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Research
The effects of JASPER intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic reviewNaturalistic 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.

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Communication toolsFor Speech Pathology Week, we asked our speech pathologists to share their favourite resource/s and how they like to use it.

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Thinking big to tackle kids’ brain developmentIf there’s one thing modern researchers and health professionals now understand, it’s that for so many diseases and conditions affecting children and adolescents, early intervention is crucial.

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Welcome Kandice!CliniKids is excited to welcome Dr Kandice Varcin to the team as part of a new partnership between The Kids Research Institute Australia and Griffith University.

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Children with autism may benefit from app-based therapiesA The Kids Research Institute Australia study has shown that in addition to intervention with trained therapists, children with autism may benefit from app-based therapies.

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Joondalup clinic newsCliniKids’ new clinic in the Joondalup area is coming along nicely and is on track to open around the middle of the year.
Research
Temperament in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic reviewThe 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.

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CliniKids and Griffith University partner for autism researchThe Kids Research Institute Australia’s CliniKids and Griffith University are excited to announce a new partnership which will help to grow autism research in Australia.
Research
Developmental vitamin D deficiency increases foetal exposure to testosteroneAutism 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.
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Research
Comorbidities and quality of life in children with intellectual disabilityMany children with intellectual disability live with medical comorbidities. This study examined the impacts of comorbidities on quality of life (QOL) of children with intellectual disabilities and whether impacts varied with caregiver perceptions that medical needs had been met.

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NDIS audit completeOur NDIS audit was completed late February, resulting in continued registration for CliniKids as a NDIS service provider.
Research
Subgroups of Temperament Associated with Social-Emotional Difficulties in Infants with Early Signs of AutismLinks 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.
Research
Occurrence of psychosis and bipolar disorder in adults with autism: A systematic review and meta-analysisEvidence 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.
Research
Prenatal Exposure to General Anesthesia and Childhood Behavioral DeficitExposure 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.

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AICES Study explainedProfessor Andrew Whitehouse and his research collaborators in the UK and Melbourne have teamed up to write a great article on the recent findings of the AICES (Australian Infant Communication and Engagement Study) for The Conversation.


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Strengths wallFor Autism Month, CliniKids invited families to contribute to an "I can, I am!" strengths wall in its reception area – an idea that was wholeheartedly embraced by our little visitors and their families.
Research
Maternal immune-related conditions during pregnancy may be a risk factor for neuropsychiatric problems in offspring throughout childhood and adolescenceEmerging research suggests that maternal immune activation (MIA) may be associated with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental and mental health outcomes in offspring. Using data from the Raine Study, we investigated whether MIA during pregnancy was associated with increased behavioral and emotional problems in offspring longitudinally across development.
Research
Get it right, make it easy, see it all: Viewpoints of autistic individuals and parents of autistic individuals about the autism diagnostic process in AustraliaThe clinical process for being evaluated for an autism diagnosis is often time consuming and stressful for individuals and their caregivers. While experience of and satisfaction with the diagnostic process has been reviewed in the literature, few studies have directly investigated the viewpoints of individuals diagnosed with autism and caregivers of autistic individuals about what is important in the autism diagnostic process.