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Research

Empathy and Autism: Establishing the Structure and Different Manifestations of Empathy in Autistic Individuals Using the Perth Empathy Scale

There is a common mischaracterisation that autistic individuals have reduced or absent empathy. Measurement issues may have influenced existing findings on the relationships between autism and empathy, and the structure of the empathy construct in autism remains unclear.

Research

Parent-reported Areas of Greatest Challenge for their ADHD and/or Autistic Children

This study aimed to understand how parents describe the most challenging behaviors exhibited by their children diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD, how those behaviours impact their family, and whether challenges are directly related to the core characteristics of these conditions. 

News & Events

Autism researcher wins accolade for science videos

Professor Andrew Whitehouse has been awarded an Autism Spectrum Australia Recognition Award for his work communicating scientific findings to families.

Research

A pilot randomised controlled trial of a telehealth-delivered brief ‘Sleeping Sound Autism’ intervention for autistic children

Access to behavioural sleep intervention is beneficial for autistic children, yet many families face barriers to access associated with location and time. Preliminary evidence supports telehealth-delivered sleep intervention. However, no studies have evaluated brief telehealth sleep intervention.

Research

Commentary: A spectrum for all? A response to Green et al. (2023), neurodiversity, autism and health care

The broadening of the clinical definition of autism over time-the so-called, autism spectrum-has run in parallel with the growth of a neurodiversity movement that has reframed the concept of autism entirely. Without a coherent and evidence-based framework through which both of these advances can be situated, the field is at risk of losing definition altogether.

Research

A role for affectivity in rapid facial mimicry: An electromyographic study

Using a novel methodological approach, these findings provide evidence for the contention that affective processing underlies rapid facial mimicry reactions

Research

Effect of Preemptive Intervention on Developmental Outcomes Among Infants Showing Early Signs of Autism: A Randomized Clinical Trial of Outcomes to Diagnosis

Intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) typically commences after diagnosis. No trial of an intervention administered to infants before diagnosis has shown an effect on diagnostic outcomes to date.

Research

Brief social attention bias modification for children with autism spectrum disorder

Social attention can be acutely modified in children with ASD, with an increased tendency to orient attention toward faces after brief social attention training

Research

Does otitis media in early childhood affect later behavioural development? Results from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study

The relationship between early life episodes of otitis media and later behavioural development with adjustment for confounders.