1. Avramiea AE, Juarez-Martinez EL, Garcés P, Hipp JF, Poil SS, Diachenko M, Mansvelder HD, Jones E, Mason L, Murphy D, Loth E, Oakley B, Charman T, Banaschewski T, Oranje B, Buitelaar J, Bruining H, Linkenkaer-Hansen K. Qualitative EEG abnormalities in ASD reflect inhibition-dominated brain dynamics. Sci Rep;2026 (Apr 3)

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2. Barnicot K, Thompson E, Turner S, Mandy W, McCabe R, Stark E, Parker J. Overlapping And Differentiating Clinical Features of Autism and Borderline Personality Disorder in Women and People Assigned Female at Birth: A Cross-Sectional Study. Autism;2026 (Apr 2):13623613261431309.

Previous research has suggested potential phenotypic similarities between autism and borderline personality disorder (BPD). We aimed to identify overlapping and differentiating characteristics of the two diagnostic groups in women and people assigned female at birth (PAFAB). Women and PAFAB with an autism diagnosis (n = 51) or a BPD diagnosis (n = 51), who had few or subclinical traits of the comparator diagnosis, completed a range of self-report questionnaires. Emotional reactivity, emotional dysregulation, identity disruption, difficulties being alone and rejection sensitivity were significantly more characteristic of BPD-diagnosed participants, with identity disruption representing the biggest difference from autistic participants (d = -1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [-1.79, -0.92]). Autistic participants scored significantly more highly on measures of sensory processing, social cognition and behaviour, preference for sameness and repetitive motor behaviour, with sensory processing representing the biggest difference from BPD-diagnosed participants (d = 1.19, 95% CI = [0.76, 1.60]). Group differences in social cognition, social camouflaging, identity disruption, impulsivity and coping with being alone, together correctly classified 95.1% of participants (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.98). However, comparison with measure scores in previous research suggests more complex phenotypic similarities, whereby autistic individuals may show more BPD-aligned characteristics than the general population and vice versa.Lay AbstractAutism can look similar to borderline personality disorder (BPD), leading to misdiagnosis. For example, both diagnostic groups may experience difficulties in regulating their emotions. To improve diagnosis, we wanted to understand similarities and differences between autism and BPD in adult women and people assigned female at birth (PAFAB). We asked two groups of people to complete online questionnaires: (1) 51 women/PAFAB with an autism diagnosis, who do not meet diagnostic criteria for BPD and (2) 51 women/PAFAB diagnosed with and meeting diagnostic criteria for BPD, who are not autistic. The questionnaires asked participants how they experience their emotions, how they interact and relate with other people, how they experience their identity and self-concept, how they react to sensory input, for example, sounds and smells, and how they use repetitive movements, as well as their preferences for sticking to familiar ways of doing things. We found more differences than we expected between autistic people and people meeting diagnostic criteria for BPD. For example, autistic people described being more sensitive to sensory input, described ‘masking’ more during social interactions and described more challenges in understanding the social behaviour of non-autistic people, compared to people meeting diagnostic criteria for BPD. People meeting diagnostic criteria for BPD described more difficulties with emotion regulation and with their sense of self (‘knowing who I am’), were more likely to behave impulsively and found being on their own more difficult, compared to autistic people. Clinicians, and people with a BPD diagnosis who think they may be autistic, can use these findings to better understand the differences between the two diagnoses. Even though we found lots of differences, it is still likely that autistic people experience more similarities with BPD than non-autistic people do and vice versa.

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3. Ben-Artzi I, Rozenkrantz L, Shahar N. Autism-associated learning patterns show reduced credit assignment to outcome-irrelevant features. Transl Psychiatry;2026 (Apr 2)

Humans often make decisions based on information that is irrelevant to actual outcomes, a tendency widely documented in behavioral economics and cognitive psychology as a hallmark of biased or suboptimal learning. While prior research has shown that individuals with autism may be less susceptible to such biases in structured, static decision-making contexts, it remains unclear whether this resistance generalizes to more complex, dynamic learning environments. In this pre-registered adversarial collaboration, we used a reinforcement learning task known to reflect outcome-irrelevant learning, where irrelevant stimulus features (e.g., spatial location) are systematically assigned with value, resulting in suboptimal decisions. This design allowed us to test two competing hypotheses. The first posited that autistic individuals may engage more in value updating of irrelevant features, due to increased susceptibility to process irrelevant information. The second, based on an enhanced rationality framework, predicted that autistic individuals would show greater resistance to outcome-irrelevant learning and demonstrate more optimal learning compared to non-autistic individuals. Computational modeling and model-agnostic analyses revealed that participants reporting a clinical autism diagnosis, compared to non-autistic participants, exhibited substantially reduced outcome-irrelevant learning. Importantly, reduced outcome-irrelevant learning was also significantly correlated with higher autistic traits across the full population sample, suggesting that it reflects a broader, dimensional cognitive profile rather than only a categorical group difference. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, enhanced resistance to outcome-irrelevant learning biases in autism, revealing a domain in which autistic cognition may confer advantages for rational decision-making in noisy environments. Our results add to growing evidence for domain-specific cognitive advantages in autism and extend to suggest that this cognitive style, observed across the entire cohort, may offer a more adaptive approach to managing biases in decision-making.

