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Autism spectrum research

Everything we have read on autism spectrum. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

2,764 PAPERS · PAGE 14 OF 56 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPOther2020Varied treatment response in young children with autism: A relative comparison of structured and naturalistic behavioral approaches.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn four toddlers at risk for autism, neither DTT nor PRT was best for all children. Some learned more rapidly with PRT, others with DTT, and differences varied by language, play, and imitation.
• SLPOther2019The reliability and validity of the social responsiveness scale to measure autism symptomology in Vietnamese children.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn Vietnamese children, the translated SRS separated children with and without ASD well when caregivers were interviewed. A raw score cutoff of 62 worked better than the US cutoff of 70.
• SLPCase-Control2019Infection and Fever in Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Findings from the Study to Explore Early Development.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchOverall maternal infection in pregnancy was not linked to higher autism risk. A link appeared for fever with infection in the second trimester, but it weakened when medication treatment was considered. This is an observational risk study, not treatment guidance.
• SLPCohort2019Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAcross infants, including those later diagnosed with autism, hearing more adult words and having more back-and-forth talk at 9 and 15 months was associated with better language skills at 24 months.
• SLPSystematic Review2019Time perception and autistic spectrum condition: A systematic review.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBasic time perception studies in autism were inconsistent, but all studies of remembering to act at a set time found poorer performance. The paper says this may be tied to executive function, not a pure clock problem.
• SLPCohort2019Conversational Language Is a Predictor of Vocational Independence and Friendships in Adults with ASD.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMore different words in adult conversations predicted vocational independence and friendships five years later, after accounting for IQ and childhood language. Topic maintenance, measured by elaborate replies, predicted friendships but not vocational independence.
• SLPOther2019The language network in autism: Atypical functional connectivity with default mode and visual regions.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with autism showed stronger links at rest within an extended language network and with visual and posterior cingulate regions. Left-right balance in the language network did not differ from typical peers.
• SLPCohort2019Temporal and Geographical Variability of Prevalence and Incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnoses in Children in Catalonia, Spain.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn Catalonia, autism diagnoses in children rose threefold between 2009 and 2017. Prevalence reached 1.23% in 2017, with boys diagnosed 4.5 times more often than girls. The median age at diagnosis was 8 years, indicating significant delays in identifying cases.
• SLPCohort2020Anxiety in 3- to 7-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder seeking treatment for disruptive behavior.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAnxiety symptoms were common in 177 children with autism spectrum disorder aged 3 to 7 seeking help for disruptive behavior. Parents most often noted social withdrawal, sleep onset fear, and avoidance; language-based worries were rare. The study did not test treatment.
• SLPRCT2020Promoting social attention in 3-year-olds with ASD through gaze-contingent eye tracking.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBrief eye-tracking training helped toddlers with autism keep looking at faces during videos, while untrained peers lost interest. This suggests the tool can sustain attention to social cues in a lab setting, but it does not yet prove benefits for real-world interaction.
• SLPPilot2020Beta-adrenergic antagonism alters functional connectivity during associative processing in a preliminary study of individuals with and without autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceNo confirmed effect was found. Propranolol did not reliably improve word production, and brain connectivity changes were preliminary and not confirmed.
• SLPCase-Control2019Altered Neural Connectivity in Females, But Not Males with Autism: Preliminary Evidence for the Female Protective Effect from a Quality-Controlled Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBrain wiring measures showed lower white matter integrity in girls with autism compared with girls without autism, but not in boys. This is preliminary imaging evidence, not a clinical test or treatment result.
• SLPOther2019Spontaneous helping behavior of autistic and non-autistic (Pre-)adolescents: A matter of motivation?Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic children and adolescents helped an adult pick up dropped matches less often than non-autistic children and adolescents, but most helped. Lower social motivation was not linked to helping.
• SLPCase-Control2019Incidence time trends and socioeconomic factors in the observed incidence of autism spectrum disorder in israel: A nationwide nested case-control study.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchASD diagnosis rates in Israel rose until 2009 then flattened. Minority groups had lower diagnosis rates than the general population. Higher household income was linked to more diagnoses, but this association disappeared once population group and paternal age were accounted for.
• SLPCohort2019Acoustic properties of early vocalizations in infants with fragile X syndrome.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn infancy, vocalizations from infants with fragile X syndrome did not show group differences in the measured features. In fragile X only, pitch, duration, complexity, and volubility related to later language and ASD severity.
• SLPCohort2019Early patterns of functional brain development associated with autism spectrum disorder in tuberous sclerosis complex.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchEEG scans of infants with tuberous sclerosis showed weaker long-range brain connections at 12 months and slower brain rhythm speeds at 24 months. These patterns were distinct in infants who later developed autism. Brain rhythm speed at 24 months predicted cognitive scores at age 3.
• PTOTSLPOther2019Race/Ethnicity-Resolved Time Trends in United States ASD Prevalence Estimates from IDEA and ADDM.Journal of autism and developmental disordersBlack and Hispanic children’s autism identification has caught up to or exceeded white children’s in many states, driven by increased diagnosis rather than new biological causes. White prevalence plateaued mid-2000s but resumed rising after 2007. Clinicians should expect earlier and more frequent identification across all racial groups.
