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 36 OF 56 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPOther2024Transporting and implementing a caregiver-mediated intervention for toddlers with autism in Goa, India: evidence from the social ABCs.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesParents coached in a 6-week group program in India used strategies correctly in 77% of intervals, up from 45%. Toddlers' vocal responses to parents rose from 7% to 47%. Without a control group, these gains cannot be separated from normal development or time.
• SLPCohort2024Effect of Emotional Valence on Emotion Recognition in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdolescents with autism made more errors recognizing emotions from eye photographs than typically developing peers, particularly when the test used complex language labels. Errors were highest for positive and negative emotions, while neutral emotions were recognized similarly by both groups.
• SLPOther2024Camouflaging in Autism: Age Effects and Cross-Cultural Validation of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q).Journal of autism and developmental disordersThe Swedish Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire is reliable for adults but cannot diagnose autism. It fails to distinguish autistic from non-autistic children under 15. Scores correlate strongly with anxiety and depression, meaning high scores may reflect distress rather than autism traits.
• SLPCase-Control2024Plasma Amino Acid Profile in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Southern China: Analysis of 110 Cases.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with autism showed distinct plasma amino acid levels compared to healthy controls, including elevated glutamate and reduced tryptophan. Higher tryptophan levels were associated with greater autism severity, suggesting a potential biological marker rather than a direct cause.
• OTSLPOther2024"He Sees his Autism as a Strength, Not a Deficit Now": A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study Investigating the Impact of Strengths-Based Programs on Autistic Adolescents.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParents reported high satisfaction with community coding and STEAM programs for autistic teens, but outcomes remained stable over three years rather than improving. Only community participation increased significantly in the final year, while confidence dipped in the second year.
• SLPOther2024The Social Shapes Test as a Self-Administered, Online Measure of Social Intelligence: Two Studies with Typically Developing Adults and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdults with autism scored lower on an online animated-shape test than adults without autism, and the test worked similarly across groups. The test is suited for research, not diagnosis.
• SLPQualitative2024The Interactional Structure of Accounts During Small Group Discussions Among Autistic Children Receiving Special Education Support in Finland.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn small-group diary discussions, autistic children explained their drawings without words like because. The analysis found open questions and children's control of the topic alongside their accounts and participation.
• OTSLPQualitative2024Self-reported Everyday Sources of Happiness and Unhappiness in Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adults most often cited social partners and activities as sources of happiness. They cited social partners and interactions, job difficulties, and current events as sources of unhappiness. Themes were similar for those with and without a depression history.
• SLPCase-Control2024Dissociation Between Linguistic and Nonlinguistic Statistical Learning in Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with autism learned speech and letter patterns more slowly and remembered them less well than typical peers, but showed no such difficulty with nonlinguistic tones or images. This linguistic-specific gap was larger in older children and correlated with poorer sentence repetition skills.
• SLPSurvey2024Language Preferences in the Dutch Autism Community: A Social Psychological Approach.Journal of autism and developmental disordersDutch autistic adults overall preferred person-first language, but identity-first language was not rejected and preferences varied widely. Ask each client which wording they prefer rather than assuming one term fits all.
• OTSLPSurvey2024Urban and rural differences in needs, service use and satisfaction among caregivers of autistic children in Morocco.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceRural caregivers reported far less non-medication intervention and school enrolment for their children than urban caregivers, despite similar verbal ability and satisfaction. Priorities were similar, but challenges differed.
• SLPCohort2023Associations between autism traits and family functioning over time in autistic and non-autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn clinically referred children, lower autism traits at the start were associated with better family functioning about 13 months later. When split by diagnosis, this was found only in non-autistic children with high traits, not autistic children. It does not prove cause.
• SLPQualitative2024Stakeholder Perceptions of the Acceptability of Peer-Mediated Intervention for Minimally Speaking Preschoolers on the Autism Spectrum.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adults, parents, educators and speech and language pathologists saw peer-mediated support for minimally speaking autistic preschoolers as acceptable if it becomes everyday preschool practice, not a singled-out activity. They did not test whether it works.
