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This initial study used an equivalent-groups design to evaluate differences in story comprehension scores between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their neurotypical (NT) peers using paper and iPad® storybooks. Fifteen children with ASD of ages 4-6 and 15 NT peers matched for receptive vocabulary age and gender met inclusion criteria. Across two individualized testing sessions, participants answered language abstraction questions about three formats of Pete the Cat stories (paper, iPad adult read, and iPad with the read-to-me feature activated) during shared storybook reading. When examining the entire group of participants, all children performed better with either type of iPad storybook compared to the paper book. The current study indicates storybooks on the iPad function in similar ways for NT children and children with ASD. Further, this research shows promise for using the iPad with young children during shared storybook reading. Directions for future research and implications for special education personnel are provided.

Extended reality (XR) enables both new opportunities but also introduces new barriers for inclusion in society. Furthermore, XR is less researched than web, desktop and mobile applications. This position paper presents the concept of an XR platform for inclusion, with the purpose to make people on the autism spectrum and with other disabilities, more independent of help from others in everyday life situations. Based on previous research, our position is that, through current and future XR technologies combined with civic and artificial intelligence, it is possible to create individually personalised support for this purpose, grounded in practice to ensure validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience various degrees of impairment in social interaction and communication, restricted, repetitive behaviours, interests/activities. These impairments make a significant contribution to poorer everyday adaptive functioning. Yet, there are no pharmacological therapies to effectively treat the core symptoms of ASD. Since symptoms of ASD likely emerge from a complex interplay of vulnerabilities, environmental factors and compensatory mechanisms during the early developmental period, pharmacological interventions arguably would have the greatest impact to improve long-term outcomes when implemented at a young age. It is essential therefore, that clinical development programmes of investigational drugs in ASD include the paediatric population early on in clinical trials. Such trials need to offer the prospect of direct benefit (PDB) for participants. In most cases in drug development this prospect is supported by evidence of efficacy in adults. However, the effectiveness of treatment approaches may be age-dependent, so that clinical trials in adults may not provide sufficient evidence for a PDB in children. In this white paper, we consolidate recommendations from regulatory guidelines, as well as advice from the Food and Drug Administration, USA (FDA) and the Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) consultations on various development programmes on: 1) elements to support a PDB to participants in early paediatric clinical trials in ASD, including single-gene neurodevelopment disorders, 2) aspects of study design to allow for a PDB. This white paper is intended to be complementary to existing regulatory guidelines in guiding industry and academic sponsors in their conduct of early paediatric clinical trials in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many young adults on the autism spectrum do not attain the recommended minimum weekly amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) to prevent significant health risks. Autism symptoms as well as environmental factors may play a key role in the physical activity (PA) behaviors of young adults on the autism spectrum. The socioecological model (SEM) has been previously used to identify determinants of PA among people within many disability categories. Aims: Explore the overall relationship between determinants of PA of MVPA among parents and their young adult child with ASD as well as MVPA determinants segmented by caregiver level of support. Methods: 336 parents of adult children with ASD completed the Determinants of Physical Activity and Eating Behaviors for Young Adults with ASD Scale. Results: Children's weekly time spent in MVPA was predicted by parent self-reported MVPA, exercise competency, video game use, social skills, and neighborhood qualities. Parent weekly time spent in MVPA was predicted by their child's weekly MVPA, parent exercise competency, parent discretionary time, available home exercise equipment, and parent attitude towards physical activity. Conclusion: These results support the administration of quality community-based motor development, motor skills, and exercise skills programs focused on increasing physical activity and parent's influential role in their children's weekly MVPA.

While there are multiple evidence-based practices (EBPs) available for students with autism, ongoing barriers to use in schools include limited access to training for educators and substantial provider modifications that limit fidelity. This suggests a need for further research to support data-informed adaptations and innovative methods for training and coaching teachers. In response to this need, the objectives of this protocol paper are to (1) describe the development of a data-informed adaptation process for an EBP, and (2) compare the effectiveness of two methods (online virtual and a combination of in-person and online virtual) for training teachers to use the adapted EBP. Outcome measures will include teacher implementation and sustainment of the EBP, teacher/coach relationship, and student outcomes.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined as a lifetime developmental disorder usually identified by social interaction impairment, communication deficits, and repetitive behavior. The cases of children detected with ASD are rising globally, including Malaysia. Parents, as the prime caregiver to these children, face numerous challenges due to what is entailed in taking care of their children. This paper describes a case study where we examined the views and experience of three mothers, each of whom has an ASD child. Data were gathered through face-to-face semi-structured interviews, after which they were transcribed and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. The mothers narrated that the challenges they encountered include the difficulty they had in initially accepting their child's diagnosis; labelling and discrimination; phase-based temporal challenges; endless physical, emotional, and mental sacrifices; finding the strength and patience to deal with the situation; academic vs. non-academic struggles, as well as their own coping mechanisms. This paper concludes with the need to provide support for parents-especially mothers-to enable them to overcome their challenges and focus on the development of their autistic children.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability affecting 1 in 44 children nationally. Timely referral to intervention and support services for ASD has consistently demonstrated significant long-term positive effects on symptoms and subsequent skills and family outcomes. This paper highlights a novel and innovative approach of short-term consultations for best practices to ultimately increase access to timely ASD evaluations and support through a state-wide school telehealth initiative. The goal of the initiative was to facilitate rapid access to ASD evaluation and support (within 2 weeks of referral in school-age youth) among under-resourced school systems in Central Texas. First, this paper provides background relative to current disparities that many children face when attempting to obtain ASD evaluations and support. Second, a statewide legislative response is described that created a mental health consortium targeting increased access to broad-based mental health services and supports, particularly in underserved areas. Next, the Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine (TCHATT) program is outlined with a particular focus on day-to-day operationality and concentrated efforts to increase mental health literacy among school teams relative to ASD symptoms and co-occurring behavioral health concerns. Year 1 utilization data metrics (September 2020-May 2021) and representative case examples are presented. Finally, early "lessons learned" and future directions are discussed.

