This study aimed to explore the relationships among autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits, loneliness, and social networking services (SNS) use. We created a questionnaire to evaluate manners during LINE use, which included five factors: "low literacy," "inactive use," "low responsiveness," "lack of…

This study tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a six-session online class on healthy relationships for autistic individuals ages 18-44 years old (N = 55). The content of the Healthy Relationships on the Autism Spectrum class was informed by formative research with 25 autistic individuals, and developed collaboratively by two…

Understanding the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that link autistic traits and risk for suicide is a vital next step for research and clinical practice. This study included a broad sample of adult women (n = 74) who report finding social situations confusing and/or exhausting, and who score high on measures of autistic traits. Regardless of…

Previous research in clinical, community, and school settings has demonstrated positive outcomes for the Secret Agent Society (SAS) social skills training program. This is designed to help children on the autism spectrum become more aware of emotions in themselves and others and to 'problem-solve' complex social scenarios. Parents play a key role…

Research continues to highlight discrepancies between clinical diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and determination of special education eligibility for services within school settings. However, limited research has been conducted on the impact of those discrepancies for the identification of appropriate services within schools. The aim…

Previous studies have reported reduced quality of life in autism. Improving quality of life for autistic people is, therefore, a key priority for clinical research and practice. However, the relative impact of core autism traits (e.g. social-communication difficulties), as compared to associated mental health symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression) on…

Difficulty with social communication is the most pervasive difficulty experienced by individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD). Communication difficulties are often magnified in adolescence as social demands become more intricate. This puts adolescents with HF-ASD at increased risk of social isolation and depression, as…

Typically developing adults with low and high Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores made rapid social evaluations of neutral faces when these were primed by briefly presented emotional faces. High AQ participants rated neutral faces as more threatening than low AQ participants, regardless of the prime condition. Both groups rated target neutral…

Limited research is available with a focus on adolescent Autistic girls and their needs during secondary schooling. Consequently, many issues are often not recognised and addressed by educators. The small-scale Australian research reported here explored the experiences of five Autistic girls during their first 2 years of secondary school, with…

High functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have adjustment difficulties, specifically loneliness and depression. To better understand contributing factors, the current study evaluated associations between several Executive Function (EF) domains, social impairment, and friendship quality on depressive symptoms and…

Continued human and animal research has strengthened evidence for aberrant excitatory-inhibitory neural processes underlying autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorder psychopathology, particularly psychosocial functioning, in clinical and nonclinical populations. We investigated the extent to which autistic traits and schizotypal dimensions were…

Self-conscious emotions, such as shame, guilt and pride, facilitate our social interactions by motivating us to adhere to social norms and external standards. In this study, we examined proneness to shame, guilt, hubristic pride and authentic pride in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder traits (ASD-T) and in neurotypical (NT) adults. Relations…

Adults with autism and subclinical autistic traits report greater internalizing problems than their peers, but the psychological processes underlying these associations are not well understood. The current study used structural equation modeling to examine whether social experiences (social connectedness and loneliness) mediate the link between…

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the ability of children with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) to depict social (pride and shame) vs. basic (happiness and sadness) emotions in their human figure drawings. Methods: Eleven children with a formal diagnosis of an ASC matched on gender and verbal mental age with 11 children with typical…

Social skills intervention is an evidence-based practice for enhancing communication and interpersonal skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participation in the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), a manualized social skills intervention for adolescents with ASD, is associated with improved…