Although children with disabilities have been found to be at an increased risk of bullying, there are limited studies investigating predictors of bullying involvement in children with autism spectrum disorders. The current study presents findings from 1221 parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder who were selected from a…

Research has consistently shown that children and young people with autism spectrum conditions are more likely to be bullied than those with other or no special educational needs. The aim of this study was to examine risk and protective factors that could help to explain variation in exposure to bullying within this group. A sample of 722 teachers…

Although researchers have identified many promising teaching strategies and intervention programs for children with autism spectrum disorder, research on implementation of these interventions in school settings has lagged. Barriers to implementation include incompletely developed interventions, limited evidence of their utility in promoting…

This study evaluated the ability of the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher's Report Form to identify children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), using a sample of children with ASD (n = 458), referred children without ASD (n = 1109) and children from the general population (n = 999). A ten items ASD scale was constructed using half…

The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of autism intervention in China, including history, progress, and current challenges. This qualitative research study included interviews with experienced professionals and observation at autism intervention organizations. Analysis of this empirical data led to three themes regarding…

The current study investigated clinicians' perspectives on the effectiveness of interventions designed to support the development of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). Researchers developed a semi-structured interview which was administered to 11 clinicians involved in the assessment and treatment of ASDs (5 = clinical…

Interventions for autism are increasing being held to standards such as "evidence-based practice" in psychology and "scientifically-based research" in education. When these concepts emerged in the context of adult psychotherapy and regular education, they caused considerable controversy. Application of the concepts to autism treatments and special…

Autism is characterized by an uneven profile of cognitive abilities and population studies show that approximately 10 percent of diagnosed individuals possess a skill that is significantly better than would be predicted by global IQ. Recent evidence suggests that individuals with autism who possess special skills may represent a distinct genetic…

This longitudinal study investigated the developmental trajectory of discourse skills and theory of mind in 57 children with autism. Children were tested at two time points spaced 1 year apart. Each year they provided a natural language sample while interacting with one parent, and were given standardized vocabulary measures and a developmentally…

Parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) are more likely to experience serious psychological distress than parents of children with other developmental disabilities. To examine the impact of a range of factors on psychological wellbeing, interviews were undertaken with 68 mothers of children with ASDs to explore aspects of…

This study analyses the prevalence of ASD, comorbidity, educational provision and ability in autistic children in a single health district, born between 1983 and 1996. The number of recorded diagnoses doubled over a 4 year period. This appeared to be due to greater recognition of ASD in more able children, in children initially presenting with…

A population-based survey was conducted among 152,732 Finnish children and adolescents aged under 16 years and living in northern Finland. Diagnoses and associated medical conditions were derived from the hospital and institutional records of this area. One hundred and eighty-seven children with DSM-IV autistic disorder were identified. Associated…

The aim was to explore the comorbidity between Angelman syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Identification of autism in children with Angelman syndrome presents a diagnostic challenge. In the present study, 16 children with Angelman syndrome, all with a 15q11-13 deletion, were examined for ASDs. Thirteen children with Angelman syndrome…