Identifying infants at elevated likelihood for autism and other developmental differences in the first year of life remains a significant challenge. This study explored associations between behavioral differences in infancy and developmental outcomes in toddlerhood. We conducted a secondary data analysis of 256 infants with an older autistic…

Language ability has been associated with emotion regulation (ER) ability. Children on the autism spectrum have greater rates of language delays and lower ER ability. Despite this, autism traits have not been considered or controlled for in past research. This study therefore examined the association between language ability and ER in young…

Robust evidence supports the efficacy of early autism intervention. Despite broad consensus that earlier intervention leads to better outcomes, evidence for this has been limited to correlational studies. This study examined timing effects of the Early Social Interaction (ESI) model, a parent-implemented intervention, using a complete crossover…

This study investigated the prevalence, and the developmental, behavior and emotional outcomes of 675 preschoolers with ASD with or without a history of regression, who participated in the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). The SEED project is a cross-sectional case-control study that collected data between 2007 and 2011. Children's…

This study examined connections between parental quality of life (QoL) and features of children (autism severity, cognitive ability, behavioral profile, and sociodemographic factors). Parents of 97 children attending an autism-specific preschool completed the Quality of Life in Autism, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and Child Behavior…

The Early Start Denver Model is an evidence-based, comprehensive naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention for young and very young children with autism spectrum disorder. This interdisciplinary model is suitable for the Taiwanese public health system. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of an Early Start Denver Model program…

Often included within 'high-risk sibling' studies, the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) has only one independent replication study and no evaluation with community-ascertained cohorts. We administered the AOSI and established clinical measures with 103 infants (68% male) at 'high autism likelihood' on the Social Attention and…

Purpose: Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e.,…

Background and aims: The quality of parent verbal input--diverse vocabulary that is well-matched to the child's developmental level within interactions that are responsive to their interests--has been found to positively impact child language skills. For typically developing (TD) children, there is evidence that more advanced linguistic and social…

The screening power of the CBCL/1½-5's Withdrawn and "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"-Pervasive Developmental Problems (DSM-PDP) scales to identify children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 24 months was tested in a longitudinal, familial high-risk study. Participants were 56 children at high risk for…

Racial differences in parent report of concerns about their child's development to healthcare providers may contribute to delayed autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in Black children. We tested the hypotheses that compared to White parents, Black parents of children with autism spectrum disorder would report fewer concerns about autism symptoms…

The autism spectrum disorder phenotype varies by social and communication ability and co-occurring developmental, behavioral, and medical conditions. Etiology is also diverse, with myriad potential genetic origins and environmental risk factors. Examining the influence of parental broader autism phenotype--a set of sub-clinical characteristics of…

This prospective study examined the developmental changes over time of adolescents diagnosed in toddlerhood with autism spectrum disorder and searched for child characteristics at toddlerhood that predict outcome at adolescence. The study included 65 participants who were divided into low cognitive (developmental quotient [less than] 85; N = 41)…

Children with autism spectrum disorder have deficits in adaptive functioning. This study examines the adaptive behavior, its association with cognitive ability, gender, age, and symptom severity in children with autism spectrum disorder. Using data from Autism Treatment Network registry, the adaptive behavior profiles were examined in 2538…

Play and playfulness have a key role in children's development. Not enough is known about the playfulness of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its relationship to children's behavioural problems, as well as the role of caregiver behaviours during play in this relationship. The present study examines the moderating role of teachers'…