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The process of encoding meaningful information by adults with autism/pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) is similar to that by normal adults. Disembedding is slowest from meaningful contexts in both the autistic/PDD and normal groups. Besides extracting meaning from the original memory, the individuals with autism/PDD use information to enhance memory. The individuals with autism/PDD and normals have more problems disembedding from abstract than from fragmented contexts.

This article considers the evidence for an imitative deficit in autism and for the possible role of deficiencies in the representation of actions. An argument is developed for the claim that the imitation problem is diagnostic of a basic information-processing rather than a social dysfunction. Reviews are offered of the empirical literature on gestural imitation in autism (and other developmental disorders) and the more anecdotal evidence for problems in the domain of action development in autism. An account that may help to integrate these areas is suggested, as are directions for future research.

The objectives were to characterize behavioral signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in younger siblings of diagnosed children (high‐risk; HR) and examine classification features of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). Participants (501 HR and 180 low‐risk [LR]) were assessed between 6 and 18 months using the AOSI and at age 3 for ASD diagnoses. Total AOSI scores differentiated HR infants later diagnosed with ASD starting at 12 months. ROC analyses identified 12‐ and 18‐month cutoff scores associated with 0.52 sensitivity and 0.74 specificity and 0.73 sensitivity and 0.65 specificity, respectively. Although classification accuracy does not support use as a standalone screen, the AOSI identifies features associated with ASD starting at 6 months and differentiates HR infants with ASD by 12 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent epidemiological studies of mental retardation were critically reviewed, and data on prevalence, associated disorders, and etiology examined. Results indicated that there was a prevalence for both severe and mild retardation of 3 to 4 per 1000, that a wide range of disorders were associated with mental retardation, and that etiology is often unknown. (Author/DB)

Compared the vowel responses of severely disabled readers with those of normal control children in reading orthographically regular nonwords. Vowel responses were compared on both age and reading level groups, and the vowel responses of two out of three reading disabled groups paralleled those of their reading level peers. (Author/DJD)

This study examined the performance of the First Year Inventory (FYI; version 2.0), a community-normed parent-reported screening instrument, in a high-risk (HR) sample of 12-month-olds with older siblings diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The FYI 2.0 was completed by parents of 86 HR infants and 35 low-risk control infants at age 12 months, followed by clinical diagnosis at 36 months. HR infants later diagnosed with ASD had significantly higher FYI 2.0 risk scores in both the social-communication and sensory-regulatory domains than typically developing infants. New FYI 2.0 cutoff scores for HR sample were explored by evaluating various cutoff options after considering tradeoffs between sensitivity and specificity and sample characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pretreatment data from three research centers in the United States are used to study the differences in psychopathology and symptom severity for bulimia nervosa in 1993-1997 compared with 2001-2003. Comparisons show that age of patients increased and the severity of dietary restraint decreased significantly between the two points.

A study was conducted to observe optimal pattern of eating leading to cessation of binge eating and purging in bulimic women. The results showed an increase in the number of meals and snacks eaten from pretreatment to posttreatment, thereby concluding that the elements of the pattern of eating related to abstinence are be the total number and timing of meals and snacks consumed.