TOPIC

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 26 OF 56 · NEWEST FIRST

• OTSLPSurvey2022Experience of Autistic Children and Their Families During the Pandemic: From Distress to Coping Strategies.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMost parents and many autistic children found the pandemic stressful. Parents reported routines, understanding needs, and social contact helped; lost services, isolation, and school demands hindered. Children valued electronics, while parents often saw too much access as a barrier.
• OTSLPQualitative2022A qualitative exploration of autistic mothers' experiences II: Childbirth and postnatal experiences.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic mothers described childbirth as overwhelming due to sensory issues and unclear communication, not just pain. They valued continuity of care, private rooms, and direct explanations. Postnatal support was often fragmented, with autism knowledge lacking among professionals, leading to missed accommodations and anxiety.
• OTSLPOther2022Autism Voices: A novel method to access first-person perspective of autistic youth.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic teenagers across the spectrum, including minimally verbal youth, engaged in interviews when questions used picture cards and allowed answers via writing, texting, or pointing. Parents sometimes helped communication, but older verbal teens preferred interviewing without them.
• SLPQualitative2022Perspectives of Canadian Rural Consultant Pediatricians on Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPRural pediatricians described a three-stage diagnostic process: preassessment gathering, diagnosis, and service access. They relied heavily on local allied health relationships and group mentoring to manage complex cases, noting that diagnosis is often driven by service eligibility rather than just clinical need.
• SLPOther2022The influence of race on parental beliefs and concerns during an autism diagnosis: A mixed-method analysis.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents' belief that a child had ASD before diagnosis differed by race, from 80.3% of White parents to 40.8% of Asian parents. Communication concerns were common, but their relation to clinician-rated severity varied by race.
• SLPQualitative2022Positive and differential diagnosis of autism in verbal women of typical intelligence: A Delphi study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceExpert clinicians agreed standard autism tools often miss adult women of typical intelligence. They rely on long assessments, third-party history, and subtle social cues like empathy gaps to distinguish autism from trauma or borderline personality disorder.
• OTSLPCohort2021Work and well-being: Vocational activity trajectories in young adults with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchYoung adults with autism or other developmental delays tended to keep the same work or education path from ages 18 to 28. Those in independent activities had higher reported well-being than the No Activities and Volunteer groups.
• SLPSurvey2022Anthropomorphic tendencies in autism: A conceptual replication and extension of White and Remington (2019) and preliminary development of a novel anthropomorphism measure.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceHigher autistic traits in the general population predicted greater adult anthropomorphism, but the link to childhood anthropomorphism depended on how traits were measured. Sex was a stronger predictor than autistic traits. The original questionnaire failed measurement checks, so a new nine-item version is proposed.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Differences in the production and perception of communicative kinematics in autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic adults produced gestures with different timing and recognized them with equal accuracy but slower speed than neurotypical adults. Complex, repetitive gestures helped neurotypical recognition but hindered autistic recognition. This reflects different processing strategies rather than a deficit in understanding gestures.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2021The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of caregivers of autistic children and youth: A scoping review.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchCaregivers of autistic children reported severe stress from lost therapies and school closures. Parents managed by creating new routines and connecting online. Telehealth helped some families but failed those with limited access or complex needs. The review found no evidence that these remote adaptations actually improved child or parent outcomes.
• SLPCase-Control2021Overconnectivity of the right Heschl's and inferior temporal gyrus correlates with symptom severity in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchPreschoolers with low-functioning autism showed stronger structural connections in the right auditory and visual processing regions. This overconnectivity correlated with more severe social communication symptoms, though global brain network measures did not differ from typically developing children.
• SLPPilot2022Leveraging telehealth to evaluate infants with prodromal autism spectrum disorder characteristics using the telehealth evaluation of development for infants.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceTelehealth assessments identified significant developmental concerns in 41 infants aged 6-12 months with parental worries. Families found the process acceptable and convenient. However, clinical best-estimate ratings showed poor consistency between examiners and across visits, suggesting caution when using single-session remote evaluations for definitive risk classification.
