1. AlHousni SS, Idris A, Al-Mamari W, Al-Sayegh A. Clinical Phenotypes Associated with NRXN1 Deletions in Five Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Oman. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2026; 26(1): 448-54.

NRXN1 (2p16.3) is essential for synaptic function and has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the phenotypic features associated with NRXN1 copy number variants remains incompletely characterised, which complicates risk assessment in genetic counselling. This case series describes five children, who were evaluated at the Genetics and Developmental Pediatrics Clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Muscat, Oman, from 2011 to 2023, with rare NRXN1 deletions (57-150 kb). All met DSM-5 criteria for ASD and had speech and language delays with cognitive impairment. Consanguinity was reported in three of the families and two had a family history of ASD. Microcephaly was present in four children and one showed facial dysmorphism. Generalised tonic-clonic seizures were present in one child and one child had comorbid attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These findings illustrate clinical heterogeneity among children with NRXN1 deletions and supports the need for larger studies to better define genotype-phenotype relationships.

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2. André TG, Lucca M, Gil-Llario MD, Nascimento LC. Communicating About Sexuality in Autism: Experiences of Primary Caregivers. Autism. 2026: 13623613261470850.

Sexuality is a fundamental part of human development and should be addressed in its physical, emotional, and social dimensions. However, when it involves autistic children and adolescents, the topic remains marked by taboos, silence, and misinformation, especially within families. To understand the experiences of caregivers of autistic children and adolescents in Brazil and Spain regarding communication about sexuality, a qualitative narrative study was carried out based on Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory. The research was conducted in Brazil and Spain. In Brazil, participants were recruited in person and remotely; in Spain, recruitment occurred online with academic and social media support. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and field notes using a semi-structured script. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify recurring patterns. Nineteen caregivers participated, mostly mothers. Two narrative syntheses emerged: (a) « Breaking the Silence, » showing how family silences, trauma, lack of knowledge, and autism-related challenges create emotional and cognitive barriers; and (b) « Navigating Fragilities, Improvisations, and Discoveries, » illustrating daily dilemmas, avoided topics, improvised strategies, and limited institutional support. The Bioecological Theory revealed influences from personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and temporal systems. Sexuality, though recognized as essential, remains surrounded by silence, discomfort, and educational gaps, with tensions intensified by the specificities of autism.Lay AbstractSexuality is a natural part of growing up, and this also applies to autistic children and adolescents. However, many families still struggle with silence, taboos, and a lack of reliable information when trying to talk about these issues. This study explored how caregivers in Brazil and Spain experience conversations about sexuality with their autistic children and adolescents. Nineteen caregivers, mostly mothers, participated in in-depth interviews in which they shared their everyday difficulties, worries, and learning processes. The findings revealed two main storylines. The first, « Breaking the Silence, » shows how family taboos, past traumas, limited knowledge, and autism-related difficulties create emotional and practical barriers to communication. The second, « Navigating Fragilities, Improvisations, and Discoveries, » illustrates how caregivers often face unexpected situations, avoid sensitive topics, improvise strategies, and receive little support from institutions such as schools and health services. Using Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory, the study shows that communication about sexuality is shaped by multiple layers: personal beliefs and emotions, family relationships, institutional guidance, cultural norms, and changes over time. Overall, families recognize the importance of discussing sexuality, but the topic remains surrounded by discomfort and educational gaps, difficulties that become even more complex in the context of autism.

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3. Annamneedi A, Montenegro-Venegas C, Çalışkan G, Marosi EL, Blondiaux A, Tiwari N, Razzaq M, Kreutzmann JC, Pellissier LP, Fejtova A, Mikulovic S, Fendt M, Gundelfinger ED, Stork O. Autism-like behavior induced by conditional ablation of the Bassoon gene in GABAergic interneurons. Mol Psychiatry. 2026.

Synaptic dysfunction and resulting imbalance of excitatory vs. inhibitory transmission are fundamental aspects of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here we addressed the role of inhibitory synapse disturbances in ASD employing mice with a conditional ablation in GABAergic forebrain interneurons of the presynaptic active zone scaffolding protein Bassoon (Bsn), a key factor in synaptic development, activity and maintenance. The conditional Bsn gene knockout resulted in a reduction of synaptic vesicles and reduced synaptic efficacy of affected inhibitory synapses as well as diminished GABAergic inhibition of hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Bsn mutants further displayed a reconfiguration of the hippocampal synaptic network in vivo, as seen in subfield-specific changes of inhibitory synaptic markers and reduced parvalbumin interneuron labeling, culminating in disturbance of hippocampal network activity patterns and profound mitochondrial and metabolic dysregulation. Importantly, the mutant mice developed behavioral abnormalities reminiscent of ASD including widespread social behavioral deficits and novelty-induced hyperarousal with altered motor behavior, increased anxiety and epileptiform activity. Bsn conditional knockout mice thus provide strong evidence for a causal involvement of GABAergic synapses in the emergence of ASD-related behavioral and physiological phenotypes.

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4. Ashworth E, Saini P, Hanlon C, Hunt A, McCarthy M, Wynne S, Crosbie V, Bray L, Moore D, Knight A, Pavlopoulou G. Over-Represented and Under-Served: Autistic Children and Young People Seeking Help for Suicidal Crisis in a UK Emergency Department. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

PURPOSE: Hospital Emergency Departments are increasingly playing a role in the care of young people experiencing suicidal crisis. Autistic young people, who already experience elevated rates of suicidal thoughts and death by suicide, may face particular difficulties in such environments. METHODS: This retrospective medical records review explored patterns of Emergency Department attendance for suicidal crisis among young people (aged 8-16 years) attending a UK paediatric hospital between 2019 and 2021. Anonymised clinical records from 338 young people were analysed using descriptive and exploratory statistics. RESULTS: 35.8% of attendees were autistic and 62.0% of those were female. Autistic young people were attending at significantly younger ages than non-autistic young people, and were significantly more likely to be known to mental health services and to have attended the Emergency Department previously for suicide ideation. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that autistic young people, and in particular autistic females, were over-represented in crisis presentations, despite previous attempts to seek help. Further research is needed to understand what could help prevent autistic young people from reaching crisis, and what support may be beneficial in the Emergency Department to de-escalate crises, improve wellbeing, and prevent re-attendance.

