Identification of health issues in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is paramount to provide appropriate care and interventions. The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) is the one of the few current measures that assesses ASD-associated health problems thus informing intervention decisions. However, little research has been conducted to compare ATEC with other more recognize...

The literature on the importance of early identification and early intervention for children with developmental disabilities such as autism continues to grow. The increased prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders has fostered research efforts on the development and validation of autism-specific screening instruments for use with young children. There are currently several such autism-specific...

This study was aimed at investigating the effectiveness of training of pivotal response treatment (PRT) to mothers with 6 to 12 year old autistic children on reducing the autism symptoms. Also, the impact of PRT on reduction of parenting stress was addressed in this study. In a clinical trial work, 14 mothers of autistic children in a rehabilitation clinic for autistic children in Tehran city, ...

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication, social interaction, and a limited range of interests with repetitive stereotypical behavior. Various abnormalities have been documented in the brains of individuals with autism, both anatomically and functionally. The connectivity theory of autism is a recently developed theory of the neurobiological cause of au...

BACKGROUND Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disability that usually manifests during the first three years of life and typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of NeuroModulation Technique (NMT), a form of intention-based therapy, in improving functioning in children diagnosed with autism. METHODS A total of 18 children who...

Evaluation for sensory impairment is a routine part of autism diagnosis. Sensory impairment of hearing, vision, or touch results in developmental delay and must be addressed before delay can resolve. Recent studies confirm that tactile impairment is present in autism and can be effectively treated with a tactile stimulation protocol. The research suggests a change in management at the time of a...

Reliability and validity for three autism instruments were compared for 190 children with low functioning autism (LFA), 190 children with high functioning autism or Asperger's disorder (HFA), 76 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 64 typical children. The instruments were the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (designed for children with LFA and HFA), Childhoo...

The Son-Rise Program is an intensive, child-centered approach to treatment of autism, incorporating strategies to promote child-initiated social interactions. Parent training is an important element of the treatment program, which is intended to be implemented in long-term home-based programs. In the present study, parents of children with autism who participated in two five-day parent-training...

It has been proposed that low pressure/ low oxygen concentration hyperbaric treatment can improve the clinical manifestations of autism. Several case series and a randomized trial have all supported this position despite little physiological or biological evidence of a likely mechanism. The available comparative data suggest widespread improvements in physician assessed Clinical Global Impressi...