Michelle Dawson

Registered: aiming to "add on to existing knowledge regarding camouflaging in autism by understanding if and how language and communication challenges, specifically language or verbal ability, influence camouflaging" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review of quantitative studies

Different exploration strategies along the autism spectrum: diverging effects of autism diagnosis and autism traits - Molecular Autism When faced with many options to choose from, humans typically need to explore the utility of new choice options. People with an autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits are thought to avoid exploring such unknown options, but it remains unclear how autism affects exploration in decision spaces with many options. In a large online sample (N = 588), we investigated the impact of autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits on exploration behavior during value-based decision-making in vast decision spaces. We used a 121-armed bandit with spatially correlated choice options, and a dedicated computational model to disentangle generalization, uncertainty-guided exploration, and random exploration strategies. Our findings show that participants with a self-reported autism diagnosis were less likely to explore novel choice options and more likely to exploit known high-value options. Computational modeling suggests they engaged in less uncertainty-driven exploration but exhibited equal random exploration and generalization strategies. Interestingly, among non-diagnosed participants, people with elevated autism traits did not explore less. This study relies on self-reported autism diagnoses and trait measures collected online. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to clinically verified or more diverse autism populations. Our findings highlight important differences in exploration strategies between clinical and subclinical populations and emphasize the importance of cognitive modeling and using vast decision spaces to better understand autism.

"neither autism nor autism traits lead to suboptimal... decision-making" & "autism leads to less exploration while more autism traits did not (or even to more exploration)" molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... "results caution against extrapolating findings from trait studies to autism"

Optimising general practice support for autistic adults: a realist review protocol - Systematic Reviews Background Mental and physical health conditions are more common in autistic than non-autistic people, including anxiety, depression, suicidality, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, epilepsy, and heart disease. General practice is often the first point of contact for patients, yet research has found that autistic people face barriers to healthcare, report lower satisfaction with healthcare, and have more unmet health needs than non-autistic people. This can be due to misunderstandings about the needs of autistic people, different communication styles, the clinic environment, and challenges making and getting to appointments, compounded by slow dissemination of research findings. Our aim is to find out how, why, and to what extent general practice supports autistic adults with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) throughout their lives, in order to suggest improvements to practice. Methods We will conduct a realist review which is a theory-driven systematic review. Electronic databases will be searched including MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Scopus, ASSIA and grey literature sources (e.g. Google Scholar). To be included articles must concern general practice, autistic adults aged 18 and over, contain information relevant to a UK setting, and be written in English. Any study design or article type may be included and articles will be assessed for relevance and rigour. In line with realist synthesis methods we will identify relevant contexts, mechanisms and outcomes and develop a programme theory to explain how, why, and when general practice optimally supports (or not) autistic adults. We will also seek to identify resources that are available for and used by general practice to support autistic adults. We will involve stakeholders in each stage of the review including autistic individuals, family members, and healthcare professionals (including general practice staff). The review will be reported in line with the RAMESES publication standards. Discussion The findings will inform guidance for i) general practice about potentially helpful adaptations to service, and ii) autistic people to help them gain the support they need. This will help to improve access to and engagement with general practice care, and thus potentially improve the health and wellbeing of autistic individuals. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42024545403.

Aiming to "explain how, why, & when general practice supports autistic people, where this support is less than optimal, & why" & "develop guidance for general practices & autistic patients, to help improve healthcare" systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... realist review protocol

A concise review of social validity assessments during functional analyses of challenging behavior This concise review summarizes the trends and outcomes of social validity assessments specifically related to functional analyses published between 2020 and 2024. Results indicate that very little da...

In the recent (2020-24) ABA literature, 176 articles reported on functional analyses, of which a total of 20 (11.36%) included any assessment of their social validity?--& "no articles... assessed client preferences for functional analyses"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... autism-relevant

Note: this paper's authors "focus on individuals who received their diagnosis in childhood or adolescence, because older adults may have missed an earlier diagnosis of autism owing to secular changes in societal attitudes towards autism"?

Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis - Nature A study of several longitudinal birth cohorts and cross-sectional cohorts finds only moderate overlap in genetic variants between autism that is diagnosed earlier and that diagnosed later, so they may represent aetiologically different conditions.

"different developmental trajectories" in earlier- vs later-diagnosed autism? ("as relative terms"--"there is no consensus on age thresholds for early versus late diagnosis") www.nature.com/articles/s41... based on autistics born in 1999-2003 & diagnosed at age 5-17 years (see Fig 1)?

“I Don’t Think Anyone’s Ever Asked Me About the Two Before”: Making Sense of Co-occurring Autism and BPD in Inpatient Mental Health Settings - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Purpose Autistic individuals and individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are both more likely than the general population to require access to mental health services, specifically inpatient services. Both groups of individuals have reported difficulties when accessing inpatient services including stigma, lack of understanding and lack of adaptations. Recent research has suggested having diagnoses of both autism and BPD is becoming more common and that individuals with both diagnoses may be more at risk of suicidal thoughts and self-harm behaviours. The aim of this study is to understand the experiences of accessing inpatient mental health services for individuals with a diagnosis of autism and BPD. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Seven participants were interviewed. Six themes were developed: (i) Never fully understood, (ii) Intense need for care and connection, (iii) Prisoner or patient? When care and punishment are intertwined, (iv) Necessary evil, (v) System always wins, (vi) Responsible for own care. Conclusions Autistic individuals with BPD require personalised care that integrates both their diagnoses into their identities. To provide this, staff on inpatient wards need appropriate support including reflective spaces and clinical supervision. Inpatient systems also need to shift away from prioritising the needs of the system and towards prioritising the needs of the individual, including adaptations for autistic individuals.

Autistics diagnosed with BPD on their experiences of inpatient mental health services, interviews, free link.springer.com/article/10.1... "The language used by the participants to describe their experiences of being inpatients led to a sense that they were not in a hospital but a prison"

Asymmetric developmental bifurcations in polarized environments: a new class of human variants, which may include autism - Molecular Psychiatry Molecular Psychiatry - Asymmetric developmental bifurcations in polarized environments: a new class of human variants, which may include autism

"Prototypical autism as an asymmetric developmental bifurcation of information processing"?--based on "the contrast between social bias and the possibility of doing without it, in the sense that, during childhood, autism follows a non-socially biased path..." www.nature.com/articles/s41... free

Registered: "Is there a difference between gesture comprehension in autistic individuals compared to non-autistic individuals, and are there any variables that may moderate gesture comprehension in autistic individuals?" www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/vie... systematic review

First Impressions Matter: Exploring Children’s Negative Perceptions of Autistic Children - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Purpose Many autistic individuals experience social challenges that may stem from negative perceptions held by their non-autistic peers. This study aimed to examine school-aged children’s first impressions of autistic and non-autistic children based on viewing brief videos. The central research question was whether autistic children are perceived differently in terms of social traits and how these perceptions affect willingness to engage with them. Methods Thirty-seven children aged 5–12 years old viewed brief (10 s) videos of both autistic and non-autistic children discussing their interests. Participants then rated each child on social traits (i.e., strange, confident, honest, mean, likeable, smart) and indicated their behavioral intentions (i.e., willingness to live near, sit near, hang out with and talk to) towards the children in the videos. Results Autistic videos were rated as appearing more awkward, more aggressive, and less likeable compared to non-autistic videos. However, participants reported a similar willingness to interact with both groups. Importantly, these negative perceptions were not associated with the rater child’s age, IQ, sex, autistic traits, or social competence. Conclusion The findings suggest that school-aged children hold biased perceptions of autistic children, independent of their own personal characteristics. This underscores the need for early educational interventions in schools to address stereotypes about and biases against autism. Teaching children about autism could reduce stigma, foster inclusion, and improve social interactions between autistic and non-autistic peers.