• SLPCohort2022Exploring the impact of adolescent cognitive inflexibility on emotional and behavioural problems experienced by autistic adults.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn autistic adults, cognitive inflexibility measured in adolescence predicted higher anxiety and depression at age 23. This effect remained after accounting for restricted behaviours and verbal IQ. Clinicians should assess thinking style, not just autism severity, when addressing mental health.
• SLPSurvey2022Key stakeholder perspectives on obstacles to an autism-specific Medicaid waiver service delivery model.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDService coordinators and agency directors reported that staff shortages, inadequate training, and poor communication block effective autism waiver services. Parents reportedly valued respite and community integration. These findings describe service delivery obstacles, not evidence that the waiver improves clinical outcomes.
• OTSLPQualitative2022Exploring interpersonal and environmental factors of autistic adolescents' peer engagement in integrated education.Autism : the international journal of research and practicePeer engagement depended on shared interests and peers' acceptance of social styles. Autistic students thrived when activities allowed them to connect over common passions, while rigid behavioral expectations often led to rejection.
• SLPQualitative2022Sequence organization of autistic children's play with caregivers: Rethinking follow-in directives.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCaregivers of autistic toddlers prioritized keeping the interaction going over getting the child to comply with specific play instructions. They used repeated proposals and accepted any child response, even counter-plays, to scaffold joint engagement rather than enforce directives.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in a large, diverse metropolitan area: Variation by sociodemographic factors.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchActive surveillance found ASD in 36 per 1,000 public school children in four New Jersey counties. Prevalence varied widely by district and county. Hispanic children were identified less often than White peers. Mid-income districts showed higher rates than low or high-income ones.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2021Analysis of the SPARK study COVID-19 parent survey: Early impact of the pandemic on access to services, child/parent mental health, and benefits of online services.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchFamilies of children with autism reported severe service disruptions, especially for speech, OT, and PT. Parents of younger children and those with greater impairments or language delays saw the least benefit from online services. Low-income families hoped for future online options.
• PTOTSLPCohort2021Individuals with FOXP1 syndrome present with a complex neurobehavioral profile with high rates of ADHD, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, and sensory symptoms.Molecular autismMost patients with FOXP1 syndrome have ADHD and anxiety, but only 23% receive treatment. Autism scores on standard tests are high, yet clinical consensus diagnoses it in just 24%. Therapists should prioritize managing attention and anxiety symptoms over relying solely on autism screening tools.
• SLPCohort2022Early diagnosis of autism in the community is associated with marked improvement in social symptoms within 1-2 years.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceChildren diagnosed with autism before 2.5 years showed much larger improvements in social symptoms within 1-2 years than those diagnosed later. This held true even though both groups received similar amounts of community treatment. Earlier diagnosis appears linked to better social outcomes.
• SLPRCT2021A randomized controlled trial of intranasal oxytocin in Phelan-McDermid syndrome.Molecular autismIntranasal oxytocin did not improve social withdrawal in children with Phelan-McDermid syndrome compared with placebo over 12 weeks. Secondary measures and the open-label extension were also unchanged.
• SLPCohort2021Prevalence and phenotypic impact of rare potentially damaging variants in autism spectrum disorder.Molecular autismRare potentially damaging variants were found in 27% of Swedish autistic disorder cases with both genetic tests and associated with intellectual disability and epilepsy, not speech/language or motor disorders.
• OTSLPSurvey2021The impact of COVID-19 pandemic social restrictions on individuals with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers in the Stateof Qatar: A cross-sectional study.Research in developmental disabilitiesAggression scores did not clearly change overall during Qatar's COVID-19 restrictions. Yet 24 of 58 caregivers of autistic individuals reported clinically meaningful rises in burden, especially caregivers of adults.
• SLPCohort2021Social Communication and pragmatic skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder.CoDASParents rated children with autism as having significantly poorer social communication than children with developmental language disorder. Teachers showed a similar trend. Both groups scored lower than typically developing peers, but parents and teachers agreed closely on these deficits.
