Autism Research最新文献

{"title":"Urban–Rural Differences and Sex-Specific Cognitive Effects on Autism Symptom Trajectories: A Longitudinal Study of Autistic Children in Taiwan","authors":"Yun-Ju Chen,&nbsp;Hsiang-Yuan Lin,&nbsp;Ching-Lin Chu,&nbsp;Chin-Chin Wu,&nbsp;Tzu-Ling Lin,&nbsp;Hsing-Chang Ni,&nbsp;Jiun-Horng Liu,&nbsp;Yuh-Ming Hou,&nbsp;Chung-Hsin Chiang","doi":"10.1002/aur.70193","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70193","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Few longitudinal studies have mapped autism symptom trajectories outside Western contexts. This study aimed to characterize trajectories of autism symptoms, assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and associated child and family factors among autistic children from two regions in Taiwan that differ by urbanicity. Another aim was to examine the time-varying effects of children's cognitive abilities on autism symptoms, which remain understudied due to prior reliance on baseline proxies. Children with a confirmed autism diagnosis (<i>n</i> = 180, 87.8% male) were followed across three waves of data collection from ages 2 to 11 years. Linear multilevel growth models with random intercepts and slopes were used to estimate symptom trajectories at the total and domain levels of the ADOS. On average, total and social-affect symptoms increased significantly with age, while restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) remained stable. Children from urban areas showed higher baseline RRBs and smaller increases in social-affect symptoms compared to those from rural areas. Additionally, children diagnosed under DSM-5 criteria showed lower baseline symptoms but greater increases in total/social-affect symptoms over time than their DSM-IV counterparts. A sex interaction effect was observed in the time-varying associations between IQ (particularly verbal IQ) and total/social-affect symptoms, with girls showing stronger negative IQ-symptom associations. These findings highlight the developmental complexity underlying the manifestation of autism symptoms, particularly at the intersection of sex and cognition. The distinct patterns by urbanicity also underscore the need to mitigate urban–rural disparities in service access to better support autistic children's long-term outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12996854/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146115186","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cerebrospinal Fluid Vasopressin Concentration Is a Biomarker of Autistic Social Impairment and Hypothalamic Vasopressin Gene Expression in Humans","authors":"Ozge Oztan,&nbsp;Chunfang Zhu,&nbsp;Duyen K. K. Nguyen,&nbsp;Robert B. West,&nbsp;Joseph P. Garner,&nbsp;Karen J. Parker","doi":"10.1002/aur.70181","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70181","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social interaction difficulties and restricted, repetitive behaviors. Recent ASD biomarker discovery efforts have found that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of vasopressin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide critical for mammalian social functioning, is significantly lower in children with ASD and newborns later diagnosed with ASD. Low CSF vasopressin concentration is also linked to ASD social (but not repetitive) behavior symptom severity. These findings suggest that CSF vasopressin measurement may have clinical utility, but CSF surveillance requires invasive sampling procedures that will be difficult to integrate into routine clinical care without strong justification (i.e., CSF vasopressin is a valid proxy for hypothalamic vasopressin production, whereas blood vasopressin is not). We therefore obtained neuropathological specimens and patient data (<i>N</i> = 18) to investigate this possibility. In Study 1, we capitalized on the unique opportunity to test the reproducibility and robustness of the relationship between CSF vasopressin concentration and ASD behavioral symptoms in a sample demographically and methodologically distinct from prior work. This relationship held across age, antemortem to postmortem biospecimens, quantification platforms, clinical instruments, evaluators, and symptom type. In Study 2, we found in concomitantly collected postmortem samples that CSF vasopressin concentration significantly and positively predicted hypothalamic vasopressin gene expression, whereas blood vasopressin concentration did not. These findings establish CSF vasopressin as a brain-derived, mechanistically relevant biomarker of social difficulties in ASD, and suggest that CSF vasopressin measurement may be useful for ASD detection and/or identification of individuals who will benefit from pharmacological enhancement of brain vasopressin signaling.