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Background Individuals with intellectual disability (ID) are more vulnerable to abuse compared to individuals without disabilities yet have limited access to the legal system. This study examined perceived credibility of youth with mild intellectual disability (MID) who provide courtroom testimony. Method Participants, 187 undergraduates, were asked general questions about credibility. They also read eyewitness testimony and answered questions about a particular witness's credibility. Half the participants were informed that the youth has MID chronological age (CA) 15 years, mental age (MA) 10 years and the others were informed that the youth is a typically developing 10-year-old. Results When participants were asked general questions about credibility they rated 15-year-olds with MID (MA 10years) as less credible than typically developing 15-year-olds and as less credible than typically developing 10-year-olds. However, when participants read eyewitness testimony and answered questions about a particular witness's credibility, no statistically significant differences were found between participants who were informed that the witness was a 15-year-old with MID (MA 10years) and those who were informed that the witness was a typically developing 10-year-old. Conclusions The present study provided a preliminary investigation of perceived credibility of witnesses with MID and suggests directions for future research in this area.

Edward Zigler transformed the science and humanity of the work with persons with intellectual disability. The developmental approach is Ed's great contribution to the field of intellectual disability as it both led to more conceptually compelling and methodologically rigorous science and provided an alternative to the Zeitgeist of segregation, defect, and pathology that had prevailed for decades. In an entirely unique way, the developmental approach allowed a seamless integration of increasingly precise science with concern for the "whole child" and their family. Thus, Ed's legacy led to a discipline in which scholarship and compassion prevail hand in hand as the integrity of science and of the person are mutually informative and interdependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global-local processing was examined in high-functioning children with autism and in groups of typically developing children. In experiment 1, the effects of structural bias were tested by comparing visual search that favored access to either local or global targets. The children with autism were not unusually sensitive to either level of visual structure. In experiment 2 a structural global bias was pitted against an implicit task bias favoring the local level. Children with autism were least sensitive to the structural global bias but showed greater sensitivity to the implicit task bias. This suggests that autism is associated with differences in the executive control processes used to guide attention to either the global or local level, and strategies may be more 'data driven'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of the present study was to examine covert orienting responses to peripheral flash cues among children with autism in a situation where attentional processes were taxed by the presence of distractors in the visual field. Fourteen children with autism (MA = 6-7 years) were compared to their MA-matched peers without autism on a forced choice RT covert orienting paradigm. The task conditions varied with regard to the target location, the validity of the cue, and the presence or absence of distractors. The results showed no group differences as both children with autism and their MA-matched peers showed similar effects of cue validity and distractors. These findings are inconsistent with the view that orienting is generally impaired in children with autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual and pragmatic issues relevant to the study of persons with autism are addressed within the context of comparison groups and matching strategies. We argue that no choice of comparison group or matching strategy is perfect, but rather needs to be determined by specific research objectives and theoretical questions. Thus, strategies can differ between studies in which the goal is to delineate developmental profiles and those in which the focus is the study of a specific aspect of functioning. We promote the notion of a 'mosaic,' rather than a 'melting pot,' approach to science in which researchers communicate conservative and precise interpretations of empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dante Cicchetti's earliest work, his studies of social-emotional development in infants and children with Down syndrome, set the stage for the emergence of the larger field of developmental psychopathology. By applying basic developmental principles, methodologies, and questions to the study of persons with Down syndrome, Dante took on the challenge of searching for patterns in atypical development. In doing so, he extended traditional developmental theory and introduced a more "liberal" approach that both continues to guide developmentally based research with persons with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs), including Down syndrome. We highlight five themes from Dante's work: (1) appreciating the importance of developmental level; (2) prioritizing the organization of development; (3) examining whether developmental factors work similarly in those with known genetic conditions; (4) rethinking narratives about ways of being; and (5) examining the influence of multiple levels of the environment on the individual's functioning. We highlight ways that these essential lessons anticipated present-day research with persons with a variety of NDCs, including Down syndrome, other genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability, and autism. We conclude with visions to the future for research with these populations as well as for the field of developmental psychopathology more generally.