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5. Blake M, Nikahd M, Hyer JM, Patterson BW, Wolf BJ, Bishop L, Hand BN. Mortality risk estimation for autistic older adults: comparing novel machine-learning derived weights versus standard weights for the Charlson Comorbidity Index. J Comp Eff Res. 2026; 15(8): e260053.

Aim: We aimed to compare Quan and colleagues (2011) established weights for the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) conditions to autism-specific weights for predicting mortality risk in autistic older adults. Materials & methods: We used inpatient healthcare claims from autistic older adults (aged 65+; n = 2829) using the Medicare Standard Analytic Files from 2021 to 2023. We used a machine learning technique called stochastic hill climbing to assign weights to the 12 CCI conditions to maximize predictive ability for 30-day and 1-year mortality. We then compared the resulting area under the curve (AUC) against the established weights. Results: The established weights had poor predictive ability for 30-day (AUC: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.62-0.74) and 1-year mortality (AUC: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.63-0.72). The autism-specific weights also had poor predictive ability for 30-day (AUC: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.61-0.73) and 1-year mortality (AUC: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.62-0.71). Conclusion: The established and autism-specific CCI weights performed similarly in predicting mortality among autistic older adults. Findings may suggest adjusting CCI weights alone is insufficient to accurately predict mortality risk in autistic older adults, and additional health conditions not currently captured by the CCI may need to be added to better predict mortality in this population. Future studies on developing an autism-specific mortality risk index are warranted. What is this article about? Researchers often use tools like the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to estimate a person’s risk of death. The CCI estimates risk of death based on whether they have 12 health conditions like heart failure, lung disease, dementia, cancer and others. Each of these health conditions is assigned a ‘weight’ for how much it increases a person’s risk of death, based on data from the general population. But autistic older adults tend to have different patterns of health conditions than the general population. Therefore, the usual CCI may not accurately estimate risk of death for autistic older adults. We created new weights for the 12 health conditions in the CCI using data from autistic older adults. We expected that these new autism-specific weights would predict risk of death within 30-days and 1-year more accurately for autistic older adults. What were the results? The usual CCI and the new autism-specific version we made poorly predicted risk of death within 30-days and 1-year in autistic older adults. Both versions performed about the same. What do the results of the study mean? These findings suggest that changing the weights for the 12 health conditions in the CCI did not help better predict risk of death in autistic older adults. Important health factors that influence risk of death in this group may not be included in the CCI at all. Future research should focus on developing a new tool that includes additional relevant health conditions to better predict risk of death in autistic older adults. eng.

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6. Bortoletto R, Fanelli G, Colizzi M. Drug development in autism spectrum disorder: genetic heterogeneity, failed trials, and the case for stratified pharmacotherapy. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2026; 41(5): 308-11.

Despite three decades of clinical trials, no pharmacological treatment has shown consistent efficacy for the core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and regulatory approvals remain limited to risperidone and aripiprazole for severe irritability. This limited efficacy likely reflects a mismatch between underlying biology and broad trial designs. ASD is a clinically defined neurodevelopmental condition with marked etiologic heterogeneity, shaped by highly polygenic liability and a long tail of rare, often de novo , high-impact variants. Genomic studies implicate synaptic signaling, chromatin regulation, and excitatory-inhibitory processes, but this partial biological convergence does not support a single therapeutic target across the diagnostic spectrum. Debate over environmental risk factors, including prenatal acetaminophen exposure, also shows how weak causal inference can distort research priorities. We propose three priorities for ASD pharmacotherapy: genetically stratified mechanism-linked interventions, pharmacogenomics-informed symptomatic prescribing, and trials using validated or biomarker-informed endpoints that capture outcomes regarded as meaningful by autistic people.

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7. Chen F, Dong L. Fundamental Frequency and Noise Effects on Sentence Recognition in Mandarin-Speaking Autistic Children: The Role of Cognitive Abilities. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2026: 1-16.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown that Mandarin-speaking autistic children exhibit atypical pitch processing and their speech perception is easily affected by noise. This study examined how fundamental frequency (F0) contour and background noise affect Mandarin sentence recognition in autistic children, and evaluated the roles of verbal intelligence (VIQ), nonverbal intelligence (NVIQ), and working memory (WM) as cognitive predictors. METHOD: Thirty Mandarin-speaking autistic children and 31 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls completed an open-set sentence recognition task under four conditions: natural F0 (NF0) versus flat F0 (FF0) in quiet and in speech-shaped noise at 10 dB SNR. Performance was scored as percent correct monosyllables. VIQ and NVIQ were assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale, and WM was assessed via forward digit span. RESULTS: Both the ASD and TD groups showed reduced accuracy when F0 contours were flattened and in the presence of noise. The performance of autistic children declined disproportionately under FF0 conditions, whereas they matched TD peers when the F0 was natural. Noise imposed a similar energetic-masking effect across both groups. Within the ASD group, correlational analyses revealed that under NF0, WM was significantly associated with sentence recognition in quiet, and both VIQ and WM were significantly associated with performance in noise. NVIQ showed no significant association under any listening condition. When F0 contours were flattened, none of the cognitive measures correlated with recognition accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Autistic children rely on intact prosodic cues for sentence intelligibility, and higher order verbal abilities and working memory can only compensate when these cues are preserved. Therefore, interventions should integrate prosody-focused listening training with support for cognitive-linguistic skills to enhance speech comprehension in autistic individuals.

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8. Chen V, Vomvos M, De Sonia A, Rosselot H, Lozano R. Knowledge, attitudes, and perspectives on gene therapy for Fragile X syndrome: results from two community and caregiver surveys. Front Mol Neurosci. 2026; 19: 1912516.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited cause of intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, resulting from CGG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the FMR1 gene and consequent absence of Fragile X Messenger Ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). Current management remains symptomatic, and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene therapy represents a promising treatment and perhaps a curative avenue. However, community perspectives on gene therapy in FXS have not been assessed. FXS is a non-lethal neurodevelopmental condition with a normal life expectancy. Caregivers weighing gene therapy for a child with FXS must balance the potential benefits of FMRP restoration against the uncertainties and risks of an investigational gene therapy in the absence of life-threatening urgency. Whether and to what degree FXS caregivers are willing to consider gene therapy under these circumstances is therefore a meaningful and non-trivial question, and one that has not previously been examined. We report findings from two sequential cross-sectional surveys examining community and caregiver knowledge, attitudes, concerns, and information preferences regarding gene therapy for FXS. The initial survey (Survey One) was an 8-item online survey completed by 351 FXS community members. A follow-up survey (Survey Two) was a 26-item online, REDCap-based instrument completed by 56 parents/caregivers recruited through clinics and the National Fragile X International Conference. Both surveys demonstrated strongly positive attitudes toward gene therapy: 94% of Survey One community members indicated they would consider gene therapy for FXS, while 84% of Survey Two caregivers agreed or strongly agreed they were hopeful about gene therapy success, and an equal 84% indicated they would consider gene therapy if available. The primary concern across both surveys was side effects and risks, followed by effectiveness, timeline, and cost. Improving quality of life was the leading motivator (69%), and intellectual and developmental disability was the symptom caregivers most wanted a future therapy to address (57%). Physicians, genetic counselors, and geneticists were identified as the preferred sources for gene therapy education. These findings reveal that surveyed caregivers express high motivation and broadly positive attitudes toward gene therapy, while highlighting specific educational needs that may inform informed consent processes and clinical trial design for future FXS gene therapy development. These results represent the perspectives of surveyed caregivers and may not generalize to the broader FXS community.

