For individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), behavioral inflexibility can affect multiple domains of functioning and family life. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a clinical interview version of the Behavioral Inflexibility Scale. Trained interviewers conducted interviews with parents of 144 children with ASD and 70…

When individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities exhibit severe problem behavior, assessment and treatment are often warranted. Parents of such individuals are at high risk for developing parenting stress. In this study, 194 parents completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form at their child's time of admission to…

Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report higher levels of stress than parents of typically developing children. Few studies have examined factors associated with parental stress in early childhood. Even fewer have investigated the simultaneous influence of sociodemographic, clinical, and developmental variables on…

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face higher levels of caregiver strain compared to parents of children with other disabilities. This study examined child clinical features that predict high levels of caregiver strain for 374 parents of children with ASD. Caregiver strain was measured using the Caregiver Strain Questionnaire…

Gastrointestinal dysfunction in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is common and associated with problem behaviors. This study describes the development of a brief, parent-report screen that relies minimally upon the child's ability to report or localize pain for identifying children with ASD at risk for one of three common…

To understand the perspectives and needs of autistic children and their families in the context of an emergency, 109 parents and 56 autistic children (5.75-18 years) from Canada completed an online survey about needs, barriers and facilitators to coping with the pandemic. Parents' concerns about their child's development and difficulties managing…

Parents of 5- to 12-year-old children (half had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] and half were typically developing) provided reports of the most significant marital conflict of the day and ratings of child behaviors problems on a daily basis for 14 days. Mothers and fathers in the ASD group reported having more conflicts in…

Purpose: Cross-informant ratings are considered best practice for assessing children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, informant disagreement often occurs, which can pose significant challenges to various aspects of clinical services. This study explored the degree of parent and speech-language pathologist (SLP) agreement on ratings of…

Social participation is one of the most important predictors of the children's physical and mental health. Although it is evidenced that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have restricted social participation, it is unclear which factors play a significant role. This research aimed to uncover perceived barriers of social participation by…

We investigated the mechanism of impact of poor communication skills and emotional and behavioural problems in children with ASD (22-61 months) on parental psychological distress. Participants were dyads enrolled in two pilot intervention studies; the dataset includes cross-sectional data at baseline (N = 82). We postulated an indirect effect of…

Social support can buffer against stressors often associated with having family members with autism spectrum disorder. This study included 112 parents and typically developing siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder. Relations between self-reported typically developing sibling emotional and behavioral problems and discrepancy between…

Parent-mediated interventions can reduce behavioral and emotional problems in children with ASD. This report discusses the development of the first group parent intervention targeting behaviors "and" anxiety in children with ASD, across the spectrum of cognitive and language ability. 'Predictive Parenting' was developed from the clinical…

Associations between parent critical attitudes (a component of the Expressed Emotion construct) and behavior problems have been relatively well established in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, but use of systems adapted for children with autism spectrum disorder and additional investigations with younger samples are…

This study aims to translate the Brief Autism Mealtime Behaviour Inventory (BAMBI) questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese, in order to provide a tool to be used in clinic routine that encourages the evaluation of the feeding behaviour of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The final sample contained 410 participants, the mean age was 9.58…

Autistic young people experience high levels of co-occurring mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression and behavioural difficulties, across their lifespan. Understanding the neuropsychological mechanisms which underlie these difficulties is vital in developing personalised supports and interventions. Cognitive inflexibility is one…