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4. Bertilsson I, Brogårdh C, Opheim A, Gyllensten AL, Melin J, Hammarlund CS. Effects of Basic Body Awareness Therapy on movement quality in autistic young adults: a superiority pragmatic randomized controlled trial. J Bodyw Mov Ther;2026 (Jun);46:242-250.

INTRODUCTION: Autistic persons experience problems with movements and body awareness in everyday functionality, expressed in affected movement quality. Yet, there is a knowledge gap about the effects of interventions targeting these aspects in autistic persons. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effects of Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) and treatment-as-usual (TAU), compared to TAU alone on movement quality in autistic persons. METHODS: In this pragmatic RCT, autistic persons with no intellectual disorder, 15-30 years old and in contact with habilitation services, were randomized to an intervention group (IG) (n = 28, 22 females) or a control group (CG) (n = 29, 21 females). The IG received 12 sessions of individual BBAT and TAU, the CG received TAU. Primary outcome was a person-reported measure of an individualized movement quality problem, using a numeric rating scale (NRS). Secondary outcome was Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ), i.e., scored physiotherapist observations. Between- and within-group analyses, and individual one-sided t-tests were performed. RESULTS: Comparing the between-group changes in NRS and BAS MQ after 12 weeks, the differences were statistically significant in favor of the IG (p < 0.001). Within-group analyses: the IG had statistically significant improvements on both outcomes (p < 0.001), the CG had not. Individually in the IG, 54 % of the participants improved significantly in NRS and 41 % in BAS MQ. In the CG, the corresponding numbers were 10 % and 7 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: BBAT and TAU were superior to TAU alone for improving movement quality. BBAT is a relevant intervention for autistic young adults to improve everyday functionality. REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT0323876.

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5. Brian JA, Roth I, Zwaigenbaum L, Smith I, Sacrey LR, Bernardi K, MacWilliam S, Daoud S, Dowds E, Jilderda S, Osten S, Michelis A, Solish A. Does baseline language ability predict response to early intervention for toddlers with early signs of autism? Evidence from a caregiver-mediated program. Front Hum Neurosci;2026;20:1704374.

BACKGROUND: Caregiver-mediated interventions (CMIs) for young autistic children are supported by mounting evidence of efficacy. Attempts to identify child-level factors that predict treatment response have yielded inconsistent findings, with very few such studies focused on the toddler age range. OBJECTIVE: Secondary analysis of data from a randomized control trial (NCT03215394) was conducted to explore predictive relationships between toddlers’ communication-related abilities and response to treatment in a CMI program. Participants. Sixty-seven toddler-caregiver dyads (62 mothers, 4 fathers, 1 grandmother) participated across three Canadian sites. Participating toddlers (52 boys, 15 girls) had a diagnosis of autism or early signs thereof and ranged in age from 18 to 32 months (M = 25.95 months). METHODS: All dyads participated in a 12-week CMI (the Social ABCs). Communication-related skills were assessed at baseline using a direct standardized assessment of expressive language, a caregiver interview to capture receptive and expressive communication, and a parent-report inventory to document words used and understood. Analyses. A series of regressions with simple mediation analyses were performed to identify communication-related predictors of intervention change scores for caregiver fidelity and toddler outcomes. In all cases, toddler age was entered as a mediator to explore any influence on these relationships. Results. Toddlers’ functional communication inversely predicted their caregivers’ mastery of program strategies. Specifically, lower toddler functional receptive and expressive communication predicted larger gains in caregivers’ strategy use. Conversely, higher baseline (receptive but not expressive) communication-related skills predicted greater gains in toddlers’ responsivity. Trends emerged for prediction of toddler smiling and social orienting. The clinical measure selected for this study did not predict outcomes. CONCLUSION: Caregiver-reported information about toddler communication-related skills was informative for predicting the primary program outcomes. Findings may be helpful in informing clinical triage decisions and personalizing intervention approaches.

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6. Jabbar U, Waseem Iqbal M, Nechifor A, Abaker M, Khairalseed MA, Antohi VM, Fortea C, Stefanescu CA. Deep learning based approach for Behavior classification in diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder using naturalistic videos. Front Comput Neurosci;2026;20:1626315.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is marked by a lack of communication skills in social situations and repetitive and stereotypical Behaviors. The most widespread form of diagnosing ASD among children is based on psychological screening test along with monitoring of the Behavioral pattern, especially repetitive Behaviors. Some of these Behaviors include hand-flapping, head banging and spinning which are common among ASD children. In our research, we examine abnormal Behavioral patterns that may reflect ASD through the videos of children engaged in the everyday activities in the unstructured settings. A publicly available multiclass Self-Stimulatory Behavior Dataset (SSBD) is use in classify autistic Behavior. Before training the model, the dataset is thoroughly pre-processed (region-of-interest (ROI) detection and image cropping to eliminate irrelevant background objects). Moreover, information-augmenting methods are used to reduce overfitting and increase training efficiency and generalization effectiveness. In order to obtain spatiotemporal details successfully, a number of deep learning models are tested, such as studied CNN-GRU model, 3D-CNN + LSTM, MobileNet, VGG16, and EfficientNet-B7. The findings of the experiment prove that the proposed CNN-GRU model is superior to all competing methods. The model with a k-fold cross-validation provides a steady accuracy of 0.9284 ± 0.0039-0.9294 ± 0.0038, which means that the model is robust and consistent across the folds. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is additionally justified by the comparisons with state-of-the-art methods. The results show that the systems based on the action recognition can help clinicians monitor the Behavioral trends and facilitate the quick, accurate, and effective screening of ASD. The proposed approach works effectively in predicting Behavior in real-life, uncontrolled videos and shows tremendous potential for real-world clinical implementation as a decision-support tool.

