Purpose: Typical speakers tend to adopt words used by their conversational partners. This "lexical alignment" enhances communication by reducing ambiguity and promoting a shared understanding of the topic under discussion. Lexical alignment has been little studied to date in autism spectrum disorder (ASD); furthermore, it has been…

Autism spectrum disorder shares many symptoms with other mental health disorders, and comorbid disorders such as mood and anxiety disorders are common, making the diagnostic process challenging. We aimed to explore the diagnostic accuracy of two standard autism spectrum disorder diagnostic instruments and to identify those behavioral items that…

Universal developmental surveillance is considered best practice for early identification of autism. We analysed data from 175 New Zealand Well-Child/Tamariki Ora nurses who attended a 1-day training in developmental surveillance for autism using the social attention and communication surveillance-revised (SACS-R) tool. We used a survey to measure…

The present study examined the role of IQ and the Theory of Mind understanding in children with an autism spectrum disorder and down syndrome. Sixty-six Swedish children with ASD (n = 26), DS (n = 18), and typically developed group (n = 22) ranged between 6 and 12 years old were compared on ToM tasks consisted of standard ToM and IQ tasks. SPSS 25…

Purpose: Although children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display motor deficits, the nature of these motor deficits remains unspecified. The purpose of this study was to establish a robust motor profile in children with ASD across a wider range of motor skills by using two professionally administered standardized motor assessments…

Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are less susceptible to multisensory delusions, such as rubber hand illusion (RHI). Here, we investigate whether a monochannel variant of RHI is more effective in inducing an illusory feeling of ownership in ASC. To this aim, we exploit a non-visual variant of the RHI that, excluding vision,…

The aim of this study was to assess text generation and text transcription of children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD, n = 67) and Typically Developing (TD) peers (n = 67). Participants (80.6% male, ages 9-14) produced a free-style handwriting task analysed for written content and handwriting legibility and speed. Findings showed…

Distress caused by sensory processing differences for autistic individuals may be reduced by repetitive behaviours (RRB), including repetitive motor (RMB) and insistence on sameness (ISB) behaviours. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and anxiety mediate the relationship between sensory processing and RRB in autistic children. We replicated this…

Despite the importance of clinical judgement in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment, little is currently known about challenges faced by diagnosticians when the client is female, any sex/gender biases during the assessment process, and how these issues affect diagnostic outcomes. Forty-seven ASD diagnosticians completed a questionnaire…

Physical activity (PA) is linked to multiple positive health outcomes for young children, with potential benefits in other domains as well. Engaging in higher intensity PA may produce positive gains for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially in academic engagement and on-task behavior. However, there is limited research…

This double-blind, randomized controlled trial, tested fatty acid (FA) supplementation in children (ages 2- < 6 years) recently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants received daily oral FA supplement containing omega-3 and omega-6 FA, or a placebo for 90 days based on participant weight. Erythrocyte FAs and the cytokines,…

Evidence supports early intervention for toddlers with ASD, but barriers to access remain, including system costs, workforce constraints, and a range of family socio-demographic factors. An urgent need exists for innovative models that maximize resource efficiency and promote widespread timely access. We examined uptake and outcomes from 82…

Many parents of young autistic children report wanting to be more involved in their child's education. Parental involvement is positively correlated with school satisfaction, yet how various involvement activities are differentially related to satisfaction has not been extensively investigated. This study aimed to learn more about satisfaction…

Poor sleep quality and low behavioral functioning are commonly reported in children with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined the impact of exercise on sleep on melatonin level and behavioral functioning in the population. Children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 55; age = 10.97 ± 1.90) were randomly allocated to a morning jogging…

The prevalence of autism in the Arabian Gulf region is on the rise leading to overstretching of the pre-existing intervention services. The World Health Organization Caregiver Skills Training Program is a novel renovation being studied around the globe to overcome the scarcity of resources, improve autistic children's outcome and empower parents…