This RCT examined the efficacy of a manualized social intervention for children with HFASDs. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment or wait-list conditions. Treatment included instruction and therapeutic activities targeting social skills, face-emotion recognition, interest expansion, and interpretation of non-literal language. A response-cost program was applied to reduce problem behaviors and foster skills acquisition. Significant treatment effects were found for five of seven primary outcome measures (parent ratings and direct child measures). Secondary measures based on staff ratings (treatment group only) corroborated gains reported by parents. High levels of parent, child and staff satisfaction were reported, along with high levels of treatment fidelity. Standardized effect size estimates were primarily in the medium and large ranges and favored the treatment group.

This study examined the effect of social familiarity on salivary cortisol and social anxiety/stress for a sample of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. The relationship between self-reported social anxiety/stress and salivary cortisol was also examined. Participants interacted with a familiar peer on one occasion and an unfamiliar peer on another occasion. Data were collected using salivary cortisol and a scale measuring subjective stress. Results indicated a significant condition by order interaction for salivary cortisol levels, while self-rated stress did not differ significantly across situations. A mild-moderate correlation was found between self-reported distress and salivary cortisol within each condition. Examination of self-rated distress vs. cortisol scatter plots suggested a more complex relationship than the correlation coefficient could adequately convey.

This paper presents findings from the final two years of a four-year study investigating a manualized social treatment program for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. The study sought to (1) replicate and expand findings from years one and two; (2) compare outcomes of participants who received response-cost feedback versus non-categorical feedback; and (3) provide further evidence of program feasibility. Results indicated significant improvements in social skills and problem behaviors, however no significant differences for face emotion recognition. Measures of several socially-related behaviors yielded mixed results based on rater. While parent ratings did not appear to favor one feedback format, staff ratings appeared to favor the response-cost format on some measures. Results also provided support for program feasibility.

The physical and mental health-related quality of life (QOL) of 89 parents of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) was compared to the health-related QOL of 46 parents of children without disabilities. Parents completed a packet of surveys measuring demographics, parenting stress, coping, resources, and QOL. Results of t tests showed significant differences between the two groups for all variables. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that for parents of children with HFASDs, demographics and psychosocial variables accounted for a significant amount of variance for physical health-related QOL, with income, number of children, and stress being significant variables. Demographics and psychosocial variables also accounted for a significant amount of variance for parents' mental health-related QOL, with income and stress being significant variables.

Age differences in children's recall of salient experiences have frequently been documented, but these findings have routinely been based on studies in which verbal interviews have been employed. Because verbal interview protocols may underestimate the memory of young children, the purpose of this research was to compare the effectiveness of such an interview with two alternative protocols that involved the use of a doll. Using these contrasting protocols, 3-and 5-year-old children were asked to remember the details of a routine physical examination. Neither doll protocol facilitated 3-year-olds' recall of the features of the check-up. In contrast, 5-year-olds who were asked to demonstrate with a doll what happened in their examination showed enhanced recall. The inclusion of a doll had no effect on older or younger children's provision of elaborative detail about their visits to the doctor. Various measures of individual differences (e.g. temperament, language skill) predicted some aspects of the children's recall and elaboration. The findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive skills necessary for effective use of dolls in the assessment process, and are related to problems associated with interviewing young children who are involved in legal proceedings.Motivated by issues concerned with children's abilities to provide accurate testimony, a growing body of research examines young children's memory for salient, personally experienced events. Studies of children's memory for physical examinations and other medical procedures (see, e.g., Baker-Ward, Gordon, Ornstein, Larus, and Clubb, in press;Goodman, Aman, and Hirshman, 1987;Ornstein, Gordon, and Larus, 1992), for example, have consistently demonstrated age differences in recall, both immediately after the event and at delay intervals of various lengths. These findings, however, have been based largely upon the use of verbal interview procedures and, as a result, important questions remain about the interpretation of children's reports of their experiences. For example, should data be taken at face value as indicating that younger children do not remember as well as older children? Or, as some (e.g. Mandler, 1991) would suggest, do the findings have more to do with linguistic and narrative skills than with memory? That is, is it possible that there are minimal (or no) age differences in remembering, and that the performance of young children reflects their difficulties in providing complete accounts of their experiences, perhaps because of the linguistic demands of the typical verbal interview?