Expert face processes are refined and tuned through a protracted development. Exposure statistics of the daily visual experience of neurotypical adults (the face diet) show substantial exposure to familiar faces. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not show the same expertise with faces as their non-autistic counterparts. This may be due to an impoverished visual experience with faces, according to experiential models of autism. Here, we present the first empirical report on the day-to-day visual experience of the faces of adults with ASD. Our results, based on over 360 h of first-person perspective footage of daily exposure, show striking qualitative and quantitative differences in the ASD face diet compared with those of neurotypical observers, which is best characterized by a pattern of reduced and atypical exposure to familiar faces in ASD. Specifically, duration of exposure to familiar faces was lower in ASD, and faces were viewed from farther distances and from viewpoints that were biased toward profile pose. Our results provide strong evidence that individuals with ASD may not be getting the experience needed for the typical development of expert face processes., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The current study examined whether social competence and autistic traits are related to anxiety and depression in autistic and non-autistic children. Parents of 340 children aged 6 to 12 years old, including 186 autistic and 154 non-autistic children completed the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) to assess their child's autistic traits, the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale (MSCS) to assess their child's social competence, and the Behaviour Assessment Scale for Children 2 (BASC-2) to assess their child's internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and children were administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II) to assess their intellectual abilities. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relations between social competence, autistic traits, anxiety, and depression. Social competence was related to anxiety and depression symptoms in autistic children, but only depression symptoms in non-autistic children, above and beyond the effects of autistic traits, IQ and age. Autistic children were also reported to experience more severe anxiety and depression symptoms, and more autistic traits were related to higher levels of anxiety and depression in both groups. These findings suggest that social competence and internalizing symptoms are intricately connected in autistic children and need to be jointly considered in both assessment and intervention. The social implications are discussed with an emphasis on acceptance of diverse social styles as a viable avenue to reduce children's internalizing symptoms., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: Autistic individuals often face challenges perceiving and expressing emotions, potentially stemming from differences in speech prosody. Here we explore how autism diagnoses between groups, and measures of social competence within groups may be related to, first, children's speech characteristics (both prosodic features and amount of spontaneous speech), and second, to these two factors in mothers' speech to their children., Methods: Autistic (n = 21) and non-autistic (n = 18) children, aged 7-12 years, participated in a Lego-building task with their mothers, while conversational speech was recorded. Mean F0, pitch range, pitch variability, and amount of spontaneous speech were calculated for each child and their mother., Results: The results indicated no differences in speech characteristics across autistic and non-autistic children, or across their mothers, suggesting that conversational context may have large effects on whether differences between autistic and non-autistic populations are found. However, variability in social competence within the group of non-autistic children (but not within autistic children) was predictive of children's mean F0, pitch range and pitch variability. The amount of spontaneous speech produced by mothers (but not their prosody) predicted their autistic children's social competence, which may suggest a heightened impact of scaffolding for mothers of autistic children., Conclusion: Together, results suggest complex interactions between context, social competence, and adaptive parenting strategies in driving prosodic differences in children's speech., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This study aimed to investigate the phonological awareness (PA) skills of school age autistic children (age range = 6-12) in two parts: (1) comparing their performance on a PA task to non-autistic children with groups matched on chronological age, verbal and non-verbal cognitive skills, and (2) exploring the role of cognitive skills and autism characteristics on PA skills. Results revealed that the groups did not differ in their PA skills (study 1) and that perceptual reasoning skills are associated with the PA skills of autistic participants (study 2). Results highlight the role of non-verbal cognitive skills in literacy development for autistic children and suggest that their perceptual reasoning abilities likely contribute a great deal when learning to read., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Difficulties in various face processing tasks have been well documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Several meta-analyses and numerous case-control studies have indicated that this population experiences a moderate degree of impairment, with a small percentage of studies failing to detect any impairment. One possible account of this mixed pattern of findings is heterogeneity in face processing abilities stemming from the presence of a subpopulation of prosopagnosic individuals with ASD alongside those with normal face processing skills. Samples randomly drawn from such a population, especially relatively smaller ones, would vary in the proportion of participants with prosopagnosia, resulting in a wide range of group-level deficits from mild (or none) to severe across studies. We test this prosopagnosic subpopulation hypothesis by examining three groups of participants: adults with ASD, adults with developmental prosopagnosia (DP), and a comparison group. Our results show that the prosopagnosic subpopulation hypothesis does not account for the face impairments in the broader autism spectrum. ASD observers show a continuous and graded, rather than categorical, heterogeneity that span a range of face processing skills including many with mild to moderate deficits, inconsistent with a prosopagnosic subtype account. We suggest that pathogenic origins of face deficits for at least some with ASD differ from those of DP., (© 2023 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by both atypical functional brain connectivity and cognitive challenges across multiple cognitive domains. The relationship between task-dependent brain connectivity and cognitive abilities, however, remains poorly understood. In this study, children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers engaged in semantic and pragmatic language tasks while their task-dependent brain connectivity was mapped and compared. A multivariate statistical approach revealed associations between connectivity and psychometric assessments of relevant cognitive abilities. While both groups exhibited brain-behavior correlations, the nature of these associations diverged, particularly in the directionality of overall correlations across various psychometric categories. Specifically, greater disparities in functional connectivity between the groups were linked to larger differences in Autism Questionnaire, BRIEF, MSCS, and SRS-2 scores but smaller differences in WASI, pragmatic language, and Theory of Mind scores. Our findings suggest that children with ASD utilize distinct neural communication patterns for language processing. Although networks recruited by children with ASD may appear less efficient than those typically engaged, they could serve as compensatory mechanisms for potential disruptions in conventional brain networks.

