Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) form a heterogeneous group, posing a challenge for clinical definition. Additional problems regarding the diverse clinical presentation arise from changes in diagnostic criteria according to the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), with exclusion of…

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder, which is accompanied by differences in brain anatomy, functioning and brain connectivity. Due to its neurodevelopmental character, and the large phenotypic heterogeneity among individuals on the autism spectrum, the neurobiology of autism spectrum disorder is inherently difficult…

No reviews to date have summarized the views of parents on the functional challenges and/or strengths of their children with autism spectrum disorder. We set out to perform a scoping review aiming (a) to identify and collate global results to provide a broad description of parental perspective of functioning research and (b) to summarize these…

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of students identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with increasing estimates of prevalence still emerging from cohorts monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, dissemination to a school psychology audience about these students' needs has been disparate, with…

The fifth edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) (APA in diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, Author, Washington, 2013) has decided to merge the subtypes of pervasive developmental disorders into a single category of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the assumption that they cannot be…

Systematic literature reviews can play a key role in underpinning evidence-based practice. To date, large-scale reviews of interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have focused primarily on research quality. To assist practitioners, the current review adopted a broader framework which allowed for greater consideration of…

This synthesis paper summarizes research literature addressing challenging behaviours in children and youth with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities in school settings. We conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify relevant peer-reviewed articles published between the years 2000 and 2011. The methodological…

Social stories play a significant part in the teaching skills and behaviors to children with ASD who lack social skills. The purpose of this study is to analyze studies in which social stories were used for teaching social skills to individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The present study includes a descriptive review and meta-analysis…

The classification of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a topic of debate among clinicians and researchers with many questioning the validity of the distinction among subtypes. This manuscript examines the validity of three ASD subtypes (Autism, Asperger's, and PDDNOS) by reviewing 22 studies published between 1994 and 2006. We reviewed studies…

In this article we review the empirical evidence for the presumptions that children with disabilities are at increased risk for child maltreatment, and parents with disabilities are more likely to perpetrate child abuse and neglect. Challenges to the epidemiological examination of the prevalence of child maltreatment and disabilities are…

The book contains five papers presented at a 1979 topical conference on the definition of emotional disturbance and behavioral disorders in educational settings. The first paper, by F. Wood, is titled "Defining Disturbing, Disordered, and Disturbed Behavior." Topics covered include ambivalence about defining deviant behavior by special educators,…

The document reports several policy options that address the issue of educating autistic children in rural and sparsely populated areas. A description of autistic children relates numerous problems, confusions, and disagreements about the nature and course of the handicap including lack of agreement about definition and treatment. The most…

This review summarizes subject selection and diagnostic procedures documented in 142 empirical articles published between 1993 and 1997. Although most researchers reported use of standard diagnostic criteria in classifying subjects, numerous studies did not report diagnostic methods and there was often a lack of specification of inclusion and…

This article reviews the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Forth Edition-Text Revision" and compares and contrasts the diagnostic criteria for individuals with autism with the educational requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Problems with using a dual classification system are…

This review of research discusses how children with autism may acquire equivalence classes after learning to supply a common oral name to each stimulus in a potential class. A proposed methodology for researching referent naming and class formation, analysis of stimulus classes, and generalization is offered. (CR)