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7. Krijnen LJ, Rippe RC, Begeer S, Plak RD. Assessing Social Identity in Autistic Individuals: Evaluating A Self-Report Questionnaire in the Netherlands. Autism;2026 (Apr 3):13623613261431269.

People with autism often face mental health difficulties at rates far exceeding those of the general population. How autistic individuals relate to their autism classification and the autistic community, also known as social identity, may form a protective factor for mental health. However, validated tools to assess social identity in autistic populations are lacking. This study aims to evaluate the Dutch version of the 14-item Social Identity in Autism Questionnaire (SIAQ) and examine associations between social identity and demographic, autism-related, and mental health variables. A total of 1443 autistic individuals from the Netherlands (mean age = 47 years, 54% women, 98% Dutch) completed the SIAQ and measures assessing demographics, autism characteristics, and mental health. Factor analyses revealed a four-factor structure: solidarity (three items, feelings of connection to people with autism), satisfaction (four items, positive feelings about being autistic), centrality (three items, the importance of autism to one’s sense of self), and self-definition (four items, perceived similarity to other autistic people and within the autistic community). Internal consistency was acceptable to excellent. Measurement invariance (scalar level) was found across age, gender, education level, ethnicity, and autism traits. Furthermore, the four factors of social identity were differentially related to age, gender, language preference, time since diagnosis, and autism traits. Higher satisfaction and lower centrality were related to better mental health. To conclude, the SIAQ forms a robust tool to assess social identity in autistic individuals in the Netherlands.Lay AbstractPeople with autism experience mental health challenges much more often than people in the general population. Understanding how autistic people relate to their autism and the autistic community – called autistic social identity – may form an important factor for mental health. However, the lack of reliable tools to measure social identity in autistic people led to this study evaluating the Dutch version of the Social Identity in Autism Questionnaire (SIAQ). Associations between social identity and demographics, autism traits, and mental health were studied. Autistic individuals from the Netherlands (n = 1443, average age = 47 years; 54% women; 98% Dutch) completed the SIAQ. The results showed that the questionnaire captures four key aspects of social identity: solidarity (feeling connected to other autistic people), satisfaction (positive feelings about being autistic), centrality (how central autism is to one’s identity), and self-definition (seeing oneself as similar to other autistic people and perceiving the autistic community as relatively similar). The questionnaire was reliable as well as suitable to use across diverse groups, including variations in age, gender, education level, ethnicity, and autism traits. Several aspects of social identity were related to gender, age, language preference, time since diagnosis, and autism traits. Importantly, higher satisfaction and lower centrality were associated with better mental health. These findings suggest that in the Netherlands, the SIAQ is a useful tool for understanding how autistic people relate to their autism and the autistic community, and how this relates to wellbeing.

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8. Mahase E. Mental health, ADHD, and autism review: Underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, and overdiagnosis are happening simultaneously. Bmj;2026 (Apr 2);393:s650.

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9. Mentch J, Chen Y, Vanderwal T, Ghosh SS. Pregistered movie-fMRI analyses reveal altered visual feature encoding in autism in pSTS. bioRxiv;2026 (Mar 24)

Sensory-perceptual differences are widely reported in autism, yet their underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We tested preregistered hypotheses using stacked encoding models applied to naturalistic movie-viewing fMRI from children and adolescents with and without an autism diagnosis from the Healthy Brain Network. We mapped cortical responsiveness to low- and high-level auditory and visual feature spaces. Contrary to enhanced perceptual functioning predictions, autism was not associated with increased low-level encoding in primary sensory cortices. Instead, autistic children and adolescents had reduced high-level visual representations and a relative shift toward low-level over high-level feature encoding in integration and social brain regions including the pSTS and adjacent face/social areas. In pSTS, this high-low weighting tracked Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores. By contrast, audio-visual modality preference and sensory dominance were broadly conserved across groups. Developmentally, encoding exhibited strong, lateralized, modality-congruent age effects. Together, these findings favor weak central coherence accounts over early sensory enhancement, constrain mechanisms to altered visual feature weighting within social/multisensory networks, and demonstrate the value of naturalistic stimuli and encoding models for characterizing sensory-perceptual neurodevelopmental differences.

