Young students with ASD have instructional needs in social, communication, and learning skills that should be reflected in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). Research suggests that many of these goal areas present a challenge for special educators because of problems with measurability. The current study utilized an idiographic approach…

The protective effects of social support for caregiver mental health are well documented, however the differential impact of support providers (partner, child, family, siblings, friends, professionals) and types (perceived, received) remain unclear. Observational data from 21 independent studies, involving a pooled sample of 2273 parents,…

Emerging research suggests that adiponectin, a cytokine produced by adipose tissue, may be implicated in ASD. In this prospective birth cohort study (n = 847), we assessed the association between cord, early childhood plasma adiponectin and the risk of developing ASD. ASD was defined based on ICD codes of physician diagnosis. Cord adiponectin…

Using two independent datasets provided by National Institute of Health funded consortia, the Collaborative Programs for Excellence in Autism and Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (n = 641) and the National Institute of Mental Health (n = 167), diagnostic validity and factor structure of the new Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R)…

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 aim of the present study was to examine the association between a variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) functional polymorphism in the promoter region of the MAO-A gene and severity of ADHD and anxiety in boys with ASD. Parents and teachers completed a DSM-IV-referenced rating scale for 5- to 14-year-old boys with ASD (n = 43). Planned…