Childhood and Adulthood Predictors of Community Participation by Autistic Adults With and Without Intellectual Disability.

Background: Few studies have explored community participation for autistic adults, with or without intellectual disability. This study aims to investigate how autistic adults participate in the community, and the childhood and adulthood factors that predict community participation in adulthood.

Method: Eighty-four autistic adults (mean age 34 years; 67% with co-occurring intellectual disability) initially recruited as children and adolescents, participated in the current study.

Generalisation of Social Communication Skills by Autistic Children During Play-Based Assessments Across Home, School and an Unfamiliar Research Setting.

We investigated autistic children's generalisation of social communication over time across three settings during a play-based assessment with different adults and explore the potential moderating effects on generalisation of age, nonverbal IQ and level of restricted and repetitive behaviours. The social communication abilities of 248 autistic children (2-11 years, 21% female, 22% single parent, 60% white) from three UK sites were assessed from 1984 video interactions in three contexts with three different interaction partners (parent/home, teaching assistant/school, researcher/clinic) at baseline, midpoint (+ 7m) and endpoint (+ 12m) within the Paediatric Autism Communication Trial-Generalised (PACT-G), a parent-mediated social communication intervention. Children's midpoint social communication at home generalised to school at midpoint and to clinic at endpoint.

The Connection Between Sleep Problems and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Autistic Children: A Network Analysis.

The interactions between sleep problems, autism symptoms and emotional and behavioural difficulties were explored using network analysis in 240 autistic children (mean age: 8.8 years, range 5-13 years) with moderate to severe sleep problems. Findings revealed a highly connected and interpretable network, with three separate clusters identified of the modelled variables.

The identification of exceptional skills in school-age autistic children: Prevalence, misconceptions and the alignment of informant perspectives.

Background: Although autism is commonly described in terms of deficits, many autistic individuals have been found to demonstrate exceptional skills. The shift to a strengths-based approach in the field of autism necessitates increased understanding of these skills.

Aims: This study examined (1) rates of exceptional skills in autistic school-age children as reported by parents and teachers, (2) associations between exceptional skills, autism severity and intellectual disability and (3) correlations between parent and teacher reports of exceptional skills.

Mediation of 6-year mid-childhood follow-up outcomes after pre-school social communication (PACT) therapy for autistic children: randomised controlled trial.

Background: There are very few mechanistic studies of the long-term impact of psychosocial interventions in childhood. The parent-mediated Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) RCT showed sustained effects on autistic child outcomes from pre-school to mid-childhood. We investigated the mechanism by which the PACT intervention achieved these effects.

Randomised Controlled Trial of a Behavioural Sleep Intervention, 'Sleeping Sound', for Autistic Children: 12-Month Outcomes and Moderators of Treatment.

This study examined the sustained and moderating effects of a behavioural sleep intervention for autistic children in a randomised controlled trial. Autistic children (5-13 years) with sleep problems were randomised to the Sleeping Sound intervention or Treatment as Usual (TAU). At 12-month follow-up (n = 150), caregivers of children in the Sleeping Sound group reported greater reduction in child sleep problems compared to TAU (p < .

Using implementation science frameworks to explore barriers and facilitators for parents' use of therapeutic strategies following a parent-mediated autism intervention.

Many early autism interventions teach parents therapeutic strategies to help them adjust their communication style with their children. Research has shown that this behaviour change in parents leads to improvements in child communication. It is, therefore, important to learn what factors support or hinder parents in their use of therapeutic strategies learned in such interventions.

Ageing and autism: A longitudinal follow-up study of mental health and quality of life in autistic adults.

Background: Poor mental health is known to adversely affect functional abilities, social isolation, and quality of life (QoL). It is, therefore, crucial to consider the long-term impacts of mental health conditions as autistic adults grow older.

Objectives: To explore, in a group of community-based autistic adults, the extent of: (i) autistic traits, co-occurring physical and mental health conditions; (ii) age-related differences in those conditions, and changes over time; and (iii) their impact on everyday living and QoL.

Continuity and change in loneliness and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of autistic and non-autistic adults.

Previous studies have suggested that autistic adults may be negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions. In this study, we examined continuity and change in loneliness and stress, and their predictors, in 448 autistic and 70 non-autistic adults living in the Netherlands. Autistic participants were assessed on three occasions using the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and Perceived Stress Scale (pre-lockdown (T0), first lockdown (T1), and second lockdown (T2)); non-autistic participants were assessed twice (T1 and T2).

Aging and autism: Do measures of autism symptoms, co-occurring mental health conditions, or quality of life differ between younger and older autistic adults?

Previous research has indicated that autistic adults experience higher rates of co-occurring mental health difficulties and poorer quality of life (QoL) than their non-autistic peers. Little is known, however, about these aspects in older age or whether younger and older autistic adults experience similar patterns This cross-sectional study investigated potential age-related effects on autism symptoms, self-reported mental health, and QoL in younger and older autistic adults (n = 79, aged 19-71 years) compared to a non-autistic control group (n = 57) matched for gender, age and IQ. Results showed that autistic adults had higher levels of self-reported autism symptoms and poorer QoL than controls.