• SLPRCT2024Examining the Relationship Between Anxiety Severity and Autism-Related Challenges During Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children with Autism.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn children with autism and anxiety who received CBT, drops in anxiety tracked with drops in repetitive behaviors and social communication difficulties. The analysis did not prove anxiety caused these changes.
• OTSLPCohort2023Associations between executive function and attention abilities and language and social communication skills in young autistic children.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIn young autistic children, weaker working memory and planning were linked to poorer social communication, and poorer inhibition and shifting were linked to more social pragmatic problems. Stronger expressive vocabulary was linked to better sustained attention during a video.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024Sleep Problems, Circadian Rhythms, and Their Relation to Behavioral Difficulties in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn children with autism, objective measures showed that poor sleep and unstable daily rhythms were linked to higher anxiety, aggression, and self-injury. Treating sleep fragmentation may help manage behavioral difficulties, though this study cannot prove cause.
• SLPCase-Control2024No Differences in Auditory Steady-State Responses in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersBrain scans showed no difference in auditory processing between children with autism and typically developing children. The specific neural marker tested here does not distinguish the groups, so it is not a useful diagnostic tool for clinicians working with this age range.
• SLPOther2024Differential Performance of Social Communication Questionnaire Items in African American/Black vs. White Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersThe Social Communication Questionnaire performed differently for Black and White children. For three items, Black caregivers were less likely to report symptoms regardless of total score. For thirteen items, reporting patterns shifted depending on the child's overall symptom severity. This variability may lead to inconsistent screening results.
• SLPCohort2024Pre-school Skills and School-Age Reading Comprehension in Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Preliminary Investigation.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn children on the autism spectrum, pre-school receptive vocabulary significantly predicted reading comprehension in the third year of schooling. By year three, most children had reading accuracy within the average range, but only 36.8% showed reading comprehension within the average range, indicating a persistent gap between decoding and understanding text.
• OTSLPOther2024What Are You Worried About? Content and Extent of Worry in Autistic Adults.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adults reported significantly higher levels of worry than non-autistic adults across all domains. Interviews revealed this worry often centers on social missteps and uncertainty, impacting daily functioning and independence in ways standard questionnaires may miss.
• SLPOther2023Innovation through neurodiversity: Diversity is beneficial.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIndependent raters judged towers built in mixed autistic/non-autistic pairs as less similar to each other than towers built in single-neurotype pairs. This suggests neurodiverse groups produce more diverse designs, though the effect was small and based on an artificial task.
• SLPPilot2023Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Implementation Program for children with autism spectrum disorder.CoDASAll 22 nonverbal children learned to exchange picture cards intentionally, and 82% progressed to building sentences. Parents attended 96% of sessions, showing that family engagement was essential for children to adopt the system.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2024Autism community priorities in diverse low-resource settings: A country-wide scoping exercise in India.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceIndian autism families ranked self-help skills as the top priority for training and speech and language therapy as the most needed intervention. Mental health counselling was second, but parents sought it for themselves rather than their children.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024Characterizing Sensory Phenotypes of Subgroups with a Known Genetic Etiology Pertaining to Diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregivers reported that children with specific genetic causes of autism or intellectual disability all showed poor sensory registration, meaning they needed intense stimuli to respond. Seeking behaviors varied by gene, but these sensory profiles did not reliably distinguish genetic subgroups from idiopathic autism in clinical practice.
• SLPCohort2024Verbal Responsiveness in Parents of Toddlers With and Without Autism During a Home Observation.Journal of autism and developmental disordersParents of toddlers with autism and developmental delay were already highly responsive, mirroring parents of typically developing children. Differences in speech therapy targets should focus on the child's current language level rather than diagnosis alone, as parents naturally adjust their input.
• SLPRCT2024Fostering Friendship and Dating Skills Among Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Polish Version of the PEERS® for Young Adults Curriculum.Journal of autism and developmental disordersPEERS workshops increased social-skills knowledge and reduced parent-reported difficulties in young adults on the autism spectrum, some already receiving medication or therapy, but did not clearly improve self-reported socializing or empathy.
