCID: PMC12110223 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci15050506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2025] [Revised: 05/08/2025] [Accepted: 05/14/2025] [Indexed: 05/29/2025] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Griffiths III is a child-friendly and play-oriented direct gold-standard measure of a 0-6-year-old child's developmental profile. It is a measure that helps practitioners in detecting the weaknesses in children who have an increased likelihood or a diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders, e.g., autism. OBJECTIVES Following the PICO protocol, two research questions addressed the current systematic search and review (Prospero registration: CRD42024554286): What is(are) the main developmental domain(s) evaluated by Griffiths III impaired in autism? (RQ1); Using Griffiths III, what is(are) the main developmental domain(s) improved after an autism-specific early intervention? (RQ2). METHODS Six studies have been reviewed: three case-control studies, a case report study, and two studies examining the effectiveness of early autism-specific interventions. According to the study design, the methodological quality was evaluated using three standardised protocols: STROBE; JBI; CEC. RESULTS The results highlighted that the Language and Communication and Personal-Social-Emotional domains are the most impaired in autistic children and in those with an increased likelihood (RQ1). The results outlined that early target intervention enhanced the same domains (RQ2). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the findings highlight the importance of screening not only for autism traits but also for impairments in language, communication, and socio-emotional skills. The future direction of the results is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavia Lecciso
- Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (F.L.); (C.M.)
- Lab of Applied Psychology, Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Chiara Martis
- Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (F.L.); (C.M.)
- Lab of Applied Psychology, Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Annalisa Levante
- Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy; (F.L.); (C.M.)
- Lab of Applied Psychology, Department in Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
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Paolizzi E, Perzolli S, Bentenuto A, Bertamini G, Venuti P. Characterization of dyadic interaction features between fathers and mothers playing with their autistic children. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2024; 248:104411. [PMID: 39032270 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Socio-communicative difficulties are a core symptom of autism that deeply impact interaction with others. Despite that, research on bidirectional caregiver-child interaction variables has been notably scant and predominantly focused on autistic children's interactive differences and the consequences on parenting behaviors. AIM The study aimed to assess parent-child interaction in the context of autism through observational validated instruments that consider qualitative and structural features in a complementary way to obtain a comprehensive characterization of the exchange within the dyad. METHODS AND PROCEDURES This study involved 56 paired parent-child dyads of 28 autistic children (mean age = 38.60 months, sd = 9.50) playing with their mothers and their fathers for 10 min. The video-recorded sessions were coded through the Emotional Availability Scales (EAS) and the Interpersonal Synchrony (IS) coding system. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Fathers and mothers do not show significant differences in ISexcept for mother widenings, which are more frequent and successful, and in Emotional Availability. Further, dyads present moderate levels of Emotional Availability, indicating that parents may struggle with structuring, sensitivity, and interactive abilities with their autistic children, which in turn present low levels of responsiveness and involvement. Further, we explored an association between IS and EA characteristics. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS This study suggests the need for interventions to target interaction considering both caregivers, ultimately targeting both interaction structure and affect features. Research that includes fathers fosters strategies for individualization and treatment optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Paolizzi
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Silvia Perzolli
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Arianna Bentenuto
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Giulio Bertamini
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitie-Salpetriere University Hospital, Sorbonne University, 75013 Paris, France.