• SLPOther2022Reliability, validity and developmental sensitivity of the Language Use Inventory (LUI) in the Chinese context.International journal of language & communication disordersThe Mandarin Chinese version of the Language Use Inventory accurately distinguishes children with autism from typically developing peers and tracks pragmatic development from 18 to 47 months. It is a valid parent-report tool for assessing social communication skills in this age group.
• SLPCohort2021Affect and gaze responses during an Emotion-Evoking Task in infants at an increased likelihood for autism spectrum disorder.Molecular autismInfants with an older sibling with autism showed more negative facial and vocal reactions to routine care tasks like hair brushing and face washing. They also looked at the objects less than peers. These observed behaviors, but not parent questionnaires, predicted higher autism symptoms at age two.
• PTOTSLPCase-Control2022Symptoms of Pediatric Feeding Disorders Among Individuals with 3q29 Deletion Syndrome: A Case-Control Study.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPChildren with 3q29 deletion syndrome report far more feeding problems than typically developing peers. Clinicians should screen for selective eating, refusal behaviors, and growth issues, as these symptoms persist across ages and are worse in those with global developmental delays.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Caregiver strain among North American parents of children from the Autism Treatment Network Registry Call-Back Study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCaregiver strain did not significantly decrease on average over two years, despite the authors' hypothesis. However, strain fluctuated for most families: it increased for nearly half and decreased for nearly half. Strain was lower when children's adaptive skills improved or behavior problems decreased.
• SLPCohort2021Autism severity aggregates with family psychiatric history in a community-based autism sample.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchCaregivers reported more severe social deficits on the SRS-2 for autistic individuals with a family history of psychiatric conditions, specifically depression. However, this link was not found on the ADOS-2 clinical exam. This suggests caregiver reports may reflect broader behavioral challenges rather than core autism symptoms.
• PTOTSLPOther2021Exploring sensory phenotypes in autism spectrum disorder.Molecular autismParent reports grouped autistic participants into five sensory patterns. The broad sensory difference group had lower daily living and social scores, while the most typical group had higher scores. IQ and sex did not differ across the groups.
• PTOTSLPOther2022The use of Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children: Exploring the effect of having control of sensory changes.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic children showed fewer repetitive movements and better attention when they controlled sensory equipment versus when it changed automatically. However, anxiety, social interaction, positive affect and arousal did not differ between the two conditions.
• SLPOther2022Development and psychometric evaluation of a Thai Diagnostic Autism Scale for the early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchA Thai autism diagnostic scale using observation and parent interview matched psychiatrists' DSM-5 diagnoses in 62 children aged 12 to 48 months, missing one case and producing no false positives.
• PTOTSLPCase Series2021De novo variants in CACNA1E found in patients with intellectual disability, developmental regression and social cognition deficit but no seizures.Molecular autismSeven patients with de novo CACNA1E variants presented with global developmental delay, speech delays, and social deficits, but lacked the severe epilepsy and motor impairments seen in larger cohorts. One patient showed improved sleep and bladder control after topiramate treatment.
• SLPPilot2021Investigating the Associations Between Child Autistic Symptoms, Socioeconomic Context, and Family Life: A Pilot Study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesIn 50 families of newly diagnosed autistic children, higher symptom frequency predicted worse family life. Surprisingly, parents with university degrees reported worse family life than those with less education, even after accounting for income and symptoms.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Neurodevelopmental profile of HIVEP2-related disorder.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with HIVEP2-related disorder had mild adaptive impairment on average, severe social behavior problems even without autism, and clinically significant emotional and behavioral difficulties.
• SLPOther2021Applied Behavior Analysis as Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Topic Modeling and Linguistic Analysis of Reddit Posts.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesOnline discussions about ABA therapy focus on personal experiences and opinions rather than research evidence. Parents ask questions, while autistic adults and professionals share more emotional and social perspectives. Clinicians should expect families to bring these subjective narratives, not data, to appointments.
• SLPOther2022Using the Clinical Global Impression scale to assess social communication change in minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn minimally verbal children with autism, one-question clinician ratings after six weeks matched independent communication coding: children rated much improved showed more joint-attention gains, while request and total gains did not differ.