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10. Nicolaidis C, Raymaker DM, Baker-Ericzén M, des Roches Rosa S, Edwards T, Frowner E, Horner-Johnson W, Joyce A, Kapp SK, Kripke C, Taylor JL, Love J, Ludwig-Kripke R, Maslak J, McDonald K, Moura I, Scharer M, Siddeek Z, Smith Y, Vera J, Wallington A, Yang LQ, Flores KJ. Measuring High-Priority Outcomes in Autistic Adults: Initial psychometric assessment of the instruments in the AASPIRE Measurement Toolkit. medRxiv;2026 (Mar 25)

BACKGROUND: Adult autism services research is hampered by a lack of accessible self-reported outcome measures. The AASPIRE Outcomes Project used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to create and test the AASPIRE Measurement Toolkit, a set of accessible survey instruments for use in real-world settings. The core toolkit contains 12 characteristics modules and 19 outcome measures, each with self-reported and caregiver-reported versions. METHODS: In a prior phase of the project, we collaboratively adapted, revised, or co-created all instruments. We used our CBPR-nested Delphi process, our collaborative adaptation/creation process, and cognitive interviews to ensure accessibility and content validity. We then conducted a longitudinal survey to validate the 19 outcome measures in a pragmatic sample of 870 autistic adults from two healthcare systems, two disability service systems, and the larger autistic community in the United States. Participants completed surveys at 3 time points over 12-18 months. A 15% random subset completed an additional retest survey 2 weeks after the second time point. We assessed 1) accessibility using completion rates and perceived ease of use; 2) internal consistency using Cronbach’s alphas and omegas; 3) convergent validity using Pearson’s correlations; 4) two-week test-retest reliability using interclass correlation coefficients; and 5) six-month responsiveness to change by comparing self-perceived change with change in scores. RESULTS: Over 90% of participants reported the survey items were easy to understand; over 90% of participants who started the survey completed all applicable sections at each time point; and participants answered 99% of items on each instrument. The outcome measures and their pre-determined subscales demonstrated strong accessibility, content validity, internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and responsiveness to change. CONCLUSION: The AASPIRE Measurement Toolkit is accessible and includes 19 outcome measures with strong initial psychometric properties. We will report in-depth assessments of construct and structural validity separately for each measure. All instruments are available for free and can help clinicians, service providers, advocacy organizations, and researchers assess the effectiveness of interventions and follow changes in outcomes over time. COMMUNITY BRIEF: Why is this an important issue?: Autistic adults have worse health and social outcomes than the general population. To learn how to improve outcomes, we need an accurate way to measure them. Most survey measures that exist are hard for autistic people to use, not tested with autistic people, or can’t measure if the outcome has changed.What was the purpose of this study?: The AASPIRE Measurement Toolkit is a set of accessible questionnaires (also known as « survey instruments ») that can be used to measure the outcomes most important to autistic adults. The purpose of this study was to test how well these survey instruments work.What did the researchers do?: We used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, where scientists and autistic community members worked together as equal partners. We collaboratively selected, adapted, and created the instruments in the Measurement Toolkit. We made a version for autistic people and a version for caregivers. The 19 outcome measures focused on quality of life, health outcomes (overall health, flourishing, depression, anxiety, autistic burnout), social outcomes (community participation, self-determination, choices and decisions, barriers to communication, social support, employment), and services (healthcare services, disability services, and adequacy of supports and services). We used the instruments with a diverse group of 870 autistic adults and caregivers. They took the survey three times over about a year. We used statistics and feedback to test how well the instruments worked.What were the results and conclusions of the study?: The survey measures tested very well: 1) They were accessible: people gave spontaneous praise for the survey’s accessibility, calling it « thoughtfully-designed, » « non-ambiguous, » and « fabulous. » Almost everyone answered all the survey questions on the survey and said it was easy to use.2) They were « internally consistent » – that means people gave similar responses to different questions about the same idea.3) They had good « test-retest reliability » – that means, as expected, responses didn’t change much over a two-week period.4) They had good « convergent validity » – that means that they related to each other in expected ways.5) They were « responsive to change » – changes in scores over 6 months matched participants’ own perceptions of change. Researchers and service providers should use our measures. We feel our measures work well because autistic people were involved at every step.What is new or controversial about these findings?: Previously, there weren’t studies to see if measures for these outcomes both worked for autistic adults and could detect change. This study furthers what we know about adapting and co-creating accessible, accurate measures for autistic adults using CBPR.What are potential weaknesses in the study?: Not enough caregivers took part to test their version of the measures. We think these measures would work for other people too, but we only tested them with autistic adults.How will these findings help autistic adults now or in the future?: These measures will help researchers and service providers know if what they are doing to improve outcomes is working. That will help them create services that can do a better job at improving autistic peoples’ lives.

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11. Rebours C, Kostrubiec V, Kruck J. Understanding Social Camouflaging in Autistic Adults: Integrating Cognitive and Psychosocial Predictors. Autism;2026 (Apr 2):13623613261433985.

