As part of a team, the authors developed a workshop to help parents and teams address the behavioural needs of children with autism using a positive behaviour support (PBS) approach. Teams received comprehensive training in PBS and completed weekly homework assignments. Measures of participant satisfaction, parent satisfaction and efficacy and child behaviour suggested this training as an effec...

We analyzed data from case groups of 538 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 163 with developmental delays (DD), and from 421 typically developing controls to assess associations with maternal influenza or fever during pregnancy. Exposure information was obtained by telephone interviews, and outcomes were clinically confirmed. Though neither ASD nor DD was associated with influenz...

Introduction Autism is approaching the numbers of an epidemic. Past efforts have focused on identifying the genetic basis of Autism Spectrum disorders with minimal success. Recently, a lot of work is being carried out in Epigenetics, Nutrigenetics in order to analyse the cause of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The present paper reviews the various studies being conducted in this domain and provides...

INTRODUCTION Early identification of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is important, since earlier exposure to behavioural intervention programs may result in better outcomes for the child. Moreover, it allows families timely access to other treatments and supports. METHODS Using generalized linear modeling, we examined the association between child and family characteristics and the age at whi...

Existing research suggests that there are several unique challenges associated with caring for a child on the autism spectrum. Despite a growing evidence base regarding autism spectrum disorders and their increasing prevalence, children on the autism spectrum and their families continue to perceive stigmatisation from various sources throughout the community. These perceptions of stigma can pro...

This study characterized early language abilities in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (n = 257) using multiple measures of language development, compared to toddlers with non-spectrum developmental delay (DD, n = 69). Findings indicated moderate to high degrees of agreement among three assessment measures (one parent report and two direct assessment measures). Performance on two of the t...

BACKGROUND Much controversy exists regarding the clinical efficacy of behavioural and developmental interventions for improving the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We conducted a systematic review to summarize the evidence on the effectiveness of behavioural and developmental interventions for ASD. METHODS AND FINDINGS Comprehensive searches were conducted in 22 electronic d...

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are impaired in their ability to produce and perceive dynamic facial expressions [1]. The goal of SmileMaze is to improve the expression production skills of children with ASD in a dynamic and engaging game format. The Computer Expression Recognition Toolbox (CERT) is the heart of the SmileMaze game. CERT automatically detects frontal faces in a sta...

The Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale-Revised (RAADS-R) is a valid and reliable instrument to assist the diagnosis of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The 80-question scale was administered to 779 subjects (201 ASD and 578 comparisons). All ASD subjects met inclusion criteria: DSM-IV-TR, ADI/ADOS diagnoses and standardized IQ testing. Mean scores for each of the questions and t...

Facial motion is a special type of biological motion that transmits cues for socio-emotional communication and enables the discrimination of properties such as gender and identity. We used animated average faces to examine the ability of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to perceive facial motion. Participants completed increasingly difficult tasks involving the discrimination of (1) ...