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9. Chen Y, Qian Z, Gao B, Xiong Y, You Y. Atypical sensory processing and altered sensory network connectivity associated with autistic traits in adults. Biol Psychol. 2026; 210: 109358.

Atypical sensory processing is increasingly recognized as a prominent feature of autism-related phenotypes, yet it remains unclear whether such sensory differences are specific to clinically diagnosed autism or vary dimensionally with autistic traits in the general population. Here, we examined associations among self-reported sensory processing patterns, resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) functional connectivity, and autistic trait levels in a large sample of adults. Adults with elevated autistic traits showed atypical sensory processing patterns and altered resting-state functional connectivity within unimodal sensory (olfactory, gustatory, somatosensory, auditory, and visual) and multisensory integration networks. Sensory processing patterns statistically accounted for the association between altered connectivity and autistic trait levels, and emerged as the strongest predictor of trait variation in both classification and continuous prediction frameworks, outperforming resting-state EEG connectivity alone. These findings suggest that sensory atypicalities and altered sensory-network organization covary with autistic traits in adulthood, supporting dimensional accounts of autism-related variation. The findings further identify candidate neurobehavioral correlates linking sensory processing differences to autistic trait expression.

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10. Chen YL, Yu YT, Su YW, Chen KL. Everyday Social Interaction Mediates the Relation Between Autistic Children’s Theory of Mind and Parental Stress. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

PURPOSE: Theory of mind (ToM) and everyday social interactions are inherent aspects of child development. In families with autistic children, variations in these domains may be linked to increased parental stress. However, their collective interplay remains unknown. This study investigated the potential mediating effect of everyday social interaction in the relation between ToM and parental stress. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted for 91 parent-child dyads of autistic children. Participants demonstrated substantial variability in verbal comprehension (mean = 98.4, SD = 23.0, range = 45-155). Parental stress, children’s ToM, and everyday social interaction challenges were assessed. Mediation analysis with bootstrap resampling was conducted to analyse the data. RESULTS: After controlling for age and verbal comprehension, social interaction challenges mediated the relations between ToM and overall parental stress (effect size = -0.69, 95% CI = -2.39, -0.09) and three aspects of parental stress (effect size = -0.27 to -0.21, 95% CI = -0.82, -0.00). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the mediating role of everyday social interaction in linking ToM to parental stress, emphasizing the relevance of interventions that consider ToM development, everyday social interaction skills, and parental stress management. Facilitating the everyday social interactions of autistic children may favourably influence parent-child relationships and be associated with reduced parental stress, indirectly reflecting the positive link between ToM and children’s social functioning. Therefore, future supportive programs might simultaneously focus on ToM development and everyday social interaction skills to foster better outcomes for autistic children and their families.

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11. Doka G, Aliçka Y, Tahiraj D, Elezi B, Gega V, Sula E. The role of telehealth in autism spectrum disorder management: a scoping review. Med Glas (Zenica). 2026; 23(2).

AIM: To map and summarise evidence on the role, benefits and challenges of telehealth in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) management, including assessment and intervention. METHODS: This scoping review searched PubMed and Scopus for English-language studies published from 2015 to 2025; the search was last updated on 14 April 2026. Nine studies met the eligibility criteria, comprising randomised controlled trials and observational, mixed-methods, descriptive, pilot, and qualitative studies. RESULTS: Available findings suggest that telehealth-based assessment may achieve high diagnostic concordance with in-person evaluation, and that telehealth-delivered interventions may yield similar outcomes in selected domains. Several studies reported high caregiver and clinician satisfaction. Key challenges included technological access barriers, variability in caregiver engagement, and concerns regarding reliability and equity in under-resourced settings. CONCLUSION: Telehealth may be a valuable complement to, rather than a replacement for, in-person care. Future primary studies should use rigorous designs and standardised outcome measures and should prioritise linguistically diverse and low-resource populations; future evidence syntheses should include formal risk-of-bias assessment.

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12. Dueñas AD, Castellon FA, Valdez-Lopez K, Orendain-Soto C, Kuperman K. « Agarro Lo Mejor de Dos Mundos »: Transfronteriza Mothers of Autistic Children as Nepantleras in a Rural U.S./Mexico Border. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

BACKGROUND: Transfronteriza mothers of autistic children navigating rural U.S.-Mexico border service systems face compounding systemic oppressions shaped by geography, language, culture, and immigration status. Despite growing attention to disparities in autism service access, transnational and rural dimensions of caregiving remain understudied. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to understand the experiences of systemic oppression and resistance among transfronteriza mothers seeking autism services in a rural U.S.-Mexico border region. METHODS: Data were collected through Ecocultural Family Interviews with 13 transfronteriza mothers. Interviews captured cultural pathways including everyday routines, cultural activities, values, and family goals. Analysis was guided by the five faces of oppression and nepantla frameworks, which together enabled a nuanced examination that resists deficit-resilience binaries by recognizing both structural disparities and maternal resistance strategies (Anzaldúa & Keating, 2002; Ayón, et al., 2017). RESULTS: Four main themes reflected mothers’ experiences navigating services across the border: (1) Systemic Barriers and the Weight of Oppression, (2) Isolation is Compounded by the Border, (3) Binational Autism Service Constellations as Resistance, and (4) Reclaiming Language and Culture: Toward a New Reality. Findings reveal how mothers resist oppression by constructing cross-border ecosystems that integrate U.S. and Mexican autism services, medical care, community resources, and family support. CONCLUSIONS: Fostering binational resources and collaborative institutional relationships on both sides of the border is essential to supporting transfronterizx children and their families. These findings have implications for autism service providers, early intervention systems, and cross-national research.

