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Several autism knowledge assessments include "don't know" as a response option. The inclusion of this response option may lead to systematic error, such that participants' guessing rate affects the measurement of their autism knowledge. This study examines both predictors of guessing rate for autism knowledge and predictors of autism knowledge, including guessing rate. School-based professionals (n = 396) completed the Autism Spectrum Knowledge Scale Professional Version-Revised (ASKSP-R; McClain et al, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 50(3):998-1006, 2020). and the Autism Stigma and Knowledge Questionnaire (ASK-Q; Harrison et al, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 47(10):3281-3295, 2017). Both assessments include "don't know" as a response option. Guessing rate was the strongest predictor of autism knowledge across both the ASKSP-R and the ASK-Q assessments. For the ASKSP-R, participants who were school psychologists, practicing for more years, had more autism-related clinical experiences, and who personally knew an autistic person had a higher guessing rate. School psychologists and participants who worked with more autistic students scored higher in autism knowledge. For the ASK-Q, participants with greater self-perceived autism knowledge had a higher guessing rate. Participants with a doctorate degree, who personally knew an autistic person, and who worked with more autistic students scored higher in autism knowledge. Guessing rate can be a source of systematic error on autism knowledge assessments. Potential solutions to correct for guessing rate are examined and recommended for future use., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The goal of the current study was to conduct a substantive validity review of four autism knowledge assessments with prior psychometric support (Gillespie-Lynch in J Autism and Dev Disord 45(8):2553-2566, 2015; Harrison in J Autism and Dev Disord 47(10):3281-3295, 2017; McClain in J Autism and Dev Disord 50(3):998-1006, 2020; McMahon in Res Autism Spectr Disord 71:101499, 2020). 69 autism experts who served on the editorial board of one or more peer-reviewed autism journals evaluated the accuracy and ambiguity of autism knowledge questions. 34% of the questions were flagged as "potentially problematic" for accuracy, and 17% of the questions were flagged as "potentially problematic" for ambiguity. Autism expert feedback revealed three themes across ambiguous questions: (1) an oversimplification of mixed or still-evolving research literature, (2) an insufficient recognition of the heterogeneity of the autism spectrum, and (3) a lack of clarity in the question/answer prompt. Substantive validity of future autism knowledge assessments should be carefully evaluated via feedback from a diverse group of autism experts and/or potential respondents. Potentially problematic questions can be removed or modified to improve the validity of autism knowledge assessments., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study characterized patterns and correlates of parent-youth agreement on social anxiety in youth with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants (279 verbally-fluent youth aged 8-16 years, N ASD  = 144, N TD  = 135) completed the SASC-R. Youth with ASD exhibited higher social anxiety across informants. While TD youth endorsed higher anxiety than did parents, self- and parent-reports did not differ in youth with ASD. For children with ASD, higher parent-youth agreement was associated with lower lifetime ASD symptoms and higher adaptive skills. For TD youth, agreement on high anxiety was associated with lowest adaptive skills. Demographic factors (age, verbal IQ, gender) did not relate to agreement for either group. In ASD, parent-child agreement on youth anxiety, either high or low, was associated with better outcomes.

Although prior studies have demonstrated reduced resting state EEG coherence in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies have explored the nature of EEG coherence during joint attention. We examined the EEG coherence of the joint attention network in adolescents with and without ASD during congruent and incongruent joint attention perception and an eyes-open resting condition. Across conditions, adolescents with ASD showed reduced right hemisphere temporal-central alpha coherence compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater right temporal-central alpha coherence during joint attention was positively associated with social cognitive performance in typical development but not in ASD. These results suggest that, in addition to a resting state, EEG coherence during joint attention perception is reduced in ASD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Higher-functioning participants with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) viewed a series of face stimuli, made decisions regarding the affect of each face, and indicated their confidence in each decision. Confidence significantly predicted accuracy across all participants, but this relation was stronger for participants with typical development than participants with ASD. In the hierarchical linear modeling analysis, there were no differences in face processing accuracy between participants with and without ASD, but participants with ASD were more confident in their decisions. These results suggest that individuals with ASD have metacognitive impairments and are overconfident in face processing. Additionally, greater metacognitive awareness was predictive of better face processing accuracy, suggesting that metacognition may be a pivotal skill to teach in interventions.

Parent- and adolescent-report of social skill importance and social skill engagement on the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham and Elliott in The social skills rating system, American Guidance Service, Circle Pines, 1990) were assessed in higher-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Compared to parents, adolescents reported that social skills were less important. Additionally, adolescents reported that they engaged in social skills more frequently than parents reported them to be engaging in social skills. Parents, but not adolescents, reported a discrepancy between importance and engagement, such that the importance of social skills was rated higher than the frequency of adolescent engagement in social skills. These results suggest that social skills interventions for individuals with ASD may need to target awareness of social skill importance and accurate monitoring of social skill engagement.

The ability to regulate behaviors and emotions depends in part on the ability to flexibly monitor one's own progress toward a goal. Atypical patterns of response monitoring have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In the current study we examined the error related negativity (ERN), an electrophysiological index of response monitoring, in relation to behavioral, social cognitive, and emotional presentation in higher functioning children (8-16 years) diagnosed with autism (HFA: N = 38) and an age- and IQ-matched sample of children without autism (COM: N = 36). Both HFA and COM participants displayed larger amplitude responses to error compared to correct response trials and these amplitudes did not differ by diagnostic group. For participants with HFA, larger ERN amplitudes were associated with more parent-reported autistic symptoms and more self-reported internalizing problems. However, across the full sample, larger ERN amplitudes were associated with better performance on theory of mind tasks. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of electrophysiological measures for understanding essential moderating processes that contribute to the spectrum of behavioral expression in the development of ASD.

Impaired affective expression, including social smiling, is common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and may represent an early marker for ASD in their infant siblings (Sibs-ASD). Social smiling and its component behaviors (eye contact and non-social smiling) were examined at 15 months in Sibs-ASD who demonstrated later ASD symptomatology (Sibs-ASD/AS), those who did not (Sibs-ASD/NS), and low-risk controls (Sibs-TD). Both Sibs-ASD subgroups demonstrated lower levels of social smiling than Sibs-TD, suggesting that early social smiling may reflect elevated genetic vulnerability rather than a specific marker for ASD. Only the Sibs-ASD/AS demonstrated less eye contact and non-social smiling than Sibs-TD, suggesting that different processes, threshold effects, or protective factors may underlie social smiling development in the two Sibs-ASD subgroups.

The social behavior of children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder was evaluated weekly over 19 weeks of a social skills training program. Participants' vocalizations were coded as initiating, responding, or other (e.g., self-talk). Participants' interactions were coded as dyadic peer interactions, dyadic leader interactions, interactions with a group of peers, interactions with a group of peer(s) and leader(s), or time spent by self. Over the course of the intervention, participants made fewer initiating and other vocalizations, more responding vocalizations, spent more time interacting with a group of peers, and spent marginally less time interacting with a leader. Gender, age, and intervention attendance effects on social behavior are also noted.