Children should be heard on matters that impact their educational lives. However, meaningfully engaging autistic children can be difficult for researchers and policymakers. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to summarise methods used to gather the views of autistic children on their primary educational experiences. Database searches…

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) describes different ways to communicate that supplement or compensate for the impairment of individuals with complex communication needs. AAC can utilize computerized devices, with visual scene display (VSD) or video visual scene display (VVSD) as a communication mode. Recent literature…

The aim of this study is to review the available research (N = 70) derived from the use of Gamified Environments and Serious Games with people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), identifying: authorship, nationality, publication period, topic, and design of the investigation. After that, the advantages and limitations observed are identified.…

Visual schedules use a series of images and text to visually illustrate a sequence of events, prepare the individual for the following action or step within an activity or chain of activities, and prompt them to follow a series of activities or tasks independently. As an evidence-based practice, visual schedules can be effectively used in…

Purpose: Follow-up studies of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in early childhood that focus on friendship formation during adolescence are scarce. The present study focused on exploring characteristics possibly related to the ability to establish friendships during adolescence among children diagnosed with ASD in…

There has been limited research on families of autistic children in Ecuador, especially in relation to their experiences of accessing a diagnosis and associated support. In this study, we surveyed 767 families about their diagnostic and post-diagnostic journeys. Of these, 651 families had children who had received a formal autism diagnosis. In…

Keeping a conversation going is the social glue of friendships. The DSM criteria for autism list difficulties with back-and-forth conversation but does not necessitate that all autistic children will be equally impacted. We carried out three studies (two pre-registered) with verbally fluent school children (age 5-9 years) to investigate how…

Using language for social purposes can be a real challenge for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental language disorder (DLD). Despite the positive effects of the Pragmatic Intervention Programme (PICP) already known in both populations, the effects needed to be established with a larger sample and analysed separately for…

The increased prevalence of suicide among autistic people highlights the need for validated clinical suicide screening and assessment instruments that are accessible and meet the unique language and communication needs of this population. We describe the preliminary preregistered psychometric validation of the Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified…

There are an increasing number of autistic characters seen in film and television, and an increasing number of autistic individuals entering the workforce. At the intersection of media and employment, only a small proportion of autistic characters are played by autistic actors. This study examines the experiences of professional autistic actors…

Background: Compared to their typically developing peers, children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities are at an increased risk of developing emotion regulation difficulties, this is especially the case for autistic individuals with intellectual disabilities. To better understand the emotion regulation experiences of children and…

Some parents experience concerns relating to their child's development and seek clinical assessments for their child's behaviour. We sought to understand the concerns that led parents to seek a general clinical assessment where some children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. We conducted a systematic review to identify the types of…

Families of autistic youth often support their children's transition from adolescence to adulthood. During this time, families learn to navigate the complex shift from school-based to adult disability services. For Latinx (vs non-Latinx White) families of autistic youth, transition is especially difficult because of the systemic barriers (e.g.…

Anxiety has been associated with social communication and interaction differences among autistic children. We sought to clarify the direction of these associations longitudinally, and test executive function as a moderator. Participants were autistic children (N = 157; 15% female, 85% male) engaged in a longitudinal study. Analyses focused on two…

Alongside the rise in online qualitative research, fraudulent representation of research participants is increasing, and current strategies to address this issue within studies of non-neurodiverse samples may exclude autistic voices. Seeking to reduce fraudulent or "scammer" participation in our focus group study, and increase data…