Combined social communication therapy at home and in education for young autistic children in England (PACT-G): a parallel, single-blind, randomised controlled trial.

Background: Autistic children can have difficulty generalising treatment effects beyond the immediate treatment context. Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) has been successful when delivered in the clinic. Here we tested the Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy-Generalised (PACT-G) intervention combined between home and education settings for its overall effect and mechanistic transmission of effect across contexts.

Sleeping Sound Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a randomised controlled trial of a brief behavioural sleep intervention in primary school-aged autistic children.

Background: Behavioural sleep problems are common in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, evidence for the efficacy of behavioural sleep interventions is limited. This study examined the efficacy of a brief behavioural sleep intervention in autistic children. It was hypothesised that the intervention would reduce overall child sleep problems (primary outcome), in addition to improvements in children's social, emotional, cognitive, academic functioning, and quality of life, and parent/caregivers' stress, quality of life, and mental health (secondary outcomes).

The importance of home: Satisfaction with accommodation, neighborhood, and life in adults with autism.

Although good quality housing and a socially cohesive neighborhood are associated with a higher well-being in the general population, housing is a rarely studied topic in autism research. In the present study, we describe the housing situation of a large sample of adults with autism and mostly (above) average intellectual abilities (n = 1429; 17 to 84 years), and examine predictors of independent living, accommodation satisfaction, neighborhood satisfaction, and satisfaction with life based on an online survey. The outcomes of independently living adults were compared with those from a Dutch community sample (n = 929).

Pathological demand avoidance in children and adolescents: A systematic review.

Requests for diagnoses of pathological demand avoidance have increased over recent years, but pathological demand avoidance remains a controversial issue. The concept of pathological demand avoidance has been criticised for undermining the self-advocacy of autistic people and neglecting the potential role of anxiety as a possible underlying or contributing cause. The current study was undertaken to summarise and review the methodological quality and findings from current research into pathological demand avoidance in children and adolescents.

Objective and subjective psychosocial outcomes in adults with autism spectrum disorder: A 6-year longitudinal study.

Previous research has shown that relatively few adults with autism have a paid job or live on their own. However, outcomes also vary a lot and may depend on many different factors. In this study, we examined the level of functioning and happiness of 917 adults with autism (425 men and 492 women) aged 18-65 years.

Anxiety characteristics in individuals with Williams syndrome.

Background: Williams syndrome anxiety research predominantly focuses on disorder prevalence and symptomatology, categorised using standardised mental health classifications. However, the use of these assessments may not fully capture the phenotypic features of anxiety in Williams syndrome. In this study, we examined characteristics of anxiety using a formulation framework.

Adults with Autism: Changes in Understanding Since DSM-111.

Over the past four decades there have been significant advances in our understanding of autism, yet services for autistic adults continue to lag far behind those for children, and prospects for employment and independent living remain poor. Adult outcomes also vary widely and while cognitive and language abilities are important prognostic indicators, the influence of social, emotional, familial and many other factors remains uncertain. For this special issue marking the 40th anniversary of DSM-III, the present paper describes the changing perspectives of autism in adulthood that have occurred over this period, explores individual and wider environmental factors related to outcome, and suggests ways in which services need to be changed to improve the future for adults living with autism.

A Meta-analysis of Outcome Studies of Autistic Adults: Quantifying Effect Size, Quality, and Meta-regression.

Longitudinal studies have generally reported poor outcomes in adulthood for the majority of individuals (c.50-60%) with autism. Several factors putatively predict outcome (e.

Age-Related Effects on Social Cognition in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Possible Protective Effect on Theory of Mind.

Impaired social cognition has been suggested to underlie the social communication difficulties that define autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In typical development, social cognition may deteriorate in older age, but age effects in ASD adults have been little explored. In the present study, we compared groups of younger and older adults with and without ASD (n = 97), who completed a set of social cognition tasks assessing theory of mind (ToM), and self-report measures of empathy and alexithymia.

Associations Between Child Sleep Problem Severity and Maternal Well-Being in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study investigated whether sleep problem severity in children with autism spectrum disorder was associated with maternal well-being. Mothers of 234 children reported on their mental health (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index-4-SF), health-related quality of life (HRQoL; Assessment of Quality of Life-4D) and their child's sleep (Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire-ASD). Analyses revealed sleep initiation and duration problem severity scores were associated with increased mental health difficulties.

Sibling Configuration as a Moderator of the Effectiveness of a Theory of Mind Training in Children with Autism: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

This RCT investigated whether participants' sibling configuration moderated the effect of a Theory of Mind (ToM) intervention for children with autism. Children with autism aged 8-13 years (n = 141) were randomized over a waitlist control or treatment condition. Both having more siblings, as well as having an older sibling were related to better outcomes on measures of ToM-related behavior and social cognition, but not ToM knowledge or autistic features in general.