1. Erratum: Binder et al., « Reducing Filamin A Restores Cortical Synaptic Connectivity and Early Social Communication Following Cellular Mosaicism in Autism Spectrum Disorder Pathways ». J Neurosci. 2025; 45(5).

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2. Bowden N, Anns F, Vu H, Dacombe J, Muir C, Russell J, van der Meer L, Williams J, Clendon S. School Attendance Among Autistic Students in Aotearoa/New Zealand: A Population Cross-Sectional Study Using the Integrated Data Infrastructure. J Paediatr Child Health. 2025.

BACKGROUND: Extant literature indicates autistic students have lower school attendance compared to the general population. However, there remains considerable heterogeneity between studies, a lack of large population-based studies beyond the UK and US, and insufficient consideration of age and sex differences in attendance rates. The aim of this study was to examine school attendance among autistic compared with non-autistic students including stratification by age and sex. METHODS: This was a national retrospective cohort study using population-level data on students aged 5 to 16 years in 2018. Autism was identified using diagnostic information contained within multiple health datasets. Regular attendance was defined as attending 90% or more of school half days. The association between autism and attendance was estimated using complete-case 2-level random intercept modified Poisson regression. RESULTS: Among 654 438 students, 8427 (1.3%) were autistic. In adjusted analyses, autism was associated with significantly decreased likelihood of regular attendance (incident rate ratio [IRR] 0.88; 95% CI, 0.86-0.90). Age and sex stratification revealed significant age differences with likelihood of regular school attendance lower for younger autistic students (5-11 years) (IRR 0.85; 95% CI, 0.83-0.87) while sex differences were marginal. The most frequent type of non-attendance among autistic students was justified (including medical) absence (8.2% of recorded attendance hours for autistic students vs. 5.0% for non-autistic students). CONCLUSION: This study provides further, whole-population evidence of the significant disparities experienced by Autistic students. To improve attendance of autistic students, comprehensive and targeted supports are required to help the student, family and school.

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3. Chen PS, Wong J, Chen EE, Chen ALP. Detecting autism in children through drawing characteristics using the visual-motor integration test. Health Inf Sci Syst. 2025; 13(1): 18.

This study introduces a novel classification method to distinguish children with autism from typically developing children. We recruited 50 school-age children in Taiwan, including 44 boys and 6 girls aged 6 to 12 years, and asked them to draw patterns from a visual-motor integration test to collect data and train deep learning classification models. Ensemble learning was adopted to significantly improve the classification accuracy to 0.934. Moreover, we identified five patterns that most effectively differentiate the drawing performance between children with and without ASD. From these five patterns we found that children with ASD had difficulty producing patterns that include circles and spatial relationships. These results align with previous findings in the field of visual-motor perceptions of individuals with autism. Our results offer a potential cross-cultural tool to detect autism, which can further promote early detection and intervention of autism.

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4. Chen Y, Wang T, Tang E, Ding H. Auditory Global-Local Processing Under Tonal Language Background: Effect of Attention and Autistic Traits. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2025: 1-17.

PURPOSE: Neurotypical individuals show a robust « global precedence effect (GPE) » when processing hierarchically structured visual information. However, the auditory domain remains understudied. The current research serves to fill the knowledge gap on auditory global-local processing across the broader autism phenotype under the tonal language background. METHOD: This study examined auditory global-local processing styles in 37 Mandarin-speaking young adults (age: M = 20.35, SD = 2.32; 19 males) with varying autistic traits. The participants were required to judge global and local pitch structures in nine-tone melodies with both congruent and incongruent conditions under both directed attention and divided attention modes. RESULTS: We found that GPE persisted independent of the attention modes during hierarchical processing. Autistic traits were among the potential contributors that reshaped GPE in auditory global-local processing under a tonal language background. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides an initial investigation into auditory global-local processing among Mandarin-speaking individuals across a range of autistic traits, revealing the presence of the GPE effect during hierarchical pitch structure processing. The advantage of global processing versus local processing expanded with increasing autistic traits, providing further support for the notion that auditory global processing may remain intact in autism and the broader phenotype. We highlight that GPE is a process of coarse-to-fine integration of sensory perception and cognitive feedback iteration, which both top-down and bottom-up processes wield influence on. These findings have implications for the study of atypical auditory processing in autism and may help to refine the early diagnosis and auditory-based intervention for autism. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28114118.

