To examine reliability and validity of the new Social Motor Function Classification System for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (SMFCS-ASD). The SMFCS-ASD reliability was examined on 25 children (62.4 months SD 7.8) with ASD among six physical therapists. The validity study involved 1001 children (57.0 months, SD 9.9) with ASD using the…

Background: Access to timely and appropriate speech-language pathology (SLP) services is a significant challenge for many families. Telehealth has been used successfully to treat a range of communication disorders in children and adults. Research examining the use of telehealth for children with autism has focused largely on diagnosis,…

Previous research shows inconsistency in clinician-assigned diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We conducted an exploratory study that examined the concordance of diagnoses between a multidisciplinary assessment team and a range of independent clinicians throughout Australia. Nine video-taped Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)…

Evidence is accumulating that early intervention can be effective in improving the skills of young children with autism spectrum disorder. However, the science is hampered by the lack of agreed "gold standard" tools for the measurement of progress and outcome. What is required is a reliable, valid, and sensitive measure of change in the…

Despite embracing a bio-psycho-social perspective, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) assessment framework has had limited application to date with children who have special educational needs (SEN). This study examines its utility for educational psychologists' work with…

Background: Expressed emotion (EE) is a measure of family emotional climate found to be predictive of symptom levels in a range of psychiatric, medical, and developmental disorders, including autism. Method: Employing data from 104 mothers of children with autism, this study examines the Autism-Specific Five Minute Speech Sample (AFMSS), a…

Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) is a well-established treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and is thus widely recommended. However, the content of EIBI programs presumably varies considerably and may not always be tailored to the individual strengths and deficits of each child. Few assessment tools exist (and…

The Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) category is a psychopathological entity few have described and is poorly, and mainly negatively, defined by autism exclusion. In order to limit PDD-NOS heterogeneity, alternative clinical constructs have been developed. This study explored the reliability and the diagnostic…

The Modified-Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication (M-COSMIC) was developed as an ecologically valid measure of social-communication behaviour, delineating forms, functions, and intended partners of children's spontaneous communication acts. Forty-one children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 48-73 months were…

The Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI) was developed to detect and monitor early signs of autism as they emerge in high-risk infants (all with an older sibling with an autistic spectrum disorder). Here we describe the scale and its development, and provide preliminary data on its reliability. Inter-rater reliability both for total scores…