Unstructured mother-toddler interactions were examined in 18-month-old high- and low-risk children subsequently diagnosed (n = 12) or not diagnosed (n = 21) with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at 36 months. Differences in maternal sensitivity were not found as a function of emergent ASD status. A differential-susceptibility moderation model of…

Eyeblink and postauricular reflexes to standardized affective images were examined in individuals without (n = 37) and with (n = 20) autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Affective reflex modulation in control participants replicated previous findings. The ASD group, however, showed anomalous reflex modulation patterns, despite similar self-report…

We compared symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in 5 groups of boys with neurobehavioral syndromes: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) plus autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD plus chronic multiple tic disorder (CMTD), ASD only, ADHD only, and community Controls. Anxiety symptoms were…

Crespi and Badcock (2008) proposed that autism and psychosis represent two extremes on a cognitive spectrum with normality at its center. Their specific claim that autistic and positive schizophrenia traits contrastingly affect preference for local versus global processing was investigated by examining Embedded Figures Test performance in two…

We hypothesise that of the two processes underlying declarative memory, recollection is impaired in high-functioning autism (HFA) whereas recollection and familiarity are impaired in low-functioning autism (LFA). Testing these hypotheses necessitates assessing recollection and familiarity separately. However, this is difficult, because both…

Studies of inner speech use in ASD have produced conflicting results. Lidstone et al., J "Autism Dev Disord" (2009) hypothesised that Cognitive Profile (i.e., "discrepancy" between non-verbal and verbal abilities) is a predictor of inner speech use amongst children with ASD. They suggested other, contradictory results might be explained in terms…

Only case reports have described the co-occurrence of gender identity disorder (GID) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study examined this co-occurrence using a systematic approach. Children and adolescents (115 boys and 89 girls, mean age 10.8, SD = 3.58) referred to a gender identity clinic received a standardized assessment during which…

The main objective of this study was to examine the factor structure of restricted repetitive behaviours (RRBs) in a sample of 205 Greek individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), using the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R). Results show that the structure of RRBs in this Greek sample can be described using a 2-factor solution. The…

There is an ongoing debate whether a differentiation of autistic subtypes, especially between Asperger Syndrome (AS) and high-functioning-autism (HFA) is possible and if so, whether it is a categorical or dimensional one. The aim of this study was to examine the possible clustering of responses in different symptom domains without making any…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate neuropsychological and behavioral rating measures of executive functions (EF) in children with two subtypes of ADHD, Asperger syndrome (AS), and controls. Relative to the control group, the clinical groups experienced more difficulty in EF. The AS group showed the most difficulty in emotional control,…

The Prudhoe Cognitive Function Test (PCFT) directly measures the cognitive abilities of people with intellectual impairment. This study examined the relationship between this instrument and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) and two shorter versions of the same scale. High correlations between the verbal and performance sections of the…

We observed infant siblings of children with autism later diagnosed with ASD (ASD siblings; n = 17), infant siblings of children with autism with and without other delays (Other Delays and No Delays siblings; n = 12 and n = 19, respectively) and typically developing controls (TD controls; n = 19) during a free-play task at 18 months of age.…

Parent, teacher, and self-perceptions of 54 high ability students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were assessed through administration of the Behavioral Assessment Scales for Children, Second Edition. Parent reports resulted in clinically elevated scores on the Atypicality, Attention Problems, Depression, Hyperactivity, Withdrawal, Activities…

This study examined whether the known difficulties in metaphor comprehension exhibited by persons with Asperger syndrome (AS) can be explained by a dysfunctional right hemisphere (RH). Using the divided visual field paradigm, 27 AS participants and 36 matched controls were presented with word pairs of four types (literal, conventional metaphors,…

This study examines the relationship between sensory responsiveness and social severity in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD; N = 36) and age-matched controls (N = 26) between 6 and 10 years old. Significant relationships were found between social responsiveness scale scores and each of the six sensory profile sensory…