Autism is a "developmental" disorder defined by "social and communication" impairments. Current theoretical approaches and research studies however conceptualise autism as both static and independent from the social context in which it develops. Two lines of research stand out from this general trend. First, research from the…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more common in males than females. An underrepresentation of females in the ASD literature has led to limited knowledge of differences in social function across the sexes. Investigations of face perception represent a promising target for understanding variability in social functioning between males and females.…

To evaluate evidence for motor impairment specificity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children completed performance-based assessment of motor functioning (Movement Assessment Battery for Children: MABC-2). Logistic regression models were used to predict group membership. In the models…

An independent validation was conducted of the Utah Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network's (UT-ADDM) classification of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). UT-ADDM final case status (n = 90) was compared with final case status as determined by independent external expert reviewers (EERs). Inter-rater reliability…

There are few evaluated economic tools to assess change in autism. This study examined the inter-rater reliability of the Developmental Disabilities Children's Global Assessment Scale (DD-CGAS), and the OSU Autism Clinical Global Impression (OSU Autism CGI) in a European setting. Using these scales, 16 clinicians with multidisciplinary…

The prevalence of sleep disturbance among children with developmental disabilities is known to be considerably higher than the typical population. The current study examined the effectiveness of the "Sleepwise" intervention program (O'Connell and Vannan in "Aust Occup Ther J" 55:212-214, 2008): a parent-assisted…

Although best known for work with children and adults with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, training in speech pathology and a doctorate in clinical psychology and neuropsychology was the foundation for Sara Sparrow's long-term interest in reading disabilities. Her first papers were on dyslexia and laterality, and the…

It was 126 years ago that Down first described savant syndrome as a specific condition and 70 years ago that Kanner first described Early Infantile Autism. While as many as one in ten autistic persons have savant abilities, such special skills occur in other CNS conditions as well such that approximately 50% of cases of savant syndrome have autism…

Although hyperphagia and compulsivity in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) are well described, recreation and adaptive skills are relatively unexplored. Parents of 123 participants with PWS (4--48 years) completed measures of their child's adaptive, recreation, and problem behaviors. Offspring received cognitive testing. Watching TV was the most…

The developmental disorder Williams syndrome (WS) has been associated with an atypical social profile of hyper-sociability and heightened social sensitivity across the developmental spectrum. In addition, previous research suggests that both children and adults with WS have a predisposition towards anxiety. The current research aimed to explore…

Social avoidance and anxiety are prevalent in fragile X syndrome (FXS) and are potentially mediated by the amygdala, a brain region critical for social behavior. Unfortunately, functional brain resonance imaging investigation of the amygdala in FXS is limited by the difficulties experienced by intellectually impaired and anxious participants. We…

Three levels of investigation underlie all biologically based attempts at classification of behaviorally defined developmental and psychiatric disorders: Level A, pseudo-categorical classification of mostly dimensional descriptions of behaviors and their disorders included in the 2013 American Psychiatric Association's Fifth Edition of the…

The longitudinal relationship between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and violent criminality has been extensively documented, while long-term effects of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), tic disorders (TDs), and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) on criminality have been scarcely studied. Using population-based registers of all…

The reported prevalence of autism is going up and up. We propose that some--even much--of the increase in the rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is driven by "Autism Plus". Autism Plus refers to autism with comorbidities (including intellectual developmental disorder, language disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder),…

We describe a survey of children with ASD aged 4-10 years. The main dependent variables were out-of-pocket expenditures for health services and hours of therapy. Multivariable logistic regression models were used in order to find independent predictors for service utilization. Parents of 178 of the children (87%) agreed to participate. The average…