1. Gray HL, Stage VC, Taylor CA, Bandini L. Unmet Needs, Untapped Solutions: Current Challenges and Future Directions for Including Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Nutrition Education Programs. J Nutr Educ Behav;2025 (Jun);57(6):467-468.

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2. Hashempour Alooche M, Jamebozorgi A, Akbarzadeh Baghban A, Hejazi-Shirmard M, Dehghan Manshadi MA. Effect of physical activities on cognition and the ability to perform a dual task in children with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized clinical trial. J Bodyw Mov Ther;2025 (Sep);43:416-423.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate effectiveness of physical activities on cognitive function and ability to perform a dual task in children with ASD. METHODS: This randomized clinical trial involved 30 children with high-functioning ASD, aged 6-12 years, who were randomly assigned to either experimental (n: 15) or control group (n: 15). The experimental group underwent 24 sessions of physical training aimed at improving balance, agility, central stability, and motor coordination (3 sessions per week), while control group continued with their rehabilitation routine services. Cognitive function was assessed using Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) questionnaire, forward and backward digit span tests before and after 4-week intervention. The ability to perform a dual task was evaluated through center of pressure (COP) parameters during static and dynamic balance tasks while performing the forward digit span test. RESULTS: All participants finished the study and analyzed. Following the intervention, experimental group exhibited a significant increase in BRIEF scores including inhibition, emotional control, planning/organization, working memory, and initiation, compared to control group. The experimental group demonstrated a significant improvement in backward digit span test, but not in forward item. For the ability to perform a dual task based on static balance, experimental group showed a significant reduction in medial-lateral/anterior-posterior displacements, and area sway of COP on non-dominant leg with eyes closed, compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Physical exercises have the potential to enhance cognitive function in autistic children. Despite the lack of a large difference between the groups in dual-task performance, physical exercises may effectively improve balance during such tasks.

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3. Jia Q, Wang X, Li X, Li S, Wang M, Wang L, Ma B, Zhang M. Characteristic parameter analysis of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging in children with autism spectrum disorder: a retrospective study. BMC Pediatr;2025 (Jun 7);25(1):464.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been widely used in research and clinical practice for neurological disorders, and plays an increasingly important role in the research of ASD. This study aimed to explore the parametric characteristics of DTI in children with ASD, which further may serve to guide the diagnosis. METHODS: Ninety children aged from 1 to 6 years old (male: female; 74:16) with ASD were selected to measure the parameters of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the genu of corpus callosum, splenium of corpus callosum, frontal lobe, superior temporal gyrus in DTI. A 32-channel cranial nerve coil of a GE Signa HDxt 3.0T magnetic resonance system was used for the examination, and the FA and ADC maps were obtained by post-processing the DTI raw diffusion images with the Functool function software in the workstation. IBM SPSS 27.00 statistical software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: In ASD children, FA values for the genu of corpus callosum, splenium of corpus callosum, and superior temporal gyrus were higher on the right than on the left, and ADC values for the genu of corpus callosum, splenium of corpus callosum, frontal lobe, and superior temporal gyrus were lower on the right than on the left (P < 0.05). Grouped by sex, the female group had lower ADC values in the left splenium of corpus callosum and the right superior temporal gyrus than the male group (P < 0.05). Grouped by age, the left frontal lobe FA values were lower in the younger group (≤ 3 years old) than in the older group (>3 years old) (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Quantitative parameters of DTI show that autistic children have a markedly lateralized development of the brain, with the right side developing better than the left, sex and age also affect brain development in ASD children, resulting in different characteristic parameters in DTI, which may provide a reference for the diagnosis of ASD.

