The self-presentational behaviour of 43 6- to 12-year-old children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) and normal intelligence and 43 matched comparisons was investigated. Children were prompted to describe themselves twice, first in a baseline condition and then in a condition where they were asked to convince others to select…

Evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit associated psychiatric symptoms, particularly related to depression. The current study investigated whether individual characteristics, specifically, severity of ASD symptoms, level of cognitive ability, and/or presence of other psychiatric disorders, are…

This study examined the stability of scores on the ADI-R from pre-school to elementary school age in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants were 35 children who, at T1, all had a clinical diagnosis of ASD. On initial assessment (mean age 3.5 years; SD 0.6 years), all met ADI-R algorithm criteria for autism. ADI-R assessments…

Students with autism have difficulty initiating social interactions and may exhibit repetitive motor behavior (e.g., body rocking, hand flapping). Increasing social interaction by teaching new skills may lead to reductions in problem behavior, such as motor stereotypies. Additionally, self-monitoring strategies can increase the maintenance of…

There has been little evidence to support the hypothesis that diagnostic substitution may contribute to increases in the administrative prevalence of autism. We examined trends in assignment of special education codes to British Columbia (BC) school children who had an autism code in at least 1 year between 1996 and 2004, inclusive. The proportion…

Eye direction detection has been claimed to be intact in autism, but the development of this skill has not been investigated. Eleven children with autism and 11 typically developing children performed a demanding face-to-face eye direction detection task. Younger children with autism demonstrated a deficit in this skill, relative to younger…

Although a number of advanced theory of mind tasks have been developed, there is a dearth of information on whether performances on different tasks are associated. The present study examined the performance of 21 children and adolescents with diagnoses of Asperger syndrome (AS) and 20 typically developing controls on three advanced theory of mind…

The aim of the present study was to assess mental flexibility and set maintenance of a group of individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA) (N = 13; mean age 16,4), as compared with a matched group of typically developing children and adolescents (N = 13; mean age 15,6) on the computerized version of the Wisconsin Card…

Past research has shown that children with autism and their families have compromised quality of life (QOL) in several domains. This study examined QOL and parental concerns in children with autism during early childhood, childhood, and adolescence compared to children with Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder…

Using an attentional blink paradigm, we show that the typical enhancement of perception for emotionally arousing events is significantly reduced in Asperger's syndrome (AS) at short inter-target intervals. Control experiments demonstrate that this finding cannot be attributed to differences in the perceived arousal of the stimuli, or to a global…

Siblings of children with autism have an increased risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). As children with autism often exhibit an atypical trajectory of head circumference (HC) growth, HC may be an indicator of vulnerability to autism. This study investigated whether infant siblings of children with ASD (n = 77) with an atypical trajectory of…

We measured small intestinal permeability using a lactulose:mannitol sugar permeability test in a group of children with autism, with current or previous gastrointestinal complaints. Secondly, we examined whether children with autism had an abnormal glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) response to feeding. Results were compared with sibling controls…

Little evidence supports that siblings with autism exhibit the same behaviors; however, some findings suggest that level of functioning shows familial aggregation. We tested this notion among multiplex families participating with the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE) Consortium, using scores on the "Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third…

This study examined predictors of psychiatric hospitalization among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Data were collected from 760 caregivers of children with ASD. Cox regression was used to determine factors associated with hospitalization. Almost 11% were hospitalized. Youth in single parent homes were more likely to be hospitalized…

The ability to identify children who require specialist assessment for the possibility of autism at as early an age as possible has become a growing area of research. A number of measures have been developed as potential screening tools for autism. The reliability and validity of one of these measures for screening for autism in young children…