Using electronic tablets to present flash cards for teaching skills is becoming common among practitioners. However, no published study compared the effectiveness of the electronic tablet-based flash cards to paper flash cards for teaching receptive labeling skills. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of the iPad-based and paper flash cards for teaching receptive labeling to learners with autism. An adapted alternating treatments design was used. Participants included one preschool student with autism and one elementary school student with autism. Findings indicated that iPad-assisted instruction resulted in a slightly faster acquisition and slightly lower levels of prompts for both participants. No differences were found in the generalization and maintenance of the skills between the two instructional mediums. Mixed results were found for challenging behaviors associated with each intervention. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Purpose: The concept of Quality of Life (QoL) for people with neurodevelopmental disorders primarily focuses on deinstitutionalisation and community inclusion. This population, however, often presents with comorbid diagnoses and is sectioned to treatment facilities under the Mental Health Act. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature on QoL and discuss the consideration of this specialised population and the environment when measuring QoL. Methods: Databases were searched using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure literature reviewed was relevant to the defined population. The challenges identified from the literature were categorised into interpersonal and intrapersonal factors. Results: A total of 30 articles were retrieved and considered in this review. Conclusions: This paper discusses how these individuals present with different behaviours and opportunities, which subsequently make it difficult to apply existing knowledge of QoL. The need to further examine the QoL in this specific population is discussed.

This paper presents information from a comprehensive review of 28 experimental studies that investigated the effectiveness and efficiency of the simultaneous prompting procedure with individuals with autism. Twenty of the 25 variables examined across the 28 studies are reported on in this paper. The results reported across the studies indicated that the procedure was effective with all but one of the 71 participants with autism who were included in the investigations. A particular emphasis of this comprehensive review was information about the variants involved in the use of simultaneous prompting. An analysis of this information resulted in the identification of seven guidelines for teachers' use of simultaneous prompting with students with autism, which are presented at the end of this paper.

Approximately 1.3% (42,555 pupils) of secondary school pupils in England are autistic and there are numerous reports of poor academic and social experiences among this group. The intense interests that form part of an autism diagnosis relate to an increased focus on specific topics or objects and are reported to positively impact learning when effectively embedded into teaching. However, there is very little research into how interests may be used to support learning in secondary schools and little analysis of whether the utilisation of intense interests is conceptualised and implemented as an inclusive practice. This scoping review explored how intense interests are used to support the learning of autistic adolescents and provides a conceptual analysis of the six papers identified, all from the United States. Three applications of intense interests were reported: power cards, lunch clubs and responding to joint attention. A within-child, deficit-focused perspective was consistent throughout all papers, with the aim being to improve the 'appropriate' target behaviour of autistic children. There is limited research overall, and so further research is needed to examine how intense interests can be implemented in practice in more inclusive ways.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience associated difficulties in reading comprehension. This may be due to the social nature of fictional texts, which require the reader to interpret what characters are thinking and feeling and to make inferences about the cause and effect between events in a story. This paper outlines strategies that teachers can use to assist their learners with ASD in reading comprehension, including activating social background knowledge, encouraging series and familiar genres, identifying and teaching figurative language, and using graphic organizers to support perspective-taking. These strategies are tailored to the social phenotype of children with ASD to best address the underlying difficulties that may be impeding their reading comprehension.

Emotional competence (EC) refers to a set of skills to identify, understand, and respond to one's own emotions and those of others. It plays a fundamental role in socialization processes, where children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and specific language impairment (SLI) show marked deficits. However, due to the similarities between these two conditions, it is difficult to establish a differential diagnosis at early ages. A literature search of the WOS, SCOPUS, and Proquest databases was conducted. Year of publication (from 2000 to 2019), type of paper (reviews, meta-analyses, and experimental studies), language (English), and age of participants (children up to 13 years) were applied as inclusion criteria. Based upon these criteria, 34 papers were included in this review. Results revealed that children with ASD showed impairments in facial emotion recognition, whereas those with SLI showed difficulties in emotion recognition in auditory and audiovisual modalities. Results also highlighted that both children with ASD and SLI showed biases towards the recognition of positive emotions.

This paper describes a smart tablet-based drawing app to digitally record participants' engagement with the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) task, a well-characterised perceptual memory task that assesses local and global memory. Digitisation of the tasks allows for improved ecological validity, especially in children attracted to tablet devices. Further, digital translation of the tasks affords new measures, including accuracy and computation of the fine motor control kinematics employed to carry out the drawing Here, we report a feasibility study to test the relationship between two neurodevelopmental conditions: autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The smart tablet app was employed with 39 adult participants (18-35) characterised for autistic and ADHD traits, and scored using the ROCF perceptual and organisational scoring systems. Trait scores and conditions were predictor variables in linear regression models. Positive correlations were found between the attention-to-detail, attention-switching and communication subscales of the autistic trait questionnaire and organisational scores on the ROCF task. These findings suggest that autistic traits might be linked to differential performance on the ROCF task. Novelty and future applications of the app are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]