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4. Kaneda M, Sasaki G. The Relationship Between the Use of Speech-Generating Devices and Verbal Requests in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities. J Autism Dev Disord;2025 (Jun 7)

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of removing synthetic speech output from speech-generating devices (SGDs) and incorporating delayed reinforcement on verbal requests in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities. Additionally, we examined how participants’ receptive and expressive language abilities influenced vocal requests by comparing items categorized as easier or more difficult to name based on pre-assessment results. METHODS: Three children with ASD and intellectual disabilities participated. An alternating treatment design was used to compare two conditions: (1) synthetic speech output with immediate reinforcement and (2) no synthetic speech output with delayed reinforcement. Preferred items were classified into two sets based on pre-assessed receptive and expressive language abilities. The dependent variable was the number of verbal and SGD-based requests. RESULTS: Results showed that verbal requests increased in the no synthetic speech output with delayed reinforcement condition across both item sets, while SGD-based requests remained high. Post-intervention language assessments indicated significant improvements in expressive language abilities. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that removing synthetic speech output and incorporating delayed reinforcement may effectively promote vocal requests in children with ASD and intellectual disabilities. This intervention provides a novel approach to facilitate speech communication while continuing the use of AAC tools.

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5. Kars S, Aki E. Playfulness of Preschool-Aged Children With Autism in a Sensory Integration Room. Clin Pediatr (Phila);2025 (Jun 8):99228251345199.

Playfulness can be determined by evaluation for the presence of 3 elements: intrinsic motivation, internal control, and the freedom to suspend reality. Playfulness may be affected by the child’s physical, social, and cognitive skills and the physical, social, and cultural aspects of the play environment. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the playfulness of children with autism in a sensory integration room. Thirty-six children with autism, with a mean (SD) age of 62.1 (7.1) months, participated. Demographic Information Questionnaire and Turkish version of Test of Playfulness were used. The playfulness of the children with autism were analyzed according to children’s gender, age and birth order, parents’ age, education level and employment status, family income, and number of siblings. The playfulness is related to the father’s education level (r = -0.534, P < .01), the mother's employment status (r = 0.335, P < .05) and family income (r = -0.469, P < .01). Implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are formulated.

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6. Liu H, Wang S, Cao B, Zhu J, Huang Z, Li P, Zhang S, Liu X, Yu J, Huang Z, Lv L, Cai F, Liu W, Song Z, Liu Y, Pang T, Chang S, Chen Y, Chen J, Chen WX. Unraveling genetic risk contributions to nonverbal status in autism spectrum disorder probands. Behav Brain Funct;2025 (Jun 7);21(1):15.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents a wide range of cognitive and language impairments. In this study, we investigated the genetic basis of non-verbal status in ASD using a comprehensive genomic approach. We identified a novel common variant, rs1944180 in CNTN5, significantly associated with non-verbal status through family-based Transmission Disequilibrium Testing. Polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis further showed that higher ASD PRS was significantly linked to non-verbal status (p = 0.034), specific to ASD and not related to other conditions such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and three language-related traits. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we found two causal SNPs, rs1247761 located in KCNMA1 and rs2524290 in RAB3IL1, linking ASD with language traits. The model indicated a unidirectional effect, with ASD driving language impairments. Additionally, de novo mutations (DNMs) were found to be related with ASD and interaction between common variants and DNMs significantly impacted non-verbal status (p = 0.038). Our findings also identified 5 high-risk ASD genes, and DNMs were enriched in glycosylation-related pathways. These results offer new insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying language deficits in ASD.

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7. O’Sharkey K, Mitra S, Chow T, Paik SA, Thompson L, Su J, Cockburn M, Ritz B. Prenatal exposure to criteria air pollution and traffic-related air toxics and risk of autism spectrum disorder: A population-based cohort study of California births (1990-2018). Environ Int;2025 (May 29);201:109562.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence has risen steadily in California (CA) over several decades, with environmental factors like air pollution (AP) increasingly implicated. This study investigates associations between prenatal exposure to both criteria AP and traffic-related air toxics and ASD risk for 1990-2018 births. METHODS: Utilizing CA Department of Public Health birth registry data from 1990 to 2018, linked with ASD diagnoses from the CA Department of Developmental Services (n = 13,591,003 children; ASD cases = 138,460, identified from birth year through 2022, allowing for a follow-up ranging from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 32 years) we assessed prenatal exposure to PM(2.5), NO(2), O(3), and six traffic-related air toxics (benzene, 1,3-butadiene, chromium, lead, nickel, zinc) using machine learning-enhanced land-use regression models. Logistic regression estimated odds ratios (OR) for ASD per interquartile range increase in pollutant levels across four periods (1990-1997, 1998-2004, 2005-2011, 2012-2018). Additionally, analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity, area-level socioeconomic status (SES), and region. RESULTS: Prenatal exposure to PM(2.5) (OR:1.10; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.17) and NO(2) (OR:1.25; 95% CI:1.16, 1.35) were associated with increased ASD risk, with effect sizes declining over time. When mutually adjusting for NO(2), the association between PM(2.5) exposure and ASD risk was attenuated, whereas the association with NO(2) exposure remained largely unchanged. Among air toxics, benzene (OR:1.55; 95% CI:1.51, 1.59) and nickel (OR:1.32; 95% CI:1.21, 1.45) were strongly associated with ASD, associations persisting across time. Stratified analyses revealed that associations differed by race/ethnicity, SES, and region. Air toxics consistently exhibited elevated ASD risks, highlighting persistent vulnerabilities despite reductions in criteria pollutants. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal/early-life exposure to AP, especially traffic-related toxics, is linked to increased ASD risk with temporal and spatial variability. While reductions in NO(2) and PM(2.5) lessen ASD risk, persistent associations with traffic-related pollutants like benzene and nickel highlight the need for targeted interventions.

