Development and validation of the NIH Baby Toolbox Social-Emotional Functioning measures.

Social-emotional functioning is foundational for children's healthy development and lifelong well-being. The NIH Toolbox for Assessment of Neurological and Behavioral Function (NIH Toolbox®) includes social-emotional measures for ages 3 and older, leaving a gap for assessing very young children. The new NIH Baby Toolbox directly addresses this measurement gap through its developmentally sensitive, tablet-based assessments of infant and toddler social-emotional functioning.

The influence of loss to follow-up in autism screening research: Taking stock and moving forward.

Background: How best to improve the early detection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the subject of significant controversy. Some argue that universal ASD screeners are highly accurate, whereas others argue that evidence for this claim is insufficient. Relatedly, there is no clear consensus as to the optimal role of screening for making referral decisions for evaluation and treatment.

Verbal Responsiveness in Parents of Toddlers With and Without Autism During a Home Observation.

This study examined patterns of verbal responsiveness in parents of toddlers (M = 20 months) later identified with autism (n = 121), developmental delay (n = 46), or typical development (n = 44) during an hourlong home observation. Parent verbal responsiveness (PVR) was compared using MANOVA across groups and by child expressive language phase. Multiple regression analyses controlling for child age and maternal education were employed to examine the extent to which PVR predicted variance in concurrent child social communication and prospective language skills.

The earlier the better: An RCT of treatment timing effects for toddlers on the autism spectrum.

Behavioral interventions that incorporate naturalistic, developmental strategies have been shown to improve outcomes for young children who receive an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Although there is broad consensus that children on the spectrum should begin supports as soon as possible, the empirical evidence for this is relatively limited and little is known about the optimal age to start autism-specific interventions. Our team conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effects of starting intervention at different ages, using the Early Social Interaction (ESI) model, a parent-implemented intervention for toddlers on the spectrum.

Characterizing difficulties with emotion regulation in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.

Background: Difficulties with emotion regulation (ER) underlie emotional/behavioral challenges and co-occurring psychiatric symptoms in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet very little is known about the early development of emotion dysregulation. The present study aimed to identify differences in positive and negative emotional reactivity and regulation strategies in toddlers with and without ASD.

Method: Nine tasks from the (Lab-TAB) were completed with 37 toddlers with and without ASD (22-28 months).

Coordinated social communication in toddlers with and without autism spectrum disorder during a home observation.

Background & Aims: Social communication and language skills have been found to be important predictors of long-term outcomes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the development of coordinated social communication (i.e.

Early social communication development in infants with autism spectrum disorder.

Social-communication differences are a robust and defining feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but identifying early points of divergence in infancy has been a challenge. The current study examines social communication in 9- to 12-month-old infants who develop ASD (N = 30; 23% female; 70% white) compared to typically developing (TD) infants (N = 94, 38% female; 88% white). Results demonstrate that infants later diagnosed with ASD were already exhibiting fewer social-communication skills using eye gaze, facial expression, gestures, and sounds at 9 months (effect size: 0.

Systematic Review: Recommendations for Rehabilitation in ASD and ID From Clinical Practice Guidelines.

Objective: To identify and summarize clinical practice guidelines for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) for the Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation for the World Health Organization (WHO).

Data Sources: Academic databases, Google Scholar, guideline databases, and professional society websites were searched using the general criteria "ASD/ID" AND "rehabilitation" AND "guideline," restricted to English-only guidelines.

Study Selection: Work group members independently screened titles and abstracts (1952 ASD; 1027 ID) and excluded articles if not (1) a guideline; (2) about rehabilitation; (3) published since 2008; or (4) about ASD/ID.

Rethinking autism spectrum disorder assessment for children during COVID-19 and beyond.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unique challenges for families and caregivers, as well as for autism-focused clinicians, who are faced with providing a thorough and accurate evaluation of children's specific needs and diagnoses in the absence of in-person assessment tools. The shift to telehealth assessments has challenged clinicians to reconsider approaches and assumptions that underlie the diagnostic assessment process, and to adopt new ways of individualizing standard assessments according to family and child needs. Mandates for physical distancing have uncovered deficiencies in diagnostic practices for suspected autism and have illuminated biases that have posed obstacles preventing children and families from receiving the services that they truly need.

Evaluating Teacher Language Within General and Special Education Classrooms Serving Elementary Students with Autism.

This study examined how teachers and paraprofessionals in 126 kindergarten-second grade general and special education classrooms talked with their 194 students with autism, and further, how individual student characteristics in language, autism symptoms, and social abilities influenced this talk. Using systematic observational methods and factor analysis, we identified a unidimensional model of teacher language for general and special education classrooms yet observed differences between the settings, with more language observed in special education classrooms-much of which included directives and close-ended questions. Students' receptive vocabulary explained a significant amount of variance in teacher language beyond its shared covariance with social impairment and problem behavior in general education classrooms but was non-significant within special education classrooms.

