Search
Five The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers working across diverse and highly impactful areas of child health research have been named as finalists for the 2023 Premier’s Science Awards.
Professor Andrew Whitehouse has been named a finalist in the 2023 Western Australian of the Year Awards for his work in transforming clinical support for autistic children in Australia.
A co-designed digital tool to address anxiety concerns for children on the autism spectrum is set to be developed and trialled in Western Australia.
A child-led therapy that supports the social development of babies showing early signs of autism has found a significant reduction in social communication difficulties in babies who received the therapy, according to new research led by CliniKids at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Western Australian babies and children with autism and developmental delay will be able to access world-first therapies and interventions backed by the latest research, thanks a unique clinical service developed by The Kids Research Institute Australia.
A balanced approach toward sun exposure and protection is needed by young people. Excessive sun exposure increases their risk for skin cancers such as melanoma, whereas some exposure is necessary for vitamin D and healthy bones. We have developed a new iOS smartphone app-Sun Safe-through a co-design process, which aims to support healthy and balanced decision-making by young teenagers (aged 12-13 years).
Child temperament and caregiver psychological distress have been independently associated with social-emotional difficulties among individuals with autism. However, the interrelationship among these risk factors has rarely been investigated.
Emerging research suggests that seeking an autism diagnosis as an adult is usually difficult and time-consuming but brings relief once a diagnosis is made. This study explored the experience of the pathway to an autism diagnosis during adulthood for adults living in Australia.
The diagnostic experiences of autistic adults in New Zealand have not been investigated and little is known globally about autistic adults' satisfaction with the autism diagnostic process. This study describes the diagnostic experiences of 70 autistic adults living in New Zealand and explores how these experiences are related to satisfaction during three stages of the diagnostic process. The results show that autistic adults were reasonably satisfied with the early query and diagnostic assessment stages, but were dissatisfied with the post-diagnostic support stage, with significant unmet needs. Dissatisfaction during the post-diagnostic support stage was also related to satisfaction during previous stages and poor coordination of supports. Suggestions are made on how to improve the autism diagnostic pathway for autistic adults in New Zealand.
Autism spectrum disorders are complex, with a strong genetic basis. Genetic research in autism spectrum disorders is limited by the fact that these disorders are largely heterogeneous so that patients are variable in their clinical presentations. To address this limitation, we investigated the genetics of individual dimensions of the autism spectrum disorder phenotypes, or autistic-like traits. These autistic-like traits are continuous variations in autistic behaviours that occur in the general population.