Anecdotal reports link a distinct, bilateral, parieto-temporally generated 4.5-Hz rhythm on an electroencephalogram to a methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene variant co-occurring in autism spectrum disorder, but the validation of its precision is needed. The electroencephalograms of children with autism spectrum disorder showing the distinct…

Children on the autism spectrum experience difficulties with social interactions, often resulting in lower quality of friendships. As such, children with autism often benefit from support with social skills, which are usually delivered in school settings. Social skills are not limited to school settings. Playdates are defined as prearranged…

Children with autism frequently present with complex mental health diagnoses and psychotropic medications are often a component of comprehensive biopsychosocial treatment plans for these conditions. The purpose of this study is to provide rates and patterns of psychotropic medication use, and predictors thereof, in children and youth with autism…

The aim of this study was to compare the rates of psychotropic medication use and psychotropic polypharmacy between autistic adults with and without intellectual disability (ID) and to examine factors associated with psychotropic medication use and psychotropic polypharmacy in autistic adults, stratified by the presence of ID. We conducted a…

Purpose: Increased local-to-global interference has been found in those with ASD, AD and OCD, and as such, may represent a transdiagnostic marker. As a first step to investigating this, we aimed to assess the overlap in traits of these disorders in a non-clinical sample, and whether local-global processing relates to the traits of the three…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are five times more likely to have feeding difficulties than neurotypical peers, although the majority of evidence describes feeding difficulty in children age 2 years and older. The purpose of this study is to systematically review the literature on feeding characteristics of children age 0-24 months…

Pre-registration refers to the practice of researchers preparing a time-stamped document describing the plans for a study. This open research tool is used to improve transparency, so that readers can evaluate the extent to which the researcher adhered to their original plans and tested their theory appropriately. In the current study, we conducted…

Researchers have reported that children engage in pretend play that reflects the conventional activities of their environment (i.e., "learned-combinations play"). In contrast, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display fewer and less varied play behaviors. Research on teaching pretend play to children with ASD often involves…

Compared to solids, less paediatric feeding research has targeted liquids, medication, and teaching independence skills (e.g., fork, chopsticks). No research to our knowledge has reported transitioning from spout squeeze 'baby food' pouches, increasing finger-feeding, and teaching steps in scooping, sipping, and biting off portions. We detail a…

Objective: Investigate whether patterns of heart rate variability (indexed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia) and visual attention at 12 to 18 months of age predict elevated ADHD symptoms, autism, or neither during the preschool period. Method: Ninety infants 12 to 18 months of age (M = 17.27, SD = 1.93; 36 females; 82.2% non-Hispanic) participated…

Purpose: Pronouns stitch together discourse by linking referents within and across sentences. Previous research has shown that people often rely on two strategies to interpret pronouns: the subject bias (assuming the pronoun refers to the subject of a prior sentence) and the repeated mention bias (assuming it refers to a person that was mentioned…

This article describes and reflects on the first six meetings of a newly established Autistic community council, founded to steer a participatory, longitudinal qualitative study investigating the reproductive health of Autistic people with wombs. The two key aims of these initial six meetings -- involving four Autistic community leader members and…

As the number of students with autism enrolled in general education increases, there remains a need to support their academic achievement. While much of the existing literature presents the ways that teachers can support the social, emotional or sensory needs of students with autism, research into the academic supports for school-aged students…

Difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep is common among autistic individuals and co-occurs with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. This study tested associations between subcortical regions implicated in sleep processes and measures of dysregulated sleep initiation/maintenance in autistic and non-autistic 2- to 4-year-olds. The role of…

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) severity and having a special education or early intervention plan and the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on this association. This study used the 2020-2021 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) and included 2,537 children aged 3-17…