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Research
Investigating Parental Observations of Early Autism Development in Simplex and Multiplex FamiliesPast research has highlighted the importance of early identification of developmental differences to improve targeted access to early interventions or supports. As such, it is of particular importance in the context of children at elevated likelihood of autism (such as where an older sibling has a diagnosis of autism), to better understand when and which early concerns are important as predictors of which children will benefit from pre-diagnostic supports.
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Empathy and Autism: Establishing the Structure and Different Manifestations of Empathy in Autistic Individuals Using the Perth Empathy ScaleThere is a common mischaracterisation that autistic individuals have reduced or absent empathy. Measurement issues may have influenced existing findings on the relationships between autism and empathy, and the structure of the empathy construct in autism remains unclear.
Research
Parent-reported Areas of Greatest Challenge for their ADHD and/or Autistic ChildrenThis study aimed to understand how parents describe the most challenging behaviors exhibited by their children diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD, how those behaviours impact their family, and whether challenges are directly related to the core characteristics of these conditions.
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Caregiver sensitivity predicts infant language use, and infant language complexity predicts caregiver language complexity, in the context of possible emerging autismWhile theory supports bidirectional effects between caregiver sensitivity and language use, and infant language acquisition-both caregiver-to-infant and also infant-to-caregiver effects-empirical research has chiefly explored the former unidirectional path. In the context of infants showing early signs of autism, we investigated prospective bidirectional associations with 6-min free-play interaction samples collected for 103 caregivers and their infants (mean age 12-months; and followed up 6-months later).
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Hypothesis-driven genome-wide association studies provide novel insights into genetics of reading disabilitiesReading Disability is often characterized by difficulties in the phonology of the language. While the molecular mechanisms underlying it are largely undetermined, loci are being revealed by genome-wide association studies.
Research
Early biomarkers predictive of autismThis study aims to investigate the cellular and molecular profiles of the immune system in infants at high/low risk for Autism, as determined through clinical assessment.
News & Events
Thinking big to tackle kids’ brain developmentIf there’s one thing modern researchers and health professionals now understand, it’s that for so many diseases and conditions affecting children and adolescents, early intervention is crucial.
News & Events
The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers share in TPCHRF fundingEight The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers are among those who have received grant funding from the Telethon-Perth Children’s Hospital Research Fund (TPCHRF).
News & Events
Children with autism may benefit from app-based therapiesA The Kids Research Institute Australia study has shown that in addition to intervention with trained therapists, children with autism may benefit from app-based therapies.
News & Events
Autism researcher wins accolade for science videosProfessor Andrew Whitehouse has been awarded an Autism Spectrum Australia Recognition Award for his work communicating scientific findings to families.