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Continuity of temperament subgroup classifications from infancy to toddlerhood in the context of early autism traitsOur previous cross-sectional investigation (Chetcuti et al., 2020) showed that infants with autism traits could be divided into distinct subgroups based on temperament. This longitudinal study builds on this existing work by exploring the continuity of temperament subgroup classifications and their associations with behavioral/clinical phenotypic features from infancy to toddlerhood.
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Perceived Support Needs of School-Aged Young People on the Autism Spectrum and Their CaregiversWith increasing demands for health, disability and education services, innovative approaches can help distribute limited resources according to need. Despite an increased focus on support needs within the clinical pathway and policy landscape, the body of research knowledge on this topic is at a relatively early stage. However, there appears to be a sense of unmet support needs and dissatisfaction with the provision of required support following an autism diagnosis amongst caregivers of young people on the spectrum.
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Temperament in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic reviewThe study of temperament in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has the potential to provide insight regarding variability in the onset, nature, and course of both core and co-morbid symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to integrate existing findings concerning temperament in the context of ASD. Searches of Medline, PsychInfo and Scopus databases identified 64 relevant studies. As a group, children and adolescents with ASD appear to be temperamentally different from both typically developing and other clinical non-ASD groups, characterized by higher negative affectivity, lower surgency, and lower effortful control at a higher-order level.
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Experiences of Parents of Specialist Peer Mentored Autistic University StudentsParents continue to support to autistic university students, and consequently, experience considerable stress. The aim was to explore the experiences of parents of specialist peer mentored university students and to examine these using the ICF as a theoretical framework.
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Developmental vitamin D deficiency increases foetal exposure to testosteroneAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which are more common in males. The 'prenatal sex steroid' hypothesis links excessive sex-steroid exposure during foetal life with the behavioural differences observed in ASD. However, the reason why sex steroid exposure may be excessive remains unclear. Epidemiological studies have identified several environmental risk factors associated with ASD, including developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency.
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Parental perspectives of the everyday experiences of uncertainty among young children on the autism spectrumAnxiety commonly co-occurs in autism. Exploring and understanding potential underpinning mechanisms contributing to and maintaining anxiety in the early years is important in managing anxiety. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a tendency to find uncertainty difficult, is a transdiagnostic mechanism contributing to anxiety, but little is known about how IU may be experienced in young children on the autism spectrum. This study investigated parental perspectives of children's experiences of uncertainty.
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Sertraline for anxiety in adults with a diagnosis of autism (STRATA): study protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trialSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed to manage anxiety in adults with an autism diagnosis. However, their effectiveness and adverse effect profile in the autistic population are not well known. This trial aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SSRI sertraline in reducing symptoms of anxiety and improving quality of life in adults with a diagnosis of autism compared with placebo and to quantify any adverse effects.
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Psychosocial and neurocognitive correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviours amongst siblings of persons with and without neurodevelopmental conditionsSiblings of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) have greater incidence of neuropsychiatric diagnoses and neurocognitive difficulties compared to siblings of persons without NDCs. Despite suicidality being labelled a global health crisis (WHO, 2014) and NDC siblings experiencing risk factors implicated in suicidality, no previous studies examined suicidality amongst adolescent and young adult siblings of persons with NDCs. Our study aimed to bridge this gap.
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Prevalence of Motor Difficulties in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Analysis of a Population-Based CohortIn this population-based cohort that included 2,084 children with autism aged ≤6 years, over one-third met the criteria for motor difficulties
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Sleep problems and anxiety from 2 to 8 years and the influence of autistic traits: a longitudinal studyAnxiety and sleep problems may be an early indicator of autism in young children and early autistic traits may also contribute to anxiety problems later in childhood