Search

Brief Report: Burden of Care in Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Intellectual Disability

Mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability have higher rates of treatment episodes for psychiatric disorders

Maternal Psychiatric Disorder and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder or Intellectual Disability in Subsequent Offspring

This study adds to existing evidence that the rate of pre-existing psychiatric disorders in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder is higher than...

Experiences Impacting the Quality of Life of Mothers of Children With Autism and Intellectual Disability

Mothers of autistic children and adults bewtween 11 and 24 years old were interviewed about the impacts and rewards associated with their children's disability.

Parent experiences of their children’s diagnosis with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or both conditions

A comparison of parents’ experiences of getting a diagnosis for their child with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and both diagnoses can inform our understanding of common and unique themes across these neurodevelopmental conditions.

Evaluation of Low-intensity Therapist-Delivered Intervention in Addition to Parent Coaching for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Parents are often expected to be the primary implementers of intervention for their young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The provision of a few hours a week of intervention by a trained therapist, in addition to parent-implemented intervention, could increase child outcomes compared to parent-implemented intervention in isolation.

Commentary: A spectrum for all? A response to Green et al. (2023), neurodiversity, autism and health care

The broadening of the clinical definition of autism over time-the so-called, autism spectrum-has run in parallel with the growth of a neurodiversity movement that has reframed the concept of autism entirely. Without a coherent and evidence-based framework through which both of these advances can be situated, the field is at risk of losing definition altogether.

The Utility of Natural Language Samples for Assessing Communication and Language in Infants Referred with Early Signs of Autism

Natural Language Sampling (NLS) offers clear potential for communication and language assessment, where other data might be difficult to interpret. We leveraged existing primary data for 18-month-olds showing early signs of autism, to examine the reliability and concurrent construct validity of NLS-derived measures coded from video-of child language, parent linguistic input, and dyadic balance of communicative interaction-against standardised assessment scores. Using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software and coding conventions, masked coders achieved good-to-excellent inter-rater agreement across all measures.

A pilot randomised controlled trial of a telehealth-delivered brief ‘Sleeping Sound Autism’ intervention for autistic children

Access to behavioural sleep intervention is beneficial for autistic children, yet many families face barriers to access associated with location and time. Preliminary evidence supports telehealth-delivered sleep intervention. However, no studies have evaluated brief telehealth sleep intervention.

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. 

The valence-specific empathy imbalance hypothesis of autism: The role of autistic traits, alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, and gender differences

Individuals exhibiting pronounced autistic traits (e.g., social differences and specialised interests) may struggle with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to infer others' emotions), although the relationship with affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share others' emotions) is less clear in that higher levels of autistic traits may be linked with increased affective empathy for negative emotions but reduced affective empathy for positive emotions. The current study investigates this empathy profile and whether alexithymia and emotion dysregulation help to explain it.