Early Observation of Red Flags in 12-Month-Old Infant Siblings Later Diagnosed With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Purpose Valid and reliable screening tools are needed to improve early detection and optimize developmental outcomes for toddlers at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study aimed to evaluate the utility of the Systematic Observation of Red Flags (SORF) for ASD at 12 months of age in a sample of high-risk infant siblings of children with ASD. Method As part of a prospective, longitudinal study, we examined the sensitivity and specificity of the SORF at 12 months for predicting a diagnosis of ASD at 24 months in a sample of 122 infants, 31 of whom were diagnosed with ASD.

Rate of Communicative Gestures and Developmental Outcomes in Toddlers With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder During a Home Observation.

Purpose Most toddlers with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental delays receive early intervention at home and may not participate in a clinic-based communication evaluation. However, there is limited research that has prospectively examined communication in very young children with and without autism in a home-based setting. This study used granular observational coding to document the communicative acts performed by toddlers with autism, developmental delay, and typical development in the home environment.

Measures of Early Social Communication and Vocabulary Production to Predict Language Outcomes at Two and Three Years in Late-Talking Toddlers.

Background: Late talkers are a heterogeneous group of toddlers and reliable predictors of persistent language delay have been elusive. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which early social communication and vocabulary production predicted variance in language outcomes at 2 and 3 years of age.

Methods: Participants were 408 typically developing and late-talking toddlers who completed the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Caregiver Questionnaire and Behavior Sample (CSBS CQ and CSBS BS) at a mean of 20 months, the Language Development Survey (LDS) at a mean of 24 months, and the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) at a mean of 25 months.

Factors associated with enrollment into a clinical trial of caregiver-implemented intervention for infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder.

Early intervention helps to address developmental delays in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Yet, research suggests there are barriers to enrollment into research studies that test the effectiveness of these interventions for infants at risk. This study identifies family characteristics that were associated with agreement to enroll in a clinical trial of early intervention for 12-month-old infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder.

Practice guideline: Treatment for insomnia and disrupted sleep behavior in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: Report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.

Objective: To review pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies for treating sleep disturbances in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to develop recommendations for addressing sleep disturbance in this population.

Methods: The guideline panel followed the American Academy of Neurology 2011 guideline development process, as amended. The systematic review included studies through December 2017.

Screening for autism spectrum disorder in a naturalistic home setting using the systematic observation of red flags (SORF) at 18-24 months.

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Systematic Observation of Red Flags (SORF; Dow et al., 2016) as a level 2 screener for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in toddlers during a naturalistic video-recorded home observation. Psychometric properties of the SORF were examined in a sample of 228 toddlers-84 with ASD, 82 with developmental delay (DD), and 62 with typical development (TD).

Psychometric analysis of the repetitive behavior scale-revised using confirmatory factor analysis in children with autism.

Research examining restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior or interests (RRB) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased our understanding of its contribution to diagnosis and its role in development. Advances in our knowledge of RRB are hindered by the inconsistencies in how RRB is measured. The present study examined the factor structure of the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) in a sample of 350 children with ASD ages 2-9.

Changing Developmental Trajectories of Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Strategies for Bridging Research to Community Practice.

Purpose: The need for community-viable, evidence-based intervention strategies for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a national priority. The purpose of this research forum article is to identify gaps in intervention research and needs in community practice for toddlers with ASD, incorporate published findings from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Early Social Interaction (ESI) model (Wetherby et al., 2014) to illustrate community-based intervention, report new findings on child active engagement from the ESI RCT, and offer solutions to bridge the research-to-community practice gap.

Feasibility of utilizing autism navigator® for primary care in South Africa.

There is a significant research-to-practice gap in early detection of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) worldwide but particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where expertise is limited and high-quality training is difficult to access. Autism Navigator® for Primary Care is a web-based course designed to increase awareness of red flags of ASD in the second year of life and thus promote earlier detection and referral for intervention. It contains extensive video illustrations that offer rapid access to multiple exemplars of ASD red flags.

Cluster randomized trial of the classroom SCERTS intervention for elementary students with autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: This cluster randomized trial (CRT) evaluated the efficacy of the Classroom Social, Communication, Emotional Regulation, and Transactional Support (SCERTS) Intervention (CSI) compared with usual school-based education with autism training modules (ATM).

Method: Sixty schools with 197 students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 129 classrooms were randomly assigned to CSI or ATM. Mean student age was 6.