Camouflaging refers to strategies used by autistic individuals to mask traits and adapt to neurotypical norms. Beyond socio-cognitive abilities, recent work suggests that camouflaging is also shaped by psychosocial factors. This study tested an integrative, prediction-oriented model of camouflaging. We hypothesized that higher levels of camouflaging would be associated with socio-cognitive functioning, perceived social misfit, mental health, and lower autism acceptance, and that an integrative model combining these factors would predict individual differences in camouflaging. Participants were 120 autistic adults (M = 37.4 years, SD = 10.4), mostly officially diagnosed and predominantly assigned female at birth. Self-report measures assessed camouflaging, executive functioning, perceived social-cognition differences, autism acceptance, social support, and mental health. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to estimate the contribution of each predictor to camouflaging. The final model explained a moderate proportion of variance in camouflaging (R² = 0.27; standardized root mean squared residual = 0.05). Executive dysfunction, perceived social-cognition differences, and personal acceptance showed positive associations with camouflaging, whereas intellectual functioning, perceived acceptance, and social support did not contribute meaningfully. Camouflaging reflects a dynamic interplay between perceived social misfit, executive demands, and identity-related processes rather than a fixed cognitive ability, highlighting the importance of affirming social environments.Lay AbstractCamouflaging refers to the strategies autistic people use to hide their autistic personality in order to fit into social expectations. While camouflaging can sometimes help in social situations, it often comes with serious costs, including stress, anxiety, depression, and autistic burnout. Many autistic adults report feeling pressure to camouflage because of stigma and how society views autism. Understanding what drives camouflaging is important to reduce its harmful effects and to better support autistic people. This study explored which factors are most strongly linked to camouflaging in autistic adults. Instead of looking only at thinking skills such as intelligence, we included measures of executive functioning (everyday planning), social experiences, autism acceptance, and mental health. A total of 120 autistic adults completed online questionnaires. We used statistical models to test which factors predicted camouflaging. We found that camouflaging was most strongly linked to three factors: difficulties with executive functioning, feeling like a misfit in social situations, and how much participants personally accepted their autistic identity. Intelligence, general social support, and feeling accepted by others as autistic played little role. These findings show that camouflaging is not simply about cognitive skills, but also about self-perception and social pressure. Creating more accepting environments and supporting autistic identity may reduce the need to camouflage and protect mental health.

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12. Smith Q, Yang N, Doesburg SM, Crespi B. Losing one’s religion: relationships between autistic and schizotypal traits, religiosity, spirituality, and faith changes. Front Psychol;2026;17:1689818.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between positive schizotypal and autistic traits and life-changing religious or spiritual experiences and faith changes, in those of relatively diverse religious affiliations. METHODS: A total of 2091 participants completed virtual questionnaires measuring autistic traits, positive schizotypy, and religious or spiritual experiences and faith changes. Participants who did or did not report a life-changing religious or spiritual experience were compared on autistic and positive schizotypal trait measures and their respective subscales. Those who reported a gain in faith, a loss in faith, neither of these, or both, were also compared on the trait measures and subscales. RESULTS: Participants who reported a life-changing religious or spiritual experience or who experienced a gain in faith were lower in autistic social traits and higher in positive schizotypy. Participants who experienced a loss in faith also showed higher positive schizotypy. Those who reported no changes in faith showed greater autistic imaginative traits. CONCLUSION: These results extend prior findings to a more diverse sample and faith changes, which have seldom been previously studied in relation to autistic and schizotypal traits. Potential explanations of results provide testable hypotheses for future study, focusing on mentalizing for autistic traits, and perceptual volatility and group member distrust for positive schizotypy.

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13. Stern AP, Sullivan J. Communication Strategies to Support Self-Advocacy in Transgender Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Literature Review. Pediatr Ann;2026 (Apr);55(4):e152-e157.

This literature review examines effective communication strategies for clinicians supporting youth with co-occurring autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) identities, with the goal of enhancing self-advocacy related to gender identity and mental health. Approximately 11% of individuals who are TGD are also diagnosed with ASD, highlighting a complex intersection of identities often met with misunderstanding or dismissal by peers, parents/guardians, and health care professionals. High rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and communication challenges are prevalent in this population, furthering complications. Based on 21 studies selected per PRISMA 2020 guidelines, the review underscores the importance of evidence-based tools that can be used to help aid treatment and communication; although, many of these tools are not diagnostic. Clinicians are encouraged to implement ASD screenings and LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender) training, as well as address systemic barriers. Affirming and individualized care is essential to improving outcomes for youth with ASD who are TGD.

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14. Suresh V, Wigdor EM, Hao Y, Leonard R, Asfouri J, Griffiths M, Evans C, Yuan G, Rohani N, Weiss J, Dema C, Mukthar T, Lassen FH, Schafer N, Dong S, Palmer DS, Chang EF, Sanders SJ, Nowakowski TJ. Molecular dynamics of Brodmann Area 22 in development and autism. bioRxiv;2026 (Apr 3)

Challenges in verbal communication are a prominent feature of autism. However, gene regulatory programs in speech-related cortical regions remain poorly characterized. In parallel, it remains unclear whether the heterogeneous genetic factors underlying autism converge on shared neurobiological mechanisms. To address these gaps, we generated paired transcriptomic and epigenomic data from post-mortem human brain tissue across 100 donors. Here, we show that transcriptional differences in the speech-related Brodmann Area 22 in individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism, are strongest among those with a known genetic diagnosis. A similar but attenuated signature is observed in those without a genetic diagnosis. These transcriptional differences are most pronounced in neurons, with glutamatergic L4/5 intratelencephalic neurons affected across multiple modalities. Finally, multimodal analysis implicates altered RFX3 -dependent networks as a central hub in autism, particularly among L4/5 intratelencephalic neurons in non-verbal individuals. Together, our study identifies regulatory architecture linking chromatin state, transcriptional output, and variation in verbal ability in autism.

