In this systematic review, we aimed to identify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children/adolescents with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The protocol was registered on PROSPERO CRD42021255848. Articles were selected from PubMed, Embase, and LILACS according to these characteristics: patients from zero to 18 years old,…

This study investigated the potential influences of administration context on the measurement of child skills. The Brief Observation of Social-Communication Change (BOSCC) was administered at two time points to preschool-aged children with autism in two contexts: (1) at school by trained research staff and (2) at home by the parent. Participants…

Network modeling of the social, communication and restrictive/repetitive behaviors (RRBs) included in the definition of Autism Spectrum Disorder was performed. The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) assessed behaviors in 139 pre-school cases at two cross-sections that averaged 34.8 months apart. Cross-sectional networks were based on the…

The current study outlines the successful behavioral assessment and treatment of compulsive behaviors in a high-functioning adolescent with autism. After a functional assessment suggested that compulsive behavior was maintained by both social--negative and social--positive reinforcement, we demonstrated effects of functional communication…

Anxiety has been associated with social communication and interaction differences among autistic children. We sought to clarify the direction of these associations longitudinally, and test executive function as a moderator. Participants were autistic children (N = 157; 15% female, 85% male) engaged in a longitudinal study. Analyses focused on two…

The sex difference in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be magnified by sex differences on diagnostic measures. The current study compared autistic males and females on items on the gold-standard diagnostic measure, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2). In a sample of 8-to-17-year old autistic…

Echolalia is a typical feature of children with epilepsy and autism, but whether it is pathological is still controversial. This article aims to explore the contentious issue of echolalia based on data from three selected Chinese children with epilepsy and autism. Through discourse analysis, we explored two types of echolalia: immediate echolalia…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions are an empirically supported intervention approach for young autistic children. Despite the prevalence of disruptive behaviors among autistic children, most manualized caregiver-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions include limited formal guidance on when and how to manage…

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous disorder, recently more homogeneous phenotypic subgroups, which still lack evidence, have been identified. Our goal is to describe and analyse different behavioural profiles of ASD, in social communication and interaction (SCI) and restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests…

Children with autism spectrum disorder often display some form of challenging behavior and have complex communication needs. Functional communication training is an evidence-based practice that (a) decreases challenging behavior and (b) increases appropriate communicative behavior. Recent research has demonstrated how using augmentative and…

Autism (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SCZ) are neurodevelopmental conditions with overlapping and interrelated symptoms. A network analysis approach that represents clinical conditions as a set of "nodes" (symptoms) connected by "edges" (relations among symptoms) was used to compare symptom organization in the two…

Autistic-like features and functional somatic symptoms (FSS) frequently co-occur. It remains unknown how autistic-like features and FSS affect each other and develop throughout adolescence. This study examined reciprocal relations between autistic-like features and FSS in adolescence. Participants were 2772 adolescents (52.5% male) from the…

This comprehensive review reports on methodological quality of 162 single-case studies on augmentative and alternative communication interventions for communication and challenging behavior in individuals diagnosed with autism or intellectual disabilities and with complex communication needs. Following review for inclusion criteria, documents were…

This comprehensive review reports on methodological quality of 162 single-case studies on augmentative and alternative communication interventions for communication and challenging behavior in individuals diagnosed with autism or intellectual disabilities and with complex communication needs. Following review for inclusion criteria, documents were…

Purpose: The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) is a group-based social skills training program for adolescents on the autism spectrum. Although the program has been shown to be effective in improving social skills in autistic adolescents, evidence of its effectiveness from the Mandarin-speaking Chinese…