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…

Purpose: The study objective was to determine if the validated Behavioral Inflexibility Scale (BIS) is sensitive to the detection of developmental changes in inflexibility in a sample of autistic children. Methods: Parents of autistic children (n = 146, 3-17 years) completed the BIS at two time points, one year apart, to examine change. Results:…

Growing evidence suggests that autistic females are more likely to be diagnostically overlooked than males, perhaps due to differences in ASD presentations (van Wijngaarden-Cremers in JAMA 44:627-635, 2014). To investigate specific behaviours in which differences lie, we analysed profiles of 777 children using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale…

There is limited research regarding the Gilliam Autism Rating Scales-3rd Edition (GARS-3) despite its extensive use. A comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule--2nd Edition (ADOS-2) was provided to 186 clinically referred children suspected of autism ([x-bar] age = 8.98; Autism [AUT] n = 87; Not…

To evaluate the relationship between the severity of autism, severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and serum zonulin levels as a marker of increased intestinal permeability in children. Serum zonulin levels were determined in 56 children with ASDs and 55 healthy children. The severity of gastrointestinal symptoms and ASD symptoms was assessed with…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham ADHD Rating Scale (SNAP-IV) in a sample of South African children with neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 201), primarily Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to inspect the two-factor structure of the…

Aquatic therapy improves motor skills of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but its usefulness for treating functional difficulties needs to be verified yet. We tested effectiveness of a multisystem aquatic therapy on behavioural, emotional, social and swimming skills of children with ASD. Multisystem aquatic therapy was divided in…

The early recognition of ASD in adults is challenging, in particular due to the lack of appropriate and robust diagnostic tools. We performed a psychometric validation and diagnostic accuracy study of the French version of the RAADS-R on a sample of 305 adults: 105 with ASD without ID, 99 with psychiatric disorders, and 103 non-psychiatric control…

Accurate representation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in fragile X syndrome (FXS) is necessary for the field. We examined classifications of ASD using three approaches--Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2; Lord et al. 2012), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS2-ST; Schopler et al. 2010), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE) in a Brazilian sample of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A sample of 260 children and adolescents, comprising 56 (21.5%) females and 204 (78.5%) males, was assessed. The participants were submitted to both the childhood…

There is evidence that autistic children may have reduced executive function skills, contributing to day-to-day difficulties, but much remains unknown regarding the influence of bilingualism. We investigated its influence on sustained attention, interference control, flexible switching and working memory, in Arabic-English autistic (n = 27)…

This study aimed to compare symptoms of autism spectrum disorder using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS™-2) and to investigate their influencing factors. The diagnostic agreement was 92.7%, but with a fair Kappa value (0.247). Children's verbal comprehension was related to the CARS scores, and no…

Relationships between sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and age and IQ were investigated in children with autism and/or ADHD covering broader age and IQ ranges than in previous studies. Mothers rated 1436 children with autism and 1,056 with ADHD (2-17 years, IQs 9-149) on Pediatric Behavior Scale SCT items. Increasing age correlated with SCT in the…

The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a child affects family processes, increases parenting stress and marital conflicts, and may lead to parental psychopathology. It may also affect the prognosis for their children. The aim of this study is to determine depression and burnout levels as well as their predictors among parents of…

The smallest subset of items from the 30-item Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) that differentiated 607 referred children (3-17 years) with and without autism with 100% accuracy was identified. This 6-item subset (CASD-Short Form) was cross-validated on an independent sample of 397 referred children (1-18 years) with and without autism…