The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the individuals in the general population with high scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient constituted a single homogeneous group or not. A cohort of university students (n = 4901) was investigated by cluster analysis based on the original five subscales of the Autism Spectrum Quotient. Based on…

The validity, reliability and factor structure of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Behaviour Checklist-Revised (ASDBC-R) were measured in a sample of 140 boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged between 6 and 18 years. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was satisfactory and the ASDBC-R significantly correlated with the Social Responsiveness…

This study investigated equivalence of autism symptom domains in males and females with autism. Symptom data were obtained from 2643 children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (352 females, 2291 males; age range = 4-17 years) included in the Simons Simplex Collection. Items from the Social Responsiveness Scale and Autism Diagnostic…

Research has highlighted potential differences in the phenotypic and clinical presentation of autism spectrum conditions across sex. Furthermore, the measures utilised to evaluate autism spectrum conditions may be biased towards the male autism phenotype. It is important to determine whether these instruments measure the autism phenotype…

This study aims at developing an assessment scale for identifying preschool children's communication skills, at distinguishing children with communication deficiencies and at comparing the communication skills of children with normal development (ND) and those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 427 children of up to 6 years of…

We identified clusters of atypical sensory functioning adults with ASC by hierarchical cluster analysis. A new scale for commonly self-reported sensory reactivity was used as a measure. In a low frequency group (n = 37), all subscale scores were relatively low, in particular atypical sensory/motor reactivity. In the intermediate group (n = 17)…

This study sought to validate a new measure, the Classroom Cohesion Survey (CCS), designed to examine the relationship between teachers and classroom assistants in autism support classrooms. Teachers, classroom assistants, and external observers showed good inter-rater agreement on the CCS and good internal consistency for all scales. Simple…

This study examined differences between mothers' and fathers' style of interaction and engagement with their preschool-aged children with Down syndrome (DS) and autism. Data was collected from a sample of 27 mother-child and 27 father-child dyads in which all the children were diagnosed with DS or autism. Participants were both parents and their…

This study investigated the neurobiological basis of comorbidity between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We compared children with ASD, ADHD or ADHD+ASD and typically developing controls (CTRL) on behavioural and electrophysiological correlates of gaze cue and face processing. We measured effects…

This study sought to validate a new measure, the Classroom Cohesion Survey (CCS), designed to examine the relationship between teachers and classroom assistants in autism support classrooms. Teachers, classroom assistants, and external observers showed good inter-rater agreement on the CCS and good internal consistency for all scales. Simple…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder do not just 'grow out of' their early difficulties in understanding the social world. Even for those who are cognitively able, autism-related difficulties continue into adulthood. Atypicalities attending to and interpreting communicative signals from others can provide barriers to success in education,…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders are often considered to have difficulty with using facial cues (e.g., cues from the eye region) to understand others' mental states. One of the pioneering assessments to test competence in this skill is the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes-Test" (RMET). In order to find out more about the…

This paper addresses the participation of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream schools. There are different benefits for ASD students to be educated in an inclusive environment (Gena, 2006; Whitaker, 2004). They challenge the school community by presenting difficulties in essential domains for school activities (Chamberlain,…

Video modeling (VM) has shown promise as an effective intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, little is known about what may promote or prevent caregivers' use of this intervention. While VM is an effective tool to support skill development among a wide range of children in research and clinical settings, VM is…

Understanding the factor structure of autistic symptomatology is critical to the discovery and interpretation of causal mechanisms in autism spectrum disorder. We applied confirmatory factor analysis and assessment of measurement invariance to a large ("N" = 9635) accumulated collection of reports on quantitative autistic traits using…