Traditionally, most autism assessment instruments are based on medical models and designed to identify social communication deficits and behavioral abnormality in an individual. However, as more autistic narratives reveal the insider views of autists, some scholars and autistic activists support the neurodiversity model and assert the acceptance…

The goal of the study was to understand factors contributing to life satisfaction of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of positive psychology. The challenges of parenting a child with ASD have been documented extensively, with these parents experiencing higher levels of stress, depression, and lower…

The purpose of the study is to systematically review studies investigating the script fading procedure on individuals with autism and also determine the quality of the studies and the effect size related to the calculations of the percentage of nonoverlapping data (PND) and the percentage of data exceeding the median (PEM) in the studies. The…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SZ) are characterized by difficulty with social cognition and atypical reception of facial communication - a key area in the Research Domain Criteria framework. To identify areas of overlap and dissociation between ASD and SZ, we review studies of event-related potentials (ERP)…

Peer support has been an undeveloped pathway for filling the service gap and to generate employment opportunities for autistic individuals. Peer supports have been deployed widely in mental health and among veterans and understanding the utility of this service modality among autistic individuals illuminates opportunities for research, policy, and…

Background: Service culture refers to the practices, views and values within service organisations. Developing positive cultures has been thought imperative to improving social care, though day services and their cultures remain an under-researched area. For many autistic people with profound learning disabilities, day services are the sites at…

This study aimed to identify the prevalence of current smoking and examine the association between meeting combinations of the 24-h movement guidelines and current smoking in autistic adults. This cross-sectional study administered an electronic survey to a national sample of autistic adults in the United States. The study outcome was current…

Problems with executive function (EF) are considered a hallmark of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the developmental pathway of everyday EF in these two groups, and whether the two groups follow a similar or different developmental course. In this longitudinal…

Purpose: Although autistic perspectives are paramount for evidence-based practice and the neurodiversity paradigm, they are often underrepresented in research and have only recently started to get attention from professionals in different fields, including communication sciences and disorders (CSD) and foreign language teaching (FLT). To alleviate…

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who have Complex Communication Needs (CCN) benefit from Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to support communication. Research on the use of AAC and how different stakeholders perceive the use of AAC has been heavily focused on Western culture. The purpose of this study was to understand…

Individuals with disabilities often have difficulties transitioning to employment after the completion of high school. This is especially true for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, as many of the soft skills needed for employment (e.g. communication, flexibility, teamwork) are characteristically difficult. Employment training in…

Developmental difference is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with unclear sex differences. The current study included 610 children with ASD, aged between 2 and 7 years, with completed language profiles. We used a nonparametric item response theory model called Mokken scale analysis to examine the order of acquisition of…

Gender dysphoria (GD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) co-occur relatively often, but there is no evidence-based treatment for this specific group. Therefore, we examined the effects of a group intervention for adolescents with ASD and GD in a pilot study with a pre-post-test design. The adolescents completed questionnaires on quality of life,…

Anxiety disorders commonly occur in autism. Existing studies implicate intolerance of uncertainty, alexithymia, sensory processing differences and emotion regulation difficulties as influencing factors of anxiety in autism. To date, a few studies have considered the combination of these factors within the same sample. This study used structural…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a profound impact on millions of families in the United States. While Hispanic families represent the most rapidly growing demographic group within this population, little research explores their unique experiences in coping with the family impacts of ASD. This phenomenological study explored the lived…