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5. Choi-Tucci E, Sideris J, Holland C, Baranek GT, Watson LR. Measuring Intentional Communication in Infants at Elevated Likelihood of Autism: Validity, Reliability, and Responsiveness of a Novel Coding Scale. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2025: 1-10.

PURPOSE: Intentional communication acts, or purposefully directed vocalizations and gestures, are particularly difficult for infants at elevated likelihood for eventual diagnosis of autism. The ability to measure and track intentional communication in infancy thus has the potential to aid early identification and intervention efforts. This study assesses the validity of a novel measure of intentional communication intended for use within semistructured caregiver-infant interactions. METHOD: The Intentional Communication Coding Scale (IC Coding Scale) captures infants’ Vocalizations, Gestures, and Combined (vocalizations paired with gestures) acts. Using data from 36 infants at elevated likelihood for autism, we tested the convergent and discriminant validity of the IC Coding Scale with established language measures using Spearman’s rho. We tested interrater reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) calculations. Finally, we tested responsiveness (i.e., sensitivity to change) using Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests and Spearman’s rho. RESULTS: Our initial psychometric tests suggested adequate levels of convergent and discriminant validity. ICCs ranged from .77 to .92, while confidence intervals were wide, suggesting that Gestures and Combined acts were coded more variably than Vocalizations were among raters. Tests of the scale’s responsiveness suggested adequate sensitivity to change across a 12-week period. CONCLUSIONS: This study is an important first step toward validating the IC Coding Scale for use in measuring and tracking intentional communication behaviors in infants at elevated likelihood for autism within more naturalistic, semistructured activities. Additional studies are needed to disentangle the effects of intervention from maturation and to examine types of intentional communication acts in more detail.

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6. Dudas RB, Cheney L. Good Psychiatric Management of Borderline Personality Disorder and Co-Occurring Autism Spectrum Disorder. Am J Psychother. 2025: appipsychotherapy20230049.

Borderline personality disorder has been estimated to occur among about 4% of those with autism spectrum disorder. This co-occurrence can escalate the challenges of treating either condition separately, and patients often face severe challenges in psychosocial and occupational functioning. Clinicians need guidance to manage a high degree of complexity, using standards of care and a synthesis of what is known so far, to navigate the currently limited armamentarium of clinical tools. This article reviews the available scientific research and clinical experience with respect to diagnosis, psychoeducation, treatment framework, safety management, other co-occurring disorders, and multimodal treatments. It also discusses future directions for generating new knowledge to improve the care of patients with this important co-occurrence. Although the discussion explores the unique complexity and relative lack of clinical guidelines at present, good psychiatric management serves as a clinical framework that anchors treatment approaches as the evidence base develops.

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7. Durbin A, Balogh R, Lin E, Palma L, Plumptre L, Lunsky Y. Community and Hospital Healthcare Use by Adults With and Without Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Ontario, Canada, During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2025.

BACKGROUND: This study describes the proportion of Ontario adults with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who used community- and hospital-based healthcare in the first 2 years of the pandemic compared with the year pre-COVID-19. METHODS: Linked health administrative databases identified 87 341 adults with IDD and also adults without IDD living in Ontario, Canada. For each cohort, counts and proportions of adults who used different types of healthcare services were reported for the pre-COVID-19 year (16 March 2019 to 14 March 2020) and the first two COVID-19 years (15 March 2020 to 14 March 2021 and 15 March 2021 to 14 March 2022). RESULTS: Compared with the year prior to COVID-19, the proportion of adults with and without IDD who used health services was lower during the first COVID-19 year, but the likelihood of all types of visits increased during the second year. The likelihood of using homecare and of being hospitalized nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels. Virtual physician visits increased in each COVID-19 year from 5.2% prior to the pandemic to 13.0% in year 1 and 58.7% in year 2. For all years, the proportion of adults who used each service type was higher for those with IDD than without IDD. CONCLUSIONS: For adults with and without IDD in Ontario, Canada, during the first two COVID-19 years healthcare use decreased for all service types, except for virtual physician visits. In the second year, healthcare use increased but did not reach pre-COVID-19 levels. In all years, adults with IDD were more likely to use services than other adults.

