Younger siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders (HR-Sibs) are at elevated risk for social communication deficits and language delays. One way to mitigate this risk early, before these deficits and delays become clear or impairing, may be to equip parents to use the strategies taught through the "Improving Parents as Communication…

The present study examined the longitudinal associations among birth weight status, maternal warmth, and children's cognitive competence within an at-risk sample (N = 1809) drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study. Of particular interest was whether birth weight moderated the associations between maternal warmth and indicators of…

Multiple cognitive skills support the acquisition of proficient reading skills. Higher order processing abilities allowing the engagement and integration of multiple ideas collectively referred to as executive functions may be particularly important in reading comprehension. In the present study, 39 Danish school age children completed executive…

In contrast to Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI), there are far fewer meta-analyses evaluating Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs) (Schreibman et al., 2015). Indeed, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)--a prominent NDBI--lacks meta-analytic studies. In the context of developing a line of research on the…

Variability in clinical expression and in intervention outcome has been described in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study examined progress after 1 and 2 years of intervention and compared the impact of baseline cognitive ability on outcome trajectories in 46 children (m = 25.5 months) with ASD. The entire group showed a gradual decrease in…

Daily living skills (DLS), such as personal hygiene, meal preparation, and money management, are important to independent living. Research suggests that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder exhibit impairments in daily living skills relative to their cognitive skills. This study examined predictors of daily living skills attainment and…

There is a developing research base to support the rationale underpinning augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for people with learning disabilities. However, there is a paucity of research examining the process involved in implementing AAC support for people who have profound disabilities. This paper seeks to explore the processes…

Teachers working with children with autism spectrum disorders were surveyed to determine the characteristics of children with whom Social Stories are used, how extensively they are employed and the types of behaviors targeted by teachers; how and why teachers use Social Stories (including the extent to which Social Stories conform to recommended…

One of the primary diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the presence of a language delay or impairment. Children with ASD are now being identified at significantly younger ages, and prior research has consistently found that early language skills in this population are heterogeneous and an important predictor…

This study assessed the relation between pre-intervention variables (cognition, socialization and communication) to outcome in young children with autism. Method: Twenty five children with autism (20-32 months) were enrolled in intensive behavior intervention. The children were divided into groups based on their IQ scores and on the severity of…