Caregivers of preschool and elementary school age children with Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS), MBD5-associated neurodevelopmental disorder (MAND), and Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) were surveyed to assess sleep disturbance and to identify disorder-specific sleep problems. Because of overlapping features of these rare genetic neurodevelopmental…

In March 2020, many schools were closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Japan, and it is predicted that many children, especially those with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), will be affected emotionally and behaviorally. Here, we examined the impact of school closures due to COVID-19 on school-aged children with NDDs using the Child…

Requests for pathological demand avoidance diagnoses have increased over recent years but pathological demand avoidance remains a controversial issue. We undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies of pathological demand avoidance, using standardised appraisal and synthesis methods, to assess how pathological demand avoidance is…

Flexibility is often associated with resilience from adversity. Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk of stress and trauma yet have inherent difficulties with flexibility, including rigid behaviors, routines, "insistence on sameness," and lack of social reciprocity. This review highlights literature of physiological and…

Sleep problems are prevalent in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and are associated with the expression of restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs). Children (n = 57) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 38) or developmental delay (DD, n = 19) participated in multiple assessments of intellectual ability, ASD symptoms, and RRBs (3…

Behavioral inflexibility (BI) has been highlighted to occur across genetic and neurodevelopmental disorders. This study characterized BI in two common neurogenetic conditions: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and Down syndrome (DS). Caregivers of children with FXS (N = 56; with ASD = 28; FXS only = 28) and DS (N = 146) completed the Behavioral…

To date, the phenotypic significance of EEG abnormalities in patients with ASD is unclear. In a population affected by ASD we aimed to evaluate: the phenotypic characteristics; the prevalence of EEG abnormalities; the potential correlations between EEG abnormalities and behavioral and cognitive variables. Sixty-nine patients with ASD underwent…

Introduction: Although the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) is one of the most widely used behavioral rating scales among people with developmental disabilities, very few studies have examined the factor structure of the non-English versions. Methods: The construct validity of the Norwegian ABC was examined in a clinical sample of children and…

Purpose: Pragmatic language skills are often impaired above and beyond general language delays in individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This study used a multimethod approach to language sample analysis to characterize syndrome- and sex-specific profiles across different neurodevelopmental disabilities and to examine the congruency of…

Many young people with autism spectrum disorder display 'challenging behaviours', characterised by externalising behaviour and self-injurious behaviours. These behaviours can have a negative impact on a young person's well-being, family environment and educational achievement. However, the development of effective interventions requires greater…

New Zealand has few estimates of the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder and no national registry. The use of administrative data sources is expanding and could be useful in autism spectrum disorder research. However, the extent to which autism spectrum disorder can be captured in these data sources is unknown. In this study, we utilised three…

Little is known about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in persons over age 50. In a retrospective, naturalistic review of 74 individuals aged 30 and older meeting DSM-5 criteria for ASD, the point prevalence of behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms (BNPS) declined significantly for 12 of 13 BNPS over a mean of 25 years while many other features…

The neurocognitive impairments associated with restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not yet clear. Prior studies indicate that individuals with ASD show reduced cognitive flexibility, which could reflect difficulty shifting from a previously learned response pattern or a failure to maintain a new…

Auditory hyper-reactivity is a common sensory-perceptual abnormality in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which interrupts behavioral adaptation. We investigated acoustic startle response (ASR) modulations in 17 children with ASD and 27 with typical development (TD). Compared to TD, children with ASD had larger ASR magnitude to weak stimuli and…

This study characterizes longitudinal change in adaptive behavior in 64 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability evaluated on multiple occasions, and examines whether prior estimate of executive function (EF) problems predicts future adaptive behavior scores. Compared to standardized estimates…