Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit emotional problems, which can be associated with emotion regulation (ER) difficulties. Parent co-regulation is often associated with child ER and emotional problems, though little work has been done with reference to youth with ASD. This study investigated the association among parent…

A review of research studies on the effects of fenfluramine as a pharmaceutical treatment for autistic children is presented. Fenfluramine had positive effects on the reduction of hyperactivity and stereotypic behaviors in approximately one-third of subjects. The best responders were children with the highest baseline intelligence quotients.…

Comparison of 384 male and 91 female autistic children (three through eight years old) revealed that females as a group scored less well on intelligence tests. Boys also performed better than girls on eye-hand integration and perceptual tasks. Predictions of female superiority in affect and receptive vocabulary were not supported. (CL)

A study examined the frequency and cognitive correlates of enlarged head circumference in 63 children with autism (ages 4-14). Macrocephaly occurred at a significantly higher frequency. Children with discrepantly high nonverbal abilities had a mean standardized head circumference that was more than 1 standard deviation greater than the reference…

Interviews with 21 high-functioning adults with autism and 20 mildly to moderately mentally retarded adults without autism indicated that the mentally retarded group had more sexual experiences, with no intergroup differences in sexual knowledge or interest. Intelligence quotient was positively correlated with knowledge scores and males had…

A Canadian study compared the rate of cognitive disabilities in 156 relatives of 49 individuals with autism to that found in 55 relatives of 18 individuals with mental retardation. No differences were found; however, female and low IQ individuals were found to have higher family histories of cognitive disabilities. (Author/CR)

Platelet serotonin (5HT) levels of 5 autistic subjects (ages 16-37) who had siblings with either autism or pervasive developmental disorder were significantly higher than levels of 23 autistic subjects without affected siblings. Autistic subjects without affected siblings had 5HT levels significantly higher than 10 normal controls. Sex, age, and…

A study involving 35 children (age 9) with high-functioning autism, 31 children with developmental language disorder, 40 children with low-functioning autism, and 17 children with low IQ, found IQ was predictive of adaptive behavior in both low-functioning groups, but language and verbal memory predicted adaptive behavior in higher functioning…

Social behaviors among girls (ages 6-16) with fragile X (n=8) or Turner syndrome (n=9) were examined to address the role of family environment versus biological determinants of social dysfunction. Compared to their sisters, subjects had lower IQS and higher rating of social and attention problems. (Author/CR)