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 55 OF 56 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPRCT2024Characterizing mechanisms of caregiver-mediated naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for autistic toddlers: A randomized clinical trial.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMothers taught to prompt their autistic toddler to communicate had children who communicated more, and used more different words, three months later than mothers taught to follow the child's lead. Responsive strategies produced longer stretches of shared attention. Neither group was a control.
• SLPRCT2025The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) System in Toddlers With Early Indicators of Autism: Test-Retest Reliability and Convergent Validity With Clinical Language Assessments.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchConversational turn counts from an in-home wearable recorder lined up with autistic toddlers' language scores, even after accounting for how much the child vocalized. Plain adult-word and child-vocalization counts did not. Repeat recordings of the same child agreed moderately well.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2023Telehealth Interventions to Promote Health and Behavior-Related Outcomes in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Journal of autism and developmental disordersJob-interview skills improved in all three studies that targeted them, but across 11 studies results for anxiety, depression, social skills and quality of life were inconsistent. Samples were small and most studies were at high risk of bias.
• SLPSystematic Review2023Neurodevelopmental impairments in children with septo-optic dysplasia spectrum conditions: a systematic review.Molecular autismRoughly half of children with septo-optic dysplasia spectrum conditions have cognitive or developmental impairment (175 of 336) and 35% (65 of 187) have autism-level symptoms. In visually impaired children those autism scores may reflect adaptations to sight loss.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2025Post-diagnostic support for adults diagnosed with autism in adulthood in the UK: A systematic review with narrative synthesis.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMost adults diagnosed with autism in adulthood who were surveyed said post-diagnostic support did not meet their needs, and no included study measured whether any of it works. Adults valued psychoeducation, peer contact and one-to-one help; follow-up and signposting alone were not enough.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2023A systematic review and meta-analysis of suicidality in autistic and possibly autistic people without co-occurring intellectual disability.Molecular autismPooled across 36 studies, 34.2% of autistic and possibly autistic people without intellectual disability reported suicidal thoughts, 21.9% had made a suicide plan and 24.3% had attempted suicide. Rates were much lower when a parent reported them than when the person did.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022Atypical structural connectivity of language networks in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of diffusion tensor imaging studies.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchPeople with autism showed weaker white matter connections in the tracts that carry language, most clearly in children and on the left side of the brain. Adults showed little difference on the main measure. No treatment was tested.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022Gaze and social functioning associations in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAcross 95 studies, autistic children and adults who looked longer at faces and eyes tended to have lower autism symptom severity. Time spent looking at mouths told you almost nothing.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2026Sensitivity and Expected Change of Commonly Used Social Communication Measures in Longitudinal Research of Young Autistic Children.Journal of autism and developmental disordersOnly five of the social-communication measures studied changed more as the measurement period got longer, so most of the tools used to track young autistic children may not capture gradual progress. Standard scores showed the smallest change.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2025First Impressions Towards Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAutistic people are judged less favourably than non-autistic people on first impression, from a photo, a voice or a video. When raters only read a transcript of what was said, there was no clear bias either way.
• SLPRCT2025In-home Tele-assessment for Autism in Toddlers: Validity, Reliability, and Caregiver Satisfaction with the TELE-ASD-PEDS.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPToddlers' autism evaluations done over video from home matched in-person results for 94% of children, and 92% could be given a diagnostic decision from the video visit alone. Caregivers were satisfied and few had technology problems.
• SLPSystematic Review2025Building Capacity: A Systematic Review of Training in the Diagnosis of Autism for Community-Based Clinicians.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchAfter training, community clinicians reported more confidence, knowledge and use of screening tools, and their diagnoses matched an expert assessment in 71% to 95% of cases checked. But this rests on seven small training programmes, mostly pilots, with no follow-up.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2023Effects of Parent-Implemented Interventions on Outcomes of Children with Autism: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersTraining parents to deliver autism intervention produced moderate gains in children's social skills, behaviour and communication versus usual care or waiting lists, but little improvement in daily living skills. Better-run trials showed smaller gains.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Calm with horses? A systematic review of animal-assisted interventions for improving social functioning in children with autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceHorse-based programmes were the only animal interventions with supporting evidence: most trials reported better social functioning in children with autism, but none was free of bias. The single dog-reading trial found nothing, and the dolphin programme did no better than an animal-free control.
