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News & Events

The Kids Research Institute Australia’s CliniKids wins national disability award

CliniKids has won the Excellence in Allied Health category at the inaugural National Disability Awards, announced in Melbourne tonight.

News & Events

The Kids researchers named as finalists in 2023 Premier’s Science Awards

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.

News & Events

Autism Researcher a Finalist for Western Australian of the Year

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.

Research

Characterizing Transdiagnostic Processes Underlying the Drive to Socially Engage: A Multimeasurement Factor Analytic Investigation

Altered drive to socially engage is a transdiagnostic feature across multiple psychopathologies. Yet, lack of clarity regarding specific processes that constitute social drive, along with insufficient measurement methods, has hindered understanding in this area. This study ascertained the feasibility of approximating difficulties within specific fine-grained social drive processes as proposed by 2 theoretical frameworks: “orienting,” “wanting,” “pursuing,” “liking,” “learning,” and “reticence” within a reward processing framework and “orienting,” “seeking and maintaining,” and “liking” within a social motivation framework.

Research

Plasma Metabolite Profiles of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by social and communication differences, is complex and aetiologically heterogeneous. Untargeted metabolomics is emerging as a tool in screening for biochemical abnormalities. This research was conducted using the Australian Autism Biobank resource and involved analysis of plasma metabolites to characterise metabolite differences between autistic children and controls.

Research

Evaluating placebo responses to intranasal oxytocin in autism: findings from the placebo lead-in phase of a randomised controlled trial

The placebo effect is established in clinical trials, but for paediatric research, questions remain about how to best manage its influence. Within the autism field, data on these issues is sparse. This is particularly important in the oxytocin field where placebo responses are thought to play an important role. This study reports on data from the single-blind, placebo lead-in phase of a randomised controlled trial to investigate the placebo response and its relationship to treatment response in autistic children. 

Research

Child and Family Characteristics as Predictors of the Severity of Self-injurious Behaviours in Autistic Children and Adolescents

Autistic children demonstrate an increased likelihood of self-injurious behaviours (SIB). To support autistic individuals who exhibit SIB and understand the factors that contribute to SIB, we examined several child and family characteristics associated with the severity of SIB.

Research

Cell phone use by adolescents with Asperger Syndrome

While young people have generally been at the forefront of the adoption and use of new communications technologies, little is known of uses by exceptional youth

Research

Free testosterone levels in umbilical cord blood predict infant head circumference in girls

Fetal androgens influence fetal growth as well as postnatal neurocognitive ability.