Introduction: Although autism inclusion and acceptance has increased in recent years, autistic people continue to face stigmatization, exclusion, and victimization. Based on brief 10-second videos, non-autistic adults rate autistic adults less favourably than they rate non-autistic adults in terms of traits and behavioural intentions. In the current study, we extended this paradigm to investigate the first impressions of autistic and non-autistic children by non-autistic adult raters and examined the relationship between the rater's own characteristics and bias against autistic children., Method: Segments of video recorded interviews from 15 autistic and 15 non-autistic children were shown to 346 undergraduate students in audio with video, audio only, video only, transcript, or still image conditions. Participants rated each child on a series of traits and behavioural intentions toward the child, and then completed a series of questionnaires measuring their own social competence, autistic traits, quantity and quality of past experiences with autistic people, and explicit autism stigma., Results: Overall, autistic children were rated more negatively than non-autistic children, particularly in conditions containing audio. Raters with higher social competence and explicit autism stigma rated autistic children more negatively, whereas raters with more autistic traits and more positive past experiences with autistic people rated autistic children more positively., Discussion: These rapid negative judgments may contribute to the social exclusion experienced by autistic children. The findings indicate that certain personal characteristics may be related to more stigmatised views of autism and decreased willingness to interact with the autistic person. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the social inclusion and well-being of autistic people., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Boucher, Lukacs, Scheerer and Iarocci.)

Alexithymia impacts an individual's ability to recognize and understand emotions and frequently co-occurs with autism. This study investigated the relationship between children's alexithymia, autistic traits, and caregiver reactions to their child's negative emotions. Caregivers of 54 autistic and 51 non-autistic children between the ages of 7 and 12 years rated their child's alexithymia and autistic trait severity and their reactions to their child's negative emotions. Caregivers of autistic children reported greater supportive reactions and fewer restrictive/controlling reactions to their child's negative emotions when their child had more alexithymia traits. This study extends previous research by demonstrating that caregivers of autistic children with co-occurring alexithymia traits represent a specific subgroup of caregivers that respond more positively to their child's negative emotions., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In the last 50 years, the study of brain development has brought major discoveries to education and medicine, changing the lives of millions of children and families. However, collecting behavioral and neurophysiological data from children has specific challenges, such as high rates of data loss and participant dropout. We have developed a science camp method to collect data from children using the benefits of positive peer interactions and interactive and engaging activities, to allow researchers to better collect data repeatedly and reliably from groups of children. A key advantage of this approach is that by increasing participant engagement, attention is also increased, thereby increasing data quality, reducing data loss, and lowering attrition rates. This protocol describes the step-by-step procedure for facilitation of a science camp, including behavioral, electrophysiological, and participatory engagement activities. As this method is robust but also flexible, we anticipate that it can also be applied to different demographics and research needs., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Márquez-García et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Oxytocin is a neuropeptide hormone that plays a key role in social behavior, stress regulation, and mental health. Synthetic oxytocin administration is a common obstetrical practice, and importantly, previous research has suggested that intrapartum exposure may increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder., Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between synthetic oxytocin exposure during labor and autism spectrum disorder diagnosis in the child., Study Design: This population-based retrospective cohort study compared 2 cohorts of children: (1) all children born in British Columbia, Canada between April 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014 (n=414,336 births), and (2) all children delivered at Soroka University Medical Center in Be'er-Sheva, Israel between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2019 (n=82,892 births). Nine different exposure groups were examined. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate crude and adjusted hazard ratios of autism spectrum disorder in both cohorts on the basis of induction and/or augmentation exposure status. To further control for confounding by indication, we conducted sensitivity analyses among a cohort of healthy, uncomplicated deliveries and among a group that was induced only for postdates. In addition, we stratified our analyses by infant sex to assess for potential sex differences., Results: In the British Columbia cohort, 170,013 of 414,336 deliveries (41.0%) were not induced or augmented, 107,543 (26.0%) were exposed to oxytocin, and 136,780 (33.0%) were induced or augmented but not exposed to oxytocin. In the Israel cohort, 51,790 of 82,892 deliveries (62.5%) were not induced or augmented, 28,852 (34.8%) were exposed to oxytocin, and 2250 (2.7%) were induced or augmented but not exposed to oxytocin. On adjusting for covariates in the main analysis, significant associations were observed in the Israel cohort, including adjusted hazard ratios of 1.51 (95% confidence interval, 1.20-1.90) for oxytocin-augmented births and 2.18 (95% confidence interval, 1.32-3.57) for those induced by means other than oxytocin and not augmented. However, oxytocin induction was not significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder in the Israel cohort. In the Canadian cohort, there were no statistically significant adjusted hazard ratios. Further, no significant sex differences were observed in the fully adjusted models., Conclusion: This study supports that induction of labor through oxytocin administration does not increase the risk of autism spectrum disorder in the child. Our international comparison of 2 countries with differences in clinical practice regarding oxytocin administration for induction and/or augmentation suggests that previous studies reporting a significant association were likely confounded by the underlying indication for the induction., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Lay Abstract: The experiences of coping in parents of autistic children have been extensively studied in the literature. While this research has identified both effective and ineffective coping strategies used by caregivers, no studies to date have examined how coping strategies used by parents might be linked to family quality of life outcomes. Furthermore, few studies exist examining both coping strategies and family quality of life in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Thus, this study aimed to address both limitations. A total of 12 Korean immigrant parents of autistic children, 6 representing the high family quality of life group and 6 representing the low family quality of life group, shared their experiences related to coping and managing stress. Responses fell under three broad categories (problem-focused, emotion-focused, and adjustment-focused) with differences observed when comparing the high versus low family quality of life groups. A better understanding of the link between coping strategies and family quality of life outcomes may help identify effective and culturally sensitive supports for caregivers and families to improve their quality of life and well-being.

