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Andrew WhitehouseDeputy Director (Research); Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research at The Kids Research Institute Australia; Director, CliniKids
Be involved in the Sibling Snapshot Project! Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia are conducting research which explores the unique
Join a Focus Group for the Sibling Support Study! Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia are conducting research which explores the
News & Events
New autism guideline a lifeline for familiesProfessor Andrew Whitehouse tells how Australia’s first national guideline for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is going to transform the way the condition is assessed and managed, vastly improving the experience for families.
Research
“The Wrong Supports Are Worse than no Support”: Autistic Perspectives on Early-in-Life Infant Autism SupportsEvidence suggests that the earlier supports are provided to young Autistic children, the better the overall outcomes. Supports have typically only been available after an autism diagnosis but with increased knowledge about early developmental trajectories, clinical supports can now be offered prediagnosis for infants showing early autism features and/or those with a family history of autism.
Research
Feasibility of a 2-minute eye-tracking protocol to support the early identification of autismWe tested the potential for Gazefinder eye-tracking to support early autism identification, including feasible use with infants, and preliminary concurrent validity of trial-level gaze data against clinical assessment scores. We embedded the ~ 2-min 'Scene 1S4' protocol within a comprehensive clinical assessment for 54 consecutively-referred, clinically-indicated infants (prematurity-corrected age 9-14 months).
Research
Sex-specific white matter alterations in children exposed to high pregestational BMIThis study investigated whether exposure to high pregestational BMI (≥ 25 kg/m2) is associated with alterations in white matter microstructure in early childhood, explored sex-specific effects, and examined associations with cognitive performance.
Research
Get it right, make it easy, see it all: Viewpoints of autistic individuals and parents of autistic individuals about the autism diagnostic process in AustraliaThe clinical process for being evaluated for an autism diagnosis is often time consuming and stressful for individuals and their caregivers. While experience of and satisfaction with the diagnostic process has been reviewed in the literature, few studies have directly investigated the viewpoints of individuals diagnosed with autism and caregivers of autistic individuals about what is important in the autism diagnostic process.
Research
Investigating associations between birth order and autism diagnostic phenotypesBirth order effects have been linked to variability in intelligence, educational attainment and sexual orientation. First- and later-born children have been linked to an increased likelihood of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis, with a smaller body of evidence implicating decreases in cognitive functioning with increased birth order.
Research
The Utility of Natural Language Samples for Assessing Communication and Language in Infants Referred with Early Signs of AutismNatural Language Sampling (NLS) offers clear potential for communication and language assessment, where other data might be difficult to interpret. We leveraged existing primary data for 18-month-olds showing early signs of autism, to examine the reliability and concurrent construct validity of NLS-derived measures coded from video-of child language, parent linguistic input, and dyadic balance of communicative interaction-against standardised assessment scores. Using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software and coding conventions, masked coders achieved good-to-excellent inter-rater agreement across all measures.