ABSTRACT Handwriting has received limited attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), making systematic investigation crucial. Digital assessments enable deeper analysis of handwriting characteristics and challenges in autistic children and adolescents. This study examined kinematic predictors of handwriting speed in autistic individuals without intellectual disability compared to non‐autistic peers. Two hundred and four participants (White ethnicity, 8–17 years, autistic = 68 [54 M], M age = 12.08 (2.42); non‐autistic = 136 [96 M], M age = 11.97 (2.00), matched for age, IQ, handedness, and sex, completed a tablet‐based sentence‐copying task under maximum accuracy (MA) and speed (MS) conditions. Completion time and kinematic measures (path length, pressure, pen angle, and writing/total time ratio) were recorded. Autistic participants were slower than non‐autistic peers in both conditions ( p s ≤ 0.006, d s ≥ 0.47), with distinct kinematic profiles. In MA (pseudo R 2 = 0.41, p = 0.017), shorter completion time (CT) was linked to greater writing‐time proportion for all participants ( B = −0.09, p = 0.012), with higher pressure being associated to longer CT only in autism ( B = −0.157, p = 0.021). In MS (pseudo R 2 = 0.40, p = 0.05), shorter CT related to larger handwriting (i.e., longer path length) in autism ( B = 0.20, p < 0.001) and to greater writing‐time proportion in the non‐autistic group ( B = −0.30, p < 0.001). Findings underscore the importance of handwriting in functional assessment and support the need for tailored educational accommodations for autistic students.
ABSTRACT Joint attention is a core social‐communication process that is affected in autistic children and may be key for early identification and targeted intervention. In this eye‐tracking study, we examine how social cues and focused‐interest objects modulate visual attention during joint attention tasks in autistic children and typically developing (TD) peers. Sixty‐six children (33 autistic: M = 51.88 months, SD = 13.38; 33 TD: M = 53.54 months, SD = 8.64) completed a visual preference task in which a model used gaze and pointing gestures directed toward or away from objects related or unrelated to focused interests. We analyzed static measures of attention allocation, including total fixation duration on the model and the object, and a dynamic measure of gaze transitions between them as an index of attentional coordination across the triadic elements involved in joint attention. Results indicated that autistic children showed reduced fixation duration on the model and made fewer gaze transitions than TD children. Across groups, focused‐interest objects reduced attention to the model, reflecting increased competition between social and object‐based information. Importantly, sensitivity to cued objects differed between groups: TD showed greater total fixation duration on cued objects than autistic children, whereas no group differences were observed for uncued objects. For both groups, gaze transitions were more frequent with focused‐interest objects regardless of cueing, whereas for unrelated objects, transitions increased only when cued by the model. Together, these findings highlight the dynamic nature of joint attention and supjport the value of combining static and dynamic eye‐tracking measures to capture autism‐related differences in social attention.
Everyday adaptive behavior skills are a strong predictor of independence, mental health, and quality of life for autistic people. However, autistic individuals' adaptive skills are typically below expectation for their age and their intellectual abilities. Executive function is related to concurrent adaptive behavior, but few longitudinal studies have evaluated it as a predictor of adaptive behavior development over time. This study examines the trajectories of parent-reported adaptive behavior skills in autistic youth from early childhood to young adulthood and their relationship to parent-reported flexibility, working memory, and inhibition challenges. Leveraging a longitudinal sample of 313 participants (age range = 2-25 years; 64 females; Full Scale IQ: M = 103.3, range = 52-159; number of visits per participant: M = 3.01, range = 2-9) across a total of 941 visits, we examined trajectories of adaptive skills and their relationship to executive function challenges using multilevel growth curve modeling. Age-related adaptive skills decline with age in autistic people from 2 to 25 years old, regardless of parent education level. Parent-reported executive function challenges predict adaptive behavior scores across all adaptive skill domains. Adaptive behavior challenges endure across development for autistic people. Executive function is a key factor in adaptive outcomes, making it an important target for intervention and environmental supports.
This study examined the understanding of cardinality and conservation in children with and without autism (aged 4-7 years, without intellectual disability), and its relation to counting strategies. A total of 82 children participated in the study, including 41 autistic children (36 boys, 5 girls) and 41 age- and sex-matched non-autistic peers. While both groups demonstrated similar mastery of cardinality, autistic children showed lower performance in conservation tasks. Response times were longer in autistic children during counting tasks. Concerning counting strategies, autistic children relied more on verbal counting with pointing (VCP) and used the rapid recognition strategy (N) less frequently, even for small canonical sets. While both strategies (N and VCP) supported cardinality in both autistic and non-autistic children, only the N strategy appeared closely linked to successful conservation performance. These findings highlight two areas of relative difficulty for some autistic children and point to the potential of targeted interventions to strengthen foundational numerical skills and support later mathematical development.