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13. Duffy F, Baldoza SM, Baudinet J, Birch I, Broadhurst E, Dimitropoulos G, Ellison C, Gillespie-Smith K, Loomes R, Malik U, Maloney E, Small L, Tchanturia K, Thomas Yates I, Nash F, Austin A. Adapting eating disorder focused family therapy for Autistic children and young people with anorexia nervosa: evidence informed, co-produced clinical guidelines. Eat Disord. 2026: 1-17.

Autistic children and young people receiving eating disorder focused family therapy (FT-ED) for anorexia nervosa (AN) are more likely than their non-Autistic peers to require longer and more intensive treatment. Qualitative evidence suggests that Autistic young people and their parents struggle with a perceived inflexible delivery of FT-ED that can be mis-attuned to autistic needs. Clinicians delivering this care report a lack of confidence when adapting FT-ED to this population, and there is limited guidance on how to do this. This paper describes evidence‑informed and coproduced guidelines, developed via a series of workshops with Autistic people with lived experience of an eating disorder, parents and carers, clinicians, researchers, and third‑sector representatives. The intention of these guidelines is to support clinicians in the adaptation of FT-ED for Autistic young people with AN and their families, with the aim of delivering more appropriate and effective care. Young people and their parents or carers may also find these guidelines helpful when advocating for autism-affirming care within FT-ED.

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14. Gülle BT, Doğruyol AR, Ören Çelik MM. Vaccine Hesitancy in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses. J Autism Dev Disord. 2026.

PURPOSE: This systematic review and meta-analysis examined vaccine hesitancy and related vaccination behaviours in autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related populations. We aimed to quantify the burden of hesitancy and synthesize evidence on refusal, delay, and under-vaccination among caregivers of children with ASD and, where available, autistic adults. METHODS: Following PRISMA 2020 and a prospectively registered PROSPERO protocol (CRD420251154536), we searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, and TR Dizin from inception to 28 September 2025. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies addressing vaccine hesitancy or vaccination behaviours in ASD-related populations were eligible. Narrative synthesis was undertaken across all included studies, and meta-analysis was performed where outcomes were sufficiently comparable. RESULTS: Twenty studies were included (16 quantitative, 3 qualitative, 1 mixed-methods). Among studies using a common instrument and threshold (PACV ≥ 50), the pooled prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among caregivers of children with ASD was 23.65% (95% CI 15.87-33.71). Compared with caregivers of neurotypical children, caregivers of children with ASD had higher odds of vaccine hesitancy or refusal (pooled OR = 2.31, 95% CI 1.66-3.22). They also had higher odds than families of children with other neurodevelopmental conditions (pooled OR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.48-3.35). Sibling-focused analyses suggested greater under-vaccination among younger siblings in ASD-affected families (pooled RR = 3.20, 95% CI 2.59-3.96). Narrative findings consistently implicated the disproven MMR-autism claim, safety concerns, and distrust. CONCLUSION: Vaccine hesitancy and related under-vaccination appear to be disproportionately concentrated in ASD-affected families. Autism-informed counselling, explicit myth-correction by trusted clinicians, and service adaptations may improve timely vaccine uptake.

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15. Guo Q, Zhang L, Zuo Y, Mei J, Zhang C. Contrasting outcomes of 16p11.2 microdeletion and microduplication in prenatal diagnosis: phenotypic variability and genetic counseling strategies. Psychiatr Genet. 2026; 36(3): 151-5.

BACKGROUND: Copy number variations (CNVs) in the 16p11.2 region are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, but they exhibit incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity. Prenatal diagnosis of these CNVs presents significant challenges because of the unpredictable phenotypic outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed two fetal cases diagnosed prenatally via amniocentesis with CNV sequencing (CNV-seq) as having 16p11.2 CNVs, and discussed them in the context of current literature. In this research, GTG-banding karyotype analysis, CNV-seq, and whole-exome sequencing were performed. RESULTS: Case 1 had a de novo 16p11.2 microdeletion [del(16)(p11.2)] accompanied by an ultrasound soft marker (absent nasal bone); the pregnancy was terminated after genetic counseling. Case 2 carried a de novo 16p11.2 microduplication [dup(16)(p11.2)] and was born with a normal phenotype to date. CONCLUSION: 16p11.2 microdeletion and microduplication syndromes exhibit significant phenotypic heterogeneity and incomplete penetrance. When such CNVs are identified prenatally, integrated management – including parental testing, detailed fetal imaging, and comprehensive, nondirective genetic counseling – is essential to provide families with individualized risk assessment and support informed decision-making.

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16. Kaneda Y. Labor epidural analgesia and autism spectrum disorder: the responsibility of clear clinical communication. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2026; 39(1): 2710450.

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17. Kang J, Fan Z, Xiao Z, Zhang X, Li X, Gu Y. HFG-Net: high-frequency guided multi-view graph convolution and dynamic spatio-temporal fusion for ASD diagnosis. J Neural Eng. 2026; 23(4).

Objective.Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition characterized by significant inter-subject variability in electroencephalogram (EEG) features. Existing deep learning approaches often fail to fully capture intrinsic spatio-temporal dependencies or rely on static feature fusion strategies, struggling to characterize complex non-Euclidean topological abnormalities. We aim to address these challenges by proposing a robust and adaptive diagnostic framework.Approach.We propose HFG-Net, a high-frequency guided spatio-temporal synergistic network. This framework incorporates three core innovations: First, a channel-temporal multi-scale attention mechanism captures transient spatio-temporal coupling. Second, a high-frequency guided multi-view graph construction strategy leverages sparse skeletons from beta/gamma bands to filter all-band Pearson correlation and phase locking value matrices, constructing noise-resistant topologies. Third, a dynamic synergistic fusion module employs a gating network for sample-level adaptive feature integration.Main results.Experiments on a clinical dataset of 120 subjects demonstrate that HFG-Net achieves a classification accuracy of 95.79% and an F1-score of 92.89% on an independent test set. The model further achieves a recognition rate of 98.43% for patients with mild ASD.Significance.Interpretability analysis reveals that the model’s focus on high-frequency abnormal connectivity aligns with neuropathological findings. HFG-Net effectively addresses the challenges of synergistic spatio-temporal modeling and heterogeneity adaptation, providing an efficient, robust, and interpretable paradigm for EEG-based diagnosis.

