Consistent with a "double empathy" framework, autistic adults often experience better interaction with autistic compared with non-autistic partners. Here, we examined whether non-autistic observers detect differences in autistic interactions relative to non-autistic and mixed ones. Non-autistic adults (N = 102) rated the interaction…

Employing a mixed methods approach, this study examined the knowledge and information Ontario physicians have concerning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Physicians are at the front line when it comes to identifying ASD. The Healthcare Professional Questionnaire was filled out by 46 physicians and 16 filled out the Knowledge about Childhood Autism…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience behavioral and emotional symptoms hypothesized to arise from "emotion dysregulation" (ED), difficulty modulating emotional experience, expression, and intensity in an acceptable and contextually appropriate manner. We developed Regulating Together (RT)--an intensive-outpatient,…

The study examined timing of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) identification in education versus health settings for 8-year-old children with ASD identified through records-based surveillance. The study also examined type of ASD symptoms noted within special education evaluations. Results indicated that children with records from only education…

d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/Dhh) students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may require specific approaches to promote social inclusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of reading social stories with American Sign Language vocabulary to students who are d/Dhh with ASD (d/Dhh-ASD) and their peers in inclusive settings,…

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show abnormal face perception and emotion recognition. However, it remains largely unknown whether these differences are associated with abnormal physiological responses when viewing faces. In this study, we employed a sensitive emotion judgment task and conducted a detailed investigation of pupil…

Autism science faces several conceptual and ethical challenges. These include fundamental issues such as how to characterize autism and the fact that research findings and how they are interpreted sometimes contribute to negative perceptions of autistic people. We argue that some of these challenges can be addressed by centering the perspectives…

This paper describes the (Sin Exclusión) Transdisciplinary Autism Assessment and Resources ([S]TAAR) model and presents early metrics tracking efficiency and equity in access to high-quality comprehensive autism evaluations for young children. Retrospective chart reviews over one year (08/2018-08/2019) with n = 173 children were reviewed. Through…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL) of families. This study aimed to examine, for parents of children with ASD, the dyadic effect of each parent's coping strategy on the perception of the impact of ASD on their QoL. In total, 164 couples completed self-report questionnaires, including the…

Past research shows that autistic children can and do create imaginary companions (ICs), and that these ICs resemble those that neurotypical children create. Neurotypical children creating ICs have been found to have significantly more developed theory of mind (ToM) and social understanding among other enhanced social cognitive skills. The study…

Limited guidance is available for families of youth with ASD (YASD) to prepare for invasive medical procedures. This study examined caregiver perspectives regarding YASD's gastrointestinal endoscopy (GE) experience to improve the endoscopy experience for YASD. Thirty-four caregivers of YASD, (M = 9.85 years, SD = 4.6) who underwent GE at Rady…

Tactile defensiveness in autistic individuals is the least investigated sensory modality. The current multi-component, explorative study aimed to understand the experiences of ten autistic adults regarding tactile defensiveness and fabrics, using semi-structured, one-to-one interviews. Participants were asked to discuss the effects of seven…

There is increasing evidence supporting the effectiveness of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) for children on the autism spectrum. However, substantial variability in response to the ESDM has been reported across participants. We examined the plausible yet untested hypothesis that variations in the fidelity level of therapists delivering the…

In this perspective, we argue that the regular use of diversity advisory boards in autism research will improve the inclusivity and participation of marginalized groups in autism research and intervention development. We define a diversity advisory board as a representative group of community members, scholars, policymakers, and area experts that…

Few eye tracking studies have examined how people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) visually attend during live interpersonal interaction, and none with the Chinese population. This study used an eye tracker to record the gaze behavior in 20 Chinese children with ASD and 23 children with typical development (TD) when they were engaged in a…