With increasing demands for health, disability and education services, innovative approaches can help distribute limited resources according to need. Despite an increased focus on support needs within the clinical pathway and policy landscape, the body of research knowledge on this topic is at a relatively early stage. However, there appears to be a sense of unmet support needs and dissatisfaction with the provision of required support following an autism diagnosis amongst caregivers of young people on the spectrum. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• November 2022

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. ...

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

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

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

Anxiety commonly co-occurs in autism. Exploring and understanding potential underpinning mechanisms contributing to and maintaining anxiety in the early years is important in managing anxiety. Intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a tendency to find uncertainty difficult, is a transdiagnostic mechanism contributing to anxiety, but little is known about how IU may be experienced in young children on the autism spectrum. This study investigated parental perspectives of children's experiences of uncertainty. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• March 2023

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 ...

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

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

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

The Guideline aims to create greater consistency in diagnostic practices across the country to ensure individuals on the autism spectrum can receive the optimal care ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• January 2018

Numerous studies have observed that a proportion of infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience accelerated head growth... ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2015
• January 2015

This paper profiles the functional pattern of DNA variants found at a higher rate in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), X-linked intellectual... ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2014
• June 2014

Autism is a disorder characterized by a core impairment in social behaviour. A prominent component of this social deficit is poor orienting to speech. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2008
• July 2008