• SLPSystematic Review2022Pharmacological and dietary-supplement treatments for autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Molecular autismRisperidone and aripiprazole improved social-communication difficulties and repetitive behaviours in children, but evidence was low quality and both caused weight gain, sedation and extrapyramidal symptoms. Most trials were small (median 40 participants) and enrolled children with irritability.
• SLPSystematic Review2025Autism interventions designed or adapted for the Black/African American population: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceEight US studies since 2017 have designed or adapted an autism intervention for Black people. None was randomised, none included Black autistic adults, most worked with parents, and none addressed the language needs of the community.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2025Examining the Efficacy of Culturally Responsive Interventions for Autistic Children and Their Families: A Meta-Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersAdapting autism interventions to a family's culture or language improved children's social communication and mental health and parents' mental health and delivery of strategies in 24 studies. General development and autism features did not improve, and no study separated the adapting from the intervention.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022Effectiveness of Responsivity Intervention Strategies on Prelinguistic and Language Outcomes for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Group and Single Case Studies.Journal of autism and developmental disordersInterventions that respond to what a child with autism is already doing produced moderate gains in early communication and language in 33 randomised trials. Those gains showed up most clearly in measures taken during treatment, not in new settings.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2024The Methodological Quality and Intervention Fidelity of Randomised Controlled Trials Evaluating Social Skills Group Programs in Autistic Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disordersSocial skills groups for autistic teenagers improved social skills, mostly measured by the teenagers' own reports, but did not change autism traits or behaviour and emotional problems. Any gains were gone at follow-up, and most programs were not delivered as designed.
• SLPRCT2023The effect of responsiveness to speech-generating device input on spoken language in children with autism spectrum disorder who are minimally verbal†.Augmentative and alternative communication (Baltimore, Md. : 1985)Adding a speech device to a behavioural programme did not make these children respond more to device input than to ordinary speech. But the children who did respond to the device early on made more spontaneous comments and used more different words. Exploratory, 31 children.
• SLPSystematic Review2026Exploring the Potential of Matching-to-Sample-Based Training Protocols to Enhance Language Abilities in Individuals with Language Impairments: A Scoping Review.International journal of language & communication disordersTeaching people with language impairments to match pictures, spoken words and printed words led to correct answers on untrained language relations in most participants across ten of the sixteen studies, but all were small, none randomised, and none included DLD.
• SLPRCT2026Assess the Fidelity, Validity and Responsiveness of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC) to Measure Changes in the Social Interactions of Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceThe BOSCC, a 12-minute filmed play session with an unfamiliar adult, reliably tracked change in these autistic preschoolers' social communication and matched clinicians' impression of change over 12 to 24 months. It did not track ADOS change.
• OTSLPOther2026Developing a consensus research definition for profound autism using a modified Delphi method.Molecular autismResearchers, clinicians, caregivers and autistic people agreed a research definition of profound autism: round-the-clock adult supervision needed, adaptive skills far below age level, IQ under 50 or minimal speech, and age 8 or over. No IQ cut-off reached agreement.
• SLPQualitative2026"Everyone Has a Different Body Constitution": An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Social Interaction and Related Supports in Chinese Autistic Postsecondary Students.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic students wanted to connect but found socialising exhausting and often ineffective. Masking eased stigma at a cost, and some weighed that trade-off deliberately. What helped was autistic peers, accepting staff and real-life practice, not formal social skills classes.
