Early intervention can reduce disability in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Screening for autism spectrum disorder in young children identifies those at increased likelihood of diagnosis who may need further support. This study assessed in "utero" exposure to maternal obesity and diabetes and offspring performance on…

Verb-marking errors such as "she play football" and "daddy singing" are a hallmark feature of English-speaking children's speech. We investigated the proposal that these errors are input-driven errors of commission arising from the high relative frequency of subject + unmarked verb sequences in well-formed child-directed…

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be screened for autism at 18 and 24 months. It is unknown whether a positive screen usually represents the first developmental concern or is typically preceded by other developmental and/or medical concerns. This study evaluated the proportions of toddlers (M = 18.69 months) who screened…

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder that includes deficits in social communication and interaction, and restricted and repetitive behaviours, interests, or activities. This survey was done to assess autism spectrum disorder prevalence in 16- to 30-month-old children at an urban-rural distribution and determine the association of…

This study estimated ASD prevalence in a cohort of 3-year-old very preterm children (N = 55) and investigated the usefulness of parent-reported ASD screeners and the ADOS-2. 12.7% received an ASD diagnosis by clinical judgment based on DSM-5 criteria. An additional 14.5% were classified as having a broader-autism-phenotype outcome. Sensitivity…

Variation in how frequently caregivers engage with their children is associated with variation in children's later language outcomes. One explanation for this link is that caregivers use both verbal behaviors, such as labels, and non-verbal behaviors, such as gestures, to help children establish reference to objects or events in the world.…

This study tested the hypothesis that exposure of children prior to their third birthday to procedures requiring general anesthesia is associated with an increased incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in later life. This study employed a nested, 1:2 matched-case control study design using ASD cases identified in a population-based birth…

The development of strategies that support autonomous self-regulation of emotion is key for early childhood emotion regulation. Children are thought to transition from predominant reliance on more automatic or interpersonal strategies to reliance on more effortful, autonomous strategies as they develop cognitive skills that can be recruited for…

Child growth and development are important aspects of the quality of human capital in future. This study aimed to examine the association between stunting and fine motor, gross motor, and social independence development among children under the age of five years old. We included a total of 525 children from district level survey in Sedayu…

Objective: The tendency to vocalize toward objects is ubiquitous among young infants. However, little is known about the range of this tendency and its contribution to language development. Therefore, this longitudinal study objective was to explore the role of three forms of vocal behavior (vocalization, babbling, and speech) directed toward…

A wealth of research evidences the positive impact of the outdoors for young children. Yet there is little relating to the experiences of babies and toddlers who attend daycare settings. This paper offers new knowledge about outdoor provision for under twos in the English context where there is a lack of explicit policy support for outdoor…

Meta-analyses of head circumference in autistic individuals exist; however, simple meta-analytic approaches are limited. Consequently, we gathered head circumference raw data of autistic (N = 2381) and typically developing participants (N = 994) by re-analysing the data from previously published studies together. The present study found no mean…

Background and aims: The efficacy of parent-child reading for supporting language development has been well-established in the neurotypical (NT) literature. For children with autism spectrum disorder, (ASD) who may be at risk for delays in language development, prior research has shown promise for shared book-reading interventions. Yet there has…

Background: It is highly recommended that professionals promote caregivers' capacity-building to use intervention strategies to support children with developmental delays or disabilities in natural learning environments, particularly in the earliest years of life. There is a gap, however, in understanding the extent to which these professionals…

Research on sex differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests both higher prevalence and a more easily observable presentation of core ASD symptomology in males, which may lead to sex differences in parental concerns. The current study examined whether sex and diagnosis relate to the timing, number, and types of pre-diagnosis concerns for…