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145914123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clarifying the ABA Comparison and Equivalence Claims in Schaaf et al. (2025)","authors":"Wen-Pin Chang","doi":"10.1002/aur.70184","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70184","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145954075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Parental Stress and Caregiver Role Modulate Child–Caregiver Prosodic Synchrony in Autism: A Computational Analysis","authors":"Maria Grazia Logrieco,&nbsp;Giulio Bertamini,&nbsp;Laura Casula,&nbsp;Mohamed Chetouani,&nbsp;Silvia Guerrera,&nbsp;Mirco Fasolo,&nbsp;Paola Venuti,&nbsp;Maria Luisa Scattoni,&nbsp;Francesca Fulceri,&nbsp;Stefano Vicari,&nbsp;David Cohen,&nbsp;Giovanni Valeri","doi":"10.1002/aur.70189","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70189","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Parental stress influences parent–child interactions in typical development and is a prognostic factor of autism outcome. However, we still do not know to what extent parental stress affects parent–child interactions and whether caregiver role matters. This study explored the relationship between parental stress and prosodic synchrony in parent–child vocal interactions, drawing on complex dynamic systems and affective computing frameworks. We assessed 62 dyads (31 autistic preschoolers, interacting separately with their mother and father) during structured play interactions at two time points (12 months apart) along with perceived parental stress. We used a Deep Learning model to segment child-caregiver acoustic interactions with high accuracy automatically. Downstream, prosodic synchrony was modeled through cross-recurrence quantification analysis. Linear mixed-effects models were used to assess the impact of parental stress, caregiver role, and time on synchrony metrics. Models showed significant associations between parental stress and synchrony metrics for spectral and formant amplitude features. Higher stress levels were linked to less stable, predictable, and structured interactions. These effects were more pronounced in father–child dyads compared to mother–child dyads. Permutation analyses confirmed that these associations were specific to moment-to-moment coordination rather than general acoustic similarity. In autistic children, parental stress levels are linked with the temporal dynamics of parent–child prosodic synchrony, specifically affective speech and moment-to-moment coordination. It appears to be more pronounced in fathers. The results underscore the importance of fostering parental well-being and tailoring interventions to account for differences between maternal and paternal interaction patterns in autism.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12996856/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146055203","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the BIS/BAS Scales in Children and Adolescents With Autism","authors":"Lacey Chetcuti,&nbsp;Antonio Hardan,&nbsp;Emily Spackman,&nbsp;Luke Smillie,&nbsp;Thomas W. Frazier,&nbsp;Mirko Uljarevic","doi":"10.1002/aur.70171","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70171","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System (BIS/BAS) Scales offer a framework for assessing individual differences in sensitivity to reward and punishment—processes theorized to underlie key autism features. Despite widespread use, the psychometric properties of the BIS/BAS Scales have yet to be evaluated in the autistic population. Therefore, this study sought to evaluate the factor structure and psychometric properties of the BIS/BAS Scales in a sample of children and adolescents with autism. Parents of <i>N</i> = 709 autistic youth (M_age [SD] = 11.22 years [3.54]; 75% male) completed the BIS/BAS Scales alongside additional convergent/divergent validity measures. Factor structures ranging from one to eight specific factors were tested, including bifactor and hierarchical models with and without general factors. Measurement invariance was assessed across age groups (&lt; 12 years vs. ≥ 12 years) and gender. Convergent and divergent validity were evaluated using bivariate correlations. Results indicated that a five-factor bifactor model—comprising general BIS and BAS dimensions alongside specific BIS-Fight/Flight/Freezing, BIS-Worry, BAS-Drive, BAS-Reward Responsiveness, and BAS-Fun Seeking factors—exhibited best fit and measurement invariance. Factors showed strong construct validity through correlations with emotion problems, risk avoidance, response inhibition, neuroticism, shyness, activity, and extraversion. Findings support the BIS/BAS Scales as a psychometrically sound measure of reward and punishment sensitivity in autistic youth. Further research is needed to confirm model generalizability, structural stability, and measurement invariance across both clinical and non-clinical populations.