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Autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often co-occur. This survey of 288 New Zealand parents of children diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or both conditions, examined the relations between age of diagnosis and early atypical development, the age specialist consultation was needed and types of specialists seen.
This systematic review aimed to identify the most important social, environmental, biological, and/or genetic risk factors for intellectual disability.
Pre-reading language skills develop rapidly in early childhood and are related to brain structure and functional architecture in young children prior to formal education. However, the early neurobiological development that supports these skills is not well understood.
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.
Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may be at higher likelihood of experiencing poorer oral health and difficulties accessing dental health care. However, identifying which children on the autism spectrum may be more vulnerable to experiencing dental care difficulties is still unknown.
Andrew Videos Whitehouse Watch and listen to Andrew PhD Deputy Director (Research); Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at The Kids
Exposure to surgery and anesthesia in early childhood has been found to be associated with an increased risk of behavioral deficits. While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against prenatal exposure to anesthetic drugs, little clinical evidence exists to support this recommendation.
Little is known about parent preferences regarding delivery methods of early interventions. This research examined, through parent report, the current and preferred delivery methods of seven common educational early interventions accessed by New Zealand children with autism spectrum disorder.
Naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions are promising approaches for young children with, or suspected of having, autism spectrum disorder. Joint attention, symbolic play, engagement and regulation intervention (JASPER) is a well-researched naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention but, to date, no reviews have specifically evaluated its effects.
There are no well-established biomedical treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A small number of studies suggest that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, may improve clinical and cognitive outcomes in ASD.