Autism Heterogeneity in a Densely Sampled U.S. Population: Results From the First 1,000 Participants in the RI-CART Study.

The objective of this study was to establish a large, densely sampled, U.S. population-based cohort of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Cognitive and adaptive correlates of an ADOS-derived joint attention composite.

Joint attention skills have been shown to predict language outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Less is known about the relationship between joint attention (JA) abilities in children with ASD and cognitive and adaptive abilities. In the current study, a subset of items from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), designed to quantify JA abilities, were used to investigate social attention among an unusually large cross-sectional sample of children with ASD (n = 1061).

Executive function in probands with autism with average IQ and their unaffected first-degree relatives.

Objective: This study aimed to characterize executive function (EF) in pedigrees of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and average IQ. The authors examined the hypothesis that deficits in EF relate to lower levels of adaptive functioning, and they assessed evidence for a cognitive extended phenotype in unaffected relatives in a large, well-characterized sample.

Method: Proband EF was assessed by parent-report questionnaires (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning [BRIEF], n = 109) and child neuropsychological tests (Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System [D-KEFS], n = 35).

Genetic and phenotypic diversity of NHE6 mutations in Christianson syndrome.

Objective: Recently, Christianson syndrome (CS) has been determined to be caused by mutations in the X-linked Na(+) /H(+) exchanger 6 (NHE6). We aimed to determine the diagnostic criteria and mutational spectrum for CS.

Methods: Twelve independent pedigrees (14 boys, age = 4-19 years) with mutations in NHE6 were administered standardized research assessments, and mutations were characterized.

Clinical characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring epilepsy.

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of epilepsy in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of children with ASD and epilepsy in a large patient population.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using four samples of children with ASD for a total of 5,815 participants with ASD. The prevalence of epilepsy was estimated from a population-based sample.