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8. Espinosa Mendoza TA, Oviedo Lara AR, Henk Jordan G, Sampieri-Cabrera R, Perez Martinez LE. Effects of Low-Intensity Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Neuropsychological Development of Pediatric Subjects With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Longitudinal Retrospective Approach. Cureus. 2024; 16(12): e76569.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurobiological condition characterized by behavioral problems and delayed neurodevelopment. Although transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been proposed as an alternative treatment for patients with ASD because of its promising benefits in reducing repetitive behaviors and enhancing executive functions, the use of high-intensity pulses (Hi-TMS) appears to be related to the side effects of the therapy. Low-intensity TMS (Li-TMS) has been partially investigated, but it may have clinical effects on ASD and simultaneously increase treatment safety. METHODS: In this study, the effects of combined intervention with Li-TMS and conventional therapies were evaluated in 35 patients from Ecuador (six female and 29 male), aged between three and seven years, with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD. Each subject received conventional therapies twice a week (for four weeks) provided at the research center (psychological, occupational, speech, and neuro-psychomotor therapies) alongside daily Li-TMS sessions at 1 Hz and 9 mT of intensity targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) for 45 min for four weeks (16 sessions in total). The Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI), first edition, was applied before and after Li-TMS therapy to evaluate its clinical effects in subjects with ASD. Weekly follow-up assessments and parent questionnaires were administered to identify any adverse events. RESULTS: In all BDI domains, a significant statistical difference was observed between the pre- and post-intervention averages, supported by extremely low p-values (less than 0.001 in all cases). The personal, social, motor, cognitive, and communicative skills of all the study participants increased after Li-TMS therapy. At the same time, the calculated maturational delay had a significant decrease, suggesting an improvement of ~7.78 months in the neurodevelopment of the ASD subjects. However, age was also found to be a possible cause for these changes in development and maturation. No adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Both variants of TMS, Hi-TMS and Li-TMS, have proven to be promising treatments for subjects with ASD, improving social and cognitive abilities. This investigation suggests that the combination of conventional therapies and 16 sessions of Li-TMS as a treatment for individuals with ASD had significant clinical progress, specifically in maturation development according to BDI. In addition, the use of low-intensity magnetic fields may allow for safer pulse delivery in pediatric subjects, as no side effects were reported in this study.

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9. Flores MA, Garcia-Forn M, von Mueffling A, Ola P, Park Y, Boitnott A, De Rubeis S. A subpopulation of cortical neurons altered by mutations in the autism risk gene DDX3X. Biol Open. 2025; 14(1).

Cell fate decisions during cortical development sculpt the identity of long-range connections that subserve complex behaviors. These decisions are largely dictated by mutually exclusive transcription factors, including CTIP2/Bcl11b for subcerebral projection neurons and BRN1/Pou3f3 for intra-telencephalic projection neurons. We have recently reported that the balance of cortical CTIP2-expressing neurons is altered in a mouse model of DDX3X syndrome, a female-biased neurodevelopmental disorder associated with intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and significant motor challenges. Here, we studied the developmental dynamics of a subpopulation of cortical neurons co-expressing CTIP2 and BRN1. We found that CTIP2+BRN1+ neurons are born during early phases of neurogenesis like other CTIP2+ neurons, peak in expression during perinatal life, and persist in adult brains. We also found that CTIP2+BRN1+ neurons are excessive in number in prenatal and mature cortical motor areas of Ddx3x mutant mice, translating into altered laminar distribution of subcerebral projection neurons extending axons to the brainstem. These findings underscore the critical role of molecular specification during cortical development in health and disease.

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10. Homayounnia Firouzjah M, Nazari Kakvandi S, Ramezanzade H. The effect of implicit and explicit motor learning on a targeting task in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Acta Psychol (Amst). 2025; 253: 104731.

This study aims to investigate the effect of different implicit and explicit instructions on learning a fundamental motor skill (throwing task) in autistic children with a high propensity for reinvestment. A total of 48 male volunteer students with special educational needs aged between 7 and 9 years old were conveniently selected to practice a novel throwing motor task (slingerball). The study includes a 1-week the acquisition phase with five phases of measurements involving four groups: a) analogy, b) explicit instruction, c) errorless, and d) errorful paradigms. It was conducted in five phases: pre-test, acquisition, retention, transfer, and dual-task, using a quasi-experimental design. The task in this study was to throw a slingerball’ towards a horizontal target on the ground. Mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) and LSD post-hoc test performed to determine the interaction and main effects on throwing accuracy. The results indicated that participants in the analogy and errorless instruction groups had higher throwing accuracy in all phases of acquisition, retention, transfer and dual task compared to the explicit and errorful instruction groups (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, both implicit learning groups performed more accurately in the dual task test than the explicit group (P ≤ 0.05). The results of this study support the theoretical framework that implicit practice can improve motor skill learning in children with autism spectrum disorder more than explicit practice. So, the application of errorless learning and analogy instruction is recommended for developing of motor performance and learning as implicit learning methods in educational environments.

