Societal expectations for social-emotional behavior differ across sexes; however, diagnostic definitions of autism do not account for this when delineating "typical" versus "atypical." This study examines sex differences in autism in one behavior associated with strong gender biases: smiling. Computer vision was used to…

Some studies suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have reduced emotional empathy while others do not. The presence of co-occurring alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder and differences in interoception have been associated with reductions in empathic ability. To fully explore the relationships between interoception,…

Starting early in life, autistics are characterized as having atypical facial expressions, as well as decreased positive and increased negative affect. The literature on autistic facial expressions remains small, however, with disparate methods and results suggesting limited understanding of common autistic emotions. Furthermore, unlike…

Emotion dysregulation is a common challenge for autistic individuals, yet research examining early emotion regulation processes in autism is lacking. The present study examined negative emotion expression and parent-child co-regulatory processes in 18-month-old younger siblings of autistic children (children with an "elevated likelihood"…

Differences in understanding emotion in autism are well-documented, although far more research has considered how being autistic impacts an understanding of other people's emotions, compared to their own. In neurotypical adults and children, many emotions are associated with distinct bodily maps of experienced sensation, and the ability to report…

Early support should help autistic children lead flourishing lives. We sought to understand parents' experiences of their children's involvement in early intervention and associated research, through focus groups with 23 parents (of 22 children) enrolled in a university-affiliated service. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes. Parents…

This randomized trial compared the first online parent training program for an evidence-supported executive function intervention for autism to in-person parent training with the same dose and content. Parents of autistic children (8-12 years-old; Full Scale IQ above 70) were randomized to in-person (n = 51) or online (n = 46) training. Training…

High alexithymic traits and psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and social phobia are frequently observed among adults with autism spectrum disorder. In this study, we tested whether alexithymic and/or autistic traits are risk factors for depressive and social phobic symptoms in adults with autism spectrum disorder (n = 122), patients…

Children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit significant difficulties with emotion regulation. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is a biomarker for processes related to emotion regulation, with higher baseline rates linked to beneficial outcomes. Although reduction in respiratory sinus arrhythmia in response to challenge can index adaptive processes…

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…

Among social skills that are core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, turn-taking plays a fundamental role in regulating social interaction and communication. Our main focus in this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a robot-enhanced intervention on turn-taking abilities. We aim to identify to what degree social robots can improve…

Emerging research suggests that caregiving environments and genetic variants independently contribute to social functioning in children with typical development or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, biologically plausible interactive models and complimentary assessment of mechanisms are needed to: (1) explain considerable social…

This study examined whether musical and emotional attunement predicts changes in improvisational music therapy with children with autism (4-7 years, N = 101, majority: no/limited speech, low IQ), assessed over 12 months. Attunement, as observed from session videos, and changes in generalized social skills, judged by blinded assessors and parents,…

Children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit challenges in regulating negativity and modifying emotional responses, a process known as emotion regulation. Such challenges affect social outcomes and response to intervention in children with autism spectrum disorder. Caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder facilitate children's…

Longitudinal data on the functioning of adults referred for possible autism as children are sparse and possibly different from datasets consisting of adult clinical referrals. A total of 123 young adults, mean age of 26, referred for neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood were categorized into three outcome groups: autism spectrum…