Autism is associated with genomic instability, which is regulated by telomere length (TL) and index of global methylation (LINE-1). This study will determine relative TL (RTL) and LINE-1 methylation percentage for 69 patients and 33 control subjects to evaluate their potential role as biomarkers for autism. The results displayed a significant…

Previous psychophysical studies reported a positive aftereffect in tactile temporal order judgments, which can be explained by the Bayesian estimation model ('Bayesian calibration'). We investigated the relationship between Bayesian calibration and autistic traits in participants with typical development (TD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD).…

Purpose: Restricted and repetitive behaviours are a core feature of autism diagnoses but have not been widely studied in adulthood. This study examined the rates of and associations between repetitive behaviours and sensory sensitivity in autistic and non-autistic adults; and whether repetitive behaviours described as "stimming" impacted…

Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information…

The current study examined whether social competence and autistic traits are related to anxiety and depression in autistic and non-autistic children. Parents of 340 children aged 6 to 12 years old, including 186 autistic and 154 non-autistic children completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to assess their child's autistic traits, the…

Vitamin and fatty acid deficiency in children diagnosed with autism has been linked to the etiology and course of the disease but the results have been inconsistent. In our work, we present a narrative review, which includes 20 observational studies that provide data on the blood levels of vitamin D, folate, or fatty acids of children diagnosed…

This study tested the hypothesis that exposure of children prior to their third birthday to procedures requiring general anesthesia is associated with an increased incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in later life. This study employed a nested, 1:2 matched-case control study design using ASD cases identified in a population-based birth…

This study characterizes the subcortical auditory brainstem response (speech-ABR) and cortical auditory processing (P1 and Mismatch Negativity; MMN) to speech sounds and their relationship to autistic traits and sensory features within the same group of autistic children (n = 10) matched on age and non-verbal IQ to their typically developing (TD)…

Reports of cybercrime being committed by people on the autism spectrum often imply that autism may be more prevalent among cybercriminals than the general population, although this remains unproven. In an online survey of 302 participants, we found that autistic individuals (n = 25) were more likely to report engagement in cybercrime than…

ADHD comorbidity has been associated with delayed diagnosis of ASD, but no study has investigated this association in an Asian country. Children with ASD were included and divided into three groups: ADHD before ASD, ADHD same/after ASD, and ASD only. Timing of ASD and ADHD diagnoses were assessed. The logistic regression model was performed to…

Little is known about the across time stability of autistic traits during the transition period from preschool to school age in the general population. The current study compared autistic traits assessed by a mother-reported quantitative measure, the Social Responsiveness Scale, at age 5 and 8 years and examined the intraclass correlation…

This study examined the family emotional climate as assessed by Five Minute Speech Samples and the relation with parenting stress and parenting behaviors among parents of children (6-17 years, 64.7% boys) with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and without any known disability (n = 447). The large majority of parents (79%)…

U.S. policy interventions encourage earlier provision of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services to support students and youth with disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during the transition from school to work. We analyzed Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911) data using multivariable logistic regression to determine the…

Sensory abnormalities (SAs) are recognized features in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and a relationship between SAs and ASD traits is also suggested in general population. Our aims were to estimate the prevalence of SAs in three different settings, and to study the association between SAs and quantitative autism traits (QAT) using the Autism…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is commonly conceived as the extreme end of a continuum. Research suggests that autistic individuals outperform typically developing controls in visual search. Thus, enhanced visual search may represent an adaptive trait associated with ASD. Here, using a large general population sample (N = 608, aged 9-14 years), we…