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Research
Co-design of the neurodevelopment assessment scaleNeurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) have high comorbidity rates and shared etiology. Nevertheless, NDD assessment is diagnosis-driven and focuses on symptom profiles of individual disorders, which hinders diagnosis and treatment. There is also no evidence-based, standardized transdiagnostic approach currently available to provide a full clinical picture of individuals with NDDs. The pressing need for transdiagnostic assessment led to the development of the Neurodevelopment Assessment Scale.
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Predictors of Change in Wellbeing and Mental Health of Parents of Autistic Pre-SchoolersParenting is a rewarding experience but is not without its challenges. Parents of Autistic children face additional challenges, and as a result can experience lower levels of wellbeing and more mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Previous studies have identified concurrent correlates of wellbeing and mental health.
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Reliability of the Commonly Used and Newly-Developed Autism MeasuresThe aim of the present study was to compare scale and conditional reliability derived from item response theory analyses among the most commonly used, as well as several newly developed, observation, interview, and parent-report autism instruments.
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Low-intensity parent- and clinician-delivered support for young autistic children in Aotearoa New Zealand: a randomised controlled trialAotearoa New Zealand does not provide publicly-funded intensive autism support. While parent-mediated supports are promising, children and families may also benefit from direct clinician support. We tested the efficacy of a low-intensity programme involving parent- and clinician-delivered support for autistic children.
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Arriving at the empirically based conceptualization of restricted and repetitive behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analytic examination of factor analysesAn empirically based understanding of the factor structure of the restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB) domain is a prerequisite for interpreting studies attempting to understand the correlates and mechanisms underpinning RRB and for measurement development. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of RRB factor analytic studies.
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Identification of subgroups of children in the Australian Autism Biobank using latent class analysisThe identification of reproducible subtypes within autistic populations is a priority research area in the context of neurodevelopment, to pave the way for identification of biomarkers and targeted treatment recommendations. Few previous studies have considered medical comorbidity alongside behavioural, cognitive, and psychiatric data in subgrouping analyses.
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Do parent-reported early indicators predict later developmental language disorder? A Raine Study investigationDevelopmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as evidence to empower caregivers in the early identification of DLD.
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Reduced heart rate variability in a treatment-seeking early psychosis sampleFindings provide preliminary evidence that early psychosis is associated with reduced heart rate variability
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A prospective study of fetal head growth, autistic traits and autism spectrum disorderThis large population-based study identified no consistent association across two cohorts between prenatal head growth and postnatal autistic traits
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Developmental vitamin D deficiency produces behavioral phenotypes of relevance to Autism in an animal modelHere we investigate these features in an animal model related to autism spectrum disorder - the DVD-deficient rat