Objectives: Physical activity involvement among autistic youth and youth with an intellectual disability is significantly lower than the general population. Few studies have included youth with comorbid diagnoses of ASD and intellectual disability. Fewer studies collect information from the youth themselves. This study examined barriers and facilitators to physical activity in autistic youth with mild intellectual disability using semi-structured interviews with youth and through caregiver reports., Methods: Fourteen caregivers and their children ages 8 to 16 years old participated. Caregivers completed a questionnaire about their thoughts on their child's physical activity while their children completed the semi-structured interview. A descriptive phenomenological approach was followed., Results: Four themes were inductively identified: intrapersonal barriers (factors that are within the person which impede physical activity involvement, such as exhibiting challenging behaviors that inhibit engagement), interpersonal barriers (factors external to the person, such as lack of community support), intrapersonal facilitators (factors within the person that enhance physical activity involvement, such as being intrinsically motivated to improve skills), and interpersonal facilitators (external factors such as supports from caregivers)., Conclusions: Interviewing youth is important to capture a holistic picture of factors influencing physical activity. Future research may focus on implementing and assessing the efficacy of strategies to address the barriers facing youth diagnosed with ASD and intellectual disability., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41252-022-00310-5., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.)

Background: Social communication difficulties are a clinical characteristic of autism, but social interactions are reciprocal in nature and autistic individuals' social abilities may not be the only factor influencing their social success. Nonautistic individuals' social perceptions and behavior also contribute to autistic individuals' social difficulties. Previous research has identified that nonautistic individuals' perception of autistic individuals is influenced by autism knowledge and the quantity and quality of exposure to autistic people. The current research aimed to examine how autistic adults are perceived by high school students, assess whether quality and quantity of autism contact predicts these perceptions, and explore whether these perceptions are malleable., Methods: One hundred fifty-one senior high school students (15-19 years old) completed the First Impression Scale after viewing video recordings of 20 autistic and 20 nonautistic adults in social situations, either before or after viewing a 50-minute educational presentation detailing the everyday experiences of autistic people and participating in a question-and-answer session. We assessed students' prior experiences with autistic people using the Quantity and Quality of Contact Scale and their own self-perceived social competence using the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale., Results: Consistent with previous studies, students rated autistic adults less favorably than nonautistic adults. However, the educational presentation produced modest but significant improvements on these ratings, with students who viewed the presentation rating autistic adults as more attractive and likable and reporting greater social interest in them compared to those who had not yet viewed the presentation. Furthermore, consistent with a double empathy framework, exploratory analyses indicated that self-reports of greater social competence among students was associated with greater bias against autistic adults, whereas reports of higher quality interactions with autistic people were associated with less bias., Conclusion: Previous research has demonstrated that nonautistic adults evaluate autistic people less favorably and report lower social interest in them relative to nonautistic controls. In this study, we extend these findings to adolescents but find these biases are somewhat malleable, with education about autism exerting some modest benefits. Changing nonautistic attitudes about autistic differences may provide an avenue for improving interactions for autistic individuals without putting the onus on autistic individuals to change or mask their behavior and identity., Competing Interests: No competing financial interests exist., (Copyright 2022, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.)

