Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
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Mood Disorders and ASD: What not to miss
The autism community identified mental health as their top research priority in 2016.¹ Autistic children and adolescents are more likely than their general population counterparts to have psychiatric disorders.² For bipolar disorder, rates of 7% are seen in autistic children and adolescents versus 1% in their general population peers.
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Does early androgen exposure contribute to autistic traits?
Researchers in Hong Kong and Cambridge have explored the influence of early androgen exposure on autistic traits during childhood.
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January 2021 – The Bridge
This issue of The Bridge features summaries of recent child and adolescent mental health research. I hope you enjoy reading about this excellent work which improves our understanding of a wide range of conditions and informs mental health care for young people.
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Cognitive inflexibility contributes to both externalising and internalising difficulties in ASD
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly experience internalising and externalising symptoms, but the underlying cognitive mechanisms are unclear. In their latest study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Ann Ozsivadjian and colleagues examined the role of three cognitive factors that might contribute to these difficulties.
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How effective is medication for ADHD symptoms in children with ASD?
Clinically significant attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are common and impairing in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).1 Moreover, ADHD is the most common co-occurring mental health diagnosis driving increased rates of medication use in children with ASD.
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Do children with social anxiety disorder benefit from social skills training?
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) in children can be difficult to treat, as evidenced by the varied outcomes reported post-treatment.1,2 Although childhood treatments for SAD commonly involve at least some social skills training,3 it isn’t clear whether children with SAD have particular difficulties with social skills. There is therefore a need to better establish whether social skills are an effective target for treating SAD.
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Do ADHD and ASD symptoms have similar characteristics in childhood and young adulthood?
Lucy Riglin and colleagues in the UK have investigated whether ADHD and ASD traits in young adulthood show similar characteristics to those reported in childhood.
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Results of the ACAMH Awards 2020
Congratulations to all winners and nominees of the ACAMH Awards 2020.
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Are autistic behaviours a trait or a state of anorexia nervosa?
Anorexia nervosa (AN) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seem to co-occur more frequently than would be expected by chance.1,2 Yet because most studies investigating the nature of this co-occurrence have used a retrospective design, where the data are prone to recall bias, we don’t know whether the elevation of autistic traits in AN is present from childhood or rather from AN onset.
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Do sex differences affect ASD symptom severity scores?
Researchers in the USA have investigated whether standard diagnostic assessments for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are biased against girls.
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