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According to the weak central coherence (CC) account individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit enhanced local processing and weak part-whole integration. CC was investigated in the verbal domain. Adolescents, recruited using a 2 (ASD status) by 2 (language impairment status) design, completed an aural forced choice comprehension task involving syntactically ambiguous sentences. Half the picture targets depicted the least plausible interpretation, resulting in longer RTs across groups. These were assumed to reflect local processing. There was no ASD by plausibility interaction and consequently little evidence for weak CC in the verbal domain when conceptualised as enhanced local processing. Furthermore, there was little evidence that the processing of syntactically ambiguous sentences differed as a function of ASD or language-impairment status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Children and young people with autism spectrum conditions frequently have adverse experiences in accessing health care. Methods An audit of experiences of families known to our tertiary service and hospital staff was conducted. A checklist asking about particular aspects of behaviour and communication was developed and incorporated into pre-admission planning. Results Awareness of the child/young person's communication needs and behaviours, plus good preplanning by all staff involved and a team member allocated to ensure that the care plan is carried through, has resulted in a vastly improved 'patient experience' from the perspective of family and staff. Conclusion Children and young people with autism spectrum disorder, often with co-existing learning difficulties, vary greatly in their reactions to hospital admission. Preplanning that involves the family with a dedicated informed staff member can dramatically reduce distress and improve the patient and staff experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the challenges that are associated with diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in children with Down syndrome. They suggest that the decision to provide a child with Down syndrome with an additional diagnosis may be morally difficult. They argue that despite the difficulties that are associated with attempting to diagnose autism in children with Down syndrome, a diagnosis of autism may be beneficial to the children and their parents.

Reports on the results of a survey on the seroprevalence of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) in British terminal sire sheep breeds. Potential of CLA to spread within the wider sheep industry; Recorded breed of flocks containing CLA antibody-positive rams from a serological survey in 2000.

The article reports on the prevalence of autism and autism-related spectrum disorders in about one percent of the children's population in the South Thames region of Great Britain. A clinical consensus diagnosis reported 39 cases of autistic children out of 10,000 population and 77 cases of the children with autism-related spectrum disorders of the same population. The prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders in children are expected to reach 116 cases out of 10,0000 population.

Abstract: Although the influence of temperature and moisture on the free-living stages of gastrointestinal nematodes has been described in detail, and evidence for global climate change is mounting, serious attempts to relate altered incidence or seasonal patterns of disease to climate change are lacking. In Great Britain, veterinary surveillance laboratory diagnoses of ovine parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) have been categorised in species groups and recorded since 1975. Here we present a detailed analysis of these historical data. Over the past 5–10 years, highly significant increases in the overall rate of diagnosis of PGE were observed for all species categories. After identifying and analysing possible sources of bias, the effect of climate change on parasite epidemiology proved the most likely explanation for the observed patterns, although other hypotheses could not be refuted. Seasonal rates of diagnosis suggest that, in line with increases in temperature, fewer larvae of Teladorsagia and Trichostrongylus species survive the winter and spring at pasture, while the windows of transmission of these species, and of Haemonchus contortus, have extended into the autumn. For all species categories significant differences in rates of diagnosis, and in the seasonality of disease, were identified between regions. Nematodirosis showed a pronounced peak in spring and early summer in Scotland while in the Southwest, where fewer diagnoses were made, it also appeared regularly at other times of year. The data presented serve as a baseline against which future changes can be measured. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Competing Interests: Competing interests: were declared using NICE’s policy on conflicts of interests (https://www.nice.org.uk/Media/Default/About/Who-we-are/Policies-and-procedures/declaration-of-interests-policy.pdf). The guideline authors’ full statements can be viewed at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng181/documents/register-of-interests

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex condition that requires specialised care. Knowledge of the costs of autism spectrum disorder, especially in comparison with other conditions, may be useful to galvanise policymakers and leverage investment in education and intervention to mitigate aspects of autism spectrum disorder that negatively impact individuals with the disorder and their families. This article describes the services and associated costs for four groups of individuals: adolescents with autistic disorder, adolescents with other autism spectrum disorders, adolescents with other special educational needs and typically developing adolescents using data from a large, well-characterised cohort assessed as part of the UK Special Needs and Autism Project at the age of 12 years. Average total costs per participant over 6 months were highest in the autistic disorder group (£11,029), followed by the special educational needs group (£9268), the broader autism spectrum disorder group (£8968) and the typically developing group (£2954). Specialised day or residential schooling accounted for the vast majority of costs. In regression analysis, lower age and lower adaptive functioning were associated with higher costs in the groups with an autism spectrum disorder. Sex, ethnicity, number of International Classification of Diseases (10th revision) symptoms, autism spectrum disorder symptom scores and levels of mental health difficulties were not associated with cost., (© The Author(s) 2014.)