• SLPOther2019Process research in early intensive intervention in autism spectrum disorder: Sensitivity to change of the autism behavior coding system.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn 40 children with autism during 18-day intensive play-based intervention, coded video showed more spontaneous wishes and cooperative play by day 17; eye-contact change was not significant. Changes did not track therapist global ratings.
• SLPPilot2019Interrelationship Between Cognitive Control, Anxiety, and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn 38 individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, parent-reported executive functioning score was the only measure still linked to restricted and repetitive behaviors after anxiety and social communication were considered.
• SLPCohort2020Stability and change in social interaction style of children with autism spectrum disorder: A 4-year follow-up study.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchMost adolescents with autism kept the same social style over four years, but some became more typical and others less active. A drop in autism symptom scores predicted becoming more typical. Language ability and age did not predict change.
• SLPOther2019The Animal in Me: Enhancing Emotion Recognition in Adolescents with Autism Using Animal Filters.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAnimal-filtered faces produced more accurate emotion recognition than original human faces in 15 adolescents with autism, many with intellectual disability, especially for happy and angry faces.
• SLPCohort2020Increasing Access to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Consultation in Rural and Underserved Communities: Streamlined Evaluation Within Primary Care.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPA streamlined primary care autism diagnostic model cut average time from first concern to diagnosis from 144.7 to 49.9 days in rural and underserved clinics. The larger reduction for primary care patients did not show a clear difference.
• SLPQualitative2020Coming to understand the child has autism: A process illustrating parents' evolving readiness for engaging in care.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents often became aware and motivated before diagnosis, but readiness varied. Clinicians should ask what parents already know and have tried, then tailor information and support. Extensive information at diagnosis may overwhelm parents still early in this process.
• SLPOther2019Describing the Profile of Diagnostic Features in Autistic Adults Using an Abbreviated Version of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-Abbreviated).Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adults diagnosed later showed fewer overall features than higher ability children, especially non-verbal communication difficulties. Social reciprocity, relationships, routines and interests remained common, but good non-verbal skills may make diagnosis harder.
• SLPCase-Control2019Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation EEG Reveals Reduced Neural Sensitivity to Fearful Faces in Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersBoys with autism showed lower brain responses to briefly seen fearful faces than typically developing boys. Both groups responded more when looking at the mouth and to upright faces. Explicit emotion recognition was similar; matching was lower in autism.
• SLPPilot2020Assessing Social Communication and Collaboration in Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Intelligent Collaborative Virtual Environments.Journal of autism and developmental disordersA virtual game system with an AI agent tracked children's speech and teamwork. It matched human ratings for some behaviors but missed others, like directing movement, and failed to capture rare requests.
• SLPPilot2020Attention Modification to Attenuate Facial Emotion Recognition Deficits in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study.Journal of autism and developmental disordersEight children with autism completed a brief attention-training program. Eye-gaze to faces did not significantly change, and standardized emotion recognition scores showed no group improvement. Parents reported better social skills and fewer behavioral problems, but these were subjective measures.
• SLPOther2019Brief Report: Calculation and Convergent and Divergent Validity of a New ADOS-2 Expressive Language Score.American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilitiesA brief expressive language score from a standard autism diagnostic observation tool tracked spoken language across parent, clinician, and direct tests, and was less tied to understanding or nonverbal ability. It may characterize speech level, but is not a full language assessment.
• SLPOther2020Pivotal response treatment: A study into the relationship between therapist characteristics and fidelity of implementation.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCertified PRT therapists showed low fidelity (30.2%). Only two factors predicted better implementation: therapists' openness to trying new interventions and their months of experience delivering PRT. Personality, relationship quality, and child age or severity did not predict fidelity.
• SLPPilot2020Project ImPACT for Toddlers: Pilot outcomes of a community adaptation of an intervention for autism risk.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents coached by trained providers interacted more supportively with their toddlers, but the children's communication scores did not improve significantly more than usual care. Low-intensity parent coaching changed how parents played, yet the study was too small to prove it helped the children.
• SLPOther2020Language deficits in specific language impairment, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder: An analysis of polygenic risk.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchGenetic risk scores for specific language impairment predicted language difficulties in this sample but did not predict autism or ADHD risk. This suggests the common genetic variants driving language impairment do not simply add to the risk for autism or ADHD.
• SLPCohort2020Emotional functioning and the development of internalizing and externalizing problems in young boys with and without autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceYoung boys with autism did not differ from typical boys in internalizing symptoms in the main model, but they had more severe externalizing problems and lower emotional functioning across three years.
• SLPOther2020Validity of Vocal Communication and Vocal Complexity in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersVocal communication and vocal complexity measures from play-based communication samples in young children with autism predicted later expressive language, not nonverbal cognition, and changed over the study period. They help track development, not prove treatment effects.
• SLPCohort2020Screening for autism spectrum disorder in a naturalistic home setting using the systematic observation of red flags (SORF) at 18-24 months.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchThe Systematic Observation of Red Flags (SORF) screening tool accurately identified autism risk in toddlers during 1-hour home video observations. A composite score of six specific behaviors, such as poor eye gaze and limited pointing, best distinguished children with autism from those with other delays.
