This study compared the psychosocial and emotional adjustment of siblings of children with autism and siblings of non-disabled children. In addition, differences between self and parent reports, as well as various demographic characteristics were examined. Fifty-one siblings of children with autism and 35 siblings of non-disabled children, between the ages of 7 and 17, along with one parent of each sibling, participated. Results indicated that the presence of a child with autism appears to enhance the psychosocial and emotional development of non-disabled siblings when demographic risk factors are limited. However, the presence of a child with autism appears to have an increasingly unfavorable impact on the non-disabled sibling as demographic risk factors increase.

A paucity of research exists regarding driving skills and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study sought to gain a better understanding of driving and ASD by surveying parents/caregivers of adolescents/young adults with ASD who were currently attempting, or had previously attempted, to learn to drive. Respondents included 123 parents/caregivers of adolescents/young adults with ASD. The results indicate that learning to drive presents a substantial challenge for individuals with ASD; complex driving demands (e.g., multi-tasking) may be particularly problematic. Respondents provided suggestions that may be useful to others who seek to teach these skills. The survey results offer guidance for next steps in the study of driving with ASD.

Health care providers within psychology currently fall into three dominant practice areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology. This article reviews data from four different sources-archival descriptions, training curricula, internship and employment outcomes, and professional activities-to examine the overlap among the three practice areas. Archival descriptions revealed substantial similarities, with smaller but interesting differences. A comparison of actual curricula from 10 programs accredited in each of the three practice areas yielded similar findings: Programs across the three practice areas were much more similar than different. Within-practice area variations among programs were nearly as large as across-practice area differences. We briefly review the professional activities of clinical, counseling, and school psychologists, again demonstrating considerable similarity. We conclude by explaining implications for doctoral training programs, internships settings, and professional credentialing.

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Previous studies have shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate poorer driving performance than their peers and are less likely to obtain a driver's license. This study aims to examine the relationship between driving performance and executive functioning for novice drivers, with and without ASD, using a driving simulator. Forty-four males (ages 15-23), 17 with ASD and 27 healthy controls, completed paradigms assessing driving skills and executive functioning. ASD drivers demonstrated poorer driving performance overall and the addition of a working memory task resulted in a significant decrement in their performance relative to control drivers. Results suggest that working memory may be a key mechanism underlying difficulties demonstrated by ASD drivers and provides insight for future intervention programs.

The history of doctoral training in psychology is reviewed, with special emphasis on the development of training models for applied psychology. Among applied psychology doctoral programs, most label themselves as being one of the three currently recognized practice areas: clinical, counseling, and school psychology; however, since the 1970s, APA also has accredited "combined" programs. The history of the development of the combined model is traced, including information from the programs themselves about the manner in which each evolved. Recently, new interest in the combined category -or Combined-Integrated (C-I) as these programs wish to become known-has emerged, and an organization representing these programs has formed. The C-I model is described, and the potential that the model may serve as a template for the future of professional training in psychology is discussed.

The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJ) is gaining in use in the assessment of youngsters with suspected learning disabilities. This study reports on the Tests of Cognitive Ability of the battery, which are intended to be the equivalent of an intelligence test. The correlation between full scale scores on the WISC-R and the WJ was found to be .79, suggesting considerable overlap. However, differences in mean full scale scores of approximately one standard deviation were found. Possible explanations and implications for the findings are discussed.

Social communicative deficits and stereotyped or repetitive interests or behaviors are the defining features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A growing body of research suggests that gross motor deficits are also present in most children with ASD. This study sought to understand how pediatric ASD severity is related to motor skills and social skills. A multivariate analysis of variance analysis of 483 children with autism ( N = 444) and ASD ( N = 39) revealed a nonsignificant difference between groups. Results suggest little difference between severity groups on gross motor and social skills within the limited age range of the participants (about 5.6 years of age).