Best practice for the assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptom severity relies on clinician ratings of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2), but the association of these ratings with objective measures of children's social gaze and smiling is unknown. Sixty-six preschool-age children (49 boys, M =…

Purpose: Assessing social communication and measuring its changes among young autistic children presents significant challenges, particularly when tracking intervention effects within short timeframes. Existing measures, mostly validated in Western contexts, may not be suitable for culturally diverse populations. Addressing this gap, the Social…

Most studies of how parents of children with autism view the parent-child relationship used self-report questionnaires and focused on challenges. This study broadened the lens by interviewing parents using open-ended questions that provide an opportunity to raise challenging but also positive experiences. Seventy-five mother-father dyads were…

We examined relationships between measures of adaptive behavior, cognitive ability, and autism symptom severity in 1458 preschool-aged children with autism from the Study to Explore Early Development. While publications commonly describe autistic children as "low-" or "high-functioning" based on cognitive ability, relying…

This study is a qualitative investigation of caregiver-child interactions, involving 15 autistic children who are in the early stages of language learning. Data consisted of 15-min videos of free-play interactions recorded in a University clinic. We use conversation analysis to examine the sequence organization of proposal episodes, where the…

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…

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…

The mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum condition have been understudied. Magnitude representation is a fundamental numerical ability that emerges early in development and is linked to children's learning of formal mathematics. It remains unclear about whether children with autism spectrum condition differ from their peers…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to develop appropriate social skills, which can lead to later social rejection, isolation, and mental health concerns. Educators play an important role in supporting and monitoring social skills development for children with ASD, but the tools used by educators are often tedious, lack suitable…

How parents support social learning at the preverbal level for toddlers with autism is rarely reported, limiting the field's understanding of factors that may influence early development of social competency. As a central challenge in autism that is resistant to intervention, preverbal social initiating is an important indicator of social…

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in the world has increased over the last decade, but the prevalence, incidence, and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder in China were not well understood. Using administrative data, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and incidence of autism spectrum disorder and describe the co-occurring…

Sensory reactivity differences are a diagnostic criterion of autism. Sensory hyperreactivity has been linked to intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety in autistic children. However, research is yet to explore the mediating relationships or sensory hyporeactivity, seeking and anxiety subtypes in preschool-age autistic children. Therefore, we aimed…

Autistic children are less likely to be jointly engaged with a play partner than nonautistic children, negatively impacting social communication development. Promoting joint engagement during play can be an important target for educators of autistic students, but educator perceptions of autistic students may affect their interactions with…

There is increasing literature showing that the presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could be different according to the sex of the patient. Through the analysis of the Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised interview results of a study group consisting of 56 preschool children diagnosed with ASD potential differences in the presentation of…

Parents are often expected to be the primary implementers of intervention for their young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The provision of a few hours a week of intervention by a trained therapist, in addition to parent-implemented intervention, could increase child outcomes compared to parent-implemented intervention in isolation.…