The physiological functions of micronutrients in neurodevelopment are well documented, but their protective effects on neurodevelopmental disorders remain controversial. We assessed the associations between micronutrients and three main neurodevelopmental disorders, that is, autism spectrum disorder (18,381 cases), attention-deficit/hyperactivity…

Executive functions are related to key outcomes. Studies of autistic youth self-report of other nonsocial traits indicate that their insights into their own functioning and internal experiences provide important information that is not captured by their parents' report, but youth self-report of executive function has not been researched in autism.…

This study followed a pre-registered analysis plan with the aim to investigate whether autistic traits and self-compassion are correlated in autistic adults, and to test an indirect effect of autistic traits on anxiety/depression via self-compassion. We present the findings of an online survey of 456 participants (n = 228 autistic adults, n = 228…

Rumination, a form of passive, repetitive negative thinking, predicts the development of depressive disorders in non-autistic individuals, and recent work suggests higher levels of rumination may contribute to elevated rates of depression in the autistic population. Using psychological network analysis, this study sought to investigate the…

Working memory is an important component of executive functioning, an area of difficulty for many autistic children. However, executive functioning and working memory are highly malleable throughout childhood, and various student-level and environmental factors play important roles in their development. This study used the Early Childhood…

The mediators of real-world executive functions in autism during the transition into adulthood are mainly unknown. This study aimed to identify the mediators for the behavioral and cognitive domains of real-world executive functions in late adolescent and young adult autistic populations. We followed up 289 autistic children (aged 11.6 ± 3.8, male…

Adults with autism spectrum disorder often experience co-occurring mental health problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder, as well as impairments in executive function. Sluggish cognitive tempo, a cluster of behaviors including slow processing, daydreaming, and mental fogginess, has been shown to be associated with…

Earlier research showed that divided attention, an aspect of executive function, is limited in both children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The current study explored divided attention capacity in adults with ASD and without intellectual disability (n = 36). Divided attention was tested using a computerized variant of a…

Psychotropic medication use and its relationship to autism spectrum core features were examined in a well-characterized but nonstratified North American sample (N = 1605) of children/adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders utilizing the "Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule" and the "Autism Diagnostic…

Demographic and clinical factors may influence assessment of autism symptoms. This study evaluated these correlates and also examined whether social communication and interaction and restricted/repetitive behavior provided unique prediction of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. We analyzed data from 7352 siblings included in the Interactive…

Data on psychiatric problems in adults with autism are inconsistent, with estimated rates ranging from around 25% to over 75%. We assessed difficulties related to mental health in 58 adults with autism (10 females, 48 males; mean age 44?years) whom we have followed over four decades. All were of average non-verbal intelligence quotient when…

This study investigated differences in co-occurring diagnoses made in females compared to males with autism spectrum disorders in 913 children (746 males and 167 females) living in the United States with a current autism spectrum disorder diagnosis identified via caregiver-reported data from the National Survey of Children's Health 2007. The…

Autistic features such as deficits in social interactions and communication have been associated with a low 2D:4D ratio in normal children.This study assessed this association in a large sample of children with a variety of psychiatric disorders (n = 35 girls and n = 147 boys). Autistic features were assessed with a highly valid and reliable…