Our goal was to systematically identify, appraise and synthesise the qualitative research on parents' experiences of the autism assessment process. The empirical studies were quality appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. We synthesised the data using a meta-synthesis approach. Parents' experiences were categorised into four…

The process of getting an autism diagnosis can be a stressful and uncertain time for families. While the experiences of parents seeking an autism diagnosis for their child have been explored in previous research, the experiences of families with a daughter have been underrepresented. It is likely that their experience is markedly different given…

Background: Extensive variation in the terminology used for paediatric diagnoses across the speech and language therapy research literature is an internationally recognized problem. Little is known, however, about how and how often diagnoses are given in a clinical context. In the UK, speech and language therapists (SLTs) identify and support…

Background: Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are the most common form of communication disorders in children. SSD have an impact on children's abilities to make themselves understood to their listeners and can influence a child's social and emotional well-being as well as their academic achievements. Therefore, it is important to identify children…

Clinical observations suggest that girls suspected to have ASD manage to perform better in social and emotional tasks than boys, leading to a camouflage effect which results in the under-diagnosis of girls with ASD. We used the Social Attribution Task (SAT) in order to assess the performance of 12 girls who were previously diagnosed with ASD, and…

Background: Previous research indicated a high prevalence of disordered sleep among adults with learning disabilities, however issues with design impacted findings. The current systematic review aims to: (1) present how disordered sleep and sleep disorders amongst adults with learning disabilities are described in the literature, and (2) report on…

Intervention is considered the ultimate goal of the diagnostic process. However, when diagnostic assessment is largely focused on student (mal)adjustment and when the role and perspective of the teacher is not systematically evaluated, the assessment may fail to generate useful recommendations for intervention or teacher consultation. Based on a…

Background: In clinical settings, there is significant need for brief, easily-administered assessment tools for adolescent depression that can be used by mental health clinicians from a variety of training backgrounds. Existing depression screening tools do not assess for duration and consistency of symptoms, two key indicators of pathological…

Knowledge of autistic individuals' experiences of self-compassion is very limited. This study investigated autistic women's experiences of self-compassion after receiving their diagnosis in adulthood. Eleven autistic women completed semi-structured interviews analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Three super-ordinate themes were…

To assess the role of clinical features in diagnosing seizures in children with autism spectrum disorder who present with staring spells. A 10-year retrospective chart analysis of autism spectrum disorder patients aged 3-14 years was performed at a tertiary care children's hospital. Patient demographics, clinical presentation, and epileptic…

As rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increase, there is an increasing need for clinicians who offer accurate ASD assessments. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) is a standardized assessment tool that is commonly recommended for use in comprehensive ASD evaluations. However, practitioners do not always follow…

Individuals living with intellectual disability can have multiple co-occurring medical conditions including associated genetic diagnoses. The number of genetic etiologies associated with ID is growing, with some quite new and rare, and others more common and associated with what is often considered a syndrome. In the context of genetic etiologies…

Temporomandibular Disorders are a prevalent group of disorders affecting the temporomandibular joints and surrounding structures, including the masticatory muscles, ligaments, and tissues. Voice pedagogy literature and social media suggest an incomplete understanding of TMDs among voice teachers, with no repository containing a synthesis of…

Diagnostic errors are a major, largely preventable, patient safety concern. Error interventions cannot feasibly be implemented for every patient that is seen. To identify cases at high risk of error, clinicians should have a good calibration between their perceived and actual accuracy. This experiment studied the impact of feedback on medical…

Post-diagnostic support for autistic adults in the United Kingdom is geographically inequitable and, in general, considered inadequate. This results in autistic adults facing unnecessary challenges and wide-ranging poor outcomes. A modified Delphi study sought to establish autistic adults' priorities for optimal provision of post-diagnostic…