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15. Tian M, Au RHY, Cao S, Shi H, Xin C, Xia W. Mandarin translation and validation of the Theory of Mind Inventory-2 and the Theory of Mind Task Battery for autistic children in Mainland China. Br J Dev Psychol;2026 (Apr 3)

The objective of the study was to translate and culturally adapt two important measures of theory of mind (ToM)-the Theory of Mind Inventory-2 (ToMI-2) and the Theory of Mind Task Battery (ToMTB)-into a Mandarin version (the ToMI-2-M and the ToMTB-M). The ToMI-2-M and the ToMTB-M were first developed through translation, expert validation, and a pilot study. Ninety-four autistic children and 43 verbal ability-matched non-autistic children (aged 2.5-8 years) were then tested to evaluate the psychometric properties of the two assessment tools. Both the ToMI-2-M and the ToMTB-M showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Content validity was supported by an expert panel. Concurrent validity was supported by the two assessment tools’ correlations with other ToM tasks, visual perspective taking, inhibitory control, and autistic characteristics. The discriminative validity was demonstrated by significantly higher scores of non-autistic children than autistic children on these assessment tasks. Age-related changes and the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis also provided support. The ToMI-2-M and the ToMTB-M showed good psychometric properties and represent useful tools for assessing ToM abilities of autistic children and non-autistic children.

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16. Tokish H, Ingersoll B. Predictors of Parent Engagement in Part C Early Intervention for Autism: The Role of Single Parenthood and Initial Motivation. Autism;2026 (Apr 2):13623613261430568.

Parent engagement in early intervention supports child progress but is variable in community settings and understudied in autism populations. Prior studies have examined attendance and homework completion rather than parent participation engagement-active, independent, and responsive contribution to treatment-and it is unclear how these distinct engagement measures are related. This study examined how observationally-coded parent participation engagement during early intervention sessions, between-session practice, and attendance were interrelated in addition to the influence of sociodemographic (marital status, minoritized racial/ethnic identity, and education) and psychological characteristics (stress, self-efficacy, and motivation) on engagement. The sample included 164 parents of toddlers (16-34 months) with an autism diagnosis or early autism indicators (i.e. social communication delays) receiving services through the publicly funded Part C Early Intervention system in the United States, which serves children under 36 months with developmental delays and disabilities. Observed parent participation engagement, parent-reported between-session practice, and attendance were not significantly correlated. Only marital status significantly predicted observed parent participation engagement, such that single parents exhibited lower parent participation engagement. Low motivation predicted lower parent-reported between-session practice. No parent characteristics predicted session attendance. Results suggest that early intervention providers should consider multiple aspects of parent engagement that are influenced by different parent characteristics when assessing and promoting engagement to support child progress.Lay AbstractParent engagement in early intervention for autism supports child progress but often varies in the community. Most research studies of parents’ engagement in intervention have examined attendance and homework completion rather than active and independent contribution to treatment during intervention sessions (e.g. participating in practice activities, sharing perspectives about at-home practice). In addition, little research has examined parent engagement in early intervention for autism, which may be higher compared to broader child psychotherapy since parents typically report high satisfaction with early intervention. To address these gaps, we examined how active engagement observed and scored by trained researchers in video-recorded early intervention sessions, parent report of how often they practice intervention strategies at home, and session attendance were related to each other. We also examined how parents’ personal (marital status, racial/ethnic identity, and education) and psychological characteristics (stress, self-efficacy, and motivation) influenced their active engagement, at-home practice, and attendance. Our sample included 164 parents of toddlers with an autism diagnosis or showing early signs of autism participating in the United States publicly funded early intervention system. We found that active engagement, at-home practice, and attendance were not related. While most parent characteristics did not influence active engagement, single parents showed lower engagement during intervention sessions. In addition, parents who reported lower motivation to change their parenting behavior reported less at-home practice. No parent characteristics influenced their session attendance. Our results suggest that active engagement, at-home practice, and attendance may represent different aspects of parent engagement. To assess and increase parent engagement in community early intervention for autism, clinicians should consider multiple signs of engagement and the influence of various parent characteristics.

