NEW RESEARCH POSTERS
1.23 – 1.25
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that paternal smoking during pregnancy
has significant association of increasing the risk of ASD. Further study is
warranted in a representative sample group of a clinically confirmed di-
agnoses of ASD.
ASD EPI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.09.023
1.23 THE UTILITY OF OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF
SOCIAL COMMUNICATION DEFICITS IN YOUNG
CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Maura Sabatos-DeVito, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
Duke University, 2424 Erwin Road, Suite 501, Durham, NC
27705; Benjamin P. Rardin, BS; Elizabeth Paisley, MSW;
Samantha T. Major, BS; Charlotte Stoute, BA;
Michael Murias, PhD; Scott N. Compton, PhD; Katherine
S. Davlantis, PhD; Geraldine Dawson, PhD
Objectives: Social communication deficits are central to DSM-5 criteria for
ASD. Few objective, quantitative, and computerized methods exist for
measuring these symptoms. We examined the use of eye gaze tracking (EGT)
and an automated measure of language at home in preschoolers with ASD by
assessing correlations among these measures, parent reports, and direct
measures of social communication.
Methods: Subjects (N ¼ 25; mean age ¼ 4.47 years; nonverbal IQ ¼ 64.3 
24.6) were diagnosed with ASD [Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule,
Second Edition (ADOS-2); Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R)].
Measures included EGT during a video of dyadic bids with Tobii TX300; the
Language Environmental Analysis (LENA) system, which computes adult/child
vocalizations and conversational turns; child engagement states during
parent-child play; parent reports of social communication [Vineland Adaptive
Behaviors Scales (VABS); PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI)]; and cognitive
assessments [Expressive One Word (EOW) Vocabulary; Stanford Binet/Mullen
Scales of Early Learning].
Results: EGT outcomes were correlated significantly, positively with PDDBI
Expressive and Expressive/Receptive Social Communication Composites
(r ¼ 0.66–0.71, P  0.001–0.0001), VABS Expressive Communication Composite
(r ¼ 0.69, P < 0.001; r ¼ 0.76, P < 0.0001), communication (r ¼ 0.63, P < 0.01;
r ¼ 0.65, P < 0.001), and socialization (r ¼ 0.64, P ¼ 0.001; r ¼ 0.67, P < 0.001)
standard scores but were not correlated with autism severity (PDDBI Autism
Composite, ADOS-2 Comparison score; r ¼ 0.09 to 0.28, P ¼ 0.19–0.67).
LENA outcomes (e.g., conversational turns) were correlated positively, signifi-
cantly with VABS communication (r ¼ 0.416–0.691, P  0.05–0.0001) and so-
cialization (r ¼ 0.55–0.682, P  ¼ 0.01–0.0001) standard scores, nonverbal IQ,
and EOW scores, but not ADOS-2 severity. For EGT, more time attending was
associated with better LENA outcomes (r ¼ 0.45–0.58, P  0.01–0.03) and co-
ordinated engagement with parents (r ¼ 0.53, P < 0.01; r ¼ 0.39, P ¼ 0.07),
whereas less time attending was related to unengaged and lower-level
engagement with parents (r ¼ 0.71 to –0.42, P  0.01–0.05).
Conclusions: EGT and LENA were strongly correlated with each other and
with parent-reported and observed social communication skills. Both were
relatively low burden on staff time and well tolerated by children and may
have utility as objective measures of a core aspect of ASD in clinical trials.
ASD PSC RI
Supported by the Marcus Foundation
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.09.024
1.24 THE TTT® (TACKLING TEENAGE TRAINING),
SPANISH VERSION: A PILOT STUDY
IN ADOLESCENTS WITH AUTISM
SPECTRUM DISORDER
Rosa Calvo Escalona, MD, Child and Adolescent Psychology and
Psychiatry Department, Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic
of Barcelona and Centro de Investigacio n en Red de Salud
Mental, Villarroel, 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain; Olga Puig, PhD;
Roser Balcells, BS; Kirsten Visser, BS; Carol Amat; Laia Peran;
Esther van der Vegt, PhD
J OURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT P SYCHIATRY
VOLUME 55 NUMBER 10S OCTOBER 2016
Objectives: The main aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and
treatment efficacy of a Spanish version of the tackling teenage training (TTT)
for enhancing psychosexual abilities through a pilot study. The original Dutch
version was translated into Spanish and reviewed by child and adolescent
mental health professionals with expertise in ASD.
