Using Restricted Interests in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results From a Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit significant deficits in social communication and emotion regulation skills. While cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) applications appear promising, trials to date have largely excluded social communication skill development and have not been designed to include a wider range of emotional challenges. To our knowledge, the present study is the first to pilot a uniquely modified CBT program targeting emotion regulation, including social communication training, and explicitly focusing on the child's areas of circumscribed interest in order to teach skills and promote generalization.

Integration and Segregation of Default Mode Network Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Transition-Age Males with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Proof-of-Concept Study.

The aim of this study is to assess the resting-state functional connectivity (RsFc) profile of the default mode network (DMN) in transition-age males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Resting-state blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from adolescent and young adult males with high-functioning ASD (n = 15) and from age-, sex-, and intelligence quotient-matched healthy controls (HCs; n = 16). The DMN was examined by assessing the positive and negative RsFc correlations of an average of the literature-based conceptualized major DMN nodes (medial prefrontal cortex [mPFC], posterior cingulate cortex, bilateral angular, and inferior temporal gyrus regions).

The relationship between premature birth and caregiver first concern in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: A brief report.

The current study examines the relationship between premature birth and the age at which caregivers first become concerned with their child's development in a sample of 84 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The participants were split into two groups: those born prematurely and those born full term. The results indicate that the age of caregiver first concern is significantly younger for those born prematurely than those born full term.

Premature birth as a risk factor for autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is common, life-long in nature, and can be very debilitating. Thus, an intensive search is on to identify the potential risk factors for the disorder. Premature birth has been identified as one potential factor that could influence potential symptoms of ASD.

Socialization and nonverbal communication in atypically developing infants and toddlers.

Emphasis on early identification of atypical development has increased as evidence supporting the efficacy of intervention has grown. These increases have also directly affected the availability of funding and providers of early intervention services. A majority of research has focused on interventions specific to an individual's primary diagnoses.

RETRACTED: How does ASD symptomology correlate with ADHD presentations?

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

Diagnosing young children with autism.

The starting point for any research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) involves the identification of people who evince the condition. From this point follows research on symptom presentation, genetics, epidemiology, animal models, treatment efficacy, and many other important topics. Major advances have been made in differential diagnosis, particularly with young children.

Autism spectrum disorder severity as a predictor of Battelle Developmental Inventory - second edition (BDI-2) scores in toddlers.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the severity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptomology and scores on the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2) in toddlers (n = 325).

Methods: Total scores on the BDI-2 and individual domain scores were examined to explore the relationship between severity of ASD and developmental quotient, impairment in personal-social skills, adaptive functioning, cognition, and communication.

Results: Regression analyses controlled for the impact of age and IQ on results, indicating that higher autism severity scores were associated with overall greater impairment and in the total scores and the individual domains of the BDI-2.

Comorbid psychopathology rates in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders according to the DSM-IV-TR and the proposed DSM-5.

Objective: To investigate differences in comorbid psychopathology rates between individuals who meet criteria of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) according to DSM-5 or the DSM-IV-TR.

Methods: Comorbid psychopathology was measured using the Autism Spectrum Disorders- Comorbid for Children. 424 individuals between the ages of 2 and 18 years of age; including children who met criteria for an ASD according to the DSM-5, the DSM-IV-TR only, and a control group that did not meet either set of criteria.

Examining the comorbidity of bipolar disorder and autism spectrum disorders: a large controlled analysis of phenotypic and familial correlates in a referred population of youth with bipolar I disorder with and without autism spectrum disorders.

Objective: Although mood dysregulation is frequently associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and autistic traits are common in youth with bipolar disorder, uncertainties remain regarding the comorbid occurrence of bipolar disorder and ASD. This study examines the clinical and familial correlates of bipolar disorder when it occurs with and without ASD comorbidity in a well-characterized, research-referred population of youth with bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that in youth with bipolar disorder, the clinical and familial correlates of bipolar disorder will be comparable irrespective of the comorbidity with ASD.

RETRACTED: Rates of comorbid symptoms in children with ASD, ADHD, and comorbid ASD and ADHD.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).

Comparing challenging behavior in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders according to the DSM-IV-TR and the proposed DSM-5.

Objective: The aim of the current study is to investigate challenging behavior in children who may no longer meet criteria for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis according to the proposed fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5).

Method: Children and adolescents (n = 459) were separated into three groups including those who met criteria for ASD according to the DSM-5 criteria (n = 219); those who will no longer qualify for an ASD diagnosis according to the DSM-5 but met criteria according to the DSM-IV-TR (n = 109); and a control group (n = 131). Scores on the Autism Spectrum Disorders - Problem Behaviors for Children (ASD-PB-C) were compared among groups.

Brief report: examining driving behavior in young adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorders: a pilot study using a driving simulation paradigm.

Although it is speculated that impairments associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will adversely affect driving performance, little is known about the actual extent and nature of the presumed deficits. Ten males (18-24 years of age) with a diagnosis of high functioning autism and 10 age matched community controls were recruited for a driving simulation experiment. Driving behavior, skin conductance, heart rate, and eye tracking measurements were collected.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of the glutamatergic system in adolescent males with high-functioning autistic disorder: a pilot study at 4T.

The pilot study aimed at examining the neural glutamatergic activity in autism. Seven adolescent males (mean age: 14 ± 1.8; age range: 12-17 years) with intact intellectual capacity (mean IQ: 108 ± 14.

Severity of the aggression/anxiety-depression/attention child behavior checklist profile discriminates between different levels of deficits in emotional regulation in youth with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Objective: We examined whether severity scores (1 SD vs 2 SDs) of a unique profile of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) consisting of the Anxiety/Depression, Aggression, and Attention (AAA) scales would help differentiate levels of deficits in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Study Design: Subjects were 197 children with ADHD and 224 without ADHD. We defined deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR) as an aggregate cutoff score of >180 but <210 (1 SD) on the AAA scales of the CBCL (CBCL-DESR) and Severe Dysregulation as an aggregate cutoff score of ≥210 on the same scales (CBCL-Severe Dysregulation).