The interactions between sleep problems, autism symptoms and emotional and behavioural difficulties were explored using network analysis in 240 autistic children (mean age: 8.8 years, range 5-13 years) with moderate to severe sleep problems. Findings revealed a highly connected and interpretable network, with three separate clusters identified of…

Angelman Syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder most commonly caused by the impaired expression of the maternal "UBE3A" gene on chromosome 15. Though anxiety has been identified as a frequently present characteristic in AS, there are limited studies examining anxiety in this population. Studies of anxiety in other…

Universal autism screening is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics at 18 and 24 months. However, many children are not identified until after the age of 4 years, and some not until adulthood, either due to mild or no indication of symptoms early in development, or to co-occurring conditions which may overshadow autism symptoms. This…

Background: The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) is an established, internationally used questionnaire for assessing behavioural and emotional problems among young people with developmental or intellectual disabilities (ID). The present study aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of its German teacher version (DBC-T). Method: The…

High levels of emotional/behavioural difficulties are frequently reported in children on the autism spectrum. However, given the diversity in profiles, there is a need to explore such behaviours in relation to individual factors. Parents of 130 children aged 4-5 on the autism spectrum completed measures of behaviour and adaptive behaviour.…

Background: Traditional treatment for the behavioural symptoms in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains unsatisfactory. There is an urgent need for new, biologically relevant therapies that target both the core and comorbid symptoms that children may experience. This article builds on research previously published by the authors. Method: We…

Family outcomes of early intervention (EI) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have received limited research attention to date. This study explored potential predictors of family outcomes and EI perceived helpfulness on the Family Outcomes Survey--Revised, utilizing an adapted double ABCX framework. Participants were 97 mothers of children aged 4…

Children with autism spectrum disorders often exhibit comorbid behavioral problems. These problems have an impact on the severity of the core symptoms, the progression of the disorder as well as on the families' quality of life. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Stepping Stones Triple P group parent training program as a supplementary…

The effectiveness of several community-based early intervention programs for young children (2.5-6.5 years old) with autism spectrum disorder in Greece were compared, as they occurred in a community setting over a nine-month period. There were few differences in functioning change between programs, but applied behavior analysis (ABA) was most…

The present study compares the adaptive behavior profile of 18 young children with Williams syndrome (WS) and a developmentally matched group of 19 children with developmental disabilities and examines the relationship between adaptive behavior and problem behaviors in WS. Parents completed the Vineland Adaptive Behavioral Scales--Interview…

Anxiety-related problems are among the most frequently reported mental health difficulties in autism spectrum disorder. As most research has focused on clinical samples or high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder, less is known about the factors associated with anxiety in community samples across the ability range. This…

Background: The Signposts program is an evidence-based intervention system for parents of children with intellectual disability and problem behaviours. This study provided an initial investigation of the outcomes for mothers associated with father participation in Signposts, using data collected from the Signposts Statewide project, conducted in…

The relationship of motor proficiency with emotional/behavioural disturbance, autistic symptoms and communication disturbance was investigated in children diagnosed with autism and Asperger's disorder (AD). The Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used as a measure of motor impairment, and the Developmental Behavioural Checklist was used…

Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high rates of emotional and behavior problems. The Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (NCBRF) is one of the few tools developed to assess these problems in this population. It consists of a 10-item Social Competence section and a 66-item Problem Behavior section. The goal of…

Aim: To determine the effect of parent education on adaptive behaviour, autism symptoms and cognitive/language skills of young children with autistic disorder. Method: A randomised group comparison design involving a parent education and counselling intervention and a parent education and behaviour management intervention to control for parent…