Compared to their neurotypically developing peers, children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders tend to have attenuated neural responses in the parietal lobe when attending sensory input, as reflected by a reduced P3b amplitude measured with electroencephalography. However, it is unknown whether a reduced P3b amplitude in autistic…

Autistic children have difficulties in adapting their language for particular listeners and contexts. We asked whether these difficulties are more prominent when children are required to be cognitively flexible, when changing how they have previously referred to a particular object. We compared autistic (N = 30) with neuro-typical 5- to…

Although electrophysiological (electroencephalography) measures of executive functions (e.g. error monitoring) have been used to predict academic achievement in typically developing children, work investigating a link between error monitoring and academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorder is limited. In this study, we employed…

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder frequently experience social communication difficulties, executive functioning deficits, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, which are similar to the symptoms and correlates of sluggish cognitive tempo. Although sluggish cognitive tempo is related to, but distinct from, the inattentive and…

Sleep disturbance and executive dysfunction have been widely reported in children with autism spectrum disorder. While the positive impacts of physical activity on sleep quality and cognition are documented in children with typical development, similar studies in children with autism spectrum disorder are scarce. The objective of this study was to…

Adults with autism spectrum disorder often experience co-occurring mental health problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity-disorder, as well as impairments in executive function. Sluggish cognitive tempo, a cluster of behaviors including slow processing, daydreaming, and mental fogginess, has been shown to be associated with…

Many young people with autism spectrum disorder display 'challenging behaviours', characterised by externalising behaviour and self-injurious behaviours. These behaviours can have a negative impact on a young person's well-being, family environment and educational achievement. However, the development of effective interventions requires greater…

Autism spectrum disorders are defined by difficulties across a range of areas: social and communication difficulties and restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests. It has been suggested that this triad of symptoms cannot be explained by a single cause at the genetic, neural or cognitive level. This article reviews the evidence for a…