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18. Keller R, Marino G, Liloia D. Offenders with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Case Series and Diagnostic Considerations in Forensic Psychiatry. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2026; 19: 628728.

PURPOSE: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasingly recognized in adulthood, including in forensic settings, where its diagnostic and medico-legal implications remain insufficiently defined. Current evidence does not support a simple association between ASD and offending; rather, offender presentations in autistic individuals appear heterogeneous and are likely shaped by the interaction between core autistic features, intellectual and adaptive functioning, comorbidity, developmental adversity, and contextual stressors. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This clinical-forensic case series describes seven offenders with ASD assessed within the Italian forensic psychiatric context. The cases encompassed multiple offending domains, including homicide, stalking, and persecutory acts, alleged sexual offending, property-related offending (arson), and domestic abuse. In several instances, ASD was identified for the first time during forensic evaluation in adulthood, often in the context of atypical presentations, variable cognitive functioning, and overlapping psychiatric or personality features. RESULTS: Across cases, offending-related conduct appeared to arise through different psychopathological and developmental pathways, including rigidity and restricted interests, social naivety, impaired contextual understanding, concrete or idiosyncratic interpretations of interpersonal situations, emotional dysregulation, interpersonal vulnerability, and co-occurring psychopathology. The series also highlighted substantial diagnostic challenges in forensic practice, particularly where autism had remained previously unrecognized. These findings suggest that the forensic relevance of ASD lies not in diagnosis alone, but in the specific way autistic characteristics interact with cognition, adaptation, and contextual demands in shaping the behaviour under examination. CONCLUSION: This case series supports the need for a clinically integrated, developmentally informed, and individualized forensic psychiatric assessment of offenders with ASD. Standardized instruments may be informative, but only when interpreted within a broader formulation incorporating developmental history, cognitive and adaptive functioning, psychiatric comorbidity, and contextual factors. Improved recognition of underdiagnosed or atypical adult presentations may enhance diagnostic accuracy and support more appropriate decisions regarding criminal responsibility, risk management, and treatment planning.

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19. Li H, Long X, Huang X, Liu S, Yang Z, Chen C, Lou Q, Tong X, Xu X. Implementing a parent-mediated intervention for toddlers with ASD within the Chinese child healthcare system: a real-world study. BMJ Paediatr Open. 2026; 10(1).

BACKGROUND: Behavioural interventions remain the cornerstone of evidence-based practice for addressing the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Skill Training Program for Parents with ASD Children (STPAC) is a group intervention programme for parents and the first parent-mediated intervention programme developed by Chinese clinical practitioners. This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of STPAC within the context of routine child healthcare services in China. METHODS: This is a real-world, multi-site implementation study employed a single-arm, pre-post design. Between July 2023 and June 2025, 128 families of toddlers (aged 18-54 months) with suspected or diagnosed ASD were enrolled from two child healthcare settings. Participants received the 8-week, group-based parent training programme, which integrated didactic lessons, video modelling and individualised coaching. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and post-intervention using parent-reported measures: the Knowledge of Autism Intervention Questionnaire (KAIQ), the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (CSBS DP) and the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). Statistical analysis included paired-samples t-tests to evaluate within-group changes, with effect sizes (Cohen’s d) calculated to quantify the magnitude of improvement. RESULTS: Parental knowledge of autism intervention strategies increased substantially (mean improvement=6.26 points, p<0.001; d=1.17). Child communication and symbolic skills also improved, with the CSBS DP total score rising from 35.30 to 40.88 (p<0.001; d=0.99), representing an overall improvement rate of 85.7%. Furthermore, parenting stress decreased from clinically significant to normal levels (mean reduction=3.70 points, p=0.005). The intervention was equally effective across diverse family demographics, and baseline child communication ability was the strongest predictor of post-intervention gains. CONCLUSIONS: Despite an attrition rate of approximately 30%, STPAC demonstrated feasibility as a parent-mediated intervention delivered by trained local clinicians within routine child healthcare settings. Participation in the programme was associated with improvements in parental knowledge, child social communication and parenting stress. These findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the potential of STPAC to expand access to early ASD intervention, though confirmation in a randomised controlled trial is warranted.

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20. Naaran Z, Yashar A. Atypical Attentional Effort During Visual Search in Autistic Adults: Evidence From Task-Evoked Pupillary Responses. Autism Res. 2026: e70332.

According to prevalent views, autistic individuals have a stronger tendency to allocate attention to details, as supported by reports of enhanced visual search performance. However, both the dynamics and the types of information involved in attentional guidance in autism are not fully understood. We addressed this issue by testing the influence of search history on visual search performance and pupil size in a long search display (Experiment 1) and on accuracy in a brief and masked-more attentionally demanding-search display (Experiment 2). Autistic (N = 48) and non-autistic (N = 45) participants searched for a color singleton target (all equiluminant colors) and responded by identifying its shape. In each trial, the target and distractor colors could be repeated, switched, or novel with respect to the previous trial. In Experiment 1, while overall reaction time was comparable across groups, the task-evoked pupillary responses (TEPRs) were smaller in the autistic group, indicating reduced attentional effort in autism. In Experiment 2, in a more attentionally demanding display, autistic individuals showed superior search accuracy. In both experiments, both groups showed a reliable effect of recent search history on performance, indicating that, similar to non-autistic individuals, autistic individuals rely on recent experience during attentional allocation. Alterations in attentional allocation and its interaction with recent experience in autism were reflected in pupil responses. These alterations may provide a sensitive marker of differences in the dynamics of attentional allocation in autism, which are reflected in behavioral measurements when display conditions are more attentionally demanding.

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21. Park TH, Koh IG, Sung S, Park H, Kim J, Lee S, Lee YJ, Ko H, Han JH, Bong G, Yoo HJ, Kim J, An JY, Lee JY. USP15 mutation associated with autism spectrum disorder alters progenitor fate and neuronal maturation in human brain organoids. Mol Cells. 2026; 49(9): 100387.