• SLPRCT2021Examining the effect of a wearable, anxiety detection technology on improving the awareness of anxiety signs in autism spectrum disorder: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Molecular autismChildren with autism wearing a heart-rate monitor that showed their anxiety level on a tablet were more likely to start deep breathing during a stressful speech task. All 14 in the feedback group used breathing, compared to 4 of 12 controls.
• SLPRCT2022Parenting stress in caregiver-mediated interventions for toddlers with autism: An application of quantile regression mixed models.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBoth caregiver training programs lowered stress about child behaviors for most parents. However, parents in the hands-on coaching group saw their own personal stress rise after support ended, while those in the education group saw it fall. This suggests ongoing support is needed to prevent burnout.
• SLPRCT2022Caregiver responsiveness as a mechanism to improve social communication in toddlers: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchCaregiver coaching did not directly improve toddler social communication scores. However, when caregivers increased their verbal responses to their child's cues, the children's social communication skills improved. The coaching worked by changing how caregivers interacted, not through the coaching itself.
• SLPCohort2022Repercussion of the implementation of the Picture Exchange Communication System - PECS in the overload index of mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.CoDASPECS improved children's vocabulary and reduced non-adaptive behaviors, but the primary outcome of maternal burden showed no significant change. Mothers remained stressed despite gains in their child's communication.
• SLPSystematic Review2022Short report: A quantitative methodological review of participant characteristics in the literature testing mental health interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceTrials of mental health treatments for autistic youth rarely include transition-age individuals, females, or those with lower cognitive abilities. This means evidence is thin for the patients most likely to need help in community settings.
• OTSLPOther2022Toward better characterization of restricted and unusual interests in youth with autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents of autistic youth described restricted interests most often as sensory, vehicle, character, or media-related. Male sex, intellectual disability, and more severe social-communication difficulties were linked to having at least one such interest.
• SLPOther2022Remote Microphone Systems Can Improve Listening-in-Noise Accuracy and Listening Effort for Youth With Autism.Ear and hearingYouth with autism listened more accurately to words, sentences and stories when using a remote microphone. Average listening effort did not change, but effort decreased for those with higher nonverbal IQ and language scores.
• SLPOther2022Deceptive behaviour in autism: A scoping review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAcross 28 studies, many autistic children were less successful at deception games and everyday deception, and often could not maintain deception. Some autistic adults deceived as well as or better than comparison groups, especially with higher verbal ability.
• PTOTSLPCohort2022Sex differences in age of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder: Preliminary evidence from Uganda.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn Ugandan clinics, girls were diagnosed with autism at an average of 7.75 years, compared to 6.60 years for boys. This delay suggests clinicians should screen girls more aggressively for social communication differences, as cultural expectations may mask their symptoms.
• SLPCohort2022What are we optimizing for in autism screening? Examination of algorithmic changes in the M-CHAT.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchThe M-CHAT-R style scoring produced fewer false positives but missed more children who later received an ASD diagnosis. A negative screen still does not rule out ASD.
• SLPOther2022Menstruation and menopause in autistic adults: Periods of importance?Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic women reported more menopausal complaints than non-autistic women, particularly psychological and somatic symptoms. However, the study did not find that autistic women experienced premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) more often. The link between menopausal symptoms and depression in autistic women was driven by one outlier.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2022Risk and protective factors of quality of life for children with autism spectrum disorder and their families during the COVID-19 lockdown. An Italian study.Research in developmental disabilitiesChildren with ASD who played at a table with parents or did physical activity had better quality of life. Worsening overall autism symptoms lowered quality of life for both children and parents. Telehealth showed a non-significant trend toward protecting children's quality of life.
• SLPCohort2022Evidence of increasing recorded diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in Wales, UK: An e-cohort study.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceRecorded autism diagnoses in Wales rose from 2001 to 2016. More diagnoses were recorded in women and adults over 35. These are healthcare record counts, not evidence that autism itself became more common.