• OTSLPCohort2024Using Life Course Theory to Explore the Association Between Autistic Traits, Child, Family, and School Factors and the Successful Transition to Secondary School.Journal of autism and developmental disordersHigher autistic traits were associated with better quality of life, mental health, and school belonging in 51 students transitioning to secondary school. Female students and school refusal were linked to poorer outcomes.
• PTOTSLPCohort2024Hospitalization and Mortality for Insured Patients in the United States with COVID-19 with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdults with autism had higher odds of dying from COVID-19 than those without, even after accounting for other health conditions. The link to hospitalization disappeared once other chronic illnesses were considered, suggesting comorbidities drive hospital risk more than autism itself.
• SLPQualitative2024Using the Three-Minute Speech Sample to Examine the Parent-Adolescent Relationship in Autistic Youth: A Qualitative Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adolescents spoke for up to three minutes about their mothers, describing support, love, tension, autonomy conflicts, and nuanced insight into the relationship. Twenty of 21 completed the task without reported distress, but this was a small qualitative study, not evidence that it improves care.
• SLPOther2023Assessing suicidal thoughts and behaviors and nonsuicidal self-injury in autistic and non-autistic early adolescents using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic early adolescents reported lifetime suicidal thoughts and self-injury more often than their non-autistic peers. Nearly one in five autistic youth disclosed suicidal thoughts on a self-report questionnaire but not during a clinical interview. Use both methods to screen for suicide risk in this group.
• SLPOther2024Visual Attention to Dynamic Emotional Faces in Adults on the Autism Spectrum.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdults with high-functioning autism looked at the eyes of dynamic faces for 43.6% of the time, compared to 64.8% in matched controls. However, adults with high autistic-like traits but no diagnosis looked at the eyes for 71.5%, showing no difference from low-trait controls.
• SLPCohort2024Comparing narrative storytelling ability in individuals with autism and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.International journal of language & communication disordersAdolescents and adults with autism or FASD told stories comparable in length and structure to neurotypical peers. However, both groups spoke significantly slower, and those with autism used more filler words like 'um' or 'uh'.
• SLPOther2024Filled Pauses Produced by Autistic Adults Differ in Prosodic Realisation, but not Rate or Lexical Type.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic adults produced filled pauses, uh and uhm, with more rises and falls than controls, while filled pause rate and type choice did not differ. The pitch difference was seen, but listener impact was not tested.
• SLPPilot2024Social Anxiety Symptoms Predict Poorer Facial Emotion Recognition in Autistic Male Adolescents and Young Adults Without Intellectual Disability.Journal of autism and developmental disordersIn 19 autistic males, higher social anxiety predicted poorer facial emotion recognition, but only when they had to identify emotions from brief, low-intensity glimpses. This effect was not seen when they could view the full expression. IQ also predicted accuracy.
• PTOTSLPRCT2024Using Pivotal Response Treatment to Improve Language Functions of Autistic Children in Special Schools: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdding Pivotal Response Treatment motivational strategies to standard language therapy helped autistic children with intellectual disabilities improve requesting, labeling, repeating, and listening. These gains held up three weeks later and appeared in new settings, unlike standard therapy alone.
• SLPCohort2024Prenatal Cannabis Use and Offspring Autism-Related Behaviors: Examining Maternal Stress as a Moderator in a Black American Cohort.Journal of autism and developmental disordersPrenatal cannabis use was not associated with autism-related behaviors in children. However, higher maternal stress during pregnancy predicted increased autism behaviors on parent reports, and prenatal tobacco use predicted higher observed autism symptoms.
• PTOTSLPOther2023Comparison between the socio-educational profiles of children with verbal and non-verbal Autism Spectrum Disorder.CoDASChildren with verbal autism scored higher than those with non-verbal autism across all seven developmental areas, including imitation, perception, motor skills, and cognition. Age differences between the groups likely influenced these results, so the gap may not be due to language alone.
• SLPOther2024County-Level Prevalence Estimates of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children in the United States.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCounty-level estimates show autism prevalence varies significantly by geography, race, and socioeconomic status. Rates were higher in the Northeast and Southeast, lower in the West and Midwest. Black and Hispanic children had higher estimated prevalence than white children. Children of parents with college degrees had lower rates than those with less education.
