With the publication of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition", autism spectrum disorders are defined by two symptom clusters (social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors) instead of the current three clusters. The current study examined the structure of the Baby and Infant Screen for…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) present with a variety of comorbid difficulties, some of which relate to seemingly simply activities of daily living. Feeding and sleep difficulties are purportedly common within the ASD population, although the association between these problems and ASD symptomatology has rarely been addressed. The…

Early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is crucial so that early intervention services, which have been found to best alleviate symptoms of ASD in children, can be implemented. Currently, the "Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers" ("M-CHAT") and the "Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm…

Little research has been conducted to date on the relationship between psychotropic medication use and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Participants in the current study were placed into one of four groups: ASD on psychotropic medications (N = 33), ASD off psychotropic medications (N = 45), atypically developing on psychotropic medications (N =…

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are well-known for engagement in challenging behaviors. Unfortunately, due to its absence as a criterion for diagnosis in the "DSM-IV-TR", little attention has been paid to the endorsement rates of such behaviors. However, a recently developed measure to assist in the diagnosis of infants and toddlers…

A top priority in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the development of precise early diagnostic tools that can be completed with minimal time and training. We report on the convergent and divergent validity of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT), specifically the BISCUIT-Part 1. Previous research with…

Autism is defined by impairments in socialization, communication, with the presence of stereotyped behavior. It is also associated with various medical conditions, intellectual disability, comorbid psychopathology, and problem behavior. This is a concerning finding in that there may be a true increase in the disorder's prevalence and that it is…

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a topic receiving great attention from researchers and clinicians in the field. However, many of these studies focus on children or adults, with research on infants and toddlers evincing ASD being virtually non-existent. Even more scant is information pertaining to the assessment of symptoms of comorbid…

Previous research has found that individuals with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and those with greater symptom severity within these diagnoses, show higher rates of aggressive/destructive behavior, stereotypic behavior, and self-injurious behavior. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, toddlers at-risk for a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate symptoms of comorbid disorders in infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Research is scant on symptoms of co-occurring mental health conditions in this very young population. Method: Three hundred and twenty four participants were included in this study. Participants were classified…

Early identification of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is now considered best practice in the field of developmental disabilities. Despite calls by national pediatric organizations and others for routine screening in young children, such recommendations have been hard to implement in practice. One of the major unresolved problems is the need for…

Comorbid psychopathology and challenging behaviors often occur among persons with developmental disabilities. However, little attention to this issue has been reported in young children. In this study, individuals 17 through 36 months of age with varying diagnoses, such as intellectual disability, developmental delay, and Down syndrome, among…

Behavioral symptoms of comorbid psychopathology of 651 children 17-37 months of age who were at risk for developmental disabilities were studied using the BISCUIT-Part 2. In Study 1, norms and cutoff scores were established for this new scale on this sample. In Study 2, frequency of response on the 52 items measured was reported. Problems in…