Infants show shifting patterns of visual engagement to faces over the first years of life. To explore the adaptive implications of this engagement, we collected eye-tracking measures on cross-sectional samples of 10-25-month-old typically developing toddlers (TD;N = 28) and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD;N = 54). Concurrent language…

Opioid use during pregnancy is associated with suboptimal pregnancy outcomes. Little is known about child neurodevelopmental outcomes. We examined associations between maternal opioid prescriptions preconception to delivery (peri-pregnancy) and child's risk of ASD, developmental delay/disorder (DD) with no ASD features, or ASD/DD with autism…

The purpose of this project was to understand the hopes of parents with children with ASD. Particularly understudied are the hopes parents have for long-term outcomes for their child. A cross-sectional focus group design was used and six focus groups were completed. These groups included parents of (1) preschool aged children who were recently…

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…

No studies to date have prospectively examined early autism spectrum disorder (ASD) markers in infants with fragile X syndrome (FXS), who are at elevated risk for ASD. This paper describes the developmental profiles of eight infants with FXS from 9 to 24 months of age. Four meet diagnostic criteria for ASD at 24 months of age, and four do not.…

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, compared to social and communicative impairments, less is known about their development, trajectory and etiology. This study explored RRBs in young children with ASD matched to typically developing (TD) children on non-verbal development.…

Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) is a rare condition characterized by distinct regression of developmental and behavioral functioning following a period of apparently normal development for at least 2 years. The purpose of this article is to present the developmental, behavioral, psychosocial, and medical histories of eight children who…

This meta-analysis used hierarchical linear modeling to examine 115 single-case studies with 343 participants that examined the effectiveness of social skills interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The average effect size of the included studies was 1.40 (SD = 0.43, 95% CL = 1.32-1.48, N = 115). In the further, several…

Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD) is a rare pervasive developmental disorder that involves regression after a period of at least 2 years of typical development. This case study presents data from family home movies, coded by reliable raters using an objective coding system, to examine the trajectory of development in one child with a…

The study examined cognitive and emotional aspects of development in four infants treated from 10 to 52 months in a reverse isolation environment because of congenital severe combined immunodeficiency disease. Case material is discussed with reference to severe disruption of oral feeding experience, quality of parental involvement, and sensory…

This case study describes a 13-year-old female with autism, mutism, hyperlexia, and spelling ability. Analysis indicated her reading and spelling abilities were dominated by visual rather than phonological processes. Most striking was an apparent social awakening during the 3.5 month period of the study, possibly related to the onset of puberty.…

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.…

Most autism has a genetic cause although post-encephalitis cases are reported. In a case-series (N = 20) from Tanzania, 14 met research criteria for autism. Three (M:F = 1:2) had normal development to age 22, 35, and 42 months, with onset of autism upon recovery from severe malaria, attended by prolonged high fever, convulsions, and in one case…

In a Swedish sample of five autistic children (12 to 18 years old), deterioration or severe symptom aggravation at the onset of puberty that followed earlier improvement is described. It is suggested that autistic children with pubertal deterioration may constitute a meaningful subgroup of the syndrome. (Author/SB)

The developmental history of a 14-year-old male with Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXXXY) is described. The boy's physical development was consistent with many patterns described in the XXXXY literature, although his retardation was not as severe as expected from the literature. (Author/DB)