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ToM2: Parental Perception of Theory of Mind Abilities in Autistic Children","authors":"Liraz Sasportas Joseph,&nbsp;Michal Perez,&nbsp;Anat Perry,&nbsp;Judah Koller","doi":"10.1002/aur.70192","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70192","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding how parents perceive their children's abilities is crucial for family dynamics and intervention strategies, particularly in autism, where accurate parental assessment of social-cognitive capabilities can influence support approaches and developmental outcomes. This study introduces ToM², a novel measure examining parents' ability to predict their autistic child's Theory of Mind (ToM) performance, representing a form of mentalization that requires parents to evaluate how their child understands others' mental states. We recruited 54 parent–child dyads (43 included in final analyses) from families with children diagnosed with autism (ages 42–70 months). Children completed a six-task ToM scale, while parents predicted their child's responses to each task. ToM² accuracy was calculated based on the match between parental predictions and child performance. We examined the relationships between ToM² accuracy and family accommodation for restricted and repetitive behaviors, autism symptom severity, and parental broader autism phenotype characteristics using logistic mixed-effects modeling. Results revealed that parents with higher levels of family accommodation demonstrated significantly lower ToM² accuracy (<i>p</i> = 0.030), suggesting that higher accommodation is associated with reduced accuracy in perceiving social-cognitive abilities, consistent with bidirectional parent–child interaction patterns. Greater autism symptom severity showed a trend toward reduced ToM² accuracy (<i>p</i> = 0.051), possibly suggesting that more pronounced autism characteristics may present greater challenges for parental mentalization. Parental broader autism phenotype was not associated with ToM² accuracy. These findings suggest that ToM² represents a useful framework for parental mentalization in autism and may inform family-centered interventions targeting both accommodation behaviors and parental perception accuracy.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12996852/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146151503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spontaneous Play Profiles in Mandarin-Speaking Preschool Children With Autism, Developmental Delay, and Typical Development: A Fine-Grained Comparative Analysis","authors":"Tongxin Yin,&nbsp;Min Liu,&nbsp;Jie Wang,&nbsp;Xuling Han,&nbsp;Yanxia Wang,&nbsp;Xinyu Hu,&nbsp;Yuran Luo,&nbsp;Ziying Deng,&nbsp;Mudi Sun,&nbsp;Lu Qu,&nbsp;Saige Qin,&nbsp;Haidan Lu,&nbsp;Qiaoyun Liu,&nbsp;Hang Zhao","doi":"10.1002/aur.70178","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70178","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study examined the spontaneous play behaviors of Mandarin-speaking preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental delay (DD), and typical development (TD) during naturalistic parent–child interactions. Ninety children aged 36–72 months (30 per group) participated in a 15-min parent–child free-play session, and a standardized 10-min segment from each session (minutes 3–13) was coded and analyzed. Play behaviors were coded using a fine-grained developmental framework and analyzed using both unidimensional (duration and frequency) and multidimensional (variety, highest mastered play level and weighted average mastered play levels) indicators. After adjusting for FSIQ, spontaneous play duration (<i>F</i>(2, 86) = 14.54, <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001, <i>η</i>\u0000 ² = 0.25) and weighted average mastered play level (WA-MPL; <i>F</i>(2, 86) = 3.67, <i>p</i> = 0.03, <i>η</i>\u0000 ² = 0.08) differentiated the ASD group from both the TD and DD groups. In contrast, symbolic play in this naturalistic context was more closely associated with cognitive level than with diagnostic status. At the subcategory level, Varied Action Sequences (VS) emerged as a particularly informative high-level form of pre-symbolic play: children with ASD showed lower VS frequency than both TD and DD peers, and reduced VS variety relative to the DD group. These findings underscore the importance of multidimensional assessment and fine-grained coding for capturing distinct play profiles in ASD and informing developmentally appropriate intervention targets.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145919347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reduced Hand Specialization and Idiosyncratic Visuomotor Strategies in Autism During Naturalistic Object Manipulation","authors":"Emily Fewster,&nbsp;Bat-Sheva Hadad,&nbsp;Erez Freud","doi":"10.1002/aur.70180","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70180","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Autistic individuals exhibit altered perceptual and visuomotor behaviors, potentially due to reduced cortical specialization. The current study focuses on handedness, a robust marker of cerebral specialization, which is less right-biased in autism. Previous studies have typically assessed handedness via questionnaires or simple manual tasks that do not characterize the dynamic, on-going nature of real-life actions. To address this gap, autistic and non-autistic right-handed adults recreated LEGO models from blocks placed on a standardized tabletop, enabling analysis of dynamic, real-world visuomotor behaviors. Autistic participants displayed a lower proportion of right-hand grasps and fewer contralateral movements (i.e., crossing the body midline) with their right hand. Additionally, we observed differences in 3D space utilization, such that autistic participants exhibited a stronger preference for blocks placed closer to their hands. Finally, autistic participants were slower, and their movement trajectories were more idiosyncratic when compared with non-autistic participants. These results reveal reduced hand specialization and profound visuomotor control differences in autism, highlighting potential clinical utility for early, objective autism markers.