Since its initial development, the embedded figures test (EFT) has been used extensively to measure local-global perceptual style. However, little is known about the perceptual factors that influence target detection. The current study aimed to investigate "disembedding" in children with and without ASD, aged 8-15 years, using the newly…

The comprehension of dynamically unfolding social situations is made possible by the seamless integration of multimodal information merged with rich intuitions about the thoughts and behaviors of others. We examined how high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder and neurotypical controls made a complex social judgment (i.e. rating the…

Studies comparing mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children are hitherto scarce, inconclusive, and mainly focusing on elementary school children or adolescents. The present study wants to gain insight into the foundation of mathematics by looking at preschool performances. Five early…

The purpose of this study was to pilot test the effects of a culturally adapted early intervention influenced by the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) on reduction of autism symptoms and severity categorization for young children with autism spectrum disorders in China. Participants were randomly assigned to either the control or intervention…

Identifying effective, community-based specialized interventions for young children with autism spectrum disorder is an international clinical and research priority. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model intervention in a group of young children with autism spectrum disorder living in an Italian community compared to a…

This study investigated three conversational subskills in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS, n = 8, ages 7-13) and Williams syndrome (WS, n = 8, ages 6-12). The researchers re-evaluated these subskills after 18 to 24 months and compared them to those of peers with idiopathic intellectual disability (IID) and IID and comorbid…

Research Findings: To date, studies comparing the mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing children are scarce, and results remain inconclusive. In general, studies on this topic focus on mathematical abilities learned from elementary school onward, with little attention for possible…

This study examines whether explicit reading comprehension instruction is relevant for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Forty-five students (M[subscript age] = 9 years) were randomly assigned to two conditions: control or intervention. Those assigned to the intervention condition received instruction on vocabulary,…

Bicycle riding is a functional motor skill that increases physical activity opportunities, social interaction, and independence. However, bicycle riding is difficult for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn. This study examined the effectiveness of home-support consultation (HSC) on increasing the maintenance of independent bicycle…

Atypical gaze processing has been reported in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here we explored how infants at risk for ASD respond behaviorally to others' direct gaze. We assessed 10-month-olds with a sibling with ASD (high risk group; n = 61) and a control group (n = 18) during interaction with an adult. Eye-tracking revealed less…

Reading with comprehension is a challenge for students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Unfortunately, research has little to offer to teachers trying to help these students. The present study pilots a new intervention targeting vocabulary, main idea identification, anaphoric relations, and text structure. Students (N = 13, M…

More than 20?years ago, Minshew and colleagues proposed the Complex Information Processing model of autism in which the impairment is characterized as a generalized deficit involving multiple modalities and cognitive domains that depend on distributed cortical systems responsible for higher order abilities. Subsequent behavioral work revealed a…

Joint attention intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders was focused on improving joint engagement and joint attention skills. The purpose of this study was to develop a caregiver-mediated joint engagement intervention program combined with body movement play to investigate the effects of joint engagement/joint attention skills in…

Background: The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a popular augmentative communication system frequently used with "nonverbal" children with autism. Several studies suggested that PECS could represent an effective tool for promoting improvement of several social-communicative skills. Only sparse evidence is instead…

Motor and social difficulties are often found in children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with developmental coordination disorder (DCD), to varying degrees. This study investigated the extent of overlap of these problems in children aged 7-10 years who had a diagnosis of either ASD or DCD, compared to typically-developing controls.…