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11. Kang L, Chen M, Huang J, Xu J. Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder Based on Machine Learning for Multi-site fMRI. J Neurosci Methods. 2025: 110379.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by repetitive stereotypical behavior and social impairment. Early diagnosis is essential for developing a treatment plan for autism. Although multi-site data can expand the dataset to facilitate the process of data analysis, data heterogeneity between sites and the large amount of data make data analysis difficult. METHOD: To address these issues, this paper proposes a multi-site autism identification method based on machine learning technique. Firstly, the fMRI data from all sites are converted into a glass brain dataset and their features are extracted with LeNet5. Then, the extracted glass brain features are used to construct a partial correlation matrix at subject-level and the multi-site dataset are constructed by feature selection, which is finally classified using MLP. In order to alleviate the heterogeneity of the data and improve the accuracy of data classification, a new dataset partitioning method, Split-Merge-Split (SMS), is proposed in this paper to reduce the variability between the features extracted by the model in the training and test sets. RESULTS: Extensive quantitative and qualitative evaluations demonstrate the proposed method enhanced the recognition accuracy on both single-site and multi-site dataset, which shows the effectiveness of this method. Specifically, in single-site classification, our method achieved its highest accuracy at the OHSU site, reaching an accuracy of 93%. In multi-site classification, our method attained an accuracy of 83.5%.

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12. Kılınç K, Türkoğlu S, Kocabaş R, Güler HA, Yılmaz Ç, Büyükateş A. What are the levels and interactions of neuroligin-1, neuroligin-3, and inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8) in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder?. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2025: 111275.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in social interaction, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. Several genes, including synaptic proteins and environmental risk factors, play a role in the etiology of autism. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between neuroligin-1 (NLGN-1) and neuroligin-3 (NLGN-3) levels, which are neuronal cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and inflammatory cytokine (IL-6, IL-8) levels with disease severity and symptom clusters and with each other in children with ASD. Eighty children diagnosed with autism who met the inclusion criteria and sixty-five typically developing children matched for age and sex were included in the study. The children were evaluated psychiatrically through a semi-structured interview, DSM-5 criteria, the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). IL-6, IL-8, NLGN-1, and NLGN-3 levels were analyzed in peripheral serum samples using human ELISA kits. IL-8 and NLGN-3 levels were higher in the autism group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). IL-6 was positively related to CARS and SCQ total scores (p = 0.021, p = 0.040, respectively). IL-8, and NLGN-3 were positively associated with the all subtests of the SCQ and the SCQ total score (all p values <0.001). NLGN-1, NLGN-3, and inflammatory cytokine (IL-6, IL-8) levels were positively correlated (all p values <0.001). Neuroligins play a central role in the brain's ability to process information and maybe a key target in the pathogenesis of ASD. Further research is needed to determine whether, to what extent and how neuronal CAMs and immunity modulate each other and whether this contributes to ASD pathogenesis. Future studies should also be expanded to investigate the influence of variables such as oxidative stress, metalloproteases responsible for ectodomain shedding, or epigenetic regulation.

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13. Layden SJ, Nowland LA, Haegele JA. Physical Educators’ Training and Confidence in Implementing Evidence-Based Practices for Students With ASD. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2025; 63(1): 66-81.

Educators working with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should be utilizing evidence-based practices (EBPs) that have been identified for this group of students to promote better outcomes. Physical education (PE) teachers are highly likely to work with students with ASD in educational settings, yet little is known about their level of training and confidence in implementing EBPs for students with ASD. This study used survey methodology to ask PE teachers about their training in EBPs and their perceived confidence in implementing such practices. The results indicate that, although there was little reported training on individual EBPs specific to students with ASD, PE teachers reported feeling relatively confident in supporting students with ASD. Further findings and implications are discussed.

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14. Li C, Burke MM. Correlates of School-Home Communication From Caregivers of Children With Autism. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2025; 63(1): 14-28.

School-home communication may be especially critical for families of children with autism given their tenuous partnerships with school professionals. In this study, we explored the child, caregiver, and family-professional partnership correlates of school-home communication. Data were collected from 179 caregivers of children with autism (age 3-21) via a national survey. Participants overwhelmingly reported having less than monthly communication with educators (i.e., general and special education teachers) despite wanting at least weekly communication. A preference for email communication negatively correlated with participants who were Black and/or from lower-income households, but this should be met with caution due to limited sample diversity. These findings indicate that it is necessary to attain a nuanced understanding of school-home communication and identify other potential correlates.