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17. Townsley R, Andrews J, Srivastav S, Jangam S, Hannan S, Kanca O, Yamamoto S, Wangler MF. NLGN3 autism variants have distinct functional impact on synapses and sleep behavior in Drosophila. bioRxiv;2026 (Mar 27)

Neuroligin-3 (NLGN3) was first identified as a risk gene associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The initial variant, p.R451C, associating NLGN3 with ASD has been heavily investigated, yet little is known about the functional consequences of other NLGN3 variants. Furthermore, while most of the identified variants are present in males with maternally inherited variants from unaffected mothers, several de novo variants were observed in females, suggesting a possible functional difference between de novo and maternally inherited variants. To address the functional consequences of NLGN3 variants in vivo , we generated transgenic Drosophila models corresponding to one de novo variant (p.R175W) and two maternally inherited variants (p.R451C and p.R597W). In Drosophila , loss of the fly homolog, Nlg3 , altered sleep patterns, synaptic architecture, and vesicle dynamics, which were rescued by the expression of the human NLGN3 (Ref) allele. When comparing the variants, the de novo p.R175W variant and the maternally inherited p.R451C variant altered synapse morphology and sleep patterns, with minimal effects on vesicle dynamics, and the p.R597W variant altered sleep and vesicle dynamics with minimal impact on synapse morphology. Using overexpression models, human NLGN3 (Ref) altered sleep patterns and synaptic morphology. Moreover, the p.R175W variant exacerbated sleep phenotypes, and the p.R175W and p.R451C variants exacerbated synapse morphology phenotypes. Together, our findings suggest that de novo NLGN3 variants identified in females are likely gain-of-function, while maternally inherited variants have mixed loss- and gain-of-function effects. Moreover, the location of the variants may contribute to the distinct functional differences we observed. Some NLGN3 variants disrupt synaptic development, while other variants alter synaptic function, suggesting that NLGN3 variants have differential effects. These functional differences may provide insight into the heterogeneity of individuals with ASD.

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18. Ünal T, Kizilay FN, Ünal SE, Javadzade N. Dental treatment outcomes under general anesthesia in pediatric patients with and without autism spectrum disorder: A retrospective analysis. Medicine (Baltimore);2026 (Apr 3);105(14):e46066.

This study compared perioperative dental treatment outcomes under general anesthesia (GA) between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and neurotypical peers, focusing on treatment duration, complication rates, and clinical predictors. This retrospective comparative study analyzed records of 160 children aged 5 to 12 years who underwent dental treatment under GA at a university hospital in Turkey (January 2023-May 2025). The ASD group (n = 80) included patients diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), while the control group (n = 80) comprised age- and sex-matched neurotypical children requiring GA due to cooperation difficulties. Data included demographic variables, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, caries indices (dmft/DMFT), GA and operative durations, types of procedures, and perioperative complications. Statistical analyses used the Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney U, and chi-square/Fisher exact tests, with multivariable regression to identify predictors. Effect sizes (Cohen d) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. ASD patients were older (8.20 ± 1.79 vs 5.27 ± 1.29 years, P < .001; Cohen d = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.38-2.20) and more often ASA II (64.2% vs 24.1%, P < .001). They had lower dmft but higher DMFT scores (P < .001). GA and treatment durations were shorter in the ASD group (GA: 120 vs 155 minutes, Cohen d = 0.75; treatment: 85 vs 130 minutes, Cohen d = 0.72; both P < .001), reflecting fewer treated teeth (11.5 ± 2.9 vs 14.1 ± 3.2; P < .001). Perioperative complications were higher among ASD patients (32.1% vs 7.6%; odds ratio = 5.7, 95% CI: 2.0-15.0; P < .001), most commonly bradycardia, nausea, and emergence agitation. Multivariable regression identified ASA II status and caries burden - but not ASD diagnosis - as independent predictors of prolonged GA and treatment times. Children with ASD had shorter GA durations but significantly higher perioperative complication rates. ASA II status and caries burden predicted longer operative times. These findings emphasize the need for ASD-specific perioperative protocols, preventive strategies, and multidisciplinary care.

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19. Usui N, Doi M, Berto S, Matsuoka K, Ishida R, Miyauchi H, Fujiwara Y, Irie K, Toritsuka M, Yamauchi T, Hirai T, Xie MJ, Kayashima Y, Umeda N, Iwata K, Okumura K, Harada T, Katayama T, Tsujii M, Matsuzaki H, Makinodan M, Shimada S. Copper deficiency impairs oligodendrocyte maturation and social behavior via mitophagy and mTOR suppression in ASD. Sci Adv;2026 (Apr 3);12(14):eadz3398.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired social communication and restricted repetitive behaviors, yet the contribution of trace elements remains poorly defined. We profiled 21 trace elements in individuals with ASD and identified significantly reduced copper levels, which negatively correlated with social symptom severity. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed decreased white matter volume in ASD, which also correlated with social impairment. To explore the mechanisms, we generated a copper-deficient mouse model that displayed ASD-like behaviors and impaired oligodendrocyte (OL) development. Copper deficiency disrupted hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α)-dependent angiogenesis and metabolic regulation in the embryonic brain, leading to oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and BCL2 interacting protein 3 (BNIP3)-mediated mitophagy in oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. These processes suppressed mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase (mTOR) signaling, reduced OL-lineage cells, and caused hypomyelination. Restoring mTOR activity rescued OL maturation and improved social behavior in copper-deficient mice. These findings identify a copper-HIF1α-BNIP3-mTOR signaling axis that links trace element imbalance to glial dysfunction and ASD-relevant behavioral phenotypes, providing mechanistic insight into neurodevelopment.

