Many of the nearly six million autistic adolescents and adults in the United States require support to navigate daily life. Family members often provide the first line of support for autistic youth by providing care and coordinating services. Although considerable research has examined the perspectives of family members caring for young autistic…

This study explored the experiences of professionals and parents from the United Kingdom and China of autism-relevant policies, school involvement, and applied behavior analysis-based interventions. Semistructured interviews involving 36 parents and professionals and direct behavioral observations were carried out of five parents and three…

Research within the autism spectrum disorder field has emphasized the role of socioeconomic status in shaping parents' ability to access services for their child with autism spectrum disorder. However, research has yet to explore the possible mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study sought to address this research gap by examining the…

Self-report measures are widely used for research and clinical assessment of adults with autism spectrum disorder. However, there has been little research examining the convergence of self- and informant-report in this population. This study examined agreement between 40 pairs of adults with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers on…

Engagement with stakeholders is an essential part of the research process. This is particularly the case for early autism research with infant cohorts and their families, where a range of ethical issues are pertinent. Here, we report on a large survey of parents who have a child on the autism spectrum (n = 1040) which specifically probed attitudes…

In 2010, the Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation launched a 3-year national training and development programme to develop and deliver a model of diagnostic and therapeutic services aimed at promoting social inclusion for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders. The project adopted a number of strategies aimed at developing knowledge…

This cross-sectional study examined perceived access to services, quality of care, and family impact reported by caregivers of children aged 3-17 years with autism spectrum disorders, as compared to caregivers of children with other developmental disabilities and other mental health conditions. The 2009-2010 National Survey of Children with…

Previous studies have reported reduced quality of life in autism. Improving quality of life for autistic people is, therefore, a key priority for clinical research and practice. However, the relative impact of core autism traits (e.g. social-communication difficulties), as compared to associated mental health symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression) on…

Autism spectrum disorder-specific knowledge deficits contribute to current disparities in the timing and quality of autism spectrum disorder services throughout the United States and globally. This study conducted a systematic review of Western and International literature to examine measures used to assess autism spectrum disorder knowledge. This…

Previous studies have demonstrated that being exposed to challenging behaviour in services of care can have a negative impact on staff. Recently, challenging behaviour has been linked to people with autism spectrum disorders; however, little research has been aimed at exploring staff's experiences of facing such behaviour in services for autism…

Despite long wait times, public paediatric developmental assessment services remain crucial for the assessment of vulnerable children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Assessment represents a critical opportunity to guide the placement of supports to improve functioning and developmental trajectories. There is, however, a lack of…

Background: Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is of crucial importance, but lengthy delays are common. We examined whether this issue could be reliably addressed by local teams trained by a specialist ASD assessment team. Method: Four local teams were trained in diagnostic assessment. Their assessments of 38 children and young…

Psychiatric conditions are common in autism; however, a multitude of barriers exist in accessing community-based mental health care for autistic youth. Perhaps the first and most formidable barrier is identifying a provider that offers mental health treatment to autistic youth within the many service systems involved in supporting the autism…

Autistic adults often experience barriers to healthcare that can cause their healthcare service use to be unique from other populations. We conducted a systematic review to gather the most recent evidence about how often autistic adults use five important healthcare services (the emergency department, hospitalization, outpatient mental health,…

Autistic adults experience a higher rate of physical and mental health conditions and lower rates of employment and post-secondary education participation than their non-autistic counterparts, which may affect negatively quality of life. Limited information exists on predictors of quality of life for autistic individuals, or how quality of life…