Atypical language is a fundamental feature of autism spectrum conditions (ASC), but few studies have examined the structural integrity of the arcuate fasciculus, the major white matter tract connecting frontal and temporal language regions, which is usually implicated as the main transfer route used in processing linguistic information by the brain. Abnormalities in the arcuate have been report...

Background: Autism disorder in children is characterized by problems in social functioning, communication, and the existence of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. The pervasive and severe disabilities of children with autism are a difficult experience for their parents and families and are often accompanied by a range of challenges for caregivers. Therefore, designing appropriate programs to...

Autism has been described as a disorder of general neural processing, but the particular processing characteristics that might be abnormal in autism have mostly remained obscure. Here, we present evidence of one such characteristic: poor evoked response reliability. We compared cortical response amplitude and reliability (consistency across trials) in visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortice...

Several different methodological approaches that have been used in studying language in children with autism are outlined. In classic studies, children with autism are compared to comparison groups typically matched on age, IQ, or mental age in order to identify which aspects of language are uniquely impaired in autism. Several methodological problems are noted with this approach including (a) ...

introduction : we aimed to assess the status of sensory processing in children with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, high-functioning autism and typical peers. methods: participants in this study are children 7 to 10 years old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (n = 30), autistic children with high cognitive function (n = 28) and 30 matched typical children. parents of c...

Children with autism often have increased verbal communication difficulties in noisy environments. Although these difficulties have been attributed to impaired attention abilities, recent studies suggest a possible perceptual basis. However, previous efforts to evaluate speech perception abilities, even in relativelv high functioning autism, have been impeded by methodological limitations arisi...

Studies of head size and brain volume in autism spectrum disorders have suggested that early cortical overgrowth may be followed by prematurely arrested growth. However, the few investigations quantifying cortical thickness have yielded inconsistent results, probably due to variable ages and/or small sample sizes. We assessed differences in cortical thickness between high-functioning adolescent...

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an increasingly prevalent condition with core deficits in the social domain. Understanding its neuroetiology is critical to providing insights into the relationship between neuroanatomy, physiology and social behaviors, including imitation learning, language, empathy, theory of mind, and even self-awareness. Equally important is the need to find ways to arrest ...

It has been suggested that people with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are attracted to computer-mediated communication (CMC). In this study, several open questions regarding CMC use in people with ASC which are investigated. We compare CMC use in adults with high-functioning ASC (N = 113) and a control group (N = 72). We find that people with ASC (1) spend more time on CMC than controls, (2) ...