| | - Paola Venuti
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
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Bertamini G, Perzolli S, Bentenuto A, Paolizzi E, Furlanello C, Venuti P. Child-therapist interaction features impact Autism treatment response trajectories. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2023; 135:104452. [PMID: 36796270 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2023.104452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identifying mechanisms of change in Autism treatment may help explain response variability and maximize efficacy. For this, the child-therapist interaction could have a key role as stressed by developmental models of intervention, but still remains under-investigated. AIMS The longitudinal study of treatment response trajectories considering both baseline and child-therapist interaction features by means of predictive modeling. METHODS AND PROCEDURES N = 25 preschool children were monitored for one year during Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention. N = 100 video-recorded sessions were annotated with an observational coding system at four time points, to extract quantitative interaction features. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS Baseline and interaction variables were combined to predict response trajectories at one year, and achieved the best predictive performance. The baseline developmental gap, therapist's efficacy in child engagement, respecting children's timing after fast behavioral synchronization, and modulating the interplay to prevent child withdrawal emerged as key factors. Further, changes in interaction patterns in the early phase of the intervention were predictive of the overall response to treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Clinical implications are discussed, stressing the importance of promoting emotional self-regulation during intervention and the possible relevance of the first period of intervention for later response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulio Bertamini
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitie-Salpetriere University Hospital, Sorbonne University, 75013 Paris, France; Data Science for Health (DSH), Bruno Kessler Foundation, 38123 Trento, Italy; Institute for Ingelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR), Sorbonne University, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Silvia Perzolli
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Arianna Bentenuto
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Eleonora Paolizzi
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Cesare Furlanello
- Orobix Life Sciences, 24121 Bergamo, Italy; HK3Lab, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis, and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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Paolizzi E, Bertamini G, Bentenuto A, Venuti P. Interpersonal synchrony: Interaction variables and gender differences in preschoolers with ASD. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:1009935. [PMID: 36186865 PMCID: PMC9515646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1009935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Females with ASD tend to be under-recognized as they might present a different symptom manifestation, better social abilities, and masking behaviors. Since the main limitation of current literature on gender differences is represented by focusing on broad constructs, research needs to prioritize narrower constructs related to the subdomains of social abilities. Hence, the aim of this work was to explore gender differences in Interpersonal Synchrony of children with ASD. METHOD N = 51 psychologist-child dyads, 25 females and 26 males participated in the study. An Observational Coding Scheme to study interaction features was applied to video-recorded sessions of the ADOS-2 administration. RESULTS Females presented more synchronous behaviors with shorter latencies. Their interplays were longer, more complex, more engaging and most frequently adequately concluded with respect to males. The complexity of interchanges, their total duration and the proportion of exchanges adequately terminated correlated with the Social Affect score, Personal-Social, and Language Quotients in females, but not in males. The success rate of psychologist proposals correlated with Language Quotient in both males and females. The number of exchanges positively correlated with the Performance Quotient in males. Despite females being significantly older than males, age-related differences did not emerge. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest the importance of studying gender differences with respect to interaction variables. Females may present better IS abilities which, in turn, may promote social and language development. Further, our results suggested that successful interactions seem to rely more on social abilities in females, while males appeared to rely more on performance skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Paolizzi
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Giulio Bertamini
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.,Data Science for Health (DSH), Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK), Povo, Italy
| | - Arianna Bentenuto
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Paola Venuti
- Laboratory of Observation, Diagnosis and Education (ODFLab), Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy
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Aguglia E, Fusar-Poli L. Still a Long Way to Go. Editorial for the Special Issue "Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder". Brain Sci 2021; 11:1062. [PMID: 34439681 PMCID: PMC8392122 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many years have passed since the first descriptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) [...].
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Fusar-Poli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy;
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Carollo A, Lim M, Aryadoust V, Esposito G. Interpersonal Synchrony in the Context of Caregiver-Child Interactions: A Document Co-citation Analysis. Front Psychol 2021; 12:701824. [PMID: 34393940 PMCID: PMC8355520 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions accompany individuals throughout their whole lives. When examining the underlying mechanisms of social processes, dynamics of synchrony, coordination or attunement emerge between individuals at multiple levels. To identify the impactful publications that studied such mechanisms and establishing the trends that dynamically originated the available literature, the current study adopted a scientometric approach. A sample of 543 documents dated from 1971 to 2021 was derived from Scopus. Subsequently, a document co-citation analysis was conducted on 29,183 cited references to examine the patterns of co-citation among the documents. The resulting network consisted of 1,759 documents connected to each other by 5,011 links. Within the network, five major clusters were identified. The analysis of the content of the three major clusters-namely, "Behavioral synchrony," "Towards bio-behavioral synchrony," and "Neural attunement"-suggests an interest in studying attunement in social interactions at multiple levels of analysis, from behavioral to neural, by passing through the level of physiological coordination. Furthermore, although initial studies on synchrony focused mostly on parent-child interactions, new hyperscanning paradigms are allowing researchers to explore the role of biobehavioral synchrony in all social processes in a real-time and ecological fashion. Future potential pathways of research were also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Carollo
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Mengyu Lim
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vahid Aryadoust
- National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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