Decreased sound tolerance (DST) is the most common sensory difficulty experienced by autistic individuals. Parents of 88 autistic children and young adults between the ages of 3 and 30 described coping strategies and physical and emotional responses used to deal with distressing sounds, and their impact on daily activities. Loud, sudden, and high-pitched sounds were most commonly endorsed as distressing, most often causing autistic children and young adults to cover their ears or yell, while producing stress, irritation, fear, and anxiety. Parents reported warning their child, providing breaks, or avoiding noisy settings as the most used coping strategies. Overall, findings indicate that DST leads to fewer opportunities for autistic children and young adults to participate at home, at school, and in the community. Further, results suggest hyperacusis, misophonia, and phonophobia, subtypes of DST, are present in autistic children and young adults., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with social communication, making it challenging to interpret contextual information that aids in accurately interpreting language. To investigate how the brain processes the contextual information and how this is different in ASD, we compared event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to processing visual and auditory congruent and incongruent information. Two groups of children participated in the study: 37 typically developing children and 15 children with ASD (age range = 6 to 12). We applied a language task involving auditory sentences describing congruent or incongruent images. We investigated two ERP components associated with language processing: the N400 and P600. Our results showed how children with ASD present significant differences in their neural responses in comparison with the TD group, even when their reaction times and correct trials are not significantly different from the TD group., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Lay Abstract: Perceptions and experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse groups in accessing autism services in Canada are extremely limited. Thus, this study partnered with a community member to explore Korean immigrant parents' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to accessing autism services in British Columbia, Canada. Interviews were conducted with 20 Korean parents of autistic children. Barriers and facilitators at the system, provider, and family/cultural level were identified. Barriers at the system level included delays and waitlists for services, and ineffective school policies to address child behavioral challenges. At the provider level, barriers included a lack of qualified professionals, negative attitudes, and lack of guidance navigating services. For family/cultural-related barriers, these included language and communication difficulties, out-of-pocket costs, and stigma impeded service access. Facilitators at the system level included family-centered care and prioritization of mental health supports. At the provider level, strengths included culturally competent and bilingual professionals. The family/cultural-related facilitators identified were informal support networks, characteristics of the parent, and connections to cultural community organizations. The findings emphasize the need to understand and consider diverse experiences, preferences, and values in the design and provision of autism services for families and their children.

Lay Abstract: The purpose of this study was to compare Korean immigrant families and Canadian families of children with autism in their perceptions and definitions of family quality of life. Interviews were done with 13 Korean immigrant parents and 12 Canadian parents of children with autism living in BC, Canada. For Korean immigrant families, three themes were identified: family cohesiveness, value orientation, and acceptance from society. For Canadian families, themes comprising family interactions, support, emotional well-being, individual characteristics, and comparisons to other families were essential elements in defining their family quality of life. The findings emphasize how differences in culture may impact how we understand and assess family functioning and quality of life. If research informing the development of these tools lacks cross-cultural perspectives, service providers and professionals may fail to address these families' unique needs.

