For autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in adults there are several diagnostic instruments available with a need for consideration of the psychometric properties. This study aimed to conduct a first psychometric evaluation of a new diagnostic ASD instrument, the NIDA (Dutch Interview for Diagnostic assessment of ASD in adults) in 90 adult males without…

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…

Autistic adults who have a history of committing crimes present a major problem for providers of services in terms of legal disposal options and possible interventions, and greater understanding of this group and their associated needs is required. For this reason, we aimed to investigate the face validity of a proposed sub-typology of autistic…

Deficits in social communication and interaction have been identified as distinguishing impairments for individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a pivotal skill, the successful development of social communication and interaction in individuals with ASD is a lifelong objective. Point-of-view video modeling (VM) has the potential to…

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…

Psychometric properties and initial validity of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), a measure of treatment-response for social-communication behaviors, are described. The BOSCC coding scheme is applied to 177 video observations of 56 young children with ASD and minimal language abilities. The BOSCC has high to excellent…

This study used a multiple probe across participants' research design to evaluate the effects of instruction on the acquisition of letter-sound correspondences (LSCs) by three young children with autism spectrum disorder and limited speech. All three children (ages 3-5 years) reached criterion for identifying the LSCs targeted during instruction,…

The number of Social Stories[TM] studies and reviews has increased in recent years, yet concerns regarding quality and effect sizes continue to be expressed. With the emphasis on evidence-based practices (EBPs) for the education and treatment of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), this issue becomes of paramount importance as…

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…