Autistic adults have reported experiencing discrimination across settings. Nonetheless, population-based research examining the prevalence of discrimination against autistic individuals has been more limited. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of types of discrimination (i.e., due to race or ethnicity, due to sexual orientation…

Children with developmental disabilities have different feeding and swallowing problems. The purposes of the present study were to develop an Arabic version of the FHI-C and to evaluate its validity, consistency, and reliability in Arabic children with developmental disabilities for assessing how feeding and swallowing problems impair the…

Autistic people with intellectual disabilities appear to be at increased risk of schizophrenia. While current recommendations emphasize adapting interventions used for people with schizophrenia in general, few studies to date have investigated treatment of co-occurring schizophrenia in this specific population. To explore what interventions are…

Autistic people experience high rates of mental health problems. A tendency towards behavioural repetition in autistic individuals could contribute to repetitive negative thinking, which is a transdiagnostic risk factor for mental health problems. Our research aimed to add to the literature by using transdiagnostic measures of both mental health…

Sensory processing disorder (SPD) can be defined as a neurophysiological difficulty in modulating or interpreting sensory stimuli; it is often seen in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We examined sensory processing among Israeli children with and without ASD, using an observational tool based on the clinicians', child's, parents', and…

The adult service system does not adequately meet the needs of autistic adults, prompting families to continue their supportive roles. Siblings frequently assume these roles when parents are no longer able to do so, often without preparation or planning. We received feedback on the proposed Siblings FORWARD (Focusing on Relationships, Well-being,…

A core feature of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) is the presence of difficulties in social interactions. This can be explained by an atypical attentional processing of social information: individuals with ASC may show problems with orienting attention to socially relevant stimuli and/or inhibiting their attentional responses to irrelevant ones.…

The "Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills" (PEERS®) is an intervention targeting social skills for autistic adolescents and those with other social challenges. The efficacy of the PEERS® on adolescents has been extensively explored but the program has not been validated in Italy. In the present study, we adapted…

Purpose: Previous research has shown that many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) lack confidence in conducting augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evaluations. The AAC Clinical Assessment Project team developed a protocol to help guide SLPs to complete AAC assessments for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article…

Purpose: Despite group-level improvements in active engagement and related outcomes, significant individual variability in response to early intervention exists. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the effects of a group-based Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) on active engagement among a heterogeneous…

Purpose: Assessing social communication and measuring its changes among young autistic children presents significant challenges, particularly when tracking intervention effects within short timeframes. Existing measures, mostly validated in Western contexts, may not be suitable for culturally diverse populations. Addressing this gap, the Social…

Sensory-based interventions are commonly utilized by pediatric occupational therapy practitioners when working with children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of fixed-time breaks with access to sensory stimuli on behavior that interfered with participation in pediatric occupational therapy sessions. Two boys…

Research has shown video modeling to be effective for training adult service providers to administer evidence-based practices to children with autism. This study examined the effects of video modeling training (VMT) on neurotypical adolescents' performance of peer mediated social interaction (PMSI), a 10-step procedure of simplified behavioral…

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant health distress among autistic adults in the United States. While there is considerable evidence that autistic adults' COVID-19 health distress was related to increases in mental health concerns (e.g. depression, anxiety, and stress), there is a less clear understanding of the possible mechanisms by which…

With the widespread use of mobile and self-service technology in everyday living, acquiring independent living skills associated with the use of current technology (e.g., self-checkout, mobile payment) is increasingly important for successful community integration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a picture activity schedule…