Prosody or "melody in speech" in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often perceived as atypical. This study examined perception and production of statements and questions in 84 children, adolescents and adults with and without ASD, as well as participants' pitch direction discrimination thresholds. The results suggested that the abilities…

Depression is a common comorbidity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little is known about risk factors for depression and depressive symptoms in this population. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has been used in the typically developing population to identify risk factors for depression, but has been rarely applied in ASD populations. In…

This exploratory study aimed to explore the association between depression and self-harming behaviour in adolescence and the timing of diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder. We analysed data on 11,320 14 year olds, including 396 children with autism spectrum disorder, from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Exposures were the timing of diagnosis for…

Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are at an increased risk for developing obesity when compared to their typically developing peers. Given higher prevalence of obesity in youth with ASD, understanding factors relating to success in obesity treatment provides insight into implementing efficacious treatments for youth. The current study…

Research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have higher rates of health problems throughout childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and that this may result in elevated risk of early mortality. This study reported the rate, timing, and causes of death in a large community-based cohort of adolescents and adults with autism…

Self-report measures offer a unique source of information in the assessment and intervention of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. However, it is not known if children with autism spectrum disorder can answer self-report questionnaires accurately and consistently. As a step to address this issue, we examined validity indexes of the…

By adulthood, most males with fragile X syndrome (FXS) require support to navigate day-to-day settings. The present study cross-sectionally: (1) characterized the profile of daily living skills in males with FXS and (2) examined associated participant characteristics (i.e., fragile X mental retardation protein [FMRP] expression, nonverbal…

In this study, we examined trajectories of specific domains of behavior problems (i.e., attention problems, depression/anxiety, and aggressive behavior) from age 6 to 18 in a sample of 55 children with fragile X syndrome. We also examined autism status and early parenting as predictors of subsequent behavioral trajectories. We found that attention…

Autism spectrum disorders are associated with a substantial economic burden; although little is known about the relationship between state and family out-of-pocket expenditure. The objective of this study is to estimate the societal cost of childhood autism spectrum disorders and explain the variation in costs between state and family…

Numerous studies have investigated the predictors of language in pre-verbal toddlers and verbally fluent children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study investigated the concurrent relations among expressive language and a set of empirically-selected social communication variables--joint attention, imitation, and play--in a unique…

Deficient social communication and interaction behaviors are a hallmark feature of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. These social communication and interaction deficits potentially stem from problems with explicit social cognition (i.e. processes that are controlled and largely conscious) as well as with implicit social cognition (i.e.…

People with autism spectrum disorder are less physically active than are their peers. Nurses can play a key role in helping to promote such behaviors, but they do so sparingly. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the degree to which nurses recommend physical activity to patients with autism spectrum disorder, and to identify…

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with sensory processing alterations, such as sensory hyper- and hypo-responsiveness. Twin studies are scarce in this field, but they are necessary in order to disentangle the genetic and environmental contributions to this association. Furthermore, it is unclear how different neurodevelopmental/psychiatric…

Autistic individuals experience higher rates of psychiatric comorbidities than their peers. Camouflaging, the process through which individuals hide autistic traits, can be detrimental to mental health. This may be particularly true for autistic females, although research on sex differences in the relationship between camouflaging and mental…

To evaluate an eye tracking task as a predictor and outcome measure of treatment response for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) social skills interventions, adolescents and young adults with ASD completed the eye tracking task before, immediately after, and two months after completing Social Cognition and Interaction Training for Autism (SCIT-A). The…