Training the Motor Aspects of Pre-driving Skills of Young Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of using a driving simulator to address the motor aspects of pre-driving skills with young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A group of neurotypical control participants and ten participants with ASD completed 18 interactive steering and pedal exercises with the goal to achieve error-free performance. Most participants were able to achieve this goal within five trials for all exercises except for the two most difficult ones. Minimal performance differences were observed between the two groups. Participants with ASD needed more time to complete the tasks. Overall, the interactive exercises and the process used worked well to address motor related aspects of pre-driving skills in young adults with ASD.

Cognitive functioning in children with sickle cell disease: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish whether sickle cell disease (SCD) affects cognitive functioning in children with no evidence of cerebral infarction. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis of studies of cognition in SCD to determine the size of any statistical difference between children with SCD and controls. Methodological factors were evaluated according to the size and frequency of group differences. RESULTS: There were small but reliable decrements in cognitive functioning on IQ measures (4.3-point difference overall). The most methodologically rigorous studies showed a highly similar pattern. Sampling issues associated with the effect size for IQ were identified. Measures of specific abilities appear more sensitive than IQ scores to cognitive decrements in SCD. CONCLUSIONS: SCD is associated with cognitive effects even in the absence of cerebral infarction. The causes of this cognitive decrement may include direct effects of SCD on brain function or indirect effects of chronic illness.