Play and playfulness have a key role in children's development. Not enough is known about the playfulness of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and its relationship to children's behavioural problems, as well as the role of caregiver behaviours during play in this relationship. The present study examines the moderating role of teachers'…

Although many studies have investigated links between maternal employment and children's wellbeing, less research has considered whether the stability of maternal employment is linked with child outcomes. Using unique employment calendar data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,011), an urban birth cohort study of largely…

ASD symptomology and behavioral problems pose challenges for children with ASD in school. Disagreement between parents and teachers in ratings of children's behavior problems may provide clinically relevant information. We examined parent-teacher disagreement on ratings of behavior problems among children with ASD during the fall and spring of the…

Background: Williams syndrome (WS) phenotype is described as unique and intriguing. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between speech-language abilities, general cognitive functioning and behavioural problems in individuals with WS, considering age effects and speech-language characteristics of WS sub-groups. Methods: The…

In order to shed more light on why referred girls are less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder than boys, this study examined whether behavioral characteristics influence the probability of an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis differently in girls versus boys derived from a multicenter sample of consecutively referred children…

ASD symptomology and behavioral problems pose challenges for children with ASD in school. Disagreement between parents and teachers in ratings of children's behavior problems may provide clinically relevant information. We examined parent-teacher disagreement on ratings of behavior problems among children with ASD during the fall and spring of the…

There are unique challenges to estimating causal effects of preschool for students with special needs that have not received attention in the literature. We revisit the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) to illustrate that when and how special needs is defined has implications for the internal validity of and interpretation of special needs subgroup…

The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in behavioral and emotional problems in high-functioning girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. The results obtained by adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were compared with those of typically developing girls and boys. Correlations between parents' and adolescents' ratings…

The current study evaluated bidirectional associations between mother and father positive parenting and child effortful control. Data were drawn from 220 families when children were 3, 4, 5, and 6 years old. Parenting and effortful control were assessed when the child was 3, 4, and 5 years old. These variables were used to statistically predict…

This study examined the prevalence of ADHD symptoms and anxiety as reported by parents and teachers for 180 preschool children (ages 4-5) and school-aged children (ages 6-7) with ASD using the Child Behavior Checklist--Parent and Teacher Report Forms (Achenbach and Rescorla, Manual for ASEBA school-age forms & profiles, Research Center for…

The Strengths and Weaknesses Heuristic (S&W Heuristic) was constructed in order to reduce biased assessments of students with (suspicion of) Intellectual Giftedness in co-occurrence with Autism Spectrum Disorder (IG + ASD) and to establish a well-founded interconnection between assessment data and intervention indications. The current study is…

Within a theoretical framework of cognitive dissonance, this phenomenological study explored Australian intellectually gifted pre-adolescent/early adolescents' experiences of asynchrony. The study focuses on mothers and sons. Eleven boys aged 10 to 14 years, and nine of their mothers, participated in semi-structured interviews. Seven boys reported…

Although many studies have investigated links between maternal employment and children's wellbeing, less research has considered whether the stability of maternal employment is linked with child outcomes. Using unique employment calendar data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=2,011), an urban birth cohort study of largely…

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a controversial "DSM-5" diagnosis. It is not known how DMDD symptoms vary by age and if differences are similar for autism, ADHD, and general population samples. Our study analyzed the two DMDD symptoms (irritable-angry mood and temper outbursts) in 1,827 children with autism or ADHD (with…

There has been little research connecting underlying emotion processes (e.g., emotion regulation) to frequent behavior problems in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined the stability of emotion regulation and its relationship with other aspects of child functioning. Participants included 108 children with ASD,…