Current Developmental Disorders Reports

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Females and males are disproportionately diagnosed with autism, a sex difference that has historically represented this neurodevelopmental condition. The current review examines lifespan developmental trajectories of autism based on sex to elucidate behavioral phenotypic differences that may contribute to differential rates of diagnosis. RECENT FINDINGS: We review sex differences in diagnostic criteria: social communication and restricted interests/repetitive behaviors (RRBs)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Early intervention programs have been shown to increase the overall socio-emotional and physical wellbeing of children in early childhood and educational settings. The goal of this narrative review is to explore recent literature that describes implementation of these systems and highlights innovative practices in the early childhood intervention sector. RECENT FINDINGS: Twenty-three articles were included, and we identified three themes in this review...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Elevated prevalence of autism characteristics is reported in genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability. This review summarises recent evidence on the behavioural heterogeneity of autism in the following syndromes: Fragile X, Cornelia de Lange, Williams, Prader-Willi, Angelman, Down, Smith-Magenis, and tuberous sclerosis complex. Key considerations for assessment and support are discussed. RECENT FINDINGS: The profile and developmental trajectory of autism-related behaviour in these syndromes indicate some degree of syndrome specificity which may interact with broader behavioural phenotypes (e...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To identify and map the characteristics and outcomes of programs designed to prepare siblings for their future roles with their sibling with a neurodevelopmental disability. RECENT FINDINGS: Existing programs to support siblings of individuals with a neurodevelopmental disability often focus on providing information about neurodevelopmental disabilities, creating a community for siblings to connect with each other, and connecting siblings to resources and services to support them in their roles...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions have had a significant impact on people's everyday lives, including the lives of Autistic adults. We aimed to (a) synthesise all papers currently published on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on autistic adults and (b) identify lessons for the care and support of Autistic adults in pandemic and post-pandemic times. RECENT FINDINGS: Fifty-five papers met the inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on the pandemic's impact on the wellbeing of Autistic adults...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The past 3 years have seen an unprecedented increase in patients with functional tic-like behaviors (FTLB), a previously rare form of functional movement disorder (FMD) that can be mistaken for Tourette syndrome (TS). This article contrasts the patient characteristics, phenomenology, risk factors, and comorbidities of FTLB and TS to define criteria for differential diagnosis. Clinical issues, treatments, theoretical explanations, and future research questions are discussed...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Parent-implemented autism interventions are considered empirically validated interventions and the use of telepractice in these interventions is reported as effective. However, little is known about the social validity assessments and outcomes of these interventions. The purpose of this review is to explore the current practices of conducting social validity assessment and reporting its outcomes within parent-implemented telepractice autism interventions. RECENT FINDINGS: The 11 reviewed studies included caregivers as participants, telepractice intervention focusing on social communication outcomes of young autistic children, and were published in a peer-reviewed journal within the past five years...

Purpose of review: To summarize and update information on the course of tic disorders from childhood through later life. Recent findings: Tics tend to improve substantially over the first year after they appear. However, contrary to widespread opinion, tics usually last longer than one year, though usually at minimal severity. Tics often wane to clinical insignificance over the teen years, possibly resurging occasionally over the lifespan. However, in an important minority of patients, tics remain clinically relevant throughout life...

Purpose of review: Tic disorders are common in the pediatric population and are differentiated from other movement disorders by tic suppressibility. Understanding the mechanism of tic suppression may provide new insights to the pathophysiology of tic disorders. This article highlights clinical phenomenology and neuronal correlates of tic suppressibility. Recent findings: Recent studies suggest that tic suppressibility exists in children shortly after onset of their tics...

Purpose of the Review: It is well-documented that individuals with DCD experience mental health problems, in both psychosocial and psychiatric domains. In this review, we propose a series of diverse options to improve mental health among individuals with DCD. Recent Findings: Despite recognition of mental health problems in DCD, relatively little work has been done to develop effective interventions. There is an urgent need for action in this matter. We present and discuss options based on a societal perspective (awareness and understanding), parental perspective (access to services and resources), and child perspective (participation)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Traditional thinking and focus in 'childhood disability' have been on the child with the impairment - with the imperative to make the right diagnosis and find the right treatments. The implicit if not direct expectation was that interventions should aim to 'fix' the problems. Professionals have led the processes of investigation and management planning, with parents expected to 'comply' with professionals' recommendations. Much less attention has been paid to parents' perspectives or their wellbeing...

