The neurobiological rationale for an opiate antagonist pharmacotherapy of autism is presented. Naltrexone efficacy in decreasing autistic behaviour and in increasing social-affiliative behaviour was explored in a 5-year-old autistic boy. Naltrexone (0.5 mg/kg 3 times peer week) was effective in immediately decreasing gross motor activity and stereotyped behaviour and caused...
Peer-mediated intervention to improve play skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A feasibility study
Background/aim: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently demonstrate impaired play skills and poor quality social interactions compared to typically developing peers. Complex interventions to improve play skills should be investigated with randomised control trials (RCT) where possible to support evidence-based practice for occupational therapists. Prior to a RCT, multiple...
Component Analysis of Stay, Play, Talk Interventions With and Without Self-Monitored Group Contingencies and Recorded Reminders
Multitreatment designs were used to evaluate the relative effectiveness of multicomponent Stay, Play, Talk (SPT) interventions on peer social behaviors for two groups of children, each including one Participant With Autism Spectrum Disorder (PWA) and two socially competent peers. Children were trained to use buddy strategies during 5-min free-play sessions...
Differences in teachers verbal responsiveness to groups of children with ASD who vary in cognitive and language abilities
Background: This study aimed to examine whether verbal responsiveness in special education teachers varied among subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder (n=112) who differed in cognitive and language abilities. Methods: Participants were divided into clusters using cluster analysis based on standardised cognitive and language tests using k-mean clustering. For...
A novel NMDA receptor glycine-site partial agonist, GLYX-13, has therapeutic potential for the treatment of autism
Deficits in social approach behavior, rough-and-tumble play, and speech abnormalities are core features of autism that can be modeled in laboratory rats. Human twin studies show that autism has a strong genetic component, and a recent review has identified 99 genes that are dysregulated in human autism. Bioinformatic analysis of...
Cacna1c haploinsufficiency leads to pro-social 50-kHz ultrasonic communication deficits in rats
The cross-disorder risk gene CACNA1C is strongly implicated in multiple neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia (SCZ), with deficits in social functioning being common for all major neuropsychiatric disorders. In the present study, we explored the role of Cacna1c in regulating disorder-relevant behavioral phenotypes,...
Decision factors for community providers when referring very young children for autism evaluation
Background: Early intervention in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) improves outcomes, but treatment access depends on early identification. Despite reliability of most autism diagnoses by age 24 months, the majority of children with autism do not receive comprehensive evaluations until after age 36 months. Although many possible reasons exist for delayed...
