Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is contended to be a distinct presentation within autism characterised by extreme levels of anxiety in response to the demands of everyday life, manifested in excessive levels of demand avoidance. This results in complex interactions with service providers in education and health settings, impacting on outcomes…

Objective: Psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can hinder academic performance among college-age individuals. Participants: Mental health among college students is a growing public health concern, with some scholars describing collegiate mental health as a crisis (Chen et al., Psychiatr Serv. 2019;70(6):442-449). Methods: This…

Despite overlaps in clinical symptomatology, autism and ADHD may be associated with opposite autonomic arousal profiles which might partly explain altered cognitive and global functioning. We investigated autonomic arousal in 106 children/adolescents with autism, ADHD, co-occurring autism/ADHD, and neurotypical controls. Heart rate variability was…

The recognition of anxiety as one of the most commonly co-occurring diagnoses for individuals on the autism spectrum has led to increased research on symptomatology and treatment, but there is limited research documenting the impact of this anxiety. To address this, this study reports on the Child Anxiety Life Interference Scale (CALIS, parent…

The present study involved detailed chart review for a sample of college students referred to a psychiatrist for pharmacologic evaluation to obtain information about clinical decisions to prescribe antipsychotic medication. Six colleges and universities referred 540 students to an off-campus consulting psychiatrist, and 40 of these students (7.4%)…

Despite the burgeoning interest in mindfulness and its applications, relatively few mindfulness research studies have been conducted with children and adolescents, particularly in regard to those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and comorbid internalizing symptoms. Moreover, there is a lack of peer-reviewed, published studies regarding the…

Psychiatrists were interviewed to elicit their remarks on and clinical experiences with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). A case study design with four open-ended questions was chosen. Psychiatrists were asked to answer questions related to the clinical cases they encountered, what they have gone through and what they think about the diagnosis of…

The purpose of this paper is to determine how youth with anxiety recruited for a school-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) compare demographically and clinically to clinically referred youth with anxiety who participated in an RCT conducted in community mental health clinics. Youth ("N" = 99) with anxiety aged 12-15 years were: (a)…

This exploratory study assessed the relationships between autism spectrum disorder symptoms, caregiver stress and intervention helpfulness, using parent (n = 182) ratings. Advocacy and intervention-related tasks were rated more stressful than support tasks (e.g. toileting, mealtimes), indicating that advocacy is emerging as a major caregiver task…

Purpose: Untreated parent mental health problems have deleterious effects upon the family, yet caregivers are unlikely to receive services for their emotional health. We conducted a review of treatments and services for children and adolescents that also offered services to parents. Methods: Child treatment and service studies were included in the…

A systematic review of autism spectrum disorder and substance use and abuse was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis protocol guidelines (an internationally recognized standardized methodological framework for conducting systematic review). The objectives of the review were to update and extend…

Learning disabilities are associated with mental health, behavioural and social difficulties. Developmental dyslexia is a particularly salient example of a learning disability that is associated with social and emotional consequences that are not considered primary features of the disorder. These issues can remain and, in some cases, escalate in…

Background: Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be effective in the treatment of a range of health and psychological disorders in adults and young people without intellectual disabilities (ID). Clinical studies are emerging reporting on the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions as a stand-alone treatment for common clinical…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have high levels of anxiety. It is unclear whether they exhibit threat-related attentional biases commensurate with anxiety disorders as manifest in non-ASD populations, such as facilitated attention toward, and difficulties disengaging engaging from, threatening stimuli. Ninety children, 45 cognitively…

Comorbidity in clinical youth populations is more the rule than the exception, yet few established guidelines exist to help practicing clinicians manage complex diagnostic profiles. The current paper reviews efforts within the treatment development literature to handle comorbidity in depressed and anxious children and adolescents, including…