This study examined prosody through characterization of acoustic properties of the speech of individuals with ASD and their parents, during narration. A subset of utterances were low-pass filtered and rated for differences in intonation, speech rate, and rhythm. Listener ratings were minimally related to acoustic measures, underscoring the complexity of atypical prosody in ASD. Acoustic analyses revealed greater utterance-final fundamental frequency excursion size and slower speech rate in the ASD group. Slower speech rate was also evident in the ASD parent group, particularly parents with the broad autism phenotype. Overlapping prosodic differences in ASD and ASD Parent groups suggest that prosodic differences may constitute an important phenotype contributing to ASD features and index genetic liability to ASD among first-degree relatives.

The evidence suggests that the ACE/ACE-R is capable of providing information on a range of cognitive domains and of differentiating well between those with and those without cognitive impairment. Further research examining how the tools distinguish between dementia subtypes and mild cognitive impairment will further benefit the evidence base.

The results of this review suggest that PVTs which take a hierarchical approach to effort testing such as the WMT, MSVT, and NV-MSVT are preferable for use with older adults who are under investigation for possible dementia. These tests go above and beyond the traditional pass/fail approach of more traditional tests of effort because they allow the examiner to analyze the examinee's profile of scores. The methodological limitations and challenges involved in this field of research are discussed.

Prospective memory difficulties are commonly reported in people with dementia. The evidence supporting the use of prospective memory devices among the dementia population remains limited. MindMate is a recently developed smart device application that aims to support individuals with a diagnosis of dementia, improving self-management skills and quality of life. This study investigated the effectiveness and usability of the reminder tool on the MindMate application as a memory aid. Three participants with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease were recruited to this multiple baseline single case experimental design study. Partners of the participants recorded their performance on everyday tasks on weekly monitoring forms during a baseline phase (between five and seven weeks) and during the intervention phase (five weeks) whilst using MindMate. Two participants successfully used the app throughout the intervention weeks and gave positive usability ratings. Tau-U analysis showed a significant increase in memory performance between baseline and intervention phase (Tau-U = 1, 0.94, p<0.01). A third participant withdrew from the intervention phase following difficulties turning off the reminders and frustrations with the reminder alert sound. For two of the three participants, use of MindMate was feasible and effective in supporting remembering of everyday tasks compared to practice as usual.

Video self-modeling (VSM) uses a method called feedforward to provide children the opportunity to view themselves as they perform in a more advanced or appropriate manner than they do presently. Typically, this is accomplished through the careful editing of videos. Studies on VSM and social skills with children on the autism spectrum ages 3 to 4 years have produced mixed results. In this study, a single-subject multiple-baseline design across four children (three on the autism spectrum and one with Down syndrome) with a mean age of 4 years 2 months was used to determine whether VSM would facilitate social initiations. This study was meant to be a replication of a study published in 2012. Positive changes were seen for all four children. The relationship between age and VSM efficacy is discussed along with other factors that may influence VSM outcomes with young children.