Background: Sleep deprivation can decrease parental well-being and degrade mental and physical health in parents of children with chronic illness. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of sleep quality, psychological stress perception, and evening salivary cortisol concentration with self-esteem, optimism and happiness in parents…

A growing literature suggests that there is cross-cultural variation in levels of autism-related stigma, which may partially be explained by differences in cultural orientation or autism-related knowledge between countries. This literature has relied heavily on self-report measures of explicit attitudes towards autism; little research has examined…

This study used a single-subject design to determine the effectiveness of the Cool versus Not Cool (CNC) discrimination procedure to teach social skills to three young U.S. adults with autism. The CNC procedure was administered remotely during this study. The specific social skills targeted were asking open-ended questions and responding…

Among the developmental milestones related to language and communication in early childhood, one that has been the subject of considerable research is response to name (RTN). Delayed or absent RTN in early childhood is a diagnostic marker for autism spectrum disorder and a target behavior in many early intervention curricula. This article…

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is exhibited through a wide-range of symptoms including social interactions, communication deficits, limited interests, and repetitive behaviors (e.g., stimming). The prevalence of autism amongst children and adolescents continues to grow with 1 in 36 diagnosed annually…

Social communication and interaction (SC/I) skill quality may be influenced by cultural values, norms, and expectations. Because difficulties in SC/I is a core criterion for identifying autism and is a frequent construct of interest in autism research, a measure designed to capture cross-cultural differences in the perspectives of SC/I skills is…

An expanding evidence base has advocated for delivery of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs) within community systems, thus extending the reach of these practices to young autistic children. The current study examined provider-reported use of NBDIs within a Part C Early Intervention (EI) system and the extent to which…

The implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for autistic youth is a critical concern worldwide. Research examining factors facilitating the implementation of EBPs found that providers' attitudes are an important factor. In this study, we evaluated cross-cultural differences in attitudes toward and use of EBPs. We tested socio-demographic…

In recent years, exposures to organophosphate pesticide have been highlighted as a possible cause or aggravating factor of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study examined if Wistar rats prenatally exposed to chlorpyrifos (CPF) at a dose of 1 mg/kg in GD 12.5-15.5 could express similar behaviors to those exposed to valproic acid (VPA,…

This study aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between maternal conversational participation and the unconventional language of autistic children, and whether the relative vocabulary diversity between mother and child would affect the relationship between them. Participants were 39 autistic Mandarin-speaking children, aged 3-6 years,…

The objective of the current study was to assess how a LEGO intervention, implemented by a grandparent and a parent at home, affected social interactions for four children (two girls, two boys; ages 6-7 years) on the autism spectrum in China. A multiple probe design across four families was used. Grandparents and parents were trained to use…

This study explored the salient characteristics of transactions within parent-child engagement and investigated relationships between transactional characteristics and future identification of autism. The main aims of the study were to (1) examine if parents/children and their initial behaviors impact the length of transaction; (2) determine…

Many autistic youth have complex healthcare needs, resulting in high rates of health service utilization. However, many characteristics of this health service utilization remain unknown. Using whole-of-population data, this study aimed to quantify and compare rates of psychiatric and non-psychiatric health service utilization among autistic and…

The aim of the study was to investigate mathematics anxiety in autistic school-aged boys compared with non-autistic peers, by considering the distinction between trait and state components of mathematics anxiety. The study involved 110 boys aged between 8 and 16 years old: 50 autistic participants without intellectual disability and 60…

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seem to have difficulty dealing with complex social situations, which is likely related to their challenges in understanding others' perspectives, according to the Theory of Mind (ToM). The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the effect of multiple exemplar training (MET) on the…