De novo variants in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway are linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet their functional impact on neurodevelopment remains poorly understood. We investigated USP15, a deubiquitinating enzyme with rare damaging variants identified in individuals with ASD, using isogenic human iPSC-derived brain organoids and single-cell transcriptomics. USP15 mutant organoids showed genotype-dependent, progenitor-centered alterations during corticogenesis. Heterozygous organoids modeling haploinsufficiency displayed a shift toward later pseudotime states together with altered maturation and synaptic organization of deep-layer neurons. In contrast, homozygous organoids showed broader phenotypes, including mitotic suppression, aberrant HOX gene expression, and stress-response activation. Regulon analysis showed reduced activity of progenitor-associated regulons, including SOX2, NR2F1, and NR2F2, in heterozygous organoids, whereas homozygous organoids exhibited broader changes in transcriptional regulatory networks. Furthermore, USP15 mutant-associated gene expression patterns were significantly enriched for established ASD risk genes. Comparison with the mouse brain perturbation atlas showed that the transcriptional signature of the USP15 mutant showed notable overlap with those of Fezf2 and Foxp1 mutants, key regulators of deep-layer projection neuron identity. These findings characterize genotype-dependent neurodevelopmental phenotypes associated with reduced USP15 dosage and provide a human neural framework for investigating ASD-relevant developmental mechanisms in the context of a rare ubiquitin-pathway variant.

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22. Prescott MG, Lenells M, Fiander M, Soll RF, Bruschettini M, Wróblewska-Seniuk K. Vestibular stimulation for promoting development and preventing morbidity in preterm infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2026; 7(7): Cd016072.

RATIONALE: The vestibular system is a sensory system within the inner ear and the brain that controls balance and physical coordination. Vestibular stimulation may have an impact on various physiological processes, including breathing, reducing apnea episodes and the need for respiratory support. It has been suggested that targeted vestibular stimulation in premature infants may improve neurodevelopmental outcomes and neuromotor function. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the benefits and harms of vestibular stimulation for reducing morbidity and promoting development in hospitalized preterm infants. SEARCH METHODS: We conducted searches in October 2025 using the following databases: CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Emcare, Epistemonikos, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and three trials registries. We conducted manual searches of conference abstracts, checked the references of systematic reviews and included studies, and searched for errata or retractions related to the included studies. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that evaluated vestibular stimulation in preterm infants compared with no intervention or with other forms of vestibular stimulation. We excluded studies that combined vestibular stimulation with other types of sensory stimulation. OUTCOMES: Our outcomes of interest were major neurodevelopmental disability at 18 to 24 months’ corrected age (cerebral palsy, developmental delay, intellectual impairment, blindness, and sensorineural deafness), death during initial hospitalization, and weight gain (g). We also analyzed additional clinical outcomes reported by the included studies, including intraventricular hemorrhage, duration of hospital stay, number of days until full enteral feeding and number of apnea episodes during exposure to the intervention, which we synthesized where sufficient data were available. RISK OF BIAS: We used the Cochrane risk of bias tool, RoB 2. SYNTHESIS METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis using fixed-effect models to calculate risk ratios (RR) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) for one outcome with dichotomous data – intraventricular hemorrhage (grades 1-4). Heterogeneity calculation was not applicable as we included only one study in each analysis. For other outcomes (weight gain, apnea, number of days until full oral feeding), we were unable to pool the results in meta-analyses because the trials presented data in different ways and at varying time points, or provided only limited data, which we were unable to recalculate for analyses. We synthesized them using synthesis without meta-analysis. We evaluated the certainty of the evidence for all outcomes using the GRADE approach. INCLUDED STUDIES: We included three RCTs and one quasi-RCT, that enrolled a total of 196 infants. One study evaluated vestibular stimulation using an oscillating air mattress; another study evaluated vestibular stimulation with an oscillating waterbed; a third study evaluated rocking; and the final study evaluated stimulation with VestibuGlide (a rocking chair). The comparisons were standard care, standard infant stimulation, and the use of a regular mattress. No studies compared different vestibular stimulation interventions. All four studies included only preterm infants. However, the range of gestational age used as an inclusion criterion varied across the studies. Three studies aimed to assess the effects of vestibular stimulation on neuromuscular develop-ment. Two of these studies also aimed to assess the effects of vestibular stimulation on body weight gain. Two studies aimed to assess the effects of vestibular stimulation on the respiratory system, and one study aimed to evaluate the role of vestibular stimulation on oral feeding functions. We identified three ongoing trials. SYNTHESIS OF RESULTS: Vestibular stimulation compared to no intervention No studies reported on major neurodevelopmental disability outcomes (cerebral palsy, developmental delay, intellectual impairment, blindness, or sensorineural deafness). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of vestibular stimulation on death during initial hospitalization (no events were observed in either the intervention or control groups; 1 study, 122 participants; very low-certainty evidence). The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of vestibular stimulation on intraventricular hemorrhage compared with no intervention (RR 1.33, 95% CI 0.38 to 4.73; 1 study, 122 participants; very low-certainty evidence). No studies reported weight gain as prespecified in the review, however, narrative synthesis of three studies that reported weight gain using different definitions and time points suggested little to no difference between vestibular stimulation and control groups (3 studies, 169 participants, low-certainty evidence). We downgraded the overall certainty of the evidence for these outcomes due to risk of bias and imprecision. No studies reported on the duration of hospital stay, time to full oral feeding, or apnea as defined in our protocol. One vestibular intervention compared to another We found no studies that compared different types of vestibular stimulation. Therefore, it is unclear whether one approach is more effective than another. AUTHORS’ CONCLUSIONS: The evidence is very uncertain about the effect of vestibular stimulation compared to no intervention on death. The evidence suggests that any vestibular stimulation may result in little to no difference in weight gain. No studies reported major neurodevelopmental disability, a critical outcome in this review. Future studies of vestibular stimulation in preterm infants should use adequately powered, parallel‑group randomized controlled designs with clearly defined outcomes and transparent intervention reporting. FUNDING: One review author, ML, received stipends to conduct this review from the Childhood Foundation of the Swedish Order of Freemasons, and the Sällskapet Barnavård, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institute. REGISTRATION: Protocol available via DOI10.1002/14651858.CD016072.

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23. Rojek Zakić D. Specificities of auditory behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder. Appl Neuropsychol Child. 2026: 1-9.

