This study seeks to examine the predictors of positive social skills outcomes from the University of California, Los Angeles Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills, an evidence-based parent-assisted social skills program for high-functioning middle school and high school adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The…

Cognitive functioning has historically been used to predict adaptive outcomes of people with autism spectrum disorders; however, research shows that it is not a complete predictor. The current study explored whether emotion perception was a predictor of adaptive outcomes, and more specifically, hypothesized that emotion perception (Diagnostic…

Background: Nonverbal communication abilities, including gesture use, are impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about how common gestures may influence or be influenced by other areas of development. Aims: To examine the relationships between gesture, fine motor and language in young children with ASD compared with a…

Daily living skills standard scores on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2nd edition were examined in 417 adolescents from the Simons Simplex Collection. All participants had at least average intelligence and a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regressions were used to examine the prevalence and…

Clinical predictors of 2-year outcome in preschoolers with ASD were studied in a population-based group of very young children with ASD (n = 208). Children who gained the most (n = 30) and lost the most (n = 23), i.e., increased or decreased their adaptive functioning outcome according to the Vineland Composite Score between study entry (T1) and…

Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2?years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill…

This study investigates cognitive abilities of pre/primary school children without and with spina bifida in Uganda. Qualitative semi structured interviews and quantitative functioning scales measurements were combined and conducted with 133 parents, 133 children with spina bifida, and 35 siblings. ANCOVA was used to test for differences in…

This study examines the ability of preschool speech-language measures and parent report in predicting later academic performance. Preschool measures of speech, language and communication for 35 children with language impairment were analyzed for their ability to predict reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics in these same children at age…