Background and aims: The quality of parent verbal input--diverse vocabulary that is well-matched to the child's developmental level within interactions that are responsive to their interests--has been found to positively impact child language skills. For typically developing (TD) children, there is evidence that more advanced linguistic and social…

Research suggests that adaptive functioning influences parents' attributions for children's social behaviours. However, the influence of adaptive functioning on parents' attributions for children's emotional expressions is yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between adaptive functioning of children with…

In this study the Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE) was validated towards ICD-10 Autism Spectrum Diagnoses (ASD) based on an interview with the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11) with parent(s)/caregiver(s) in a group of 124 children referred for assessment to a clinical assessment unit for pre-school children.…

Background: Adaptive skills measures tend to be lengthy. The GO4KIDDS (Great Outcomes for Kids Impacted by Severe Developmental Disabilities; (Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 58, 2015 and 594)) Brief Adaptive Behaviour Scale was developed to provide a brief assessment of adaptive skills. Our study aimed to examine the…

Currently, Developmental scales for children aged 0-6 years are a particularly valuable resource for assessing developmental milestones in children. Most scales are developed based on a broad conceptual framework, and their metric validation is insufficient and of low quality. The aim of this systematic review is to analyse the psychometric…

This study aimed to identify potential modifiable factors prior to early intervention that are associated with better adaptive skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. This cross-sectional study recruited patients with autism spectrum disorder, aged 5-12 years from two tertiary developmental programmes in Singapore. Demographics, family…

Background: Children with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They are often diagnosed later than other children in part due to difficulty differentiating ASD-related impairment from that associated with DS. The psychometric properties of the Pervasive Developmental Disorder in Mental Retardation Scale (PDD-MRS) were…

Siblings play an important role in shaping the developmental trajectories of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Having siblings has been associated with better social communication, non-verbal communication, and theory of mind abilities in autism spectrum disorder. However, little is known about the impact of siblings on adaptive skill…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with social play. They have some limitations in learning play skills and playing with peers. This study examines the effects of intervention, in an inclusive classroom, based on ecological assessment and conditions of social play selection on the engagement in social play of a…

Background: Using progress monitoring data to make effective and timely decisions in early intervention (EI) requires high quality assessment. Infant/toddler individual growth and development indicators (I/T IGDIs) have been developed to be brief, reliable and engaging progress monitoring tools that are sensitive to change over short time periods…

The aim of this research study was to examine the effects of Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT) on adaptive/maladaptive behaviors, depression, and self-efficacy in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). The participants were counterbalanced to either intervention groups of 1) Assisted Cycling Therapy (ACT), in which the participants' voluntary pedaling…

This study aimed to identify different profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID) and maternal factors characteristic of these profiles. Participants were 89 children between 7 and 11 years old and their mothers, distributed in two groups, 52 children with ASD and 37 with typical development (TD).…

Little is known about outcomes of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder reared in bilingual homes. There are concerns that social communication deficits among children with autism spectrum disorder may reduce the developmental benefits of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder raised in bilingual…

Aquatic therapy improves motor skills of persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but its usefulness for treating functional difficulties needs to be verified yet. We tested effectiveness of a multisystem aquatic therapy on behavioural, emotional, social and swimming skills of children with ASD. Multisystem aquatic therapy was divided in…

The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of peer training in pivotal response treatment (PRT) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in their first year of school. Four 6-year-old boys with ASD and eight typically developing (TD) children (aged 4-6 years) participated in the study. A non-concurrent…