This study examined involuntary capture of attention, overt attention, and stimulus valence and arousal ratings, all factors that can contribute to potential attentional biases to face and train objects in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the visual domain, faces are particularly captivating, and are thought to have a 'special status' in the attentional system. Research suggests that similar attentional biases may exist for other objects of expertise (e.g. birds for bird experts), providing support for the role of exposure in attention prioritization. Autistic individuals often have circumscribed interests around certain classes of objects, such as trains, that are related to vehicles and mechanical systems. This research aimed to determine whether this propensity in autistic individuals leads to stronger attention capture by trains, and perhaps weaker attention capture by faces, than what would be expected in non-autistic children. In Experiment 1, autistic children (6-14 years old) and age- and IQ-matched non-autistic children performed a visual search task where they manually indicated whether a target butterfly appeared amongst an array of face, train, and neutral distractors while their eye-movements were tracked. Autistic children were no less susceptible to attention capture by faces than non-autistic children. Overall, for both groups, trains captured attention more strongly than face stimuli and, trains had a larger effect on overt attention to the target stimuli, relative to face distractors. In Experiment 2, a new group of children (autistic and non-autistic) rated train stimuli as more interesting and exciting than the face stimuli, with no differences between groups. These results suggest that: (1) other objects (trains) can capture attention in a similar manner as faces, in both autistic and non-autistic children (2) attention capture is driven partly by voluntary attentional processes related to personal interest or affective responses to the stimuli., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Alexithymia is characterized by difficulties identifying and describing one's own emotions and the emotions of others. These challenges with understanding emotions in people with alexithymia may give rise to difficulties with social interactions. Given that alexithymia frequently co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and that both populations have difficulties with social interactions, it is of interest to determine whether alexithymia can help to parse some of the heterogeneity in social competence in autistic and nonautistic individuals. The caregivers of 241 children (6-14 years old), including 120 autistic, and 121 nonautistic, rated their child's social competence using the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale (MSCS), autism traits using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and alexithymia traits using the Children's Alexithymia Measure (CAM). Regression analyses indicated that age, IQ, sex, AQ, and CAM scores accounted for 40.2% of the variance in autistic children's, and 68.2% of the variance in nonautistic children's, parent-reported social competence. Importantly, after controlling for age, IQ, sex, and AQ scores, CAM scores alone accounted for an additional 16.2% of the variance in autistic children's, and 17.4% of the variance in nonautistic children's social competence. These results indicate that higher alexithymia traits predict lower levels of social competence, suggesting that increased difficulty in identifying and describing one's own emotions and the emotions of others is associated with poorer social competence. Furthermore, CAM scores were found to partially mediate the relationship between autistic traits and social competence, suggesting that comorbid alexithymia traits may be partially responsible for poor social competence in individuals with high autistic traits. This research contributes to the understanding of the factors associated with the development of social competence and highlights alexithymia as a potential target for identification and intervention to improve social competence. LAY SUMMARY: Alexithymia is a condition where people find it hard to think and talk about their (and others') feelings. About 50% of autistic people have alexithymia. This might be why they have social and emotional difficulties. Parents answered questions about alexithymia and social difficulties their children have. Children with more alexithymia problems had poorer social skills. Thus, alexithymia may be related to social problems faced by autistic and nonautistic children., (© 2021 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The number of autistic students in colleges is growing rapidly. However, their needs are not being met, and graduation rates among this population remain low. This article describes the implementation and evaluation of the Autism Mentorship Initiative (AMI) for autistic undergraduates (mentees), who received 1-on-1 support from upper-level undergraduate or graduate students (mentors) at their university. We examined changes in college adjustment ( n  = 16) and grade point average among mentees ( n  = 19) before and after participation in AMI for two or more semesters. We also examined surveys completed by both mentees ( n  = 16) and mentors ( n  = 21) evaluating their experiences in AMI. Data from the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire showed that mentees displayed lower than average social, emotional, and academic adjustment to college compared with neurotypical norms, but participation in AMI resulted in notable gains in all facets of college adjustment. Survey data revealed that both mentors and mentees reported personal, academic, and professional benefits from participating in AMI. However, no improvements in academic achievement of the mentees were found. This study provided preliminary evidence for the benefits of an easily implemented and cost-effective peer mentorship program for autistic students in a college setting., Lay Summary: Why was this program developed?: There are a growing number of autistic students attending college. However, the percentage of autistic students who complete their degree is quite low. We believe that colleges should be offering more support services to address the unique needs of their autistic students. What does the program do?: The Autism Mentorship Initiative (AMI) matches incoming autistic undergraduates with upper-level (third or fourth year) neurotypical undergraduates or graduate students who provide 1-on-1 mentorship. The autistic undergraduates meet regularly with their mentors to discuss personal and professional goals, discuss solutions for problems they are experiencing in college, and discuss ideas for increased integration into college campus life (e.g., joining clubs or attending social events). The neurotypical mentors receive ongoing training from program supervisors about autism and meet regularly with program supervisors to discuss progress with their mentees and troubleshoot issues they may be experiencing with their mentees. How did the researchers evaluate the program?: We evaluated AMI by administering the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire at multiple time points to examine whether autistic mentees reported improvements in social, emotional, and academic adjustment to college as a result of participating in AMI. In addition to tracking changes in cumulative grade point average (GPA), we also administered program evaluation surveys to determine whether AMI is meeting its core aims and to assess satisfaction with the program from the perspectives of both mentors and mentees. What are the early findings?: While there were no changes in GPA, participation in AMI resulted in notable changes in mentees' academic, social, and emotional adjustment. Both mentors and mentees reported personal, academic, and professional benefits from their participation in AMI. What were the weaknesses of this project?: The sample size was small, so it is questionable whether the findings generalize to a broader autistic student population. In addition, there was no control group, so we cannot be certain that improvements in college adjustment were due to participation in AMI. Moreover, this study only assessed one program at one university in Western Canada, so it is unknown whether this program could be successfully implemented at other universities or in different geographic locations. What are the next steps?: As participation in AMI increases each year, follow-up studies will utilize larger sample sizes. We will seek to obtain control data by examining GPA and college adjustment in autistic students who do not participate in AMI. We will aim to conduct multisite trials to examine whether similar programs can be implemented at other universities. How will this work help autistic adults now and in the future?: We hope that our research will help faculty members and staff from disability support offices to gain ideas and insights in implementing similar-or better-programs at their respective institutions. Our experience is that mentorship programs can be both cost-effective and easily implemented, while offering an invaluable support system to autistic students that may increase the likelihood of degree completion., Competing Interests: No competing financial interests exist., (Copyright 2021, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.)

Developmental approaches provide inclusive, universal, and methodologically rigorous frameworks for studying persons with intellectual disability (ID). This is an exceptionally heterogeneous group with regard to etiology, genotype, and phenotype that simply shares the traditional diagnostic criteria, typically a score of two standard deviations below the population mean of 100 on standardized IQ tests and deficits in adaptive behavior. We trace the foundational, conceptual, and methodological roots of developmental approaches and highlight ways that these and more recent iterations continue to be central to advances in the increasingly nuanced study of persons with ID. This work is premised on the consideration of specific etiological groupings and subgroupings across and between different domains of functioning within the context of familial and complex environments throughout the life span. We highlight the potential contributions of advances in behavioral methodologies, genomics, and neuroscience when considered within universal and hierarchic frameworks based on development.

