Background: The nosology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is at a critical point in history as the field seeks to better define dimensions of social-communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors on an individual level for both clinical and neurobiological purposes. These different dimensions also suggest an increasing need for…

Motor skills were assessed in 397 toddlers, and it was demonstrated that atypically developing toddlers exhibited significantly greater motor skill abilities than toddlers with autistic disorder. No significant difference on gross or fine motor skill abilities were found between atypically developing toddlers and toddlers with pervasive…

To identify possible early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) within the Danish National Birth Cohort, we studied prospectively collected interviews from 76,441 mothers about their children's development and behaviour at 6 and 18 months. In Danish national registries, 720 children with ASD and 231 children with intellectual disability (ID)…

A variety of parent-mediated communication intervention programs are available to families of young children with autism spectrum disorder including Hanen's "More Than Words" (MTW). Although the program is widely used, researchers understand little about parents' grasp of the information presented. Through a multiple case study, the unique…

We examined whether clinically distinct subgroups can be derived from a sample of toddlers (n = 186) who failed the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, received a comprehensive clinical evaluation, and were diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Three subgroups emerged from cluster analysis distinguished by (a) social,…

Objective: A previously published randomized clinical trial indicated that a developmental behavioral intervention, the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), resulted in gains in IQ, language, and adaptive behavior of children with autism spectrum disorder. This report describes a secondary outcome measurement from this trial, EEG activity. Method:…

This study aimed to determine if a joint attention intervention would result in greater joint engagement between caregivers and toddlers with autism. The intervention consisted of 24 caregiver-mediated sessions with follow-up 1 year later. Compared to caregivers and toddlers randomized to the waitlist control group the immediate treatment (IT)…

Background: Previous studies have highlighted that episodes of crying of children with autistic disorder (AD) were perceived as inexplicable from their parents who could not identify causative factors. These results supported the view of AD as related to a problem of expressing and sharing emotions. Moreover, no evidence has been presented on…

We observed infant siblings of children with autism later diagnosed with ASD (ASD siblings; n = 17), infant siblings of children with autism with and without other delays (Other Delays and No Delays siblings; n = 12 and n = 19, respectively) and typically developing controls (TD controls; n = 19) during a free-play task at 18 months of age.…

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…

Background: Social and communication impairments are core deficits and prognostic indicators of autism. We evaluated the impact of supplementing a comprehensive intervention with a curriculum targeting socially synchronous behavior on social outcomes of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: Fifty toddlers with ASD, ages 21 to 33…

To increase public awareness and sensitivity, a two-stage screening with a community-based approach is proposed, with the use of the broadband Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) developmental instrument in the first stage and the narrowband Modified Checklist of Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in the second stage. Thus, the purpose of this study was to…

This study examined adaptive behavior and cognitive skills for 125 toddlers on the autism spectrum using the recently updated Vineland-II and Bayley-III. Delays in adaptive skills were apparent at 2 years of age. As a group, toddlers on the autism spectrum had a profile of Vineland-II standard scores in which Motor Skills greater than Daily Living…

The purpose of this study was to identify the predictors of change in parental stress (including parent and child factors), depression, and interaction style in parents of toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), exposed to two types of early intervention (EI) programs, PLAY and Community Standard (CS). This study utilized secondary data of…

Objective: Twin and family studies of autistic traits and of cases diagnosed with autism suggest high heritability; however, the heritability of autistic traits in toddlers has not been investigated. Therefore, this study's goals were (1) to screen a statewide twin population using items similar to the six critical social and communication items…