Purpose of Review: Early, intensive, and high-quality interventions can often improve social communication outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many children experience barriers to intervention, resulting in significant delays to intervention onset or missed opportunities for intervention altogether. With constant advances in technology, the field is experiencing a rapid increase in investigation of telehealth applications to intervention delivery. This article highlights the current trends in social communication intervention via telehealth used in early intervention practices for children with ASD over the past 5 years, including a brief review of studies (from 2014 to January 2020) and our team's experiences in this area...

Purpose of Review: This review explores recent literature (from 2017 onwards) to identify current developments related to reducing stigma and increasing acceptance for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) in their communities across diverse cultures. Recent Findings: We identified literature related to experiences of stigma for people with IDD and their families across diverse cultures, as well as current and potential interventions and approaches for promoting acceptance...

Purpose of Review: This report updates research on parents with IDD and their children published since 2014. Recent Findings: Since 2014, a plethora of studies using large administrative databases in different countries support a contextual approach to understand why parents with IDD and their children may have worse outcomes than other families. In most studies, increased risk of ill health in women with IDD and health and developmental problems in their children were fully or partially accounted for by socioeconomic and psychosocial hardships...

Purpose of Review: Pediatricians and other primary care providers are often the first and sole healthcare clinicians of patients who present with tics. However, limited primary care pediatric training in neuropsychiatric concerns, as well as perceived lack of comfort and preparation, make it challenging for these clinicians to confidently identify and manage tic disorders. Recent Findings: Current empirical findings of tic disorder management relevant to pediatric physicians, including assessment, psychoeducation, behavioral interventions, psychotropic medications, and alternative treatments are reviewed...

Purpose of Review: This review provides an overview of studies that used behavioral genetic methods to understand the genetic and environmental influences that lead to comorbidity, the co-occurrence of two or more developmental disorders in the same individual. Recent Findings: Comorbidity is primarily explained by shared genetic influences for most pairs of disorders that have been studied, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities, conduct disorder and ADHD, anxiety and depression, and anxiety and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)...

Purpose of Review: To summarize findings about the emergence and characteristics of canonical babbling in children with late detected developmental disorders (LDDDs), such as autism spectrum disorder, Rett syndrome, and fragile X syndrome. In particular, we ask whether infants' vocal development in the first year of life contains any markers that may contribute to earlier detection of these disorders. Recent Findings: Only a handful studies have investigated canonical babbling in infants with LDDDs...

Purpose of review: This review summarizes case reports of patients with tics emerging subsequent to traumatic brain injury (TBI), with respect to demographics, post-TBI symptoms, tic onset latency and topography, clinical history, neuroimaging results and treatment outcome. Recent findings: Patients were 22 adults and 3 youth. Trauma onset appeared to fall mostly in adulthood. Two-thirds of patients were male and head trauma was related to motor vehicle accidents in most cases...

Purpose of Review: Although spoken language in the form of meta-linguistic awareness is widely regarded as being involved in reading development, the extensive literature based on different experimental tasks, age groups, and languages makes it difficult to establish consensus about the type of awareness that is critical and the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The purpose of this review is to explore the links between reading and two specific aspects of meta-linguistic awareness, namely, phoneme awareness and morpheme awareness...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Melatonin is used to treat sleep difficulties associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There are growing evidence that melatonin could have an effect on other symptoms than sleep, such as anxiety, depression, pain, and gastrointestinal dysfunctions. Interestingly, these symptoms frequently are found as comorbid conditions in individuals with ASD. We aimed to highlight the potential effect of melatonin on these symptoms. RECENT FINDINGS: Animal and human studies show that melatonin reduces anxiety...