We present this article as a testament to Ed Zigler's commitment to science in the service of humanity and to policy based on conceptually compelling theory and methodologically rigorous science. In doing so, we highlight ways that Ed's universal and inclusive developmental world view, early training as a behaviorist, exacting scientific standards, concern for others, and appreciation of his own roots and upbringing all transformed the way that many different groups of people of all ages and backgrounds are studied, viewed, and intervened with by researchers, policy makers, and society at large. Ed's narrative of development rather than defect, universality rather than difference, and holistic rather than reductionist continues to compel us in the quest for a kinder, more inclusive, and enabling society. Conversely, Ed's behaviorist training as a graduate student also influenced him throughout his career and was essential to his career-long commitment to systemic action in the service of improving the lives of others. We cite the lessons that we, as his descendants, learned from Ed and apply them to our own areas of research with populations that Ed did not study, but had considerable interest in - persons with autism spectrum disorder and Indigenous youth.

Lay Abstract: Using self-report questionnaires is an important method in the assessment and treatment of children with autism. Self-reports can provide unique information about children's feelings and thoughts that is not available through other methods such as parent-reports. However, many clinicians are not sure whether children with autism can provide accurate self-reports. To study this, we examined 139 children and youth with and without autism aged 8-17 years. We looked at the effect of having autism, as well as other factors such as age, intelligence quotient, and attention problems on the validity of self-reports in these children. We examined if the children gave overly negative or positive answers and if they responded to the questions randomly or without paying attention. We found that children with autism can provide acceptable self-reports. However, they have more validity problems compared to their peers without autism. Our findings showed that this difference might be related to having attention problems in addition to autism, rather than having autism by itself. Children, with and without autism spectrum disorder, with fewer attention problems and higher intelligence quotient scores and those in the older age group, showed better validity. This article suggests that clinicians can use self-report measures for children with autism, but they should pay attention to important factors such as children's intelligence quotient and attention problems.

Lay Abstract: The study of resilience among individuals with disabilities and their families represents a paradigmatic shift from a deficits orientation towards a more holistic and contextualized approach focused on strength and adaptation. The current study investigated whether informal supports could help improve families' capacity for resilience. We recruited 153 caregivers of children aged between 2 and 18 years who all had a diagnosis of autism. Participants were asked to complete surveys assessing resilience in their families as well as their satisfaction with informal supports (e.g. friends and family). Families more likely to report higher satisfaction with their informal support networks demonstrate greater resilience. The results suggest that informal social supports are a valuable resource for families in strengthening their capacity for resilience. The findings may help inform the development of interventions and services that work collaboratively and innovatively with families and their social networks to provide assistance and support in meaningful and effective ways.

"Joint action"-the ability to coordinate actions with others-is critical for achieving individual and interpersonal goals and for our collective success as a species. Joint actions require accurate and rapid inferences about others' goals, intentions, and focus of attention, skills that are thought to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research to date has not investigated joint action abilities in individuals with ASD during real-world social interactions. We conducted an experimental study that required children with ASD and typically developing children to move tables by themselves or collaboratively through a maze. This involved developing innovative methodologies for measuring action coordination-a critical component of the joint action process. We found that children with ASD are less likely to benefit from the collaboration of a peer than are typically developing children, and they are less likely to synchronize their steps when moving the table. However, these differences were masked when scaffolded by an adult. There was no evidence that ASD differences were due to gross motor delays in the participants with ASD. We argue that action coordination is a highly adaptive social process that is intrinsic to successful human functioning that manifests as atypical synchronization of mind and body in children with ASD.

