Parental insightfulness (PI), the parent's capacity to reflect upon their own and their child's mental and emotional states, has been associated with various aspects of children's socio-emotional dev....

Background Within both the mainstream and the intellectual disability sectors, there is a current focus on the predicted impacts of an ‘ageing’ population, and how to best respond to emerging suppor...

Purpose The goal of this study was to evaluate eye-tracking screening for ASD among 585 typically developing toddlers 7 to 48 months of age in vulnerable districts of São Paulo. Methods Eye-tracking assessment was done with children in the participating community nurseries on Joint Attention, composed of the Initiation Joint Attention (IJA) and Responding to Joint Attention (RJA). All parents responded to the questionnaire on the educational level and socioeconomic family status (SES). Children received ratings on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) by trained psychologists and those above 25 points underwent consultations with a pediatric neurologist to establish a clinical diagnosis according to DSM-5 criteria. Children were assigned to three groups: TD (typical development), ASD (autism spectrum) and nTD (impaired development without ASD). The groups were compared regarding the mean gaze time and proportion of transition betweene Areas of Interest (AOIs) on face to target and face to distractor. Results ASD group spend less time looking to the Face and Target AOIs than other groups (F [3.73, 765.98] = 2.49, p = .04, η2G = 0.01) and made less transitions (F [2, 411] = 4.33, p < .01, η2G = 0.01). The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve of the overall mean gaze was 0.65. Conclusion This study could identify neurodevelopmental alterations of ASD in a large sample of typically developing children. Considering the screening and diagnosis in ASD children before the age of 3 years old, eye tracking offers an important add-on alternative for early identification.

Purpose Despite the growing evidence suggesting an association between screen time exposure (STE) in children and autism symptoms, a thorough understanding of this including the directionality, especially among the general child population is lacking. We aimed to determine the associations, if any, between STE and results on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F) in children from a multi-ethnic population-based sample in Singapore. Methods This cross-sectional study included children (1) between 17 and 24 months of age and (2) typically developing with no known developmental conditions, attending routine visits in primary care. Caregivers reported daily screen time via a questionnaire and completed the M-CHAT-R/F (standard administration protocol followed). Logistic and linear regression analyses and structured equation modelling including covariates were conducted. Results The sample comprised 5,336 multi-ethnic children (mean age 18.6 ± 0.9 months, 64.2% Chinese ethnicity, 23.9% Malay, 5.8% Indian). Mean STE was 1.31 ± 1.33 h/day. Increased STE was associated with a higher likelihood of a positive M-CHAT-R/F screen (OR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.01, 1.53], p < 0.05). Higher STE was associated with greater odds of having a response of concern for the social-communication questions but not those on motor/sensory aversion. Both the final M-CHAT-R/F score and the screening outcome was directly explained by STE in the structural equation model (β = 0.05, 95% CI [0.03, 0.07], p < 0.001 and OR = 1.24, 95% CI [1.01, 1.53], p < 0.05). Conclusion Findings suggest a significant association between higher STE and autism symptoms, especially related to social communication. Evaluation and support of children with a positive M-CHAT-R/F screening result should include addressing STE and mitigating exposure.

