Assessment of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) most commonly includes parent questionnaires. However, due to the nature of the questions and verbal limitations often present in children with ASD, caregivers may have difficulty completing such measures. Caregivers of 144 children with ASD ages 6 to 12 completed the Child and…

Little is known about the distribution of symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across the lifespan. In this cross-sectional study, we examined differences between subscales of the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) between different age groups. 654 Subjects referred to an outpatient University Clinic with specialized expertise in ASD were…

Negatives attitudes toward children with autism are an important barrier to school inclusion. Despite the increasing amount of research, no psychometrically sound scale reliably measures these attitudes in young students. Our aim was to develop and validate a tool (Children's Attitudes Toward Autism Questionnaire) to evaluate attitudes (three…

Validated screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum disorder for use in Arabic-speaking individuals are scarce. This study validated the Arabic version of the Social Communication Questionnaire. The total study sample included 206 children with autism spectrum disorder and 206 typically developing children (73.8% male; mean age: 8.5…

The Questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Conditions (Q-ASC) was developed by Attwood et al. (2011) to identify gender-sensitive profiles of autism symptomatology; prioritise and adjust the direction of clinical interventions; and support positive psychosocial outcomes and prognosis into adulthood. The current research piloted the Q-ASC with parents…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characteristics seem to abate over time, but whether this protracts until late adulthood is largely unknown. We cross-sectionally investigated self- and other-reported ASD characteristics of adults with (ASD: N[subscript max-self] = 237, N[subscript max-other] = 130) and without ASD (COM: N[subscript max-self] = 198,…

Background: Young people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) face many educational challenges, particularly in terms of academic achievement, social inclusion, and mental health. School connectedness is linked to many positive outcomes and may be of particular salience at the primary-secondary school transition, when young people with ASC are…

A preliminary study was conducted to investigate the physical activity status of parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related demographic characteristics. Thirty-four parents completed the IPAQ-S and demographic survey. Mean metabolic equivalent-minutes per week (MET-min/week) across participants was 3,371. Significant…

Parental employment is a significant factor in ensuring financial ability to access care for children with autism spectrum disorder. This article aimed to identify the influence of autism spectrum disorder on parental employment and whether childcare access may effect labour force participation using the "Longitudinal Survey of Australian…

This study examined the Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities of typically developing preschoolers in three age groups: three- to four-, four- to five- and five- to six-years-old (n = 110), who differed in their spontaneous social interest toward included children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social interest was assessed by administering a…

Accuracy of autism screening using M-CHAT plus the follow-up interview (M-CHAT/F) for children screened positive at 18-months was compared to screening at 24-months. Formal ASD testing was criterion for a community sample of M-CHAT positive children (n = 98), positive predictive value (PPV) was 0.40 for the M-CHAT and 0.58 for the M-CHAT/F.…

The current meta-analysis examines the previous research on the utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder. Previously published reports have highlighted the inconsistencies between Social Communication Questionnaire-screening results and formal autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The…

Background: Previous research underscores the importance of psychosexual guidance for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such guidance is provided in the Tackling Teenage Training (TTT) program, in which adolescents with ASD receive psycho-education and practice communicative skills regarding topics related to puberty, sexuality, and…

This study examined the association between peer-reported bullying-related behaviours (bully, victim, outsider and defender), age, gender, autism severity and teacher-rated emotional and behavioural problems in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, using a multi-informant approach. The sample comprised 120 adolescents (11% girls, M[subscript…

Students with ASC are at heightened risk for bullying and their understanding of bullying is known to protect them from involvement in it (Humphrey and Hebron 2015). However, only a handful of studies have examined how students with ASC understand traditional bullying and none of them focused on cyberbullying. To fill this gap, we investigated how…