Reduced 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. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• February 2022

Parents 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. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• February 2021

The 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. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• February 2021

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which are more common in males. The 'prenatal sex steroid' hypothesis links excessive sex-steroid exposure during foetal life with the behavioural differences observed in ASD. However, the reason why sex steroid exposure may be excessive remains unclear. Epidemiological studies have identified several environmental risk factors associated with ASD, including developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• December 2020

In this population-based cohort that included 2,084 children with autism aged ≤6 years, over one-third met the criteria for motor difficulties ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• February 2020

Anxiety and sleep problems may be an early indicator of autism in young children and early autistic traits may also contribute to anxiety problems later in childhood ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• August 2019

Our findings contribute to the genotype–phenotype data for atypical nested 22q11.2 duplications, with implications for genetic counseling ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• February 2019

This study provides further evidence that maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with autism-like behaviors in offspring ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• January 2019

We review medical conditions that have been repeatedly highlighted as sharing the strongest associations with ASD-epilepsy, sleep, as well as gastrointestinal and immune functioning ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• January 2019

Increased risk of autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability and cerebral palsy with intellectual disability for mothers of some foreign-born groups ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• January 2019