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Nutrition in early life interacts with genetic risk to influence preadult behaviour in the Raine Study

Early life nutrition is associated with child behaviour; however, the interplay with genetic vulnerability is understudied. We hypothesised that psychiatric genetic risk interacted with early nutrition to predict behavioural problems in childhood and adolescence.

New roadmap to help families navigate support for autistic children

Australia’s first national guideline for supporting the learning, participation and wellbeing of autistic children and their families.

The valence-specific empathy imbalance hypothesis of autism: The role of autistic traits, alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, and gender differences

Individuals exhibiting pronounced autistic traits (e.g., social differences and specialised interests) may struggle with cognitive empathy (i.e., the ability to infer others' emotions), although the relationship with affective empathy (i.e., the ability to share others' emotions) is less clear in that higher levels of autistic traits may be linked with increased affective empathy for negative emotions but reduced affective empathy for positive emotions. The current study investigates this empathy profile and whether alexithymia and emotion dysregulation help to explain it.

Sertraline for anxiety in adults with a diagnosis of autism (STRATA): study protocol for a pragmatic, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed to manage anxiety in adults with an autism diagnosis. However, their effectiveness and adverse effect profile in the autistic population are not well known. This trial aims to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SSRI sertraline in reducing symptoms of anxiety and improving quality of life in adults with a diagnosis of autism compared with placebo and to quantify any adverse effects. 

Feasibility of a 2-minute eye-tracking protocol to support the early identification of autism

We tested the potential for Gazefinder eye-tracking to support early autism identification, including feasible use with infants, and preliminary concurrent validity of trial-level gaze data against clinical assessment scores. We embedded the ~ 2-min 'Scene 1S4' protocol within a comprehensive clinical assessment for 54 consecutively-referred, clinically-indicated infants (prematurity-corrected age 9-14 months).

The autism phenotype and transdiagnostic dimensional frameworks

A reliable and valid diagnostic classification system is pivotal for guiding clinical decision-making, facilitating rigorous and reproducible research findings, informing population-level health planning and resource allocation, and promoting well-being.

“The Wrong Supports Are Worse than no Support”: Autistic Perspectives on Early-in-Life Infant Autism Supports

Evidence suggests that the earlier supports are provided to young Autistic children, the better the overall outcomes. Supports have typically only been available after an autism diagnosis but with increased knowledge about early developmental trajectories, clinical supports can now be offered prediagnosis for infants showing early autism features and/or those with a family history of autism. 

Bridging the gap: unveiling key links between autism and anxiety symptoms in autistic children and youth using a network analysis in pooled data from four countries

Autistic children experience significantly higher rates of anxiety compared to nonautistic children. The precise relations between autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms remain unclear in this population. Previous work has explored associations at the domain level, which involve examining broad categories or clusters of symptoms, rather than the relationships between specific symptoms and/or individual characteristics. We addressed this gap by taking a network approach to understand the shared structure of autism characteristics and anxiety symptoms.

Autism and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Content in Highly Viewed TikTok Videos

Social media allows users to connect with others’ experiences and points of view, with TikTok being the fastest-growing platform worldwide. Highly viewed videos related to neurodiversity on TikTok have an increasing role in understanding and acceptance of neurodivergent individuals.

Targeting intolerance of uncertainty in young children diagnosed with autism: A randomized controlled trial of a parent-mediated group intervention

Young children diagnosed with autism experience high rates of co-occurring anxiety, with uncertainty-related concerns commonly reported. This randomized controlled trial investigated an 8-week parent-mediated group anxiety intervention, “Coping with Uncertainty in Everyday Situations” (CUES-Junior©).