This study aims to identify clinical and developmental factors associated with psychotropic medication exposure and subspecialty psychiatric service utilization among patients with genetic neurodevelopmental disorders (GNDDs). We conducted a retrospective analysis of 316 patients from the Care and Research in Neurogenetics (CARING) Clinic at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). We assessed the association between neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses, behavioral histories, family history, and service utilization with two outcomes: (1) the number of psychotropic medication classes trialed before clinic intake and (2) whether the patient was evaluated by a CARING psychiatrist. Poisson and logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations while adjusting for demographic and clinical covariates. Individuals with more severe behavioral disturbances had higher psychiatric service needs, while intellectual disability was associated with greater psychotropic medication exposure but not increased psychiatric consultation, possibly due to prior community-based care. The presence of a pathogenic/likely pathogenic genetic variant was not associated with either outcome, suggesting that genetic diagnosis alone does not predict psychiatric needs. Instead, behavioral comorbidities, not genetic status, were the primary drivers of psychotropic use and psychiatric referrals. A history of developmental delay was negatively associated with psychiatric consultation, and mediation analyses indicated that early intervention services partly explained this relationship. Additionally, patients receiving behavioral therapies had higher psychotropic exposure, reflecting greater clinical complexity and frequent use of multimodal treatment strategies. Our findings suggest that psychiatric needs in GNDDs are more closely tied to behavioral comorbidities than to genetic diagnosis status, reinforcing the importance of symptom-driven psychiatric evaluation. The observed relationship between early developmental interventions and psychiatric service utilization warrants further longitudinal investigation. These results highlight opportunities to optimize psychiatric care pathways through early screening, integrated behavioral and pharmacologic interventions, and targeted resource allocation for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adolescence is associated with significant functional impairment and increased risk of chronic mental health difficulties. Recent research highlights the potential roles of theory of mind, executive functions, and metacognitive beliefs in the onset and maintenance of SAD; however, no study has yet evaluated these three cognitive domains simultaneously in a clinical adolescent sample. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study including 40 adolescents aged 12–16 years (SAD group: M = 14.45, SD = 1.48; control group: M = 13.89, SD = 1.32) who were diagnosed with SAD and 40 typically developing controls matched for age and sex. The participants completed the WISC-IV, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (Eyes Test), the Faux Pas Recognition Test (FPRT), and the CNSVS subtests assessing Stroop Test, attention shifting, and continuous performance. The Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (MCQ-C) was also administered. Parental reports provided sociodemographic data. Results Compared to the control group, adolescents with SAD demonstrated lower performance in FPRT total scores, cognitive flexibility, and working memory, and reported higher MCQ-C total scores. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that both working memory (β = −0.10, p < .05) and MCQ-C scores (β = 0.17, p < .01) were significant predictors of SAD diagnosis. Conclusions These findings suggest that impairments in metacognitive beliefs and working memory may help distinguish adolescents with SAD from their typically developing peers. Incorporating these domains into clinical assessment and intervention strategies could enhance early detection and treatment outcomes.

Background Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) are disproportionately exposed to several risk factors for suicidality. However, no meta-analysis has yet quantified the relative risk of s...

A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

This review aimed to compile and report on existing emotional well-being (EWB) subjective report measures that have been developed, adapted, or valida…

This study examines how science communication contributes to the construction and contestation of meanings surrounding autism. Through a rhetorical analysis of two contrasting advocacy websites, we...

European Journal of Human Genetics - Uncertainty, ethics, and progress in genomic medicine

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), albeit distinct diagnoses, overlap in presentation and frequently co-occur. However, the relationship between them remains poorl...

In this issue, Pereira et al. conduct a systematic review, exploring the complex, often confusing, relationship between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), two comm...

The recent interim report from the independent ADHD Taskforce, commissioned by NHS England, brings to the forefront a critical discussion about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the U...

The long-term outcomes of regression in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain unclear. Previous evidence suggests that autistic individuals with regression have poorer adulthood outcomes across vario...

Autistic adults have higher rates of unemployment and underemployment than non-autistic adults with and without disabilities. While previous work has highlighted factors specific to individuals and/or job sectors that serve as barriers or facilitators to autistic employment, the question of how to modify the workplace to best support autistic people remains under-researched. The present study utilized an ecological framework to investigate what workplace factors can be modified to improve autistic experiences and how these modifications may be enacted across different levels of workplace ecosystem to promote autistic success. Autistic participants (N = 85) across employment sectors provided quantitative ratings and written descriptions of positive and negative factors related to their workplace experiences. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to examine which factors and overarching principles most impact employment. Actionable strategies to modify these factors were derived from participant responses and validated by autistic collaborators and neuroinclusion experts. On average, participants rated task training as having the most positive, and mental health as having the most negative, impact on their employment. Participants described four themes (acceptance, communication, autonomy, accommodations) that can be embedded in the work environment to improve experiences. Steps to improve autistic employment that can be enacted by stakeholders across levels of the workplace experiences are provided. Autistic adults face multifaceted barriers to employment across levels of the workplace. Modifying the workplace itself, across multiple levels and stakeholders, may serve to improve autistic employment outcomes.

Background Parents with intellectual disabilities face many barriers to accessing efficacious supports and services designed to support thriving in their parenting role. A review of research in this.....

Catatonia in first-episode psychosis: prevalence and psychopathological association - Volume 11 Issue 5

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Adolescence is a time of complex social and emotional development when friendships become of particular importance. Previous research has highlighted differences in the social experience of autistic ...

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Background Family caregivers of adults with Down syndrome often provide life-long caregiving support for their loved one. Long-term caregiving can impact caregivers' health and well-being, yet their...