Perceived utility of biological testing for autism spectrum disorder is associated with child and family functioning.

Background: The clinical integration of chromosomal microarray testing promises improvements in diagnostic yields in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While the impact on clinical management is promising for some families, the utility perceived by families, including the majority for whom results are negative, is unclear. With next generation genomic sequencing technologies poised for integration, along with promising ASD biomarkers being developed, there is a need to understand the extent to which genomic and other biological testing would have utility for the target recipients of these tests and their families.

Association between distress and knowledge among parents of autistic children.

Understanding the overall utility of biological testing for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential for the development and integration of biomarkers into routine care. One measure related to the overall utility of biological testing is the knowledge that a person has about the condition he/she suffers from. However, a major gap towards understanding the role of knowledge in overall utility is the absence of studies that have assessed knowledge of autism along with its predictors within a representative sample of families within the context of routine care.

Developmental functioning and symptom severity influence age of diagnosis in Canadian preschool children with autism.

Background: Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential in most Canadian jurisdictions to access interventions that improve long-term child outcomes. Our main objective was to identify factors associated with timing of ASD diagnosis in five provinces across Canada.

Methods: Factors influencing age of diagnosis were assessed in the analyses of an inception cohort of children diagnosed with ASD between ages 2 and 5 years.

Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Guanajuato, Mexico: The Leon survey.

There are no epidemiological data on autism for Mexico. This study was conducted to generate a first estimate of ASD prevalence in Mexico. We surveyed children age eight in Leon (Guanajuato).

Infant neural sensitivity to dynamic eye gaze relates to quality of parent-infant interaction at 7-months in infants at risk for autism.

Links between brain function measures and quality of parent-child interactions within the early developmental period have been investigated in typical and atypical development. We examined such links in a group of 104 infants with and without a family history for autism in the first year of life. Our findings suggest robust associations between event related potential responses to eye gaze and observed parent-infant interaction measures.

Screening for autism in Mexico.

In order to conduct the screening phase of the first epidemiological survey of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in Mexico, we needed a screening tool to detect autistic symptomatology in a large sample of school-age children. We used the Spanish version of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). We recruited a clinical sample of 200 children (81% males; mean age: 7.