Auditory behavior reflects an individual’s response to environmental sounds. Atypical responses to auditory input may indicate developmental difficulties, particularly in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study aimed to identify auditory behavior in children with ASD in relation to autism severity, age, treatment onset, and history of ear disease. The sample included 30 children with ASD (21 female and 9 male), classified into three groups according to ASD severity: mild (n = 3), moderate (n = 4), and severe (n = 23). Auditory behavior was assessed using the Questionnaire on Auditory Behavior for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (QAB-ASD), and ASD severity was determined using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Initial analyses suggested differences in auditory behavior according to ASD severity, with children in the mild ASD group showing higher auditory behavior scores than those with more severe ASD. However, these differences did not remain statistically significant after Bonferroni correction. No statistically significant differences were found in relation to treatment onset, history of ear diseases, or age. Given the small, uneven sample, the findings should be interpreted with caution. The findings highlight the need for comprehensive assessment of auditory behavior when planning individualized interventions for children with ASD.

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24. Shen Y, Awasthi Y, Krishnan BM, Antonello PC, Janzen-Meza J, Abramovitz J, Antoine MW. Fever-like temperatures improve cognitive deficits in the Scn2a autism mouse model via increases in potassium channel activity. Mol Psychiatry. 2026.

In some children with autism, fever improves cognition. However, it remains unclear whether the thermal or immune components of fever are responsible for this improvement. Using the Scn2a(+/-) autism mouse model, we demonstrate that fever-like temperatures, independent of direct immune activation, normalize cognitive function. In behavioral tests assessing learning of an escape route, Scn2a(+/-) juvenile mice at normal body temperature fail to learn, whereas wild-type mice at normal body temperature and Scn2a(+/-) mice exposed to infrared light-induced fever, either alone or in combination with immune activation by LPS, exhibit normal learning. Notably, mice with fever alone demonstrated the fastest escape times. Additionally, in novelty recognition tests of textured objects, Scn2a(+/-) mice exhibited an increased preference for familiar objects, but fever-like temperatures induced by infrared light exposure or hypothalamic stimulation reversed this abnormality. In the somatosensory cortex, where object texture is perceived, fever-like temperatures reduced excess spiking in Scn2a(+/-) pyramidal neurons by increasing potassium channel activation and spike threshold. Chemogenetically reducing spiking at normal temperatures replicated the effects of fever. These findings suggest that thermal fever may offer general cognitive benefits in autism.

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25. Shulman C, Bitton D, Nir Z. Adaptive Functioning, Sensory Processing, and Behavioral Problems in Autistic Children: The Moderating Role of Gender. Autism Res. 2026: e70327.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently experience elevated emotional and behavioral difficulties, yet factors associated with variability remain incompletely understood. Adaptive functioning and sensory processing differences have been linked to behavioral problems, but little is known about whether associations differ between boys and girls. This study examined relationships between adaptive functioning, sensory processing, and behavioral problems in children with ASD, focusing on gender as a moderator. The purposive sampling included 110 autistic children (M(age) = 85.61 months, SD = 31.51; 50 boys and 60 girls) and their primary caregivers. Adaptive functioning was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Third Edition, sensory processing using the Short Sensory Profile, and behavioral problems using the Child Behavior Checklist. Gender differences were examined with Mann-Whitney tests, associations with Spearman’s correlations, and moderation analyses using PROCESS with bootstrap resampling. Girls demonstrated higher internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems than boys, whereas boys showed greater sensory processing differences. Correlational analyses revealed distinct patterns: adaptive functioning showed stronger associations with behavioral difficulties among girls, whereas sensory processing differences were associated with behavioral problems among boys. Moderation analyses indicated that gender moderated the relationship between adaptive functioning and behavioral problems, such that higher adaptive functioning was associated with fewer behavioral difficulties among girls but not boys. These findings highlight gender-specific patterns in associations between functional abilities and behavior profiles in autism, underscoring the importance of considering gender in developmental pathways and intervention approaches.

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26. Sklinda K, Bocianski J, Budlewski T, Kobylecka M, Dorobek M, Gorecki A, Mruk B, Błaszczak M, Walecki J. Perfusion as a biomarker of brain dysfunction in dementia (AD, DLB, FTD/PPA, PDD): comparison of CT, MRI (ASL/DSC/DCE), SPECT, and PET with interpretive pitfalls – a narrative review. Acta Neurol Belg. 2026.

The term ‘brain perfusion’ is applied in clinical practice to a family of neuroimaging techniques that measure, in reality, quite different physiological quantities in the brain circulation. CT perfusion (CTP) and DSC-MRI track a contrast bolus to derive semi-quantitative haemodynamic parameters. ASL-MRI estimates cerebral blood flow (CBF) without contrast, but the result is sensitive to arterial transit time, haematocrit, and the patient’s haemodynamic state on the day of the scan. DCE-MRI quantifies blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, a property of the neurovascular unit rather than a flow measurement. Perfusion SPECT provides a relative, normalisation-dependent CBF map that is distorted by cortical atrophy. [¹⁸F]FDG-PET reflects synaptic glucose metabolism, but not blood flow. Because these techniques answer different physiological questions, their results are not interchangeable, and applying a threshold or pattern derived from one modality to interpret another is methodologically unsound – yet this conflation occurs with regularity in clinical practice. This narrative review synthesises the clinical applications, diagnostic performance, and interpretive pitfalls of each technique in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)/mild cognitive impairment (MCI-AD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)/Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD)/primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and mixed dementia with vascular pathology. Recognised limitations include the narrative study design and the small number of head-to-head multi-modal studies in pathologically confirmed cohorts. A comparative table and practical minimum reporting elements are provided.

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27. Sulek R, Schmedding-Bartley J, Bayley S. Consideration of Child and Family Information in Clinical Decision Making. Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2026; 61(5): e70300.

