Feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness data of a virtual adaptation of the WHO Caregiver Skills Training (CST; n = 25) were compared with those of a pilot RCT of CST delivered in person (n = 43) against treatment as usual (TAU; n = 43). Virtual CST was delivered with high levels of integrity, but received lower ratings in some caregiver- and…

The symptoms of autism spectrum disorder are conceptualized to alter the quality of parent--children interactions, exposure to social learning exchanges, and ultimately the course of child development. There is evidence that modifying the procedures of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) to explicitly target social motivation enhances child…

We examined the feasibility and acceptability of using an immersive virtual reality environment (VRE) alongside cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for young people with autism experiencing specific phobia. Thirty-two participants were randomised to treatment or control. Treatment involved one session introducing CBT techniques and four VRE…

This article presents a review of the research on the use of mobile touch-screen devices such as PDAs, iPod Touches, iPads and smart phones by people with developmental disabilities. Most of the research has been on very basic use of the devices as speech generating devices, as a means of providing video, pictorial and/or audio self-prompting and…

There exists now a body of research that describes case studies of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have engaged, or are alleged to have engaged, in a range of illegal behaviours, and that attempts to estimate the prevalence of ASD at different stages of the criminal justice process. Taken together, this research does suggest…

Childhood disintegrative disorder is a rare disorder, characterized by regression of acquired skills after a period of normal development. The case of childhood disintegrative disorder presented here was found to have vitamin B12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia on extensive evaluation to find a probable cause for regression. This case…

This review examines ethnicity reporting in three autism-related journals ("Autism," "Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities," and "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders") over a 6-year period. A comprehensive multistep search of articles is used to identify ethnicity as a demographic variable in…

The disorder of autism is widely recognised throughout the world. However, the diagnostic criteria and theories of autism are based on research predominantly conducted in Western cultures. Here we compare the expression of autistic traits in a sample of neurotypical individuals from one Western culture (UK) and two Eastern cultures (India and…

The increase in the number of higher-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is likely to lead to an increased interest in postsecondary opportunities including degree-granting college and university programs. To provide an understanding of the current evidence-base for supporting individuals with ASD in higher education, this…

Boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The extreme male brain (EMB) theory of ASD suggests that fetal testosterone (FT) exposure may underlie sex differences in autistic traits. A link between the organizational effects of FT on the brain and ASD is often drawn based on research using digit ratio…

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is a widely used but poorly understood statistical procedure. This paper described EFA and its methodological variations. Then, key methodological variations were used to evaluate EFA usage over a 10-year period in five leading developmental disabilities journals. Sixty-six studies were located and evaluated on…

Key theories of autism implicate orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) compromise, while olfactory identification (OI) deficits are associated with OFC dysfunction. This study aimed to complete a 5-year follow-up of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) who previously lacked the normal age-OI association; and compare unirhinal-OI in children with HFA,…

Investigating social participation of young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important given the increasing number of youth aging into young adulthood. Social participation is an indicator of life quality and overall functioning. Using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2, we examined rates of participation in…

The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and utility of a group-based cognitive behavioral intervention to improve social-cognitive functioning in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA). We modified the treatment manual of a previously validated intervention, Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT), for optimal use with…

This longitudinal study assessed multidisciplinary data on 219 children with autistic spectrum disorders from the median age of 5 (Time 1) to 8 years old (Time 2). The evolution of psychological and adaptive data was subjected to cluster analysis. Four clinically meaningful clusters emerged. The first group (21%) demonstrated the most important…