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A national guideline for the assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders in AustraliaThe Guideline aims to create greater consistency in diagnostic practices across the country to ensure individuals on the autism spectrum can receive the optimal care
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No relationship between autistic traits and salivary testosterone concentrations in men from the general populationThe current data add to the increasing evidence for the lack of relationship between autistic traits and postnatal levels of testosterone in men
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Brief Report: Do the Nature of Communication Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorders Relate to the Broader Autism Phenotype in Parents?This research explored the relationship between the broader autism phenotype (BAP) among parents, an index of genetic liability for ASD, and proband...
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Towards a molecular characterization of autism spectrum disorders: An exome sequencing and systems approachThis paper profiles the functional pattern of DNA variants found at a higher rate in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), X-linked intellectual...
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Are autistic traits in the general population stable across development?There is accumulating evidence that autistic traits (AT) are on a continuum in the general population.
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An investigation of a novel broad autism phenotype: increased facial masculinity among parents of children on the autism spectrumThe broad autism phenotype commonly refers to sub-clinical levels of autistic-like behaviour and cognition presented in biological relatives of autistic people. In a recent study, we reported findings suggesting that the broad autism phenotype may also be expressed in facial morphology, specifically increased facial masculinity.
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Eye Gaze in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Review of Neural Evidence for the Eye Avoidance HypothesisReduced eye contact early in life may play a role in the developmental pathways that culminate in a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. However, there are contradictory theories regarding the neural mechanisms involved. According to the amygdala theory of autism, reduced eye contact results from a hypoactive amygdala that fails to flag eyes as salient. However, the eye avoidance hypothesis proposes the opposite-that amygdala hyperactivity causes eye avoidance. This review evaluated studies that measured the relationship between eye gaze and activity in the 'social brain' when viewing facial stimuli.
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Autism likelihood in infants born to mothers with asthma is associated with blood inflammatory gene biomarkers in pregnancyMothers with asthma or atopy have a higher likelihood of having autistic children, with maternal immune activation in pregnancy implicated as a mechanism. This study aimed to determine, in a prospective cohort of mothers with asthma and their infants, whether inflammatory gene expression in pregnancy is associated with likelihood of future autism.
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Temperament in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic reviewThe study of temperament in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has the potential to provide insight regarding variability in the onset, nature, and course of both core and co-morbid symptoms. The aim of this systematic review was to integrate existing findings concerning temperament in the context of ASD. Searches of Medline, PsychInfo and Scopus databases identified 64 relevant studies. As a group, children and adolescents with ASD appear to be temperamentally different from both typically developing and other clinical non-ASD groups, characterized by higher negative affectivity, lower surgency, and lower effortful control at a higher-order level.
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Experiences of Parents of Specialist Peer Mentored Autistic University StudentsParents continue to support to autistic university students, and consequently, experience considerable stress. The aim was to explore the experiences of parents of specialist peer mentored university students and to examine these using the ICF as a theoretical framework.