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15. Lozano I, Campos R, Belinchón M. Sensitivity to temporal synchrony in audiovisual speech and language development in infants with an elevated likelihood of autism: A developmental review. Infant Behav Dev. 2025; 78: 102026.

Detecting temporal synchrony in audiovisual speech in infancy is fundamental for socio-communicative development, especially for language acquisition. Autism is an early-onset and highly heritable neurodevelopmental condition often associated with language difficulties that usually extend to infants with an elevated likelihood of autism. Early susceptibilities in still unclear basic mechanisms may underlie these difficulties. Here, we discuss why sensitivity to temporal synchrony in audiovisual speech should be investigated in infants with an elevated likelihood of autism as a candidate mechanism underlying language difficulties. We then review direct and indirect eye-tracking evidence. Although scarce, some studies suggest that detection of temporal synchrony in audiovisual speech may be reduced in infant siblings (but evidence is mixed); however, this does not seem to account for language difficulties. Instead, a lack of relationship between selective attention to the articulating mouth and language development may be a plausible candidate mechanism. However, longitudinal studies tracking both sensitivity to temporal synchrony and selective attention to talking faces in the first year are needed for further clarification. Our discussion highlights gaps in the literature, future research directions and implications for domain-general approaches to the emergence of autism.

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16. Mangum L, Copeland VC, Orebiyi I, Taylor S, Jones T, Nathan J, Nathan BR, Eack SM. Parental Perceptions of Access to and Utilization of Services for Autistic Children in African American Families: An Exploratory Study. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occurs within all racial, ethnic, and demographic pediatric groups. However, Black children with ASD are diagnosed at later stages of their development, and as a result may not receive or may age out of early intervention services, and demonstrate poorer long-term outcomes, across a range of factors. African American parent’s perceptions regarding access to and utilization of healthcare services for their autistic children vary. Research examining autism spectrum disorder and parental perceptions of service utilization among African American (AA) families is limited. This qualitative study aimed to understand the challenges African American parents face when initiating healthcare services for their autistic children. Eleven AA mothers of autistic children participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Six themes related to pediatric treatment needs, interactions with providers, and parents’ roles as experts and advocates were generated. Implications for pediatric treatment needs of autistic children and areas of opportunity for providers working with AA autistic children are discussed.

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17. Masoomi M, Saeidi M, Cedeno R, Shahrivar Z, Tehrani-Doost M, Ramirez Z, Gandi DA, Gunturu S. Emotion recognition deficits in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a comprehensive meta-analysis of accuracy and response time. Front Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024; 3: 1520854.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent challenges in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Emotion recognition deficits are a core feature of ASD, impairing social functioning and quality of life. This meta-analysis evaluates emotion recognition accuracy and response time in individuals with autism spectrum disorder compared to neurotypical individuals and those with other neurodevelopmental disorders. METHODS: This systematic review with a meta-analysis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive literature search across PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science identified 13 studies published between 2006 and 2024. Data on emotion recognition accuracy and response times were synthesized using standardized mean differences in random-effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I (2) statistic, and sensitivity analyses were performed to ensure robustness. RESULTS: Individuals with ASD exhibited significantly lower overall emotion recognition accuracy compared to TD individuals (SMD = -1.29, 95% CI: -2.20 to -0.39, p < 0.01) and NDDs (SMD = -0.89, 95% CI: -1.23 to -0.55, p = 0.02). Response times were significantly prolonged in ASD compared to TD individuals (SMD = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.36-0.63, p < 0.01) but not when compared to NDDs. Emotion-specific analyses did not consistently reveal significant differences across emotions (fear, anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise), with substantial heterogeneity observed across studies (I (2) > 50%). CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review with a meta-analysis highlights significant impairments in emotion recognition accuracy and processing speed among individuals with autism spectrum disorder, particularly compared to neurotypical individuals. These findings underscore the importance of developing targeted interventions to address these deficits, which are foundational to improving social cognition and quality of life in autism spectrum disorder. Future research should prioritize standardized methodologies and explore cultural and contextual factors influencing emotion recognition abilities. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=627339, PROSPERO (CRD42024627339).

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18. Menezes M, Pappagianopoulos J, Mazurek MO. Work Participation of Autistic Adolescents. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2025; 63(1): 42-50.

