Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) module 4 was investigated in an independent sample of high-functioning adult males with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to three specific diagnostic groups: schizophrenia, psychopathy, and typical development. ADOS module 4 proves to be a reliable instrument with good predictive value. It can adequately discriminate ASD from psychopathy a...

BACKGROUND Previous autism research has hypothesized that abnormalities of functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may vary with the spatial distance between two brain regions. Although several resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) studies have extensively examined long-range (or distant) connectivity in the adult ASD brain, short-range (or local) connec...

OBJECTIVE Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often characterized as having social engagement and language deficiencies, but a sparing of visuospatial processing and short-term memory (STM), with some evidence of supranormal levels of performance in these domains. The present study expanded on this evidence by investigating the observational learning of visuospatial concepts fro...

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) report difficulties extracting meaningful information from dynamic and complex social cues, like facial expressions. The nature and mechanisms of these difficulties remain unclear. Here we tested whether that difficulty can be traced to the pattern of activity in "social brain" regions, when viewing dynamic facial expressions. In two studies, adu...

BACKGROUND Device closure of Secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) is an accepted mode of treatment in selected patients with a suitable defect. The major initial concern over the long-term outcome has been erosions and more recently development of aortic regurgitation. Objective was to assess the intermediate and long term outcome of patients with device closure of ASD with special reference to ...

Sensory dysfunctions may underlie key characteristics in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study aimed to investigate auditory change detection in children with ASD in order to determine event-related potentials to meaningless and meaningful speech stimuli. 11 high functioning boys with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (mean age=13.0; SD=1.08) and 11 typically d...

BACKGROUND Adult Still's disease (ASD) is a rare systemic inflammatory condition, which commonly presents with the triad of quotidian fevers, rash, and non-specific rheumatologic symptoms such as myalgia and arthralgia. The etiology and pathogenesis are poorly understood and both the clinical presentation and laboratory data are typically nonspecific. As such, the presentation is often confused...

BACKGROUND Previous research has demonstrated the capacity of animal presence to stimulate social interaction among humans. The purpose of this study was to examine the interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with an adult and their typically-developing peers in the presence of animals (two guinea pigs) compared to toys. METHODS Ninety-nine children from 15 classrooms in ...

BACKGROUND The few studies that have tracked children with developmental language disorder to adulthood have found that these individuals experience considerable difficulties with psychosocial adjustment (for example, academic, vocational and social aptitude). Evidence that some children also develop autistic symptomatology over time has raised suggestions that developmental language disorder m...

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle with features of adult life, including obtaining and maintaining gainful employment. Many factors seem to contribute to this issue, such as: (a) access to financial resources, (b) interaction between the unique characteristics of ASD and employment settings, and (c) curriculum and instructional practices in secondary special educati...