Late language emergence (LLE) may result from genetic and environmental factors. Little is known about environmental factors in LLE in South Africa. The study describes the nature of differences in language functioning between toddlers with LLE and without LLE, and which factors were associated with LLE in a middle-income area in South Africa.…

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.,…

This study aimed to identify potential modifiable factors prior to early intervention that are associated with better adaptive skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. This cross-sectional study recruited patients with autism spectrum disorder, aged 5-12 years from two tertiary developmental programmes in Singapore. Demographics, family…

Communication Complexity Scale (CCS) scores for 269 minimally verbal participants were examined to determine if communicator behavior and task and communicator characteristics were related to scores in a manner consistent with theoretical and research evidence expectations. Each participant completed an interactive assessment with 6 joint…

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of…

Preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience slower development of daily living skills (DLS) that are essential for independent functioning compared to typically developing children. Few studies have examined the trajectories of DLS in preschoolers with ASD and the existing literature has reported conflicting results. This…

Intelligence tests and adaptive behavior scales measure vital aspects of the multidimensional nature of human functioning. Assessment of each is a required component in the diagnosis or identification of intellectual disability, and both are frequently used conjointly in the assessment and identification of other developmental disabilities. The…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have significant delays in adaptive functioning. In this study, the relationship between adaptive behavior and ASD symptomatology was investigated in minimally verbal, school-aged children with ASD (n = 333). Both the social affect (SA) and restricted and repetitive behavior (RRB) domains…

The Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory is a questionnaire designed to aid in the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders or autism spectrum disorders. The Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory assesses adaptive and maladaptive behaviors associated with pervasive developmental disorders and provides an…

The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of mothers' perceptions of the negative impact of having a child with ASD in a sample of African American and Caucasian families as their children transitioned to early adolescence. Participants were mothers and children participating in an ongoing longitudinal study of children referred for…

The Autism Spectrum Disorder Observation for Children (ASD-OC) is a 45-item observation scale used to assess autistic symptomatology. The reliability of this measure has been established in previous research; therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate its validity among a sample of children (1-15 years). The large correlation between the…

The Social Attribution Task, Multiple Choice is introduced as a measure of implicit social cognitive ability in children, addressing a key challenge in quantification of social cognitive function in autism spectrum disorder, whereby individuals can often be successful in explicit social scenarios, despite marked social adaptive deficits. The…

Aim: There is a lack of investigation into the functional developmental profile of children with Down syndrome. On the basis of current international health paradigms, the purpose of this study was to assess the developmental profile of these children. Method: Sixty children (33 males, 27 females) with Down syndrome (age range 6-16y; mean age 9y…

This study assessed the relationship between emotion recognition ability and social skills in 42 young children with autistic disorder aged 4-7 years. The analyses revealed that accuracy in recognition of sadness, but not happiness, anger or fear, was associated with higher ratings on the Vineland-II Socialization domain, above and beyond the…

The study examined teasing experiences among 74 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; M age = 115.7 months [9.6 years]; 83.8% male). Experiences were examined from parent, teacher, and child's own perspectives. Factors potentially associated with being teased were investigated. Comparison data were ascertained on typically developing…