• SLPQualitative2026Health Care Transition Experiences for Rural and Urban Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults: A Qualitative Analysis.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutistic young adults said they were pushed into adult health care unprepared: nobody taught them how appointments, insurance or the system work. Rural participants had few providers and long travel; urban ones faced fragmented, rushed care. Parents often covered the gaps.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2024The search for gastrointestinal inflammation in autism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of non-invasive gastrointestinal markers.Molecular autismPooled faecal calprotectin and lactoferrin levels did not differ between autistic and non-autistic children. The authors suggest GI symptoms in autism are more often functional than inflammatory, though a subgroup with higher calprotectin may exist.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2023Efficacy of very early interventions on neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants and toddlers at increased likelihood of or diagnosed with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchVery early interventions for infants and toddlers at risk of or diagnosed with autism showed little to no difference in autism symptoms, cognition, or language by age 3. A small adaptive-skills gain was found but rated very low certainty.
• SLPSystematic Review2022Efficacy, model of delivery, intensity and targets of pragmatic interventions for children with developmental language disorder: A systematic review.International journal of language & communication disordersFive of eleven studies found significant gains in pragmatic language after intervention, but the targets, measures, and doses varied so much that no single approach can be recommended. The evidence is too thin to change how you treat a child's conversational or narrative skills.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2024Impact of reading intervention on the phonological awareness of children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.CoDASReading intervention improved phonological awareness by 6.21 points on the TOPEL scale in children with ASD. This held after removing the study that contributed most to the overall estimate. Individual studies were mixed: two showed no gain, one showed a decline after training ended.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2022Parent-Mediated Interventions for Infants under 24 Months at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of autism and developmental disordersCoaching parents of babies at risk for autism did not change whether those babies were later diagnosed, and effects on the infants' own skills were inconsistent. What did improve was how parents interacted with their baby. Present these programmes as parent support, not prevention.
• SLPSystematic Review2026The Predominant Focus Is Still on Teaching Children to Make Requests: A Systematic Review of AAC for Autistic Adults and Children.International journal of language & communication disordersAcross 69 studies of AAC for autistic people, the research mostly teaches children to make simple requests. Only five participants were adults. Quality of life, participation, and broader communication skills are barely measured.
• SLPRCT2025A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Motivation-Based Social Skills Group Treatment with Parent Training.Journal of autism and developmental disordersChildren with ASD in a 12-week social group plus parent training made more verbal requests to peers than a treatment-as-usual group. A blinded clinician rated them as more improved. Parent questionnaires showed no difference. Small pilot, 25 children.
• SLPRCT2023One size does not fit all for parent-mediated autism interventions: A randomized clinical trial.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceMothers taught responsive language strategies showed greater improvement than those taught directive strategies. Mothers' subclinical autism-like traits made no difference on their own, but whether they helped or hurt depended on how much strategy use the mother already had before training.
• OTSLPQualitative2026How can we improve the timeliness and quality of diagnostic assessment for children with possible autism? Qualitative findings and recommendations from a Realist Evaluation of Autism Service delivery in the United Kingdom.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceParents described years of not being heard before a referral and feeling abandoned after diagnosis. Stakeholders ranked 12 service changes as most important. Support should not wait for a diagnosis to begin.
• PTSLPSystematic Review2026Virtual reality in autism and physical therapy: a meta-analytical review of clinical outcomes and therapeutic efficacy.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesVR added to standard therapy improved social communication and emotion recognition in autistic people, and balance, gait, and arm function in stroke and Parkinson's patients. It works as an add-on, not a substitute for existing treatment.
• OTSLPQualitative2026Beyond Exhaustion: Shame, Identity Disruption, and Functional Collapse in Autistic Burnout.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceShame, not exhaustion, was the organising force in these 11 autistic adults' burnout. They described hiding both their autistic traits and their burnout at the same time, then withdrawing when the mask slipped. That shame-withdrawal loop sustained the episode.
• SLPOther2026The use of the Labyrinth Scale in the differential diagnosis of children aged 2 to 4 with a history of psychological distress, autism and different language outcomes.CoDASThe Labyrinth Scale separates ASD from typical development and delayed language acquisition, but the DLD group mean (12.7) sits above the ASD cutoff (12). A high score does not confirm ASD in a child with a language disorder.
• SLPOther2026Untangling Sex and Gender Differences in Impression Management and Associated Autism Features in French Autistic Adults.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn 291 French autistic adults, the intention to mask autistic traits tracked more with gender identity than with assigned sex, while perceived ability to mask tracked with personal traits like warmth toward others. Neither facet significantly altered the link between childhood and adult autism presentations.
