Purpose: The current study addresses a gap in the literature regarding syntactic development of adolescent boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS). Specifically, we ask whether syntactic skills plateau or continue to change during adolescence for these groups and whether the profile of syntactic change differs between boys with…

Approximately 3-4 boys for every girl meet the clinical criteria for autism in studies of community diagnostic patterns and studies of autism using samples of convenience. However, girls with autism have been hypothesized to be underdiagnosed, possibly because they may present with differing symptom profiles as compared to boys. This secondary…

Autistic youth often experience challenges in interactions with neurotypical peers. One factor that may influence successful interactions with peers is interpersonal synchrony, or the degree to which interacting individuals align their behaviors (e.g. facial expressions) over time. Autistic and neurotypical youth were paired together into three…

Motor stereotypies are frequently reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, but determinants of stereotypies remain poorly understood. In this study, a randomized sample of children with diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder was investigated to identify the prevalence and determinants of stereotypies. A total of 134 children who…

Recent research suggests there may be differences in the social presentations of autistic males and females. Camouflaging is believed to account for some of these differences and executive function (EF) may support compensatory social behaviors. As few studies have explored the role of sex and everyday EF when evaluating specific social…

Successful social interactions are assumed to depend on theory of mind--the ability to represent others' mental states--yet most studies of the relation between theory of mind and social-interactive success rely on non-interactive tasks that do not adequately capture the "spontaneous" engagement of theory of mind, a crucial component of…

A recent study suggests that parent report on the Social Symptom and Prosocial scales of the Childhood Joint Attention Rating Scale provides useful information about differences in the social development of school-aged autistic children. The current study provides additional psychometric data on the Childhood Joint Attention Rating Scale regarding…

This prospective study examined the developmental changes over time of adolescents diagnosed in toddlerhood with autism spectrum disorder and searched for child characteristics at toddlerhood that predict outcome at adolescence. The study included 65 participants who were divided into low cognitive (developmental quotient [less than] 85; N = 41)…

Deficient social communication and interaction behaviors are a hallmark feature of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. These social communication and interaction deficits potentially stem from problems with explicit social cognition (i.e. processes that are controlled and largely conscious) as well as with implicit social cognition (i.e.…

The current study examined the role of informal supports in predicting resilience among families of children with autism spectrum disorder. Participants included 153 caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder, who were between the ages of 2 and 18years (M=10.45; SD=4.32). Caregivers completed a measure of satisfaction with informal…

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between sensory hypersensitivity and restricted interests and repetitive behaviours associated with autism spectrum disorder and their typically-developing peers. Furthermore, the aims included the examination of the relationship across sensory modalities and various types of restricted…

Guided by a recent theory that proposes fundamental differences in how autistic individuals deal with uncertainty, we investigated the extent to which the cognitive construct "intolerance of uncertainty" and anxiety were related to parental reports of sensory sensitivities in 64 autistic and 85 typically developing children aged…

Little is known about their stability and the factors that influence their persistence or change over the life-course. To address this, we use data from 158 participants from the Special Needs and Autism Project cohort studied at three time-points from 12 to 23 years. We used latent growth models to study the role of child, family, and contextual…

The reading difficulties of individuals with autism spectrum disorders have been established in the literature, with particular attention drawn toward reading comprehension difficulties. Recent papers have highlighted the heterogeneous nature of reading abilities in this population by utilizing statistical methods that allow for investigations of…

Daily living skills (DLS), such as personal hygiene, meal preparation, and money management, are important to independent living. Research suggests that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder exhibit impairments in daily living skills relative to their cognitive skills. This study examined predictors of daily living skills attainment and…