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Research

The aim of the present study was to compare scale and conditional reliability derived from item response theory analyses among the most commonly used, as well as several newly developed, observation, interview, and parent-report autism instruments.

Research

Links between temperament and social-emotional difficulties are well-established in normative child development but remain poorly characterized in autism. We sought to characterize distinct temperament subgroups and their associations with concurrent internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 103 infants showing early signs of autism.

Research

Given the significance of gut microbiota in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we aimed to assess the quality of systematic reviews (SRs) of studies assessing gut microbiota and effects of probiotic supplementation in children with ASD. PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Medline, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception to November 2024. 

Research

Early motor impairments have been reported in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), but it is not clear if early detection of motor impairments can identify children at risk for NDD or how early such impairments might be detected. Our aim was to characterize early motor function in children later diagnosed with NDD relative to typically developing children or normative data.

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Little is known about parent preferences regarding delivery methods of early interventions. This research examined, through parent report, the current and preferred delivery methods of seven common educational early interventions accessed by New Zealand children with autism spectrum disorder.

Research

Caregiver-mediated supports in general have shown mixed evidence for enhancing language outcomes in infants at higher likelihood of autism. While caregivers play a substantial role in caregiver-mediated supports, little is known about whether caregivers' own subclinical autistic features - known as broader autism phenotype - may moderate infant language outcomes. 

Research

Eye-tracking could expedite autism identification/diagnosis through standardisation and objectivity. We tested whether Gazefinder autism assessment, with Classification Algorithm derived from gaze fixation durations, would have good accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] ≥ 0.80) to differentiate 2-4-year-old autistic from non-autistic children.

Research

Alexithymia—a trait characterized by difficulties in emotion processing—is of high interest in the autism field. However, the lack of validated alexithymia measures for autistic individuals limits progress. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) across autistic and non-autistic samples. Using the PAQ, we investigated how alexithymia manifests in autistic individuals and its links with poor mental health outcomes (anxiety).

Research

This 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. 

Research

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by social and communication differences, is complex and aetiologically heterogeneous. Untargeted metabolomics is emerging as a tool in screening for biochemical abnormalities. This research was conducted using the Australian Autism Biobank resource and involved analysis of plasma metabolites to characterise metabolite differences between autistic children and controls.