Children with autism from underserved communities face complex system-, provider-, and family-level barriers to accessing timely diagnosis and early intervention. The current study evaluated the preliminary effects and feasibility of a new program (ECHO Autism LINKS) that integrated pediatric primary care provider (PCP) training with family…

Autistic youth and youth with ADHD have heightened rates of bullying victimization, anxiety, and depression. The purpose of this research is to use nationally representative US data to (1) estimate the prevalence of anxiety and depression among bullied neurodivergent youth and (2) investigate whether the association between bullying victimization…

Paraeducators are often tasked with supporting students with complex communication needs (CCN) without being well prepared to promote their communication. Previous studies have focused on training paraeducators to promote communication during non-instructional contexts for limited or unspecified communication types. We extend the literature by…

One key characteristic of students with autism is communicative dysfunction more specifically with pragmatic skills such as phrasing and syntax. Communication research has indicated a significant group difference between upper elementary grade students with autism and their typically developing peers in expressive phrasing (production of word…

As the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases, the need for well trained teachers who can implement behavior interventions also increases. The current study examines the available research to determine which methods of training are most effective in increasing teacher fidelity to implement behavior…

Research suggests some children as early as preschool years exhibit clinically significant levels of internalizing symptoms (i.e., anxiety, somatic, and depressive symptoms), and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at a heightened risk. The purpose of this study was to examine age differences of internalizing symptoms in a sample of…

The mean diagnosis age of autism was about 5 years in Taiwan. Whether the delayed diagnosis of autism ([greater than or equal to] 6 years) was associated with parental severe mental disorders remained unknown. The parents of 22,859 autistic individuals and 228,590 age- and sex-matched nonautistic individuals were assessed for the presence of…

In their pursuits of feeling successful, autistic college students may turn to several sources and tools. Until now, however, we largely have not understood what most matters to them. Stemming from a national study of autistic college student success, this paper explores the role of faculty members as a major piece of students' feelings of…

The growing body of literature on bullying in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests individuals with ASD are bullied more frequently than their non-ASD peers. However, there is no gold standard assessment tool for bullying in ASD, and the use of differing methodologies generates varying prevalence estimates. This systematic review evaluates the…

The authors conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed, empirical studies to summarize literature examining the interface between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the criminal justice system (CJS). The authors searched 13 professional databases and 28 journals using key terms related to ASD and the CJS. From a total of 678…

To investigate additive and interactive associations of food allergies with three glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes in relation to ASD and ASD severity in Jamaican children. Using data from 344 1:1 age- and sex-matched ASD cases and typically developing controls, we assessed additive and interactive associations of food allergies with…

The aim of this pilot study was to assess the efficacy of a desensitization program developed by dentists and occupational therapists, targeted at autistic adults, to encourage their cooperation in the dental setting. The study group consisted of 18 individuals with autism (10 men and 8 women, aged 18 - 45 years). The patients underwent a baseline…

Multidimensional theory of mind assessments should include items assessing both explicit theory of mind (theory of mind knowledge) and applied theory of mind (application of theory of mind knowledge in real-life contexts). However, the two theory of mind scores cannot be interpreted collectively to identify children having mismatched explicit and…

The current study investigated whether the difficulty in finding group differences in prosody between speakers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical (NT) speakers might be explained by identifying different acoustic profiles of speakers which, while still perceived as atypical, might be characterized by different acoustic qualities.…

To better understand the associations between social activities and depressive symptoms in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder, this study utilized interpersonal theories of depression by accounting for both frequency of various social activities and perceptions of how well their time spent in these activities meet their…