• OTSLPCohort2019Toilet Training in Fragile X Syndrome.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPToilet training in Fragile X syndrome is significantly delayed, with females training much earlier than males. Language level and autism diagnosis are the strongest predictors of delay. Males with autism and poor language skills may not achieve independent toileting until their mid-teens.
• SLPOther2020Increasing Response Diversity to Intraverbals in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersTwo children with autism learned to give more different answers to trained questions when instructors prompted features, functions, and classes of possible answers. Gains lasted 8 weeks, but new answers and similar questions did not improve.
• SLPCohort2020Anxiety Disorders in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Population-Based Study.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdults with ASD in Sweden were diagnosed with anxiety disorders more often than non-autistic adults: 20.13% versus 8.72%. Rates were highest in those without intellectual disability, and adults with ASD still had more diagnoses than their non-autistic full siblings.
• SLPOther2020Comparing Automatic Eye Tracking and Manual Gaze Coding Methods in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchManual gaze coding kept more usable data than automatic eye tracking in young children with autism, but the two systems did not always lead to the same conclusions about word processing.
• SLPOther2020Discrepancies between parent and child ratings of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with autism plus diagnosed anxiety were rated more anxious by parents than by themselves. In autism without anxiety and typical development, children rated themselves more anxious than parents did. More severe autism symptoms linked parent ratings exceeding child ratings.
• SLPCohort2020Identifying prognostic markers in autism spectrum disorder using eye tracking.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceToddlers with autism who looked longer at geometric shapes than social scenes showed more severe autism symptoms and fewer gaze shifts in social interactions six to nine years later. This eye-tracking preference predicted core symptom severity but not IQ or adaptive skills.
• PTOTSLPCase Report2019Disruption of PHF21A causes syndromic intellectual disability with craniofacial anomalies, epilepsy, hypotonia, and neurobehavioral problems including autism.Molecular autismSeven patients with PHF21A gene variants all had intellectual disability and language delay. Four also had epilepsy, three had autism, and three had obesity. This links the gene to a syndrome involving craniofacial anomalies, hypotonia, and neurobehavioral problems.
• SLPCohort2020The Influence of Irrelevant Visual Distractors on Eye Movement Control in Chinese Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from the Remote Distractor Paradigm.Journal of autism and developmental disordersYoung children with autism showed normal basic eye movements but took longer to look at a target when a distractor appeared directly over it. This delay reflects difficulty disengaging attention from central stimuli, not a motor problem.
• SLPOther2019Enhanced milieu teaching for children with autism spectrum disorder in South Africa.International journal of speech-language pathologyIn three minimally verbal boys with autism, an SLP using enhanced milieu teaching in a school playroom increased different words used and spontaneous utterances during sessions. Gains appeared with new toys and an unfamiliar SLP, but remained lower than during intervention.
• OTSLPOther2020Autism and depression are connected: A report of two complimentary network studies.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic adults and people with depression report similar levels of worry and low perceived control over their lives. While these factors link autism and depression symptoms, the study cannot prove that low control causes either condition, nor that improving it will resolve them.
• OTSLPQualitative2020Short Report: Social Perception of High School Students with ASD in Norway.Journal of autism and developmental disordersFive students with Asperger syndrome said inclusive high school could be a fresh start and a key place to practise social skills, after bullying or exclusion in junior high. Crowds were the most challenging social situation.
• SLPCase-Control2019RNA sequencing of identical twins discordant for autism reveals blood-based signatures implicating immune and transcriptional dysregulation.Molecular autismBlood RNA profiles from identical twins discordant for autism showed immune and gene regulation differences, with the immune gene IGHG4 higher in autism. The small sample and blood-only design mean this is a molecular clue, not a diagnostic or treatment test.
• SLPOther2020Quality of high school programs for students with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceHigh school programs for students with autism generally provide safe environments and positive climates, but fall short on the skills needed for adult life. Assessment, communication, social competence, independence, and transition planning rated below acceptable quality, particularly for diploma-bound students.
• SLPOther2020The Adapted ADOS: A New Module Set for the Assessment of Minimally Verbal Adolescents and Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disordersThe Adapted ADOS offers a new assessment for minimally verbal adolescents and adults. It improved specificity compared to the standard ADOS-2, reducing false positives, though sensitivity dropped slightly but remained above 80%. Algorithms are preliminary and require validation in larger, older samples.
• SLPCohort2020Psychotropic Medication Prescribing for Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities in Individuals Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the UK.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn UK primary care records, 33.4% of people with ASD had at least one psychotropic prescription, and behavioural/conduct disorders, anxiety and ADHD were common. This describes prescribing, not treatment benefit.
• SLPCohort2020Caregiver Touch-Speech Communication and Infant Responses in 12-Month-Olds at High Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAt 12 months, high-risk infants received similar amounts of touch plus speech as low-risk infants, but more of their touch overlapped with speech. Both groups looked toward the touch more when speech was present; high-risk infants often did not respond to touch alone.