Methods: Participants were 22 adolescents between ages 12 and 18 years
(mean age: 15.05 years (SD ¼ 1.73), a diagnosis of ASD and a verbal intelli-
gence quotient (VIQ) over 80. Primary outcome measures included ques-
tionnaires (parents and adolescents) quantifying social ability and problems
directly related to ASD (Social Responsiveness Scale, SRS) and knowledge on
sexuality (Knowledge Test, KT). Secondary outcome measures were scales for
behavioral problems and internalizing problems (CBCL).
Results: Treatment outcome suggest that the group showed significant
improvement in autistic social impairment measured with the SRS (t ¼ 2.38,
P ¼ 0.27), increased sexual knowledge on the KT (t ¼ 6.26, P ¼ 0.0001), and
decreased aggressive behavior on the CBCL (t ¼ 2.03, P ¼ 0.05). A negative
significant correlation was found between increased knowledge after inter-
vention and age (r ¼ 0.50, P ¼ 0.02) and verbal IQ (r ¼ 0.51, P ¼ 0.016).
Improvement on SRS scores was correlated with severity on stereotyped
behaviors and restricted interests [domain C on Autism Diagnostic Interview,
Revised (ADI-R)] (r ¼ 0.51, P ¼ 0.017). A trend to positive correlation was
found with severity of symptoms on social interaction subdomain (A) on ADI-
R (r ¼ 0.38, P ¼ 0.08).
Conclusions: The TTT psychosexual intervention appears to be efficacious
for Spanish teenagers with ASD. Participants receiving the TTT treatment
showed significant improvement in sexual knowledge and social impairment
and less aggressive behavior after the treatment. Pretreatment lower age
and lower VIQ along with greater severity on stereotyped behaviors and
restricted interests were associated positively with stronger improvement in
KT and SRS.
ADOL ASD SEX
Supported by Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria (FIS) Spanish Ministry of
Economy and Competence (PI12/00762), European Union, European
Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Government of Catalonia,
Secretaria d’Universitats I Recerca del Departament d’Economia i
Coneixement (2009SGR1119, 2009SGR1295)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.09.025
1.25 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENT AND
CHILD CHARACTERISTICS AMONG FAMILIES
RECEIVING A CAREGIVER-MEDIATED SOCIAL
SKILLS INTERVENTION FOR AUTISM
Rebecca A. Shalev, PhD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New
York University Langone Medical Center, 1 Park Avenue, 7th
Floor, New York, NY 10016; Monica Gordillo, BA;
Katherine Sullivan, PhD; Bosi Chen, BA; Rebecca Doggett, PhD;
Elizabeth Laugeson, PsyD; Sarah Kuriakose, PhD;
Adriana DiMartino, MD
Objectives: A growing literature indicates that caregiver-mediated social
skills interventions increase social competence among children with autism;
however, very little is known about the role of parent characteristics in
treatment success. As an initial step toward closing this gap, we examined the
following: 1) the feasibility of collecting measures of caregivers and children
enrolled in these interventions in a clinic setting; and 2) the relationships
between baseline measures of caregivers and their children.
Methods: We enrolled 19 children with autism (15 males; mean age ¼ 11  3
years) and 19 caregivers (one per child; 15 females; mean age ¼ 48  8 years)
in either the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skillsâ
(PEERSâ) or the Children’s Friendship Training. The Social Responsiveness
Scale, 2nd Edition parent report (SRS-2-P) and the Child Behavior Checklist
(CBCL) parent report were used to index children’s autism severity and their
internalizing and externalizing symptoms of psychopathology. Parent autistic
traits were assessed using the SRS-2 adult form (SRS-2-A), which were
completed by their spouses. Parent-rated Positive Affect Index (PAI) assessed
the quality of the parent-child relationship. We measured the relationship
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