Early intervention for autism spectrum disorders necessitates early detection. This need has led to widespread agreement across disciplines that screening is critical in very young children. Two screening issues are highlighted in this review. Level of screening refers to the type of sample: Level I is defined as an unselected sample, and Level II consists of selected children already identifie...

Main outcome measures Assessment of symptoms of autism (Autism Behaviour Checklist and Treatment/Side Effect Behaviour Scale by parents and ADOS-G by clinicians), language (Preschool Language Scale III [PLS-3]) and ADOS-G), visual spatial attention task, and physiological and/or gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (parent questionnaires). Cognitive function (Leiter International Performance Scale-Re...

Objective: To evaluate the effect of equine assisted therapy (EAT) in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Design: Prospective single-blinded clinical trial. Setting/location: SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center, Corinth, Texas. Methods: Sixty children ranging from 2 to 14 years of age with a diagnosis of ASD participated in this study. During 10 weeks, all patients received EAT on...

BACKGROUND L-carnitine was proposed as a potential treatment for patients diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder to improve mitochondrial dysfunction, but no prior randomized controlled trials have been conducted. MATERIAL/METHODS Thirty subjects diagnosed with an ASD were randomly assigned to receive a standardized regimen (50 mg L-carnitine/kg bodyweight/day) of liquid L-carnitine (n=19...

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are heterogeneous complex neurodevelopmental pathologies defined by behavioral symptoms, but which have well-characterized genetic, immunological, and physiological comorbidities. Despite extensive research efforts, there are presently no agreed upon therapeutic approaches for either the core behaviors or the associated comorbidities. In particular, the known au...

Pediatricians play a crucial role in the evaluation and management of autism spectrum disorders. This role has grown in importance as the prevalence of autism has increased by 78% since 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.1 Pediatricians are charged with developmental screening and thus with the detection of cases of autism by using tools such as the Modified Check...

Behavior checklists are often utilized to screen for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) when comprehensive evaluations are unfeasible. The usefulness of two behavioral checklists, the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), in identifying ASDs was investigated among 109 children with Autism, 32 children with ASD, and 51 Non-Spectrum children based on Autism Diagnos...

OBJECTIVE The authors assessed the effects of D-cycloserine on the core symptom of social impairment in subjects with autism. METHOD Following a 2-week, single-blind placebo lead-in phase, drug-free subjects with autistic disorder were administered three different doses of D-cycloserine during each of three 2-week periods. Measures used for subject ratings included the Clinical Global Impress...