In this paper we review the impact of DSM-III and its successors on the field of autism--both in terms of clinical work and research. We summarize the events leading up to the inclusion of autism as a "new" official diagnostic category in DSM-III, the subsequent revisions of the DSM, and the impact of the official recognition of autism…

The Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) are the most widely used instrument in assessing cognitive ability, especially with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous literature on the WISC has demonstrated a divergent pattern of performance on the WISC for children ASD compared to their typically developing peers;…

Previous research has shown that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can categorize visual stimuli without direct training when they can also tact these stimuli using a common name and behave as listeners in relation to this name. However, children usually learn to assign objects specific names prior to learning the category to which they…

Two semi-structured parental interviews are available with algorithms developed to measure DSM-5 criteria of ASD, namely the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview (3di) and the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11). The main aim of this study was to examine the agreement between classification…

To examine reliability and validity of the new Social Motor Function Classification System for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (SMFCS-ASD). The SMFCS-ASD reliability was examined on 25 children (62.4 months SD 7.8) with ASD among six physical therapists. The validity study involved 1001 children (57.0 months, SD 9.9) with ASD using the…

The aim of this study was to examine classification accuracy for the expressive language skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in terms of object play and imitation scores. A total of 61 children with ASD, who were 2.0-5.11 years old, were included in the study. In order to collect data play and imitation assessment tasks which…

Content validity describes the extent to which a measure represents, and is relevant to, the construct it aims to assess. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and derived Core/Code Sets (Sets) for autism, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy and early developmental delay and disability are…

The shape bias, a preference for mapping new word labels onto the shape rather than the color or texture of referents, has been postulated as a word-learning mechanism. Previous research has shown deficits in the shape bias in children with autism even though they acquire sizeable lexicons. While previous explanations have suggested the atypical…

We examined special education classifications among students aged 3-21 in North Carolina public schools, highlighting autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). Results revealed variability by county in ASD and ID prevalence, and in county-level ratios of ID vs. ASD classifications. Sociodemographic characteristics predicted…

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) demonstrate delayed and atypical communication development. These deficits constitute a core criterion for the diagnosis of ASD, though information regarding gestural communication in toddlers with ASD remains limited. The present investigation implemented a robust gesture classification system in order…

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) in the context of DSM-5 in a sample of Chinese children. Using re-mapped ADI-R items and algorithms matched to DSM-5 criteria, and administering to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without intellectual disability,…

Traditional self-injurious behavior (SIB) management can place compliance demands on the caregiver and have low ecological validity and accuracy. To support an SIB monitoring system for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we evaluated machine learning methods for detecting and distinguishing diverse SIB types. SIB episodes were captured with body-worn…

The Autism Dysmorphology Measure is designed for non-expert clinicians. It uses an algorithm to assess 12 body regions and categorizes Autism on the number of dysmorphic regions identified; Essential ([less than or equal to] 3), Equivocal (4-5) or Complex ([greater than or equal to] 6). We evaluated 200 Indian children with Autism (mean age…

Researchers have demonstrated the efficacy of picture prompts on the acquisition of intraverbals (Coon & Miguel in "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis," 45, 657-666, 2012; Goldsmith, LeBlanc, & Sautter in "Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders," 1, 1-13, 2007; Ingvarsson & Hollobaugh in "Journal of Applied…

This article discusses the relationship between the mental intelligence of children with autism and their capability in understanding the complexity of sentence structure represented in utterances performed by their teachers. In addition, this study also explains the complexity of the sentence structure produced by the autistic children in…