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8. Paulo JR, Sousa T, Perdiz J, Pereira L, Vasen M, Mouga S, Pires G, Castelo-Branco M. A Multimodal Dataset Addressing Motor Function in Autism. Sci Data;2025 (Jun 7);12(1):959.

Autism has primarily been characterized at a social-cognitive level, with evidence suggesting impairments in action-perception and motor function. However, there is a lack of publicly available datasets that specifically address the neural and behavioral mechanisms linking these functions in autism. The Move4AS dataset aims to fill this gap, having been designed to facilitate the study of the underlying mechanisms of motor function in the autism spectrum. It combines multiple data modalities, including electroencephalography (EEG) and 3D motion data, collected during motor imitation tasks – dancing and walking – designed to recruit motor function in emotional and social contexts. It comprises a control group of 20 participants and a clinical group of 14 participants. EEG was recorded through a 16-channel wireless EEG cap, and 3D motion was captured using marker-based motion capture suits tracked by a 10-camera setup. Additionally, the dataset includes neuropsychological characterization of the participants (IQ and autism score).

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9. Rossignol DA, Frye RE. Early biomarker for autism spectrum disorder unveiled – what are we learning?. Expert Rev Mol Diagn;2025 (Jun 11):1-6.

INTRODUCTION: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 31 children in the U.S. highlighting the urgent need for early detection and intervention. Identifying reliable early biomarkers could revolutionize ASD diagnosis and improve outcomes by enabling timely therapeutic strategies. AREAS COVERED: This review explores maternal, paternal, and environmental risk factors contributing to ASD, including immune dysregulation, metabolic conditions, toxicant exposures, and placental and amniotic factors. Biomarkers aid in identifying these factors. EXPERT OPINION: Future research in maternal health and biomarkers is crucial for predicting ASD risk and developing personalized interventions. Advances in multi-omics, imaging, epigenetics, and AI-driven analysis can improve biomarker accuracy, enabling earlier detection and targeted therapies. However, challenges such as biomarker reliability and ASD heterogeneity must be addressed through large-scale validation studies and interdisciplinary collaboration to translate these discoveries into clinical practice effectively.

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10. Zou J, Maciejewski E, Ernst J. Genome-wide identification and analysis of recurring patterns of epigenetic variation across individuals. Commun Biol;2025 (Jun 7);8(1):888.

Epigenetic mapping studies across individuals have identified many positions of epigenetic variation across the human genome. However the relationships between these positions, and in particular global patterns that recur in many regions of the genome, remains understudied. In this study, we use a stacked chromatin state model to systematically learn global patterns of epigenetic variation across individuals and annotate the human genome based on them. We apply this framework to histone modification data across individuals in lymphoblastoid cell lines and across autism spectrum disorder cases and controls in prefrontal cortex tissue. We find that global patterns are correlated across multiple histone modifications and with gene expression. We use the global patterns as a framework to predict trans-regulators and study a complex disorder. The frameworks for identifying and analyzing global patterns of epigenetic variation are general and we expect will be useful in other systems.

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