This study sought to compare frequency of paid work by autistic adolescents to paid work by adolescents with other neurodevelopmental disorders and typically developing adolescents, and to examine whether demographic and clinical characteristics were associated with autistic adolescent employment with data from 2016-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health. Rate of paid work was significantly lower in the autistic group (22.01%) than typically developing (49.38%) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (44.27%) groups. Younger age, lower household income, co-occurring intellectual disability, and more severe autism were associated with lower odds of an autistic adolescent having worked. This study indicates that work disparities impacting autistic individuals begin in youth and highlights the need for improved vocational support to address employment barriers for autistic youth.

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19. Pagán AF, Pagán AL, Hernandez L, Cribbet MR, Loveland KA, Acierno R. Bridging Gaps: Enhancing Sleep and Health Disparities in Latino Families with Young Adults with Autism Using a Culturally Adapted Intervention. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025.

The present study examined the effects of a culturally adapted intervention, ¡Iniciando! la Adultez, on sleep and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Latino young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their Spanish-speaking parents. The intervention targeted the transition to adulthood, a period associated with increased challenges in sleep and HRQoL, particularly for underserved Latino populations. Participants included 26 young adults and 38 parents who completed assessments at baseline and post-treatment. The results indicated significant improvements in several HRQoL domains for both groups, with young adults reporting enhanced emotional well-being, social functioning, and general health. Parents experienced notable improvements in subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, and global sleep quality, alongside enhanced emotional well-being and general health. Correlational analyses revealed significant associations between baseline sleep quality and post-treatment HRQoL, acculturative stress, and mental health outcomes, suggesting the interconnectedness of these factors. Parents generally reported poorer sleep and HRQoL than young adults at both time points, highlighting the ongoing challenges they face. Despite some improvements, overall sleep quality remained suboptimal, emphasizing the need for further refinement of interventions. This study underscores the importance of culturally tailored approaches in addressing the unique needs of Latino families affected by ASD and highlights the potential benefits of such interventions in improving sleep and HRQoL. Future research should explore the long-term sustainability of these improvements and address the remaining gaps in sleep quality. The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence supporting the need for culturally sensitive interventions in promoting well-being in marginalized communities.

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20. Quagelli L. Sensory interweavings and relational openings in clinical work with autistic children. Int J Psychoanal. 2024; 105(6): 1041-61.

In this article, the author aims to shed new light on how sensoriality can be considered and deployed in the treatment of severely autistic children. Whereas psychoanalysis has explored in detail the defensive function that sensoriality can have for these patients, the author puts forward the idea that this can be used to further the differentiation and structuration of the body ego. Through some detailed clinical material, drawn from the psychotherapy of a five-year-old girl, the author sets out to illustrate how work on the different sensations can lead to relational openings that are initially specific to each sensory channel and then more general, as well as how the access to otherness emerges from this work on sensations. Much of the article is devoted to « technical » questions: in fact, for these processes to be carried out successfully, the analyst must situate himself in and intervene as closely as possible to sensoriality. It is in this way that the various sensory flows are gradually (re-)inscribed in the relational circuit and can begin to be (re-)connected with each other.

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21. Rad AB, Villavicencio T, Kiarashi Y, Anderson C, Foster J, Kwon H, Hamlin T, Lantz J, Clifford GD. From motion to emotion: exploring challenging behaviors in autism spectrum disorder through analysis of wearable physiology and movement. Physiol Meas. 2025; 13(1).

Objective.This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of wearable physiology and movement sensors in identifying a spectrum of challenging behaviors, including self-injurious behavior, in children and teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in real-world settings.Approach.We utilized a long-short-term memory network with features derived using the wavelet scatter transform to analyze physiological biosignals, including electrodermal activity and skin temperature, alongside three-dimensional movement data captured via accelerometers. The study was conducted in naturalistic environments, focusing on participants’ daily activities.Main results.Our findings indicate that the best performance in detecting challenging behaviors was achieved using movement data. The results showed a sensitivity of 0.62, specificity of 0.71, F1-score of 0.36, and an area under the ROC curve of 0.71. These results are particularly significant given the study’s focus on real-world scenarios and the limited existing research in this area.Significance.This study demonstrates that using wearable technology to record physiological and movement signals can detect challenging behaviors in children with ASD in real-world settings. This methodology has the potential to greatly improve the management of these behaviors, thereby enhancing the quality of life for children with ASD and their caregivers. This approach marks a significant step forward in applying the outcome of ASD research in practical, everyday environments.

