Autistic individuals experience elevated risk for suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths. Little is known about how clinicians assess risk or intervene with suicidal autistic individuals. We surveyed 121 clinicians about use of suicide prevention practices with autistic and non-autistic clients. Clinicians reported greater self-efficacy in…

Little is known about suicidal ideation in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), making it difficult to identify those at heightened risk. This study describes the prevalence of thoughts about death and suicide in 107 verbal youth with ASD with non-verbal IQ >55, assessed during inpatient psychiatric admission. Per parent report, 22% of…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2017 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the members.…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have provided new insight into characteristics of high-risk siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), molecular changes underlying the biology of ASD, and…

Few studies have investigated bullying experiences among children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); however, preliminary research suggests that children with ASD are at greater risk for being bullied than typically developing peers. The aim of the current study was to build an understanding of bullying experiences among children with…

No parental instinct is as intense and fundamental as protecting one's child from harm. For parents of children with autism, safety risks become magnified because of challenges resulting from fixations with narrow interests, limited situational awareness, and sensory and communication issues. So why should parents expect to do it all alone? We…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, examined the state of the science in early…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, tested approaches for improving early screening…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the complex causes of autism and potential risk factors, studied clues that could lead to earlier diagnosis, and evaluated promising…

Autism is one of the most heritable neurodevelopmental conditions and has an early onset, with symptoms being required to be present in the first 3 years of life in order to meet criteria for the "core" disorder in the classification systems. As such, the focus on identifying a prodrome over the past 20 years has been on pre-clinical…

Starting to be implemented as of the 1960s, early intervention programs are frequently employed at the present time. Researchers develop and implement early intervention programs in various subjects and areas. These programs may be family-based, school-based, community-based, or a combination of them. This study aimed at comparing the early…

For clinically referred children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) several early indicators have been described. However, knowledge is lacking on early markers of less severe variants of ASD and ADHD from the general population. The aim of the present study is to identify early indicators of…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects an estimated 1% of children in the United States and yet many fundamental questions about the biology of ASD, potential risk factors, effective treatments and interventions, and impacts throughout life remain unanswered. Important advances have been made in understanding the complexity of ASD, but additional…

Childhood obesity has become a problem of epidemic proportions in the United States, but much of the research has focused on prevention and intervention programs, which target the general population of school children. Overlooked in the literature are children with special needs (including autism, genetic disorders, Down syndrome, and Prader-Willi…

In developing the 2010 Strategic Plan for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) Research, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) updated the previous Plan to highlight the most pressing research needs and opportunities for the field today. The Plan, which must be annually updated in accordance with the Combating Autism Act (CAA) of 2006,…