• OTSLPCase-Control2024Acoustic and Semantic Processing of Auditory Scenes in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with autism detected changes in complex sounds and understood speech in noise as well as peers matched for IQ, but worse than age-matched peers. Both groups used meaning and sound cues similarly, suggesting autism alone does not impair auditory scene processing.
• SLPCohort2024The Impact of Co-occurring ADHD on Social Competence Intervention Outcomes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCo-occurring ADHD did not show smaller improvements after the social competence intervention period. Both groups improved on parent-reported social measures, but not on clinician observation or peer quality-of-life scores. ADHD medication was also used, so causes cannot be separated.
• OTSLPCohort2024Developmental Skills Moderate the Association Between Core Autism Features and Adaptive Behaviour in Early Childhood.Journal of autism and developmental disordersThe link between social autism features and adaptive behaviour was not clearly changed by developmental skills. Developmental skills were more strongly linked to adaptive behaviour than social features were. Social features were linked only when developmental quotient was 48.33 or lower.
• SLPQualitative2024Examining Cultural and Linguistic Sensitivity of Pathways Early Autism Intervention with Hispanic Families.Journal of autism and developmental disordersSome Hispanic parents found Pathways home visits convenient, but all said following the child’s lead, waiting, and limiting demands clashed with respeto.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2024A scoping review of autism research conducted in Central Asia: Knowledge gaps and research priorities.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceOnly 11 autism studies exist from Central Asia, mostly from Kazakhstan. There is no evidence on adult outcomes or surveillance systems. Clinicians cannot rely on local data for diagnosis or treatment, as most research focuses on parent experiences or biology rather than clinical interventions.
• SLPOther2024Predictors of Developmental and Adaptive Behaviour Outcomes in Response to Early Intensive Behavioural Intervention and the Early Start Denver Model.Journal of autism and developmental disordersNo evidence one early autism program outperformed the other. Scores rose over about a year in group-based ESDM and intensive behavioural intervention, but individual responses varied widely.
• OTSLPOther2024Caregivers' Assessment of the Sensory Processing Patterns Exhibited by Children with Autism in the Gulf Region.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCaregiver ratings showed children with mild or high-functioning autism had widespread sensory differences, especially touch, body position, movement, hearing and oral input. Visual processing was typical. Older age was linked to slightly fewer symptoms.
• PTSLPSystematic Review2023Studies pertaining to language impairment in school-age autistic individuals underreport participant socio-demographics: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost research on language impairment in autistic school-age children fails to report participant race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, and samples are overwhelmingly white. Clinicians should treat findings from these studies as having limited applicability to diverse autistic populations.
• SLPQualitative2024Non-specialist delivery of the WHO Caregiver Skills Training Programme for children with developmental disabilities: Stakeholder perspectives about acceptability and feasibility in rural Ethiopia.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceCaregivers and facilitators found the WHO caregiver skills programme acceptable when delivered by trained local non-specialists. Caregivers said it helped them understand and support their children, but rural use needs simpler materials, household items instead of toys, and strong supervision.
• SLPCohort2024Dual Identification: Trajectories to English Proficiency for English Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAutistic English Learners reached proficiency at a mean age of 12.3 years, with only 38.4% achieving it during the study. Placement in special education classes predicted later proficiency than general education placement. Household income, ethnicity, and gender did not predict the age of proficiency.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2024Leisure, Employment, Community Participation, and Quality of Life in Primary Caregivers of Autistic Children: A Qualitative Study.Journal of autism and developmental disordersMothers of autistic school-aged children described their quality of life as limited by the constant need to manage therapies, funding, and school crises. They identified employment and respite as key to reclaiming time, but navigating services often added to their workload.
• SLPRCT2024A Randomized Trial of the Accuracy of Novel Telehealth Instruments for the Assessment of Autism in Toddlers.Journal of autism and developmental disordersTele-assessment matched the in-person autism diagnosis for 92% of toddlers, but 8 children with autism were missed. It should not be used to rule out autism, especially in very young children.