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News & Events
Chance to showcase WA expertise on the international stage thanks to Aspire AwardsTwo of The Kids Research Institute Australia’s best and brightest will share in $10,000 of funding to use for investment in their professional growth through attendance at an international conference, when safe to do so.
News & Events
New friend to improve social attention of kids with autismAn attention-training game developed by researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia is helping to improve social skill development in school-aged kids with autism.
News & Events
AWESOME ASD guide opens the world of art to kids with autismFor kids on the autism spectrum, it’s not always easy to enjoy art without becoming overwhelmed, overstimulated or anxious.
News & Events
The Kids researchers awarded Raine Medical Research Foundation fundingCongratulations to Dr Gail Alvares and Dr Rachel Foong, who have been awarded funding from the Raine Medical Research Foundation.
News & Events
The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher a finalist for 2017 Eureka PrizeAutism researcher, Professor Andrew Whitehouse from The Kids has been named a finalist in the Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science
News & Events
National guidelines bring new order to autism diagnosisClinicians across Australia are looking forward to the release of the country’s first national guidelines for the diagnosis of autism.
News & Events
Study sheds new light on the ‘autism epidemic’ mysteryResearchers have shown that the so called 'autism epidemic' is due to an increase in the diagnosis of children with less severe behavioural symptoms.
Research
Characterizing Transdiagnostic Processes Underlying the Drive to Socially Engage: A Multimeasurement Factor Analytic InvestigationAltered drive to socially engage is a transdiagnostic feature across multiple psychopathologies. Yet, lack of clarity regarding specific processes that constitute social drive, along with insufficient measurement methods, has hindered understanding in this area. This study ascertained the feasibility of approximating difficulties within specific fine-grained social drive processes as proposed by 2 theoretical frameworks: “orienting,” “wanting,” “pursuing,” “liking,” “learning,” and “reticence” within a reward processing framework and “orienting,” “seeking and maintaining,” and “liking” within a social motivation framework.
Research
Evaluation of the Acceptability and Feasibility of the Social Attention and Communication Surveillance-Revised (SACS-R) Tool for Early Identification of Autism in Preterm InfantsPreterm birth is associated with a 3.3-fold increased likelihood of autism diagnosis, with lower gestational age conferring higher likelihood. In Australia, autism is typically diagnosed at around age four, potentially missing the optimal neuroplasticity window before age two. The Social Attention and Communication Surveillance-Revised (SACS-R) tool identifies early autism signs in children aged 11-30 months, enabling pre-emptive intervention.
Research
Accuracy of a 2-minute eye-tracking assessment to differentiate young children with and without autismEye-tracking could expedite autism identification/diagnosis through standardisation and objectivity. We tested whether Gazefinder autism assessment, with Classification Algorithm derived from gaze fixation durations, would have good accuracy (area under the curve [AUC] ≥ 0.80) to differentiate 2-4-year-old autistic from non-autistic children.