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Adults and adolescents form negative first impressions of ASD adults and children. We examined the first impression ratings of primary school children (6-9 years) of their ASD peers. 146 school children rated either silent videos, speech or transcribe speech from 14 actors (7 ASD, 7 TD). The ASD actors were rated more negatively than the typically developing actors on all three stimulus types. Children with ASD are likely to be judged more negatively than their peers at the very start of their formal education. Contrary to previous research, for primary school children, the content of the speech was judged as negatively as the delivery of the speech.

Government policy in the UK emphasises that people with intellectual disabilities should have the opportunity to make choices and exert control over their own lives as much as possible. The ability of a person to resist activities and offers is therefore important, particularly for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, who are likely to have language impairments and need to communicate their choices non-verbally. Video and ethnographic data were collected from two services for people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities. Examples of resistance by people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and responses to that resistance by support workers, were collected and examined using conversation analysis and ethnographic description. A range of non-verbal resistance behaviours are described, and the difficulty for support workers in identifying resistance when behaviour is ambiguous is discussed. The importance of understanding these behaviours as examples of decision-making is stressed.

Background: Transitional object use is psychologically beneficial for young children, but research suggests that maintaining transitional object use into middle childhood may be associated with negative behaviour. Little is known about the continuation of transitional object use into adolescence, and few studies have been conducted with non-Western populations. Aim: To examine differences in attachment and attitudes to help seeking in adolescents who did and did not use a transitional object. Method: 723 adolescents from Taiwan (mean age 14 years) were asked about their current and past use of transitional objects. Measures of attachment were obtained using the Revised Adult Attachment Scale, and attitudes towards help was measured using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help scale. Results: In total, 37% of the sample continued transitional object use in adolescence. Current use of a transitional object differentiated the sample on the measures of attachment and help seeking. Transitional object users were less likely to have secure attachments and less likely to express positive attitudes towards seeking help. Conclusion: Transitional object use is prevalent in Taiwanese adolescents, and we suggest that continued use of a transitional object acts as an indicator of potential withdrawal from support offered in schools.

It may be thought that gaining a place at university confers self‐belief on students with dyslexia; after all, they have succeeded in their academic studies. Our research explored self‐efficacy beliefs in university students with and without dyslexia. An Academic Self‐Efficacy Scale and a Sources of Academic Self‐Efficacy Scale were completed by 44 university students. These scores were compared between dyslexic and non‐dyslexic students. Interviews were conducted with eight participants to gain a fuller understanding of how their self‐efficacy beliefs develop. Undergraduate students with dyslexia scored lower than students without dyslexia on four out of the five measures of academic self‐efficacy. The dyslexic students reported role models, teachers and school performance as factors influencing their motivation toward academic work. The research suggests that university students with dyslexia still need interventions to help boost their self‐efficacy profiles, despite the level of success they have achieved in gaining a place at university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Zorzi et al. (2012, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 109, 11455) found evidence that extra-large letter spacing aids children with dyslexia, but the evidence for the coloured overlays is contradictory (e.g., Henderson et al., 2013, J. Res. Special Educ. Needs, 13, 57; Wilkins, 2002, Ophthalmic Physiol. Opt., 22, 448), and possible combined advantages have not been identified. Aims To investigate whether extra-large letter spacing or coloured overlays can alleviate reading problems in dyslexic adults. Sample The participants were 24 dyslexic and 24 non-dyslexic university students, matched for age and fluid intelligence. Methods The reading speed and the errors made by a dyslexic and a control group were measured in four conditions: with and without coloured overlays and with normally and largely spaced texts. Results Large letter spacing improves the reading speed in general, as well as improves the reading accuracy in dyslexic readers. Conclusions The results support the positive effect of letter spacing on reading performance.