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Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia, working with the Autism CRC, have led the development of the National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Australia which was launched today.
This systematic review aimed to identify the most important social, environmental, biological, and/or genetic risk factors for intellectual disability.
A new study led by The Kids Research Institute Australia has found a link between masculine facial features and autism.
CliniKids has won the Excellence in Allied Health category at the inaugural National Disability Awards, announced in Melbourne tonight.
Professor Andrew Whitehouse has been named a finalist in the 2023 Western Australian of the Year Awards for his work in transforming clinical support for autistic children in Australia.
Deputy Director (Research); Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia; Director, CliniKids
The number of words children produce (expressive vocabulary) and understand (receptive vocabulary) changes rapidly during early development, partially due to genetic factors. Here, we performed a meta-genome-wide association study of vocabulary acquisition and investigated polygenic overlap with literacy, cognition, developmental phenotypes, and neurodevelopmental conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Past research has highlighted the importance of early identification of developmental differences to improve targeted access to early interventions or supports. As such, it is of particular importance in the context of children at elevated likelihood of autism (such as where an older sibling has a diagnosis of autism), to better understand when and which early concerns are important as predictors of which children will benefit from pre-diagnostic supports.
The 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.
A broad range of interests characterized by unusual content and/or intensity, labeled as circumscribed interests are a core diagnostic feature of autism. Recent evidence suggests that a distinction can be drawn between interests that, although characterized by unusually high intensity and/or inflexibility, are otherwise common in terms of their content (e.g., an interest in movies or animals), labeled as restricted interests and interests that are generally not salient outside of autism (e.g., an interest in traffic lights or categorization), labeled as unusual interests.