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We investigated the early sociocognitive battery (ESB), a novel measure of preverbal social communication skills, in children with autism participating in the Paediatric Autism Communication Trial-Generalised (PACT-G). The associations between ESB scores, language and autism symptoms were assessed in 249 children aged 2-11 years. The results show that ESB subscale scores (social responsiveness, joint attention and symbolic comprehension) were significantly associated with concurrent autism symptoms and receptive and expressive language levels. The pattern of association between the ESB subscale scores differed between the ADOS-2 symptom domains and expressive and receptive language. These findings indicate the potential utility of the ESB as a measure of preverbal social communication in children with autism.

Background: Autism presents with similar prevalence and core impairments in diverse populations. We conducted a scoping review of reviews to determine key barriers and innovative strategies which can contribute to attaining universal health coverage (UHC), from early detection to effective interventions for autism in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LAMIC). Methods: A systematic literature search of review articles was conducted. Reviews relevant to the study research question were included if they incorporated papers from LAMIC and focused on children (

The growth of autistic self-advocacy and the neurodiversity movement has brought about new ethical, theoretical and ideological debates within autism theory, research and practice. These debates have had genuine impact within some areas of autism research but their influence is less evident within early intervention research. In this paper, we argue that all autism intervention stakeholders need to understand and actively engage with the views of autistic people and with neurodiversity as a concept and movement. In so doing, intervention researchers and practitioners are required to move away from a normative agenda and pay diligence to environmental goodness-of-fit, autistic developmental trajectories, internal drivers and experiences, and autistic prioritized intervention targets. Autism intervention researchers must respond to these debates by reframing effectiveness, developing tools to measure autistic prioritized outcomes, and forming partnerships with autistic people. There is a pressing need for increased reflection and articulation around how intervention practices align with a neurodiversity framework and greater emphasis within intervention programmes on natural developmental processes, coping strategies, autonomy, and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]