Background: The efficacy of three dietary treatments for ADHD has been repeatedly tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). These interventions are restricted elimination diets (RED), artificial food colour elimination (AFCE) and supplementation with free fatty acids (SFFA). There have been three systematic reviews and associated…

Background: Psychiatric problems are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but the reasons are poorly understood. We use a longitudinal population-representative cohort to examine for the first time the persistence of psychiatric problems and to identify risk factors for their occurrence and stability. Methods: Eighty-one 16-year olds (75…

The commentary by Arnold (2013) raises a number of interesting issues and speculations about the action of methylphenidate in children with intellectual disability (ID) and associated neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders. In our article (Simonoff et al., 2013), we were careful to stick closely to the statistical analysis…

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is increased in children with intellectual disability. Previous research has suggested stimulants are less effective than in typically developing children but no studies have titrated medication for individual optimal dosing or tested the effects for longer than 4 weeks. Method: One hundred and…

Introduction: Severe mood dysregulation and problems (SMP) in otherwise typically developing youth are recognized as an important mental health problem with a distinct set of clinical features, family history and neurocognitive characteristics. SMP in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have not previously been explored. Method: We…

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by social and communication difficulties in day-to-day life, including problems in recognising emotions. However, experimental investigations of emotion recognition ability in ASD have been equivocal, hampered by small sample sizes, narrow IQ range and over-focus on the visual modality.…

Background: Maternal eating disorders (ED) have been shown to increase the risk of feeding difficulties in the offspring. Very few studies, however, have investigated whether the effect of a maternal ED on childhood feeding is a direct effect or whether it can be ascribed to other child or maternal factors. We aimed to determine the role of…

Background: Several authors have highlighted areas of overlap in symptoms and impairment among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with specific language impairment (SLI). By contrast, loss of language and broadly defined regression have been reported as relatively specific to autism. We compare the incidence of language loss…

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are common developmental disorders characterised by deficits in language and communication. The nature of the relationship between them continues to be a matter of debate. This study investigates whether the co-occurrence of ASD and language impairment is associated…

Background: High levels of clinical comorbidity have been reported between autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study takes an individual differences approach to determine the degree of phenotypic and aetiological overlap between autistic traits and ADHD behaviours in the general population.…

Background: Growing evidence indicates a link between unintentional injury and both disruptive and emotional psychopathology. We present further evidence of these associations and address the underlying mechanisms. We also examine the genetic contribution to unintentional injury. Methods: The Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral…

Background: Mild mental retardation is an enduring and impairing condition. Its prevalence has varied widely across different studies from 0.5 to over 8%, with higher rates in completely ascertained samples. The current study estimates the prevalence of low IQ in the mental retardation range (intellectual disability) in a population sample and…