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22. Reetzke R, Landa R. Effects of an Inclusive Group-Based Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention on Active Engagement in Young Autistic Children: A Preliminary Study. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2025: 1-14.

PURPOSE: Despite group-level improvements in active engagement and related outcomes, significant individual variability in response to early intervention exists. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the effects of a group-based Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) on active engagement among a heterogeneous sample of young autistic children in a clinical setting. METHOD: Sixty-three autistic children aged 24-60 months (M = 44.95, SD = 10.77) participated in an inclusive group-based NDBI over a period of 10 months. Speech-language pathologists used an abbreviated version of the measure of active engagement to rate children’s active engagement at three treatment time points. RESULTS: Linear mixed-effects regression analyses revealed that active engagement significantly increased from Time 1 to Time 2 (after 6 months of the group-based NDBI) and persisted through Time 3 (after 10 months of the group-based NDBI). Symmetrized percent change analyses revealed that 48% of the sample (n = 30) exhibited an increasing trajectory, 29% were stable, and 24% showed a decreasing trajectory. Age and parent-reported social pragmatic concerns at program entry, as well as the length of time participating in the group-based NDBI, were differentially associated with the identified subgroups, signaling baseline child characteristics that may be associated with NDBI response. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the importance of careful monitoring of active engagement to guide clinical decision making regarding changing intervention strategies, targets, or the intensity of the NDBI if gains are not observed.

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23. Segers J, van Esch L, Mađarević M, Moerman F, Roeyers H, Steyaert J, Warreyn P, Noens I. Contextual differences in parent-child interactions: A study on toddlers at elevated likelihood of autism and their mothers. Infant Behav Dev. 2025; 78: 102030.

Parent-child interactions are important for children’s emotional and behavioral development. In autism research, parent-child interactions are typically observed during free play. Yet, studies outside the autism field underscored the importance of observing parent-child interactions during other contexts, as parents’ behaviors may depend on the context, and different contexts may reveal different relationships between parents’ and children’s behaviors. Therefore, we observed interactions between 102 mothers and their 24-month-old children at elevated likelihood of autism during two scenarios: free play and goal-directed play. Participating children had an older autistic sibling (n = 68) or were born very preterm (born before 30 weeks; n = 34). We found that mothers adapt their behaviors to contextual cues, which supports and expands on previous findings regarding older autistic children, and children without autism. Furthermore, as expected, the relationship between mothers’ and children’s outings of negative affect only became apparent during the goal-directed play scenario. A relationship between mothers’ and children’s outings of positive affect was found in both scenarios, thus regardless of the context. Parent-reported emotional and behavioral difficulties of children were not related to maternal behaviors during either context, nor to fluctuations in maternal behaviors across contexts. This contrasts with studies with older children, which did find such relationships. Therefore, our findings suggest that predictable patterns might not yet be visible when children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties first become apparent.

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24. Stokes JE, Waldron DA, Stam EJ. Loneliness among Adults Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: The Importance of Living Situation. Gerontologist. 2025.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Loneliness is a serious public health concern among the aging population. Not only is loneliness an unpleasant emotional experience, it is also associated with worse health, well-being, and even mortality. This is a particularly important issue among the population aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities, who are more likely to experience loneliness across the life course, and who – particularly if living in an intermediate care facility (ICF) or nursing facility – may lack social connections. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2012-2013 through 2021-2022 waves of the National Core Indicators-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities In-Person Survey (NCI-IPS; 8 waves total), a national survey of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving state services (N = 101,374 observations drawn from 49 states). Multilevel logistic regression models examined whether loneliness varied according to living situation. RESULTS: Results indicated that (1) adults aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities in ICF and nursing facilities reported significantly greater loneliness than those living in the community, (2) having friends was associated with reduced loneliness overall, yet (3) having friends was associated with reduced loneliness among those living in the community, but not for those living in ICF or nursing facilities. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These results indicate not only that adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities living in institutionalized settings are at higher risk of experiencing loneliness and its detrimental effects, but that specialized interventions are required to meet their unique needs and reduce their loneliness in mid and later life.

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25. Sun W, Yan H, Sun M, Wang J, Li K. Expanding the clinical spectrum of 19p13.3 microduplication syndrome: a case report highlighting nephrotic syndrome and literature review. BMC Pediatr. 2025; 25(1): 70.

