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Early elementary students on the autism spectrum are at risk for poor quality student-teacher relationships (STRs), a key contributor to student outcomes. However, these students' own appraisals of their STRs are nearly absent from the literature. This study examined children's perspectives of STRs and agreement with teacher-reported STRs for a sample of young autistic students (N = 136; 5-9 years). Although a majority of students responded affirmatively to items reflecting positive perceptions of STRs (e.g., 80.7% reported liking their teacher, 75.0% reported being liked by their teacher), results also revealed that some students perceived negative STR experiences (e.g., 14.7% reported that they get angry with their teacher, 17.6% reported that they get in trouble a lot). Student and teachers' scores were not significantly correlated, suggesting that students and teachers may have unique perspectives on specific aspects of their relationship.

This study examined the prevalence of ADHD symptoms and anxiety as reported by parents and teachers for 180 preschool children (ages 4-5) and school-aged children (ages 6-7) with ASD using the Child Behavior Checklist--Parent and Teacher Report Forms (Achenbach and Rescorla, Manual for ASEBA school-age forms & profiles, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2001). Parents reported elevated anxiety symptoms in 31% of preschool children and 50% of school-aged children, while teachers reported lower rates of 5 and 30%, respectively. Parents reported elevated ADHD symptoms in 22% of preschool children and 45% of school-aged children, while teachers reported elevations in 20 and 24%, respectively. There was low concordance between parents and teachers, with teachers reporting fewer problems overall. Specific behaviors endorsed by parents and teachers are also discussed. [This is the online version of an article published in "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders."]

Among typically developing children, many characteristics have been associated with parents' expectations for their children's adjustment to school and academic progress. Despite the history of increased parental involvement in the education of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to parents of children without ASD, there is little research on the educational expectations that parents hold for their young children with ASD and how they are formed. In the current study, we addressed this gap by using a mixed methods design to examine the association between parents' expectations for the level of success their children would achieve during the current school year, and multiple child-, parent/family-, and teacher/school-level factors, among parents of 4 to 7 year olds with ASD (N = 121). When these different factors were considered simultaneously, children's externalizing behaviors, parents' educational level, and parents' employment status were found to be significantly associated with parents' expectations of schooling.

Among typically developing children, many characteristics have been associated with parents' expectations for their children's adjustment to school and academic progress. Despite the history of increased parental involvement in the education of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to parents of children without ASD, there is little research on the educational expectations that parents hold for their young children with ASD and how they are formed. In the current study, we addressed this gap by using a mixed methods design to examine the association between parents' expectations for the level of success their children would achieve during the current school year, and multiple child-, parent/family-, and teacher/school-level factors, among parents of 4 to 7 year olds with ASD (N 121). When these different factors were considered simultaneously, children's externalizing behaviors, parents' educational level, and parents' employment status were found to be significantly associated with parents' expectations of schooling. [This article was published in "Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities" (EJ1160258).]

ASD symptomology and behavioral problems pose challenges for children with ASD in school. Disagreement between parents and teachers in ratings of children's behavior problems may provide clinically relevant information. We examined parent-teacher disagreement on ratings of behavior problems among children with ASD during the fall and spring of the school year. When child, teacher, and class characteristics were considered simultaneously, only ASD symptom severity predicted informant disagreement on internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. We also examined associations between informant disagreement and parent school involvement. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed that higher informant disagreement on children's behavior problems in the fall predicted lower parent school involvement in the spring, suggesting that greater informant agreement may foster parental school involvement over time.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at heightened risk for developing comorbid psychological disorders, including anxiety disorders, which may be further exacerbated by the presence of externalizing behaviors. Here, we examined how structural language and pragmatic language predicted anxiety and externalizing behaviors. Participants were 159 young children (4-7 years old) with ASD and their mothers. Utilizing structural equation modeling we examined associations among structural language, pragmatic language, anxiety symptoms, and externalizing behaviors. Pragmatic language, was inversely related to child anxiety and co-occurring externalizing behaviors. Structural language skills positively predicted child anxiety. These findings suggest that children with ASD may be at heightened risk for anxiety and externalizing disorders due to their pragmatic language deficits. [This article is published in "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders" (EJ1156958).]

This study examined relationships among behavior problems, social skills, and educational placement within a sample of children with autism spectrum disorder or ASD in public (mean age 7) and non-public (mean age 8) school settings (n = 56). Parent and teacher agreement on child characteristics ratings tended to be similar while differences between parent ratings of students in public and non-public school settings found more behavior problems and poorer social skills for students in non-public school placements compared to public school settings. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses indicated that child age, family income, and social skills were predictive of educational placement, with overall prediction success at 87.5%. Current eligibility and diagnosis of ASD, in both clinical and educational settings, is also discussed.

Perceived loneliness and social competence were assessed for 127 children with ASD without comorbid ID, 4-7 years old, through child self-report. Using an abbreviated version of the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire (LSDQ; Cassidy and Asher in Child Dev 63:250-365, ), the majority of children reported friendships, yet a considerable proportion also reported social difficulties. Factor analysis of the abbreviated LSDQ identified three factors, which were significantly associated with parent- and teacher-reported variables. Regression analyses revealed parent-reported social skills deficits and teacher-reported conflict in the student-teacher relationship to be associated with child-reported loneliness. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent to which child syndromes and observation context related to mothers' parenting behaviors. Longitudinal observations were conducted of parenting behavior across ages 3, 4, and 5 years during structured and unstructured activities. The 183 participants included mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, undifferentiated developmental delay, or typical cognitive development. Negative parenting behaviors were higher in structured activities and higher in mothers of children in all developmentally delayed groups. Positive parenting was higher in unstructured activities and especially high for mothers of children with Down syndrome. Despite differences found through direct observation of parenting children in different diagnostic groups, they are not as strong as syndrome-group differences found through more commonly used self-report questionnaires assessing domains like parenting stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]