Skip to content

Search

Do children with autism 'switch off' to speech sounds? An investigation using event-related potentials

Autism is a disorder characterized by a core impairment in social behaviour. A prominent component of this social deficit is poor orienting to speech.

Autism and diagnostic substitution: Evidence from a study of adults with a history of developmental language disorder

Rates of diagnosis of autism have risen since 1980, raising the question of whether some children who previously had other diagnoses are now being diagnosed...

Evidence against poor semantic encoding in individuals with autism

This article tests the hypothesis that individuals with autism poorly encode verbal information to the semantic level of processing, instead paying greater...

Autism likelihood in infants born to mothers with asthma is associated with blood inflammatory gene biomarkers in pregnancy

Mothers with asthma or atopy have a higher likelihood of having autistic children, with maternal immune activation in pregnancy implicated as a mechanism. This study aimed to determine, in a prospective cohort of mothers with asthma and their infants, whether inflammatory gene expression in pregnancy is associated with likelihood of future autism. 

Characterizing predictors of response to behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analytic approach

A comprehensive understanding of specific factors contributing to variability in responsiveness of children with autism to interventions is paramount for making evidence-based clinical and policy decisions. This meta-analysis examined child and family characteristics, as well as intervention design factors, associated with outcomes of behavioral interventions for children with autism. 

Caregiver-Mediated Early Support Program Delivered Online Versus Care-as-Usual for Infants at Elevated Familial Likelihood for Autism

LiL' STEPS (Language development & Intervention Lab's SupporTing Early social-communication and language by Promoting caregiver Sensitive responsiveness) is a novel, manualized, caregiver-mediated early support program developed in India and delivered online for infants at elevated familial likelihood for autism. The program has been found to be feasible and acceptable. The preliminary efficacy of the LiL' STEPS program, which remains to be evaluated, was assessed in this study using a feasibility randomized controlled trial design. 

“The Wrong Supports Are Worse than no Support”: Autistic Perspectives on Early-in-Life Infant Autism Supports

Evidence suggests that the earlier supports are provided to young Autistic children, the better the overall outcomes. Supports have typically only been available after an autism diagnosis but with increased knowledge about early developmental trajectories, clinical supports can now be offered prediagnosis for infants showing early autism features and/or those with a family history of autism. 

The autism phenotype and transdiagnostic dimensional frameworks

A reliable and valid diagnostic classification system is pivotal for guiding clinical decision-making, facilitating rigorous and reproducible research findings, informing population-level health planning and resource allocation, and promoting well-being.

A pilot evaluation of school-based LEGO robotics therapy for autistic students

There is emerging evidence that LEGO® therapy is an effective way of supporting younger autistic children develop their communication and social skills. LEGO® robotics therapy - which uses the principles of LEGO® therapy applied to LEGO® robotics - may be an age-appropriate intervention to reduce anxiety and increase social skills in autistic adolescents.

Which emerging autism features at 12 months of age are associated with later parent-child interaction?

Parent-child interactions (PCI) in infants with an elevated likelihood (EL) of autism start to diverge from other infants toward the end of the first year. This divergence is often attributed to emerging features of autism impacting infant social interactions in ways that become increasingly amplified. The aim was to identify which, if any, 12-month autism features were associated with later PCI qualities.