Empathy is an essential component of human social life. It requires the ability to understand another's mental state and respond with an appropriate emotion or action. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been described to exhibit atypical empathic responses which limit communication and social interactions. This review highlights…

Mathematics anxiety is a pervasive issue in education that requires attention from both educators and researchers to help students reach their full academic potential. This review provides an overview of past research that has investigated the association between math anxiety and math achievement, factors that can cause math anxiety,…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by…

The most common group of mitochondrial disease is due to mutations within the mitochondrial DNA polymerase, polymerase gamma 1 ("POLG"). This gene product is responsible for replication and repair of the small mitochondrial DNA genome. The structure-function relationship of this gene product produces a wide variety of diseases that at times, seems…

We begin this article by examining the role of intellectual disabilities within child psychiatry, highlighting the relatively steady role of disabilities and the recent movement to examine behavior in specific genetic syndromes. We next propose five questions for future work. Questions relate to (1) specifying the nature of gene-brain-behavior…

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetically determined neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex phenotype that changes with age. The rarity of the syndrome and the need to control for different variables such as genetic sub-type, age and gender limits clinical studies of sufficient size in any one country. A clinical research…

We previously reported a meta-analysis of explicit memory studies in populations with intellectual disability (ID). The current study discusses the educational implications of this meta-analysis. The main factors at the core of these implications can be divided into two categories: those related to task characteristics (e.g., depth of processing,…

Each year the members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee identify recent research findings that made the most impact on the field. For the 2009 Summary of Advances, the IACC selected and summarized 20 studies that gave significant insight into the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the biology of the disorder, potential…

Gilbert Gottlieb's data and epigenetic approach support the conclusion that organisms are functionally-whole agents at each phase of development rather than simply incompletely developed adults prior to sexual maturity and deteriorated adults in old age. This implies that organisms construct distinct ontogenetic niches at each phase of…

Identifying individuals with mathematical difficulties (MD) is becoming increasingly important in our education system. However, recognising MD is only the first stage in the provision of special educational needs (SEN). Although planning the effective remedial support is vital, there is little consensus on the interventions that are appropriate.…

The current article is designed to provide school counselors an understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The causes, characteristics, and treatment approaches are presented with examples focusing on school-related issues. The article concludes with a discussion about the role that the school counselor can take in helping the child…

Literature from the field of developmental behavior suggests that the relative effect of genetic influences on cognitive ability may increase with age, whereas the relative effect of shared environment may decrease. Implications of these findings are discussed, including the importance of studying environmental issues outside the family.…

Traditional conceptions of giftedness assume that only talented individuals possess the necessary gifts required to reach the highest levels of performance. This article describes an alternative view that expert performance results from acquired cognitive and physiological adaptations due to extended deliberate practice. A review of evidence, such…

The possible mechanisms involved in continuities and discontinuities in psychopathology between childhood and adult life are considered in relation to the findings from systematic, prospective, long-term longitudinal studies. Findings on schizophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional disturbances, antisocial behaviour and substance abuse…

Significant mental health problems can and do occur in young children. In some cases, these problems can have serious consequences for early learning, social competence, and lifelong health. Furthermore, the foundations of many mental health problems that endure through adulthood are established early in life through the interaction of genetic…