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12996850/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145999828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cognitive and Affective Predictors of Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors and Interests in Very Young Autistic Children","authors":"Nasim Sheikhi,&nbsp;Gina Schnur,&nbsp;Susan Faja","doi":"10.1002/aur.70175","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70175","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The development of distinct restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests (RRBIs) is well-studied in autism, but their relationship to cognitive and affective development in young autistic children is unknown. This cross-sectional study examined how higher-order RRBIs (e.g., circumscribed interests and insistence on sameness) and sensorimotor RRBIs (e.g., stereotyped movements and sensory preoccupations) relate to concurrent developmental level, executive function, temperament, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors in autistic toddlers and preschoolers. 143 2- and 4-year-old autistic children with developmental levels of at least 12 months completed a battery of executive function tasks, and caregivers completed interviews and questionnaires regarding their children's autistic features and affective functioning. Higher-order RRBIs, but not sensorimotor RRBIs, were related to age and developmental level. In the 2-year cohort, discomfort and executive function related to higher-order RRBIs, as well. Hyperactivity related to sensorimotor RRBIs in both cohorts, and discomfort also related to sensorimotor RRBIs in the 4-year-olds. These findings suggest that temperamental markers and features of mental health conditions may contribute to the expression of distinct RRBI subdomains. Child cognitive capacity may also underlie parental ability to report on RRBIs for young children. This study highlights the importance of distinguishing RRBI subdomains in young autistic children due to their distinct relationships to functioning and wellbeing.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146101201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining the Relationship Between Social Motivation and Internalizing Symptoms in Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis","authors":"Katie Lindsay-Webb,&nbsp;Poppy Clayton,&nbsp;Emily Simonoff,&nbsp;Matthew J. Hollocks","doi":"10.1002/aur.70185","DOIUrl":"10.1002/aur.70185","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The social motivation theory hypothesizes that autistic individuals' experience diminished social motivation due to reduced social reward, social orienting, and social maintaining. Low social motivation has been linked to increased vulnerability to internalizing difficulties within this population. This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the relationship between social motivation and internalizing symptoms across the lifespan in autistic individuals. Relevant research papers until February 2025 were identified by searching EMBASE, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases (PROSPERO protocol: CRD42024547863). The systematic review included 14 studies (<i>n</i> = 4590). A total of three meta-analyses were run using Pearson's correlation coefficients between social motivation and (1) anxiety, (2) depression, and (3) social anxiety, and the moderating effect of age, sex, and study quality were assessed using meta-regressions. Sensitivity analyses were run to assess whether one study was influencing the results of the meta-analysis. Greater difficulties with social motivation are associated with increased anxiety, depression, and social anxiety, with a moderate pooled effect size across all domains. Sensitivity analyses did not significantly alter any of the results. Age, sex, and quality of study were nonsignificant moderators. Reduced social motivation may be associated with an increased vulnerability to internalizing difficulties in autistic individuals. The stability across age, sex, and study quality highlights social motivation as a potential transdiagnostic target for intervention in autistic individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":131,"journal":{"name":"Autism Research","volume":"19 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12996855/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146159527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}