Early life deprivation, neurodevelopment, mental health and resilience: ERA study

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André Tomlin summarises the latest instalment of the ERA (English and Romanian Adoptees) study, which explores the neurodevelopmental and mental health trajectories of Romanian orphans who experienced severe levels of early life deprivation.

Today’s blog features a podcast interview with lead author of the ERA study: Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke.

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Substance misuse and addiction in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

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Andrew Jones summarises a recent Canadian cohort study, which explores the extent of substance misuse and addictive disorders among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

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CBT for Autism Spectrum Disorders and comorbid mental illness

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Alix Dixon presents a recent systematic review on the effectiveness of CBT for autism spectrum disorders and comorbid anxiety or depression.

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Trends in antipsychotic prescribing in autism

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Angela Hassiotis and James Dove summarise a recent meta-analysis of antipsychotic prescribing and use trends in US youth with autism spectrum disorder and/or learning disabilities.

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Psychiatric disorders: what’s the significance of non-random mating?

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Marcus Munafo considers the implications of a recent Swedish population study, which explores patterns of non-random mating within and across 11 major psychiatric disorders.

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Pivotal response treatment is promising for children with autism

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Rosalyn Nelson presents the findings of a small RCT of Pivotal Response Treatment groups for parents of children with autism, which has promising results in terms of encouraging children to communicate.

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Risk factors for self-injurious behaviour in adolescents with ASD

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Self-injurious behaviour can have significant consequences for individuals, their families and carers.

Here, Rachel Allen looks at a study, which focused in particular on adolescents, and considered that the severity of autism symptoms were related to the incidence of self injurious behaviour during adolescence.

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Evaluating the quality of information on autism-related websites: ensuring informed decision making

This review highlights the lack of evidence about the best way to prevent cognitive decline in later life

The internet is now a major source of information and advice and a significant proportion of parents who have just received a diagnosis of autism for their child will visit websites looking for information. But how far is the quality of that information assured?

Here, Emma Langley looks at an evaluation of autism related website which set out to answer that question.

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Forensic learning disabilities in-patient services – were there differences in clinical, forensic and treatment outcomes if patients also had autism?

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There continues to be debate about the appropriate use of in-patient services for people with learning disabilities and we need to learn as much as possible about routes in, treatment options within and pathways out.

In her debut blog, Anne Marie Scott looks at a paper, which reports on outcomes in relation to people who were inpatients in a forensic unit, In particular the researchers asked if being on the autism spectrum impacted on these outcomes.

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Can we model the development and maintenance of self-injury in children with developmental delay?

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Self-injurious behaviour can have a severe impact on the quality of life of some children with developmental delay.

Here, Alix Dixon looks at a review of an extensive body of literature around potential causal mechanisms and aggravating characteristics which aims to develop a clearer working model to inform practice.

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