Background: Autistic individuals often experience difficulties in social settings. Although autistic individuals may not intuitively know the "typical" way to behave in social settings, many autistic individuals have a desire to fit in so they develop techniques to "camouflage" their autistic traits. Although camouflaging may help individuals to navigate social environments, camouflaging has also been shown to produce negative psychological outcomes. This study aims to explore whether this "camouflaging" strategy is associated with poor social competence, an aspect of the autism diagnosis., Methods: In this study, 247 nonautistic adults completed the Multidimensional Social Competence Scale (MSCS) to assess their social competence, and the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) to assess the extent to which they used strategies to compensate or mask behaviors characteristic of autism in social settings., Results: We found that over and above IQ, gender, and executive functioning scores, social competence (MSCS) scores reliably predicted the extent to which nonautistic individuals camouflaged, accounting for 25% of the variance in CAT-Q scores. Importantly, even when autistic traits were controlled for, social competence was still able to account for additional variance in CAT-Q scores., Conclusion: These results suggest that low social competency in nonautistic adults predicts camouflaging as a strategy in social situations. Given these camouflaging behaviors are being performed in an attempt to comply with an environmental demand to behave in a particular manner, these results also highlight the importance of conceptualizing the social challenges that autistic and nonautistic individuals face in a bidirectional manner, where the onus is not solely on the individual to comply with social conventions but also on society to accommodate diverse behavioral traits., Lay Summary: Why was this study done?: Some autistic individuals try to hide their autistic traits to "fit in" with others, referred to as "camouflaging." Nonautistic adults also report camouflaging, but it is unclear whether this camouflaging is related to social difficulties that are not specific to autism. No research has been conducted to examine the relationship between social competence and camouflaging in nonautistic adults. What was the purpose of this study?: To further understand the factors that are related to camouflaging behaviors. More specifically, whether social abilities, and/or autism characteristics, are related to whether nonautistic adults camouflage. What did the researchers do?: We had 257 nonautistic adults complete various questionnaires, including ones that asked them about their camouflaging behaviors and social abilities. We examined the relationships between the scores from these questionnaires and the influence of other factors such as gender, intelligence, and executive functioning. What were the results of the study?: We found that both social abilities and autistic traits were related to camouflaging behaviors. Indeed, nonautistic adults who had poor social skills, and more autistic traits, engaged in more camouflaging. Social skills were associated with camouflaging even after we considered factors such as gender, intelligence, and executive functioning. What do these findings add to what was already known?: These findings help us understand camouflaging by demonstrating that it may be a common response to social difficulties in nonautistic, as well as autistic, adults. These results also indicate that camouflaging is related to low social competency, not just autism characteristics. What are the potential weaknesses in the study?: The participants in our study completed questionnaires through which they were required to pick from set answers, rather than describe their experiences. We may be missing important qualitative differences in the way nonautistic adults camouflage compared with autistic adults. How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: By comparing what is shared and what is unique with nonautistic people who share traits with autistic people, a more precise definition and study of camouflaging behavior are possible. Rather than see camouflaging as a phenomenon that occurs exclusively in autistic people because of their disability, it may be that both autistic and nonautistic people use camouflaging when they perceive themselves to lack the necessary social competencies that are expected within their social contexts. Because both autistic traits and social competency are related to camouflaging behavior, we can begin to think about how to tease apart which characteristics are more likely to evoke camouflaging in autistic individuals and how this may be similar or different in nonautistic individuals. This knowledge will ultimately contribute to the development of more tailored approaches to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of camouflaging behaviors for autistic adults., Competing Interests: All authors declare that they have no actual or potential competing financial interests., (Copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction. Speech is an important form of social communication. Prosody (e.g. vocal pitch, rhythm, etc.), one aspect of the speech signal, is crucial for ensuring information about the emotionality, excitability, and intent of the speaker, is accurately expressed. The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of how auditory information is used to regulate speech prosody in autistic and non-autistic children, while exploring the relationship between the prosodic control of speech and social competence. Eighty autistic (M = 8.48 years, SD = 2.55) and non-autistic (M = 7.36 years, SD = 2.51) participants produced vocalizations while exposed to unaltered and frequency altered auditory feedback. The parent-report Multidimensional Social Competence Scale was used to assess social competence, while the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and the Autism Spectrum Rating Scales were used to assess autism characteristics. Results indicate that vocal response magnitudes and vocal variability were similar across autistic and non-autistic children. However, autistic children produced significantly faster responses to the auditory feedback manipulation. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that these faster responses were significantly associated with poorer parent-rated social competence and higher autism characteristics. These findings suggest that prosodic speech production differences are present in at least a subgroup of autistic children. These results represent a key step in understanding how atypicalities in the mechanisms supporting speech production may manifest in social-communication deficits, as well as broader social competence, and vice versa. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1880-1892. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC LAY SUMMARY: In this study, autistic and non-autistic children produced vowel sounds while listening to themselves through headphones. When the children heard their vocal pitch shifted upward or downward, they compensated by shifting their vocal pitch in the opposite direction. Interestingly, autistic children were faster to correct for the perceived vowel sound changes than their typically developing peers. Faster responses in the children with ASD were linked to poorer ratings of their social abilities by their parent. These results suggest that autistic and non-autistic children show differences in how quickly they control their speech, and these differences may be related to the social challenges experienced by autistic children., (© 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objective: A systematic review of mental health outcomes and needs of children and families during past pandemics was conducted based on the PRISMA protocol. The objectives were to evaluate the quality of existing studies on this topic, determine what is known about mental health outcomes and needs of children and families, and provide recommendations for how COVID-19 policies can best support children and families., Methods: Seventeen studies were identified through a search of PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar., Results: Studies examining child outcomes indicate that social isolation and quarantining practices exert a substantial negative impact on child anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fear symptoms. Potential risk factors such as living in rural areas, being female, and increasing grade level may exacerbate negative mental health outcomes for children. Studies examining parental and family outcomes indicate that parents experience high stress, anxiety, and financial burden during pandemics. The age of the parent and family socioeconomic status (SES) appeared to mitigate negative outcomes, where older parents and higher SES families had lower rates of mental health problems. Parents' fear over the physical and mental health of their children, concerns over potential job loss and arranging childcare contributes to elevated stress and poorer well-being., Conclusions: Findings from this review suggest current gaps in COVID-19 policies and provide recommendations such implementing "family-friendly" policies that are inclusive and have flexible eligibility criteria. Examples include universal paid sick leave for parents and financial supports for parents who are also frontline workers and are at an elevated risk for contracting the disease., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)