BACKGROUND: Common clinical findings in patients with 19p13.3 duplication include intrauterine growth restriction, intellectual disability, developmental delay, microcephaly, and distinctive facial features. In this study, we report the case of a patient with 19p13.3 microduplication and novel clinical findings, specifically nephrotic syndrome. CASE PRESENTATIONS: A 4-year-old girl was admitted to our hospital in December 2020 with a fever and cough that had persisted for 3 days. A series of treatments, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and whole exome sequencing (WES) were performed. Relevant literature was reviewed using the search terms « 19p13.3 » and « 19p13.3 microduplication syndrome » in the China Knowledge Network, Wanfang Database, Weipu Journal Service Platform, and PubMed (date range: database establishment to September 2023). In addition to common symptoms, such as developmental delay, microcephaly, distinctive facial features, and congenital heart defects, the patient also had nephrotic syndrome, a previously unreported phenomenon. CMA results showed a 3.6 Mb fragment duplication (copy number: 3) in the chr19p13.3 region, containing 127 protein-coding genes (including CELF5, NFIC, SMIM24, PIAS4, ATCAY, MAP2K2, and ZBTB7A). WES revealed a filamin C mutation (p.Glu309Valfs × 11). The mutation status of the patient and her father was heterozygous, whereas the mutation was not detected in the mother. CONCLUSION: Microduplication in the 19p13.3 region could be one of the genetic factors contributing to the observed clinical phenotypes. However, patients with developmental delay, microcephaly, distinctive facial features, congenital heart defects, and urogenital system disorders may exhibit these manifestations due to various genetic syndromes; therefore, simply considering the possibility of 19p13.3 microduplication syndrome based on these non-specific features is not sufficient. Further comprehensive evaluations, including CMA, should be conducted in conjunction with other genetic tests and detailed clinical examinations to accurately determine the underlying genetic causes.

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26. Tu G, Jiang N, Chen W, Liu L, Hu M, Liao B. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying the effects of exercise interventions in autistic individuals. Rev Neurosci. 2025; 36(1): 27-51.

Autism spectrum disorder is a pervasive and heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication difficulties and rigid, repetitive behaviors. Owing to the complex pathogenesis of autism, effective drugs for treating its core features are lacking. Nonpharmacological approaches, including education, social-communication, behavioral and psychological methods, and exercise interventions, play important roles in supporting the needs of autistic individuals. The advantages of exercise intervention, such as its low cost, easy implementation, and high acceptance, have garnered increasing attention. Exercise interventions can effectively improve the core features and co-occurring conditions of autism, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are unclear. Abnormal changes in the gut microbiome, neuroinflammation, neurogenesis, and synaptic plasticity may individually or interactively be responsible for atypical brain structure and connectivity, leading to specific autistic experiences and characteristics. Interestingly, exercise can affect these biological processes and reshape brain network connections, which may explain how exercise alleviates core features and co-occurring conditions in autistic individuals. In this review, we describe the definition, diagnostic approach, epidemiology, and current support strategies for autism; highlight the benefits of exercise interventions; and call for individualized programs for different subtypes of autistic individuals. Finally, the possible neurobiological mechanisms by which exercise improves autistic features are comprehensively summarized to inform the development of optimal exercise interventions and specific targets to meet the needs of autistic individuals.

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27. Udhnani MD, Lee NR. Evaluating Sex Differences in Language Abilities Within Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2025; 63(1): 29-41.

Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are two neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in language. Most studies do not consider the possible role sex differences may play in language profiles. Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate whether parent-reported structural and pragmatic language vary as a function of sex in youth with DS (n = 37), ASD (n = 106), and typical development (TD; n = 61). Findings suggest a female advantage in both structural and pragmatic language in DS; in contrast, no sex differences were found for either ASD or TD. Results suggest that males with DS may require more extensive interventions for language. Future research should investigate how age, IQ, and mode of measurement may impact the nature of these observations.

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28. Zhang Y, Chen J, Li X. Being a « Lay Expert »: A Choice for Chinese Parents of Young Autistic Children. Intellect Dev Disabil. 2025; 63(1): 1-13.

The lack of rehabilitation teachers for autistic children is common in lower-middle income countries. Designing programs to train parents to become « para-rehabilitators, » that is, « lay experts, » is one of the ways to solve this problem. The purpose of this study was to explore the feelings, problems, and hopes of Chinese parents participating in the parent-implemented rehabilitation model. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 19 parents of autistic children were conducted and analyzed thematically. The study found positive changes in the parental understanding of and response to autism disorders, suggesting that training parents to become para-rehabilitators to address the shortage of rehabilitators is useful, and that improvements in training methods are needed.

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