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It is unclear whether sex differences in behavior arising from birth weight (BW) are genuine because of the cross-sectional nature and potential confounding in previous studies. We aimed to test whether sex differences associated with BW phenotype were reproducible using a Mendelian randomization approach, i.e., association between polygenic score (PGS) for BW and behavior outcomes across childhood and adolescence.
We do not know much about what support services people think are okay for young autistic children. This study was a survey of 253 people. We asked autistic adults, parents, and professionals from Australia and New Zealand whether they thought it was okay to provide support services to autistic children.
Aotearoa New Zealand does not provide publicly-funded intensive autism support. While parent-mediated supports are promising, children and families may also benefit from direct clinician support. We tested the efficacy of a low-intensity programme involving parent- and clinician-delivered support for autistic children.
Maternal immune activation and prenatal maternal stress are well-studied risk factors for psychiatric conditions such as autism and schizophrenia. Animal studies have proposed the gut microbiome as a mechanism underlying this association and have found that risk factor-related gut microbiome alterations persist in the adult offspring.
There is a common mischaracterisation that autistic individuals have reduced or absent empathy. Measurement issues may have influenced existing findings on the relationships between autism and empathy, and the structure of the empathy construct in autism remains unclear.
Parenting is a rewarding experience but is not without its challenges. Parents of Autistic children face additional challenges, and as a result can experience lower levels of wellbeing and more mental health problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). Previous studies have identified concurrent correlates of wellbeing and mental health.
This article describes the development of a Model of Care resource to support youth involved with the justice system where a neurodevelopmental disability such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is suspected. Service staff within the Youth Justice sector were engaged in an iterative process of resource development over a 9-month period.
Mirko is a medically trained research-focused academic with a background in developmental psychology, psychometrics, and big data science. His research takes a life-span perspective and is driven by the urgent need to improve outcomes for people on the autism spectrum and with other neurodevelopmental and neuropsy
A leading autism scientist has relocated to Perth to take up a new appointment at The Kids Research Institute Australia, thanks to a program designed to attract world-class health researchers to Western Australia.
Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia have pushed back against claims by US President Donald Trump linking paracetamol use during pregnancy to autism.