In school-aged children (N=37, age 5-12 years), "more negative first impressions of autistic compared to non-autistic children"? link.springer.com/article/10.1... "Children in this study rated the autistic children they viewed in brief video clips as more strange, mean, and less likeable..."?

In autistics, "dissociation between objectively measured perceptual sensitivity and self-reported sensory experiences" onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... "sensory challenges in autism are unlikely to be explained solely by increased low-level sensory input or basic perceptual sensitivity"

Comparison of Adulthood Outcomes in Autism Spectrum Disorder With and Without Regression: A Population‐Based Birth Cohort Study The long-term outcomes of regression in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain unclear. Previous evidence suggests that autistic individuals with regression have poorer adulthood outcomes across vario...

In autistics with vs without "regression," no differences on 4 outcomes--"composite social ability score, incidence of epilepsy, IQ at age five, and IQ in adulthood"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... note: "regression" included "definite & probable regression cases" (N=32/168 autistics; 19%)

Perceptual Decision-Making in Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults and Relationship with Autism- and ADHD-Related Traits - Hodo Yusuf, Nathan J Evans, Grant Taylor, Amber Cameron, Jemima Greenhalgh, Lou J... Autistic individuals respond to sensory information in perceptual tasks differently than non-autistic individuals. However, it is unclear which component proces...

On a numerosity task, autistics (vs non-autistics) "had shorter non-decision times... they took less time to process the stimuli and/or generate their responses" journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... but in the general population, "no correlation between autism-related traits and non-decision time"

Conflict of interest policies for editors and peer reviewers in medical journals:cross-sectional study Editors and reviewers of research manuscripts may have conflicts of interest that impact their evaluations. We aimed to characterise medical journals'…

COI policies for medical journal editors & peer-reviewers, autism-relevant, free www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... "journals rarely describe how disclosed interests are assessed, how they may influence the editorial process, and how journals enforce the consequences of policy violations"

an autistic woman I knew (RIP) was asked if she might be to blame for 2 of her 4 children being autistic & replied that the real question, in her view, was whether she could take credit

Mapping the Imageless Mind: Towards a Taxonomy of Aphantasia

An aphantasia taxonomy?--autism-relevant, free www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... "A striking paradox characterizes congenital aphantasia. These individuals consistently deny any subjective experience of visual images, yet they can accurately recall the visual properties of objects from memory"

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"hyper-focus and inattention are associated with auditory hyper-reactivity, which is related to anxiety, which is related to hyper-vigilance. Hyper-vigilance is then related to hyper-reactivity"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... data from autistic and/or ADHD & general population adults, free

Bone Health in Autistic Children: Evidence from a Population-Representative Australian Cohort Study - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Purpose Autistic children have been shown to have poorer bone health than their non-autistic peers, but previous evidence on this topic has been based on small clinical samples and is limited by how b...

Finding "poorer bone health" in autistic (vs non-autistic) children & "preliminary evidence to support the hypothesis that lower levels of physical activity among autistic children play an important role in the emergence of disparities in bone development" link.springer.com/article/10.1... free

<em>Child and Adolescent Mental Health</em> | ACAMH Journal | Wiley Online Library At its core, pathologising is choosing the language of pathology to describe suffering. In youth mental health, the prevailing choice is to use diagnostic labels such as ADHD and autism when describi...

"dropping the word disorder (... ‘attention-deficit &/or hyperactivity’ instead of ‘attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder’) might help avoid the false impression that diagnostic labels imply an understanding of underlying causes" acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... autism-relevant, free

Impact of peer-support programs for individuals with autism: A systematic review - Monica HM Verkooijen, Marjolijn Ketelaar, Max van Woerden, Wouter G Staal, Indira Tendolkar, Janneke R Zinkstok, 2025 The neurodiversity approach recognizes autism as a natural variation of human experience, emphasizing unique strengths while acknowledging social and behavioral...

