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Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed to manage anxiety in adults with an autism diagnosis. However, their effectiveness and adverse effect profile in the autistic population are not well known. This trial aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SSRI sertraline in reducing symptoms of anxiety and improving quality of life in adults with a diagnosis of autism compared with placebo and to quantify any adverse effects. 

Research

Individuals exhibiting pronounced autistic traits (e.g., social differences and specialised interests) may struggle with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to infer others' emotions), although the relationship with affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share others' emotions) is less clear in that higher levels of autistic traits may be linked with increased affective empathy for negative emotions but reduced affective empathy for positive emotions. The current study investigates this empathy profile and whether alexithymia and emotion dysregulation help to explain it.

Research

The study of temperament in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has the potential to provide insight regarding variability in the onset, nature, and course of both core and co-morbid symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to integrate existing findings concerning temperament in the context of ASD. Searches of Medline, PsychInfo and Scopus databases identified 64 relevant studies. As a group, children and adolescents with ASD appear to be temperamentally different from both typically developing and other clinical non-ASD groups, characterized by higher negative affectivity, lower surgency, and lower effortful control at a higher-order level.

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Parents continue to support to autistic university students, and consequently, experience considerable stress. The aim was to explore the experiences of parents of specialist peer mentored university students and to examine these using the ICF as a theoretical framework.

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Increased risk of autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability and cerebral palsy with intellectual disability for mothers of some foreign-born groups

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In this population-based cohort that included 2,084 children with autism aged ≤6 years, over one-third met the criteria for motor difficulties

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Anxiety and sleep problems may be an early indicator of autism in young children and early autistic traits may also contribute to anxiety problems later in childhood

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Our findings contribute to the genotype–phenotype data for atypical nested 22q11.2 duplications, with implications for genetic counseling

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This study provides further evidence that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with autism-like behaviors in offspring

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We review medical conditions that have been repeatedly highlighted as sharing the strongest associations with ASD-epilepsy, sleep, as well as gastrointestinal and immune functioning