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20. Wang C, Li D, Sun S, Liu J, Li Y. KSNet: Advancing autism prediction via KAN-based graph convolution and multi-source data fusion. Neural Netw;2026 (Mar 27);201:108892.

Integrating functional brain networks and Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN) architecture reveal promising diagnostic capabilities for brain disorders. Prevailing approaches remain constrained when capturing dynamic nonlinearities, characterizing intricate connectomes, and fusing heterogeneous data sources. To address these limitations, we present KSNet, a novel architectural grounded in graph convolutional networks. Our design synergistically combines KAN-derived graph convolutions (KANGCN) with subject-relational convolutions (SRGCN). The KANGCN module employs B-spline functions to enable tractable optimization of high-dimension nonlinear neurography manifolds. We further implement selective node retention to amplify biologically relevant regions and attenuate noisy connections. SRGCN integrates phenotypic features, such as age and gender, with functional connectivity representations derived from KANGCN to construct an inter-subject relationship graph. The model employs a trainable hierarchical architecture that adaptively aggregates multi-scale features, thereby enhancing its discriminative power. Experimental results using the AAL116 and CC200 brain atlases demonstrate notable improvements across key performance metrics. Specifically, KSNet achieved a 13.8% increase in classification accuracy and a 12.4% improvement in the Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC). Remarkably, the biomarkers identified by KSNet align closely with those reported in existing ASD research literature, offering new biologically interpretable support for clinical ASD diagnosis.

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21. Wu SJ, Huang MT, Huang DW, Linli ZQ, Guo SX. Functional Dysconnectivity of White Matter Networks Is Associated With Clinical Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Int J Dev Neurosci;2026 (Apr);86(2):e70120.

BACKGROUND: Structural white matter (WM) alterations are recognized in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet the functional connectivity (FC) of WM networks and its clinical significance remain largely underexplored. METHODS: This study aimed to investigate aberrant FC patterns within intra-WM (WM-WM) and WM-grey matter (WM-GM) networks in a large ASD cohort. Resting-state fMRI data from 272 ASD individuals and 368 typical controls (TC) from the ABIDE-II dataset were analysed. We constructed WM-WM and WM-GM FC networks using Pearson correlations between atlas-defined regions, applied ComBat harmonization and employed Network-Based Statistic (NBS) to identify group differences. Associations with clinical symptoms were assessed using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores, and a CatBoost algorithm was used for diagnostic classification based on connectivity features. RESULTS: NBS analyses revealed significantly increased connectivity in ASD for 116 WM-WM pairs and 58 WM-GM pairs (p < 0.05, FWER-corrected). Critically, the strength of these aberrant WM-WM functional connections exhibited a significant negative correlation with SRS total scores (r = -0.22, p < 0.001), whereas WM-GM connectivity showed no such significant association. The hybrid CatBoost classifier, integrating both WM-WM and WM-GM features, achieved moderate diagnostic discrimination (AUC = 0.669 ± 0.040). CONCLUSION: These results offer novel insights into the aberrant functional architecture of WM-related networks in ASD, particularly linking intra-WM dysconnectivity to symptom severity, thereby enhancing our understanding of the neural substrates underlying social-communicative deficits.

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22. Zhong Y, Dimitriou D. Unlocking the Potential of Habitual Napping to Moderate the Association Between Sleep Disturbances and Behavioral Problems Among Autistic and Typically Developing Children. Autism Res;2026 (Apr 3):e70245.

Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in autistic children and closely linked to behavioral difficulties, yet the role of napping in this relationship remains poorly understood, particularly in cultural contexts where naps are normative. This pilot study examined sleep-behavior associations and the potential protective role of napping in 53 school-aged children in China (26 autistic, 27 neurotypical, aged 6-12). Sleep was assessed both objectively (1-week actigraphy and sleep diaries) and subjectively (Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire), and behavioral outcomes were measured via the Child Behavior Checklist. Autistic children showed significantly more sleep disturbances than neurotypical peers, including greater bedtime resistance, longer sleep onset delay, more frequent night waking, and shorter total sleep. Night waking was a key correlate of behavioral problems in both groups. Importantly, longer nap durations were associated with weaker associations between sleep disturbances and behavioral outcomes. Temporal analyses further indicated that shorter nocturnal sleep was associated with longer next-day naps, while nap duration was not significantly associated with same-day night sleep. These findings highlight the potential relevance of culturally embedded nap routines in relation to behavioral difficulties and may inform context-sensitive sleep support strategies in neurodevelopmental populations. Autistic children showed more severe sleep disturbances than their typically developing peers, with night waking emerging as the strongest correlate of behavioral problems in both groups. Longer nap durations were associated with weaker associations between sleep disturbances and behavioral difficulties, reducing aggression in autistic children and internalizing symptoms in typically developing children. Temporal analyses revealed that naps compensated for shorter night sleep without disrupting same‐day nocturnal sleep. These findings suggest that culturally embedded nap routines may serve as a low‐cost, context‐sensitive strategy to support behavioral functioning in neurodivergent populations. eng

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