Peer-support programs ("with autistic peers only") for autistics, 15-study systematic review, free journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... "all studies described an overall positive impact of peer support" "None of the included studies used a control group, and follow-up was often absent or short-term"

Calendar Calculation: A Systematic Review of 100 Years of Research Calendar calculation is the ability to answer rapidly to questions such as "What day of the week was May 12, 1978?" or "For which years is February 15…

Calendar calculation in autism "is intimately related with our understanding of autistic children processing of structured information, why some types of information are objects of interest, and to which extent their perception of the world differs..." www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... free

Exploring the Relationship Between Family Experiences and Behavioral Inflexibility in Young Autistic Children - Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Behavioral inflexibility (BI) is a known challenge for many Autistic individuals and refers to rigid behavioral patterns not easily adapted across changing situations. While the associations between B...

For young autistic children, "results did not support any significant associations between BI and parenting experiences" (where BI means "behavioral inflexibility" according to the parent-reported "Behavioral Inflexibility Scale") link.springer.com/article/10.1... "contrary to our hypothesis"

‘I did not think they could help me’: Autistic adults’ reasons for not seeking public healthcare when they last experienced suicidality - Tanya L Procyshyn, Rachel L Moseley, Sarah J Marsden, Carrie A... With autistic people at increased risk of dying by suicide, understanding barriers to help-seeking is crucial for suicide prevention efforts. Using an online su...

Asking autistic adults why they did not seek help when suicidal--"It is essential to recognise... that reticence towards help-seeking is a wholly appropriate response to ineffective treatment and physical and/or psychological harm from medical care..." journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... free

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"the neurodiversity movement cannot expand its scope without actively making space for the lived experiences & demands of new constituent groups such as Tourettic people. Among others, a reconsideration of strong anti-cure positions is needed..."? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... autism-relevant

<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library Background Prospective studies of autism family history infants primarily report recurrence and predictors of autism at 3 years. Less is known about ADHD family history infants and later childhood o...

Classes of later outcomes for infants with/without a family history of autism &/or ADHD? acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... life does not end at age 3, see Fig 2, e.g. children in "TD+Very High IQ" & "TD+High IQ" classes at age 3--then in autism, ADHD, & "high anxiety" classes at age 6-12

autistics were identified & described in the 1800s, called "idiot savants"

Differences in the Social Experiences of Autistic and Non‐Autistic Adolescents by Gender Adolescence is a time of complex social and emotional development when friendships become of particular importance. Previous research has highlighted differences in the social experience of autistic ....

"despite feeling less socially supported than non-autistic adolescents, autistic boys do not feel more socially alienated... On the other hand, autistic girls feel more socially alienated than everyone else, but do not feel less socially supported"? onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... free

Review and Developmental Model: Early Childhood Emotion Regulation and Co-Regulation in Autism Emotion regulation (ER) and dysregulation (ED) significantly impact the mental health and quality of life of autistic individuals and their families, …

Emotion regulation in young autistics, review, free www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... "parent report measures, emotion elicitation tasks, & observational coding systems... were developed for non-autistic children" & "may not capture the features & contexts most relevant to autistic children..."

Contextual factors influencing neuro-affirming practice: Identifying what helps or hinders implementation in health and social care - Anna Gray, Donald Maciver, Eleanor Curnow, Lorna Johnston, Marion ... There has been limited research to date into contextual factors hindering or supporting the successful implementation of neuro-affirming practice in support for...

"Implementing neuro-affirming practice is undoubtedly challenging, but it is also a moral and ethical imperative"? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... is it "neuro-affirming" to widely implement practices before (or without ever) fairly testing their benefits vs harms to autistics & others?

<em>Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry</em> | ACAMH Pediatric Journal | Wiley Online Library Background Elevated prevalence of coexisting health conditions has been observed in autistic people, yet how the timing of their initial diagnoses varies by sex and age of autism diagnosis remains u.....

In autistics diagnosed at preschool age, "females tended to receive an initial autism diagnosis earlier than boys"? acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... a larger proportion of females (vs males) diagnosed autistic at preschool age "received an ADHD diagnosis before their autism diagnosis"?