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Many autistic adults experience unemployment, which may impact their financial circumstances. However, no research has examined their personal financial circumstances. Therefore, this study aims to examine the self-reported income, savings and debt of autistic adults living in Australia, as well as the demographic associates and predictors of income and savings.

Sixty-four autistic adults aged 18–67 years (M_age = 32.78, SD_age = 11.36) completed an online survey containing questions relating to their financial circumstances and the autism spectrum quotient-short.

Overall, the authors found that many autistic adults are financially disadvantaged. The mode of income levels was below AU$25,000, which is substantially lower than the mean annual Australian full-time income of AU$89,123. Higher savings was associated with not having any debt or having a greater ability to repay debt. Autism traits were positively associated with income levels. As predicted, being employed was associated with and predicted higher income. People who were employed were four times more likely to have a higher income than unemployed individuals. The authors did not find a relationship between having a co-occurring mental condition with income or savings. The authors also did not find a significant association between employment status and savings.

These research findings have implications on how we can improve the financial circumstances of autistic adults and provide additional evidence for the importance of increasing employment opportunities for autistic individuals.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to examine the personal financial circumstances of autistic adults.

Relatively little is known about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in later life, though the available evidence indicates that it is as prevalent as in childhood and youth. The current study was an on‐line questionnaire (of basic biographical information, general health, quality of life and score on the Autism Quotient [AQ] measure) of UK‐resident adults in their forties who had been diagnosed with ASD or suspected they had ASD. The findings indicated health and quality of life problems very significantly greater than the population norms, with strong indications that prototypical problems of younger people with ASD (such as social isolation and anxiety) persist throughout adult life, even in individuals in high‐income professions. Respondents who thought they had ASD were qualitatively identical to respondents with a formal diagnosis ‐ only the strength of symptoms differed. Scores on the AQ measure did not correlate with other symptoms. Although the study is of a relatively small number (N = 29) of people and there are limitations imposed by the study's design, the findings are robust, and indicate an urgent need to examine ASD in the older population using a larger, more demographically representative study.

The education of children with autism spectrum conditions deserves a fresh look, for several reasons. First, it is unclear whether some approaches ‐ such as applied behavioural analysis (ABA) ‐ are simply shaping behaviour but not fundamentally leading to conceptual development. Second, educational methods which depend on external reinforcement or reward are ethically questionable so methods that are intrinsically rewarding would be preferable. Third, many educational approaches to autism have proceeded without a clear theoretical rationale. This article summarises a new two‐factor psychological theory of autism spectrum conditions, presents some examples of educational methods that are based on this theory, and that are intrinsically rewarding and argues that such methods may be more autism‐friendly.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) is a widely used tool to quantify autistic traits in the general population. This study aims to report the distribution, group differences and factor structure of autistic traits in Indian general population. The work also assesses the criterion validity of AQ across three patient group samples – autism spectrum disorder (ASD), obsessive-compulsive disorder and social anxiety disorder.

In this study, psychometric properties of the adapted AQ were assessed among 450 neurotypical university students matched for age. Confirmatory factor analysis was done to see if the adapted AQ fits the original factor structure. Test–retest, internal consistency reliability and criterion validity were found out. Group differences (gender and field of study) in AQ were also assessed.

Autistic traits were found to be continuously distributed in the population, and patterns of group differences were consistent with previous studies. The adapted AQ had five factors resembling the original factor structure with a good fit, and 38 items instead of the original 50 items. Acceptable reliability coefficients were demonstrated along with criterion validity across clinical groups.

This work is the first to present the pattern of distribution and factor structure of autistic traits among neurotypical adults from Eastern India, a culturally different population, as well as a reliable and valid tool to assess autistic traits in Bengali, a language with 300 million speakers. The findings add to the growing literature on AQ measurement and the concept of autism as a quantitative trait, examined outside of the western samples.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are heterogeneous disorders, and heterogeneity lies both at genetic and phenotypic levels. To better understand the etiology and pathway that may contribute to autism symptomatology, it is important to study milder expressions of autism characteristics – autistic traits or milder expressions of autism phenotype, especially in intergenerational context. This study aims to see the trend of association, if any, between child autism symptom and mothers’ autism phenotype as well as mothers’ theory of mind and to see if mothers’ theory of mind was associated with their own autistic traits.

