"Psychoeducational Assessment of Preschool Children," Fifth Edition, provides academics and school-based practitioners such as psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and social workers with an up-to-date guide to the assessment of young children. Long recognized as the standard text and reference in its field, this comprehensive,…

Educators today are challenged with the task of designing curricula and standards for students of varying abilities. While technology and innovation steadily improve classroom learning, teachers and administrators continue to struggle in developing the best methodologies and practices for students with disabilities. "Models for Effective…

Through contributions from top leaders in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), "Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder" examines the ASD research literature, discusses procedural implications, and makes recommendations for future practice and inquiry. It combines the most recent developments in established practices with newer and…

The purpose of this article is to critically review the literature on parent-implemented interventions aimed at promoting and enhancing the social and communicative behavior of young children with autism spectrum disorders. Twelve parent-implemented intervention studies that were conducted, at least in part, in home environments and were published…

Eight low-functioning and non-verbal children with autism were presented with a modified version of the "still face" paradigm in an investigation of their expectancies concerning human social behavior. Results indicated the children were unable to form a generalized expectancy for social contingency in human beings with whom they have not yet had…

Twenty children with autism received either an imitative or contingently responsive interaction with an adult. The contingency condition appeared to be the more effective way to facilitate a distal social behavior (attention), whereas the imitative condition was a more effective way to facilitate a proximal social behavior (touching). (Contains…

Twelve children with autism, 12 with Down's syndrome, and 12 typically developing children, matched on gender and verbal mental age, were given a series of forced choices to examine characteristics of autism concerning preferences for relatedness, animate or inanimate objects, and interpersonal relationships. Performances of the groups differed on…

Comparison of 15 high functioning children (ages 8-12) with autism and two control groups (specific language disabled or normally developing) on measures of anxiety and social worries found children with autism were most anxious on both measures used. High anxiety subscale scores for the autism group were on separation anxiety and…

Discusses whether the cognitive development of developmentally delayed autistic children is the same as that of younger, normal children or whether it differs in significant ways that have implications for clinical assessment and treatment. (PCB)

Research on humans and monkeys is reviewed that supports the view that the medial temporal lobe, and, perhaps more specifically the amygdala, is the neural substrate underlying social deficits in autism. The relationship of early medial temporal lobe lesions to memory and socioemotional behavior is reviewed, as are the roles of the amygdala and…

Evaluation of social-cognitive skills in 23 young children with autism or other developmental delays found tests involving others' attention were more difficult for children with autism than tests involving others' behavior. However, the typical developmental pattern of first sharing, then following, and then directing attention or behavior was…

This case study of two young males (ages 3 and 5) with autism who have preoccupations with feminine activities and objects addresses the establishment of gender identity in children with autism and the need for further study of the complex interplay of environmental and neurobiologic factors affecting gender identity and preoccupations in autism.…

Work with a mute, autistic, severely handicapped girl over five years (ages 7-11) is analyzed using developmental pragmatics. While she often used interactive acts leading to environmental consequences, she was almost never observed using any that led to a social consequence. She learned to point and gesture but not voluntarily. (Author/VW)

This paper explores the neural systems underlying social behaviors as they pertain to autism. It discusses major channels for transmission of social-emotional information, neural pathways subserving social behaviors, and social cognition in autism. A hypothesis of autism based on deviant development of the widely distributed neural system…

Examination of 53 children with autism supported the validity of the subtypes "aloof" and "active-but-odd" as predictors of behavior across language/communication, reciprocal social interaction, and stereotyped behavior/restricted interest domains. Partial support for an intermediate, "passive" subtype was garnered. (Author/JDD)