While theory supports bidirectional effects between caregiver sensitivity and language use, and infant language acquisition-both caregiver-to-infant and also infant-to-caregiver effects-empirical research has chiefly explored the former unidirectional path. In the context of infants showing early signs of autism, we investigated prospective bidirectional associations with 6-min free-play interaction samples collected for 103 caregivers and their infants (mean age 12-months; and followed up 6-months later). ...

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

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. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2024
• April 2024

Evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have increased rates of co-occurring psychosis and/or bipolar disorder. Considering the peak age of onset for psychosis and bipolar disorder occurs in adulthood, we investigated the co-occurrence of these disorders in adults with autism. ...

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

Links between temperament and social-emotional difficulties are well-established in normative child development but remain poorly characterized in autism. We sought to characterize distinct temperament subgroups and their associations with concurrent internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a sample of 103 infants showing early signs of autism. ...

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

Early motor impairments have been reported in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), but it is not clear if early detection of motor impairments can identify children at risk for NDD or how early such impairments might be detected. Our aim was to characterize early motor function in children later diagnosed with NDD relative to typically developing children or normative data. ...

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

Exposure to surgery and anesthesia in early childhood has been found to be associated with an increased risk of behavioral deficits. While the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against prenatal exposure to anesthetic drugs, little clinical evidence exists to support this recommendation. ...

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

Naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions are promising approaches for young children with, or suspected of having, autism spectrum disorder. Joint attention, symbolic play, engagement and regulation intervention (JASPER) is a well-researched naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention but, to date, no reviews have specifically evaluated its effects. ...

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

These data provide the first evidence for a broad autism phenotype expressed in a physical characteristic ...

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

Parent observations provide an initial framework for understanding quality of life in autism spectrum disorder ...

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

The Australian Autism Biobank was initiated to establish a large-scale repository of biological samples and detailed clinical information about children diagnosed with ASD ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• August 2018