Data were collected from 96 mothers of children with varying symptom severity of autism (mild, moderate and severe) using Autism Spectrum Quotient and faux pas recognition test. Analysis of variance, trend analysis and t-test were done.

Results showed a linear trend of relationship between mothers’ autism phenotype and child symptom severity. However, the groups did not have significant differences in theory of mind. Only a few components of theory of mind were found to be associated with autistic traits. These findings question the prevailing idea that theory of mind can be a reliable endophenotype of autism.

There has been a lack of research assessing the possible link between parents’ autism phenotype and symptom severity of ASD children. This study is a preliminary step towards that direction. This study indicates a probability of shared genetic liability between mothers and offspring, which would have important consequences for understanding the mechanisms that lead to autism.

This study offers implications for treatment planning of those with clinical ASD. An awareness of parental factors is critical for any holistic intervention plan when a family seeks treatment for their child. This study suggests that while individualising interventions, clinicians may consider possible presence of high levels of autistic traits and related cognitive features present in the probands’ parents.

There has been lack of research assessing the possible link between parents’ autism phenotype and symptom severity of ASD children. This study, even though preliminary, is a step towards that direction. This study suggests that autism traits might be influenced by common genetic variation and indicates a probability of shared genetic liability between mothers and offspring, which would have important consequences for understanding the mechanisms that lead to autism.

The Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA) was designed to be a screening tool to identify adults with Asperger syndrome and/or high-functioning autism. The AAA includes three questionnaires; the Autism Quotient (AQ), the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the Relatives Questionnaire (RQ). The Autism Quotient-10 (AQ-10) was designed to be a “red flag” for healthcare professionals considering referral for ASD assessment. The purpose of this paper is to determine the usefulness of the AAA and AQ-10 as part of an adult autism diagnostic pathway that includes patients of all intellectual ability.

Results were obtained for all patients who had received a clinical decision at Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, which is a service that assesses patients of all intellectual ability, during 2015, n=214. Of these 132 were included in the analysis, 77 patients were excluded for not completing the AAA and four were excluded for not receiving a clinical decision.

Results suggest that patients diagnosed with ASD without intellectual disabilities score on average 35 on the AQ, 17 on the EQ and 20 on the RQ. Those not diagnosed with ASD score on average 33 on the AQ, 22 on the EQ and 15 on the RQ. Patients with intellectual disabilities, scores are lower on the AQ, and higher on the EQ and RQ than those without intellectual disabilities. These results are the same regardless of diagnosis of ASD. The RQ is the only questionnaire to result in a significant difference between those diagnosed and not diagnosed. Results suggest that the AQ-10 is not useful in this clinical population.

This study was undertaken as part of a service development improvement process. The specific demographics of this clinical population may have influenced the findings. The process will need to be repeated to ensure that the results are consistent across time and increased sample size. The population of patients with an intellectual disability is small, further studies into the use of the AAA or the design of other intellectual disability specific screening tools should be pursued. It is of note that the AAA was never intended for use within an intellectual disability population.

This is an original paper as it will be the first to consider the usefulness of each of the aspects of the AAA collectively. It will be the first to assess: the AQ-10 alongside the AAA, the usefulness of the AAA regardless of intellectual ability and the usefulness of the AAA within a clinical population by using the diagnostic outcome as the benchmark of the usefulness of the AAA scores. This paper will only be discussing the scores generated by the AAA, and the correlation of these scores with a diagnosis.

The Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA), comprising the Autism Questionnaire, the Empathy Quiotient and the Relatives Questionnaire is a commonly used screening tool designed to identify adults who may benefit from a further clinical assessment for autism spectrum disorder. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of this screening measure in a clinical setting.

This retrospective cohort study comprised of 192 service users referred for diagnostic assessment of Autism by a specialist service of the National Health Service. The authors evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the AAA by investigating if the Autism Questionnaire, the Empathy Quiotient and the Relatives Questionnaire were able to predict the diagnostic outcome of Autism in a clinical setting.

Scores from the Relatives Questionnaire can accurately predict diagnostic outcome. No evidence of accuracy for the Autism Questionnaire or the Empathy Quotient was apparent. Based on the findings, the authors recommend clinicians are cautious when interpreting results of the AAA.

It should be acknowledged that the results may not be generalisable to whole populations. Also, the authors used the full item versions of the scales; therefore, the findings are most applicable to studies which did similar.

This study highlights the need for investigation into the lack of validation of commonly used screening measures in autistic populations.