• SLPOther2026Mapping sensory sensitivity in autism.Molecular autismAcross 32 perceptual tasks, autistic adults showed reduced sensitivity specifically for social stimuli (faces, speech) while non-social tasks showed preserved or enhanced performance. Individual variation was large: many fell above or below the typical range in both directions.
• SLPOther2026Labyrinth scale in the differential diagnosis between autism spectrum disorder and language disorder.CoDASThe Labirinto Scale separated children with autism from those with a language disorder on all four symptom subscales. Social Interaction was the one subscale where the language-disorder group looked the same as typically developing children.
• OTSLPCase Report2026Ethnographic Perspectives of Unreliable, Minimal and Non-Speaking Autism Associated With Apraxia.OTJR : occupation, participation and healthThree autistic self-advocates describe their speech difficulties as a motor planning problem, not a thinking problem. All three were misdiagnosed as intellectually delayed, then reassessed after gaining AAC access and the diagnosis was reversed.
• SLPCohort2026A transdiagnostic AI-based measure of interpersonal coordination in autism and other conditions.Molecular autismAutistic adolescents coordinated their facial expressions and head movements with a conversation partner significantly less than neurotypical peers, and also less than peers with other psychiatric conditions. The pattern held in both video and in-person conversations.
• OTSLPQualitative2026Improving Health Care Services for Autistic Young Adults: Development and Use of a Self-Reported Health Care Transition Readiness Assessment.International journal of language & communication disordersAutistic young adults ranked understanding their own health conditions and feeling safe as most important for independence. Communication challenges and reliance on caregivers were their biggest barriers. Digital reminders were central to daily functioning.
• SLPSystematic Review2026How Do Speech-Language Pathology Social Communication Interventions Incorporate the Strengths and Perspectives of Autistic Children and Their Families: A Scoping Review.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceAutism was described through deficits in 22 of 26 SLP social communication studies. No study included a child's own view on goals or outcomes. Parent input was common but limited to picking from pre-set options.
• SLPPilot2026Assessing pragmatic abilities of small children with and without ASD diagnosis.CoDASChildren with confirmed ASD scored higher (more impaired) than children whose ASD suspicion was ruled out, across all four pragmatic domains measured. The pilot involved 22 toddlers aged 18 to 36 months.
• OTSLPSystematic Review2026Understanding health services and puberty for autistic adolescents and those with disability: A scoping review to inform occupational therapy practice.Australian occupational therapy journal18.9% of OTs working with pubertal-aged children address menstruation. Across 17 studies, the most consistently advocated support is anticipatory education before menarche, delivered in a person- and family-centred way.
• SLPSurvey2026A Large-Scale Study on the Relation Between Multilingualism and Social Traits in Adults With and Without Autism Diagnoses.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchGreater diversity of language use was associated with lower social interaction difficulty in autistic adults, but no effect on communication skills. The link was stronger in the diagnosed group. This is one questionnaire study, not proof that multilingualism causes the difference.
• SLPOther2026Irony Comprehension in Monolingual and Bilingual Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchBilingual autistic children comprehended verbal irony at levels the authors report as comparable to typically developing peers, while monolingual autistic children scored lower. Both autistic groups still struggled to explain the speaker's ironic intention, with correct rates between 19.3% and 34.8%.
• SLPRCT2026Who benefits most? A randomized controlled trial for Parent-implemented social communication intervention for chinese-speaking autistic preschoolers.Molecular autismNo significant difference was found between an SLT-led and a self-study format of a parent-implemented social communication program for autistic preschoolers, though both improved children's language and social skills. Exploratory analyses suggest lower-income families may benefit more from therapist-led delivery.
• SLPCohort2026Longitudinal Examination of Wandering in Children and Adolescents With Autism.Autism : the international journal of research and practiceHalf of young children with autism wandered between ages 2 and 5; by adolescence that fell to 14%. Childhood attention and aggression problems were the only early factor linked to wandering at both ages. 22.2% of adolescents who wandered did not use words.