A growing body of research suggests that symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may present differently in males and females. This study examined gender differences in ASD symptoms and developmental functioning, using the "Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtism Traits, Part 1" (BISCUIT-Part 1) and the "Battelle…

Once considered rare, autism is now viewed as a common and highly debilitating condition that has generated great interest among mental health professionals worldwide. The disorder is quite heterogeneous, can be very debilitating, and has a lifelong course. The general consensus among researchers, therefore, is that intervention should start at a…

Previous research has found that individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and those with greater symptom severity within these diagnoses, show higher rates of aggressive/destructive behavior, stereotypic behavior, and self-injurious behavior. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, toddlers at-risk for a…

Behavioral symptoms of comorbid psychopathology of 651 children 17-37 months of age who were at risk for developmental disabilities were studied using the BISCUIT-Part 2. In Study 1, norms and cutoff scores were established for this new scale on this sample. In Study 2, frequency of response on the 52 items measured was reported. Problems in…

The diagnosis of autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), particularly in young children has become a top priority in the fields of mental health and education. Core symptoms include rituals and stereotypies, social skills deficits, and problems in communication. Considerable overlap exists in symptoms for…

PDDNOS is a particularly important form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) due to the frequency with which it is diagnosed. Having said that, it is often diagnosed by what it is not (not autism) as opposed to what it is. And, while PDDNOS is likely to be more common than autism, studies on PDDNOS are much less frequent. Perhaps with the exception…

The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have generated great interest among clinicians and researchers. Once considered rare, recent epidemiological data now suggests rates of up to 1 in 150 people. One of the most frequent of the ASD, Asperger's syndrome (AS), has been known as a disorder for as long as autism, which is easily the most visible of…

Background: This study assessed the psychometrics of two measures--the "Matson Evaluation of Drug Side-effects" (MEDS) and the "Akathisia Ratings of Movement Scale" (ARMS)--and examined the symptom profile of akathisia in a sample of people with intellectual disability (ID). Method: Sixty-six participants formed three groups of…

Asperger's syndrome (AS), first diagnosed in 1944, and has only recently begun to receive a great deal of research attention. An emerging controversy has been whether AS is a distinct condition from high functioning autism (HFA), and if so, can it be reliably and validly diagnosed. While measures designed specifically to aid in the screening and…

Comorbidity, the co-occurrence of two or more disorders in the same person, has been a topic receiving considerable attention in the child psychopathology literature overall. Despite many publications in the ADHD, depression and other child literatures, autism spectrum disorder has not received such scrutiny. The purpose of this review will be to…

The development of standardized tests to assess autism, particularly in young children, is a topic of considerable interest in the research community. Recent years have seen an exponential growth in scales for differential diagnosis. Particular emphasis has been placed on defining and better delineating the symptoms of the disorder relative to…

Psychologists interviewed direct-care staff using a battery of assessment measures including the autism spectrum disorders-diagnosis for intellectually disabled adults (ASD-DA), the Diagnostic Assessment for the Severely Handicapped-II (DASH-II), the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for Individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER), the…