BACKGROUND: With persistent challenges in determining the ‘right’ therapy or support for autistic children, there is a growing need for clinicians to integrate the preferences and priorities of clients and their families in their clinical decision making. AIMS: The purpose of the current study was to investigate speech-language pathologists’ perspective of client factors that clinicians consider when planning supports and therapies for young children with social communication delays. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A sample of 264 United States-based SLPs completed a survey that collected information about SLP professional training (e.g., amount and type of training) and clinical decision making (e.g., the types of information considered when making decisions regarding supports). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The SLPs rated the importance of several internal sources they consider when planning support and therapies for young children with social communication delays. More participants rated family/child preferences as highly important to planning than any other client source. Participant engagement in autism-specific continuing education was related to clinicians’ likelihood to rate a child’s diagnosis as very important to clinical decision making, whereas continuing education related to early intervention was not related to the importance of child diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings suggest that SLPs give importance to internal sources within an evidence-based practice framework as they make clinical decisions. These findings support the need for professional development programs that emphasize client-centered care and equip clinicians to integrate family preferences into early intervention planning. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject Clinical decision making when selecting therapies and supports for autistic children is complex and often guided by the evidence-based practice (EBP) model, which includes research evidence, clinical expertise, and client values. However, research has disproportionately emphasized research evidence, while the use of client-specific sources – such as family preferences and contextual information – has been under-examined. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are crucial in supporting communication development in young autistic children, yet their training in autism and early intervention can be inconsistent, and how they consider different internal sources of information is not well understood. What this study adds to existing knowledge This study provides novel insights into how U.S.-based SLPs rate the importance of child and family sources of information sources when planning interventions for young children with social communication delays. Family and child preferences emerged as the most valued internal source, more so than diagnosis or procedural details. This study also highlighted that continuing education was positively associated with greater emphasis child and family preferences, familiarity with the child, and the child and family schedule. These findings suggest continuing professional development plays a critical role in promoting evidence-based, family-centered care. What are the clinical implications of this study? These findings underscore the importance of promoting continuing education opportunities that emphasize client and family-centered care, especially in autism and early intervention contexts. Clinical decision-making that prioritizes family preferences and individual child contexts is aligned with evidence-based best practice and shared decision-making models. Service providers and professional bodies should ensure that clinicians are equipped to integrate these child and family sources of information into therapy planning. Embedding structured training in these areas can enhance clinical outcomes and family satisfaction in early autism services.

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28. Tong ASL, Lam GYH. « Everyone Has a Different Body Constitution »: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Social Interaction and Related Supports in Chinese Autistic Postsecondary Students. Autism. 2026: 13623613261466305.

Little research has investigated how autistic individuals make sense of their experiences with socializing and interacting with others in postsecondary education. Autistic students are also dissatisfied with insufficient social interventions and the lack of autistic input in the design of such support. This study investigated the lived experiences of social interaction and related support in autistic postsecondary students. We conducted interviews with eight Chinese autistic students currently enrolled in a university or college in Hong Kong. Analysis using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach identified four themes, including (1) their attempts and motivation to connect and socialize, which was often felt ineffective and exhausting; (2) the internal negotiation and delicate balance between masking and unmasking; (3) the crucial role of both formal and informal supports in coping with social and emotional challenges; and (4) social support and interventions needed to include diverse strategies ranging from skills building to neurodiversity-informed practices that respond to individual preferences and contexts. This study reveals cultural nuances in social preferences and masking that are not found in Western-dominant literature, which can inform more culturally responsive conceptualizations of interventions that enhance social experiences and promote authenticity.Lay AbstractAutistic students in university often face social challenges that affect their well-being, learning, and ability to connect with others. These struggles are not always well understood. By listening to their personal experiences, we can better support them in ways that they desire and create more inclusive environments. The study aimed to understand how autistic college or university students in Hong Kong experience social interaction and the support they receive. It focused on their personal stories to explore what helps or hinders their ability to interact and socialize with others. We interviewed eight autistic students in Cantonese Chinese. They shared their thoughts and feelings about their social lives and the support they received. The researcher analyzed these interviews to find unique meanings in each participant and the common themes and patterns among their experiences. The study found four main themes. First, socializing is challenging but meaningful. Second, many students masked their autistic traits and found it exhausting, but they also valued the importance and benefits of doing it. Third, support from peers, teachers, and professionals helps them cope. Fourth, social interventions and support should be personalized and should value their preferences and perspectives. The study highlights that masking can be both harmful and helpful, depending on the situation and culture. Our results also show that autistic students want to be themselves but often feel pressured to fit in. These insights challenge the idea that all support should focus on changing autistic behavior, while also supporting the need for autistic students to learn to change and adapt to society.

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29. Tubío-Fungueiriño M, Cruz S, Conde-Pumpido-Zubizarreta S, Pozo-Rodríguez M, Hervás A, Carracedo A, Fernández Prieto M. A Systematic Review of the Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Span J Psychol. 2026; 29: e30.

The shorter lifespan and increased prevalence of physical and psychiatric comorbidities in autistic people is a challenge for mental health. There is a high risk of suicide-related behaviors in autism, which are related to mental health issues, social isolation, and other factors. Here we aimed to systematically review the evidence on risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviors in autistic people. Electronic datasets (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycInfo) were searched for empirical articles on the risk and protective factors for suicide in autism. The PRISMA guidelines were followed, and a series of inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the retrieved data. This review included 19 studies reporting multiple risk factors associated with suicide-related behaviors. Noteworthy contributors among these factors include psychiatric comorbidities, bullying, cyberbullying, teacher harassment, and cognitive functions. The evidence for protective factors is limited; however, social relationships are highlighted. Identifying risk and protective factors is paramount for detecting early warning signs and enabling the prevention and intervention of suicidal behavior. Our review identified key sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive risk factors to take into account as alarm-signs when identifying suicidal behaviors in autism.

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30. Woelke M, Heinen-Stach D, Teich P, Kliegl R, Rapp MA, Voigt M, Tschorn M, Arntz F. Cohort, gender and spatial patterns of delayed school enrolment in third-grade children from 2009 to 2025. Sci Rep. 2026; 16(1).

Delayed school enrolment can be an important marker for developmental delays and be associated with adverse health events. Analysing enrolment delays on an epidemiological level provides valuable insights in social, rural, socioeconomic or temporal variations. Using data from the EMOTIKON study, the influence of gender, rural and temporal variation was assessed on the frequency of children older than the key age (OTK) in a sample of 292,181 third-grade children in the Federal State of Brandenburg in Germany from 2009 to 2025. Temporal variation was analysed considering interference from significant events, specifically a change in regulation incorporating parental preferences and the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. A generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) approach with a regression discontinuity design (RDD) revealed a substantial increase in the frequency of OTK children initiated by the change in regulation which persisted through the onset of the pandemic. The analysis further identified high regional socioeconomic deprivation, living far from metropolitan areas, living in midsize centres and being a boy as correlates of delayed school enrolment. These patterns suggests delays in school enrolment as a proxy for developmental delays to be heavily influenced by regulatory and social contexts, and at the same time highlights the importance of regional and gendered factors for school readiness assessments.

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