Annotated Bibliography

DeBoth, K. K., & Reynolds, S. (2017). A systematic review of sensory-based autism subtypes.

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 44. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2017.01.005

Current studies provide evidence supporting the existence of specific sensory based
subtypes. This systematic reviewed has several limitations. For example, Out of 361
articles only eight studies were identified as appropriate for this systematic review. This
article offers synthesized information about sensory- based subtypes that have been
reported in the literature for ASD. The review suggests that there are a limited number of
studies that have examined sensory-based subtypes systems within the pediatric ASD
population. Subtyping systems found in the articles that were reviewed focused on the
degree and type of responsivity without differentiating based on sensory systems. This
article is a significant piece of work that will be useful to anyone who is interested in
researching factors that influence sensory subtyping in ASD. Furthermore, the elements
of sensory processing mentioned in this review would also assist anyone who is
interested in understanding the complete clinical picture of sensory subtypes in the ASD
population

Duerden, E. G., Taylor, M. J., Lee, M., McGrath, P. A., Davis, K. D., & Roberts, S. W. (2015).
Decreased sensitivity to thermal stimuli in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder:
Relation to symptomatology and cognitive ability. Journal of Pain, (5), 463.
doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2015.02.001

Pain hyporeactivity and hypersensitivity is an establish characteristic of ASD. In this

study, the authors believe that there is a need to understand pain processing in children
and adolescents with ASD. They also believe that caregivers and clinicians should
consider cognitive ability when assessing and managing pain in adolescents with ASD.
The study explored thermal detection and pain threshold levels. The results of this study
indicated that thermal perception thresholds and pain behaviors are related to thickness in
the brain regions that process sensory discriminative aspects of thermal perception.
Although their findings coincide with previous research studies, the authors found that
further brain-imaging research is needed to better characterize the physiological
alterations in temperature processing in adolescents with ASD. This article highlights the
 importance of having research that explores pain sensitivity during early development in
ASD.

Hall, L., & Kelley, E. (n.d). The contribution of epigenetics to understanding genetic factors in

autism. Autism, 18(8), 872-881.

This article is an excellent resource for anyone who does not have a strong background in
genetics and how epigenetic mechanisms relate to the development of autism. The
article discusses the difficulties encountered by researchers trying to find a single gene
responsible for autism. The article offers a review of current literature regarding
epigenetics as it contributes to autism. This article presents information on
environmental factors that have been suggested to play a role in autism. This article also
aims to provide information to better understand the etiology of ASD.

Leonard, H., Dixon, G., Whitehouse, A. J., Bourke, J., Aiberti, K., Nassar, N., & ... Glasson, E. J.

(2010). Unpacking the complex nature of the autism epidemic. Research in Autism

Spectrum Disorders, 4548-554. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.01.003

The authors of this article present the changes in diagnostic criteria and age at diagnosis
of the last few decades. In the article the authors stress the importance of being consistent
when using definitions. The authors believe that there is a need to account for different
terminology, criteria, and use of autism categories when collecting data and making
comparisons across populations. The article provides an insight into the different points
of contentions when evaluating ASD prevalence. The research acknowledges that there
has been an increase in the diagnosis of ASD. However, they attribute the increased of
the diagnosis of ASD to the ever changing diagnostic practices and criteria. The authors
indicate that global and local issues have a quantitatively impact on the prevalence of
ASDs.

Pugliese, C. E., Fritz, M. S., & White, S. W. (2015). The role of anger rumination and autism

spectrum disorderlinked perseveration in the experience of aggression in the general

population. Autism, 19(6), 704-712. doi:10.1177/1362361314548731

This study, the authors used scales and questionnaires to test their hypothesis that overall
ASD characteristics would augment the influence of social anxiety through moderation of
the mediated pathway. A statistical analysis was also conducted to examine how specific
 characteristic associated with ASD moderate the hypothesized mediating influence of
anger rumination on the relation between social anxiety and verbal and physical
aggression. The findings seemed inconclusive; however, the authors found it plausible
that cognitive perseveration associated with characteristics of ASD may confer a greater
indirect effect on aggression and hostility for those with more characteristics of ASD. In
this study one can observe that cognitive styles commonly seen in ASD may exacerbate
the influence of social anxiety on problems with hostility and aggression.

Robinson, S., Howlin, P., & Russell, A. (2017). Personality traits, autobiographical memory and

knowledge of self and others: A comparative study in young people with autism

spectrum disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 21(3),

357-367.

According to the authors of this study no studies have been conducted to gain
investigative knowledge of personality-based facts for children with ASD or the
relationship between this form of semantic trait knowledge and the retrieval of episodic
examples upon which it is built. The data collected from the different tasks/test was used
to compare autobiographical memory and knowledge of self. According to the authors
the findings of this study were considered unexpected. It was noted that young people
with ASD perceived someone close to them as knowing more about their own behaviors
than themselves. The findings also support the notion that different aspects of
autobiographical memory and the self may dissociate during development. This study is
considered preliminary and seeks to inform discussions and future research on self-
concept by exploring the cognitive constructs of autobiographical memory introspection
abilities in children with ASD.

Maria Rivera Horn