Law enforcement officers (LEOs) may use physical force unnecessarily or escalate problem behavior when attempting to gain the compliance of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Copenhaver & Tewksbury in American Journal of Criminal Justice 44:309--333, 2019). Although specialized training may remedy this problem, the relatively…

This study explores the intersection of Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities and driving performance among novice drivers, with a focus on autistic individuals. The purpose is to investigate how ToM deficits may impact driving behaviors and decision-making, ultimately informing the development of tailored interventions and training programs for autistic…

To examine change in driving and community mobility outcomes for teens and young adults with autism as a result of participating in an occupational therapy intervention designed as a Bootcamp as perceived by the participants and their parents. Matched questionnaires were completed by novice drivers with autism as well as their parents prior to and…

This study compared newly licensed drivers with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and experienced drivers. Twenty new drivers (8 with ASD) and 16 experienced drivers completed the Driving Attitude Scale (DAS) and drove a simulator and an instrumented vehicle. Heart rate (HR), galvanic skin response (GSR), wrist movement, eye-gaze and…

Driving is a complex task that relies on manual, cognitive, visual and social skill. The social demands of driving may be challenging for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) due to known social impairments. This study investigated how drivers with ASD respond to social (e.g., pedestrians) and non-social (e.g., vehicles) hazards in a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of using a driving simulator to address the motor aspects of pre-driving skills with young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A group of neurotypical control participants and ten participants with ASD completed 18 interactive steering and pedal exercises with the goal to achieve…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) sometimes have difficulties learning categories. Past computational work suggests that such deficits may result from atypical representations in cortical maps. Here we use neural networks to show that idiosyncratic transformations of inputs can result in the formation of feature maps that impair…

Developmental data suggested that mental simulation skills become progressively dissociated from overt motor activity across development. Thus, efficient simulation is rather independent from current sensorimotor information. Here, we tested the impact of bodily (sensorimotor) information on simulation skills of adolescents with Autism Spectrum…

People with autism show superior performance to controls on the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). However, studies examining the relationship between autistic-like traits and EFT performance in neurotypical individuals have yielded inconsistent findings. To examine the inconsistency, a meta-analysis was conducted of studies that (a) compared high and…

Previous studies have shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate poorer driving performance than their peers and are less likely to obtain a driver's license. This study aims to examine the relationship between driving performance and executive functioning for novice drivers, with and without ASD, using a driving…

This study examined the extent to which a computer-based social skills intervention called "FaceSay"™ was associated with improvements in affect recognition, mentalizing, and social skills of school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). "FaceSay"™ offers students simulated practice with eye gaze, joint attention,…

The magnitude of symptom inter-correlations in diagnosed individuals has contributed to the evidence that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a fractionable disorder. Such correlations may substantially under-estimate the population correlations among symptoms due to simultaneous selection on the areas of deficit required for diagnosis. Using…

Although it is speculated that impairments associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will adversely affect driving performance, little is known about the actual extent and nature of the presumed deficits. Ten males (18-24 years of age) with a diagnosis of high functioning autism and 10 age matched community controls were recruited for a…

This study evaluated computer assisted instruction in social skills using hypothetical animated social situations. Evaluation with eight preschool children with autism (and eight matched normal children) suggested the program's potential for teaching problem-solving skills to children with and without autism. Children with autism were…