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Hormones in utero influence facial structureHormone levels in the womb may determine how masculine or feminine your facial features are as an adult, The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers have found.
Research
Australian Clinicians’ Considerations When Choosing an Assessment of Functioning Tool for Children with Neurodevelopmental ConditionsIn the Australian disability context, the assessment of children with neurodevelopmental conditions’ functioning (across all domains) is of increasing importance, particularly since the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Currently, there is wide variability across assessment of functioning practices, including the choice and use of published tools for assessment.
News & Events
The Kids researchers named as finalists in 2023 Premier’s Science AwardsFive The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers working across diverse and highly impactful areas of child health research have been named as finalists for the 2023 Premier’s Science Awards.
Research
Caregiver broader autism phenotype does not moderate the effect of early caregiver-mediated support on infant language outcomesCaregiver-mediated supports in general have shown mixed evidence for enhancing language outcomes in infants at higher likelihood of autism. While caregivers play a substantial role in caregiver-mediated supports, little is known about whether caregivers' own subclinical autistic features - known as broader autism phenotype - may moderate infant language outcomes.
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Characterizing the Nature of Alexithymia in Autistic Adults: Validation of the Perth Alexithymia QuestionnaireAlexithymia—a trait characterized by difficulties in emotion processing—is of high interest in the autism field. However, the lack of validated alexithymia measures for autistic individuals limits progress. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) across autistic and non-autistic samples. Using the PAQ, we investigated how alexithymia manifests in autistic individuals and its links with poor mental health outcomes (anxiety).
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First Impressions Towards Autistic People: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisEmerging evidence suggests that observers tend to form less favorable first impressions toward autistic people than toward non-autistic people. These negative impressions may be associated with immediate behavioral responses, as well as long-lasting attitudes toward those being observed that may negatively impact their psychosocial wellbeing.
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The effect of functioning on Quality of Life Inventory-Disability measured quality of life is not mediated or moderated by parental psychological distressThe measurement of quality of life (QOL) in children with intellectual disability often relies upon proxy report via caregivers. The current study investigated whether caregiver psychological distress mediates or moderates the effects of impairment on their ratings of QOL in children with intellectual disability.
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Pre-emptive intervention versus treatment as usual for infants showing early behavioural risk signs of autism spectrum disorderA pre-emptive intervention for the autism spectrum disorder prodrome had no immediate treatment effect on early autism spectrum disorder symptoms
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Apgar score and risk of autismThis study suggests that low Apgar score is associated with higher risk of autism spectrum disorder, and in particular autistic disorder
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Genetic counseling as preventive intervention: toward individual specification of transgenerational autism riskAlthough autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are among the most heritable of all neuropsychiatric syndromes, most affected children are born to unaffected parents. Recently, we reported an average increase of 3-5% over general population risk of ASD among offspring of adults who have first-degree relatives with ASD in a large epidemiologic family sample.