Social and Communication Development in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Tony Charman, PhD, is Professor of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in the Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit at the Institute of Child Health, University College London. He studies early social-cognitive development in children with autism and the clinical application of this work via screening, diagnostic, outcome, early intervention, and epidemiological studies. Dr. Charman is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and is on the editorial/advisory boards of Autism, Autism Research, British Journal of Developmental Psychology,Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, and Research into Autism Spectrum Disorders. He has served on a number of expert panels for the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom and the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and is a scientific member of the Advisory Group to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism. Wendy Stone, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Director of the READi Lab (Research in Early Autism Detection and Intervention) at the University of Washington. Her primary research interests are early identification and intervention in autism, and the influence of early social-communicative development on later behavioral and diagnostic outcomes. She developed the Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers (STAT), and conducts research on improving community health care practices for toddlers with autism through implementation of early screening and evidence-based interventions. Dr. Stone serves on the editorial board of Autism Research, on the autism advisory panel for Sesame Street/Workshop, and on the Baby Siblings Research Consortium.

I. Assessment and Diagnosis
1. Understanding and Measuring Social Communication in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Amy M. Wetherby
2. Early Diagnosis of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Catherine Lord and Jennifer Richler
II. Screening and Surveillance
3. Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Populations: Progress, Challenges, and Questions for Future Research and Practice, Tony Charman and Simon Baron-Cohen
4. Early Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Clinical Practice Settings, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum and Wendy Stone
III. Evidence-Based Interventions
5. Treatment of Responding to and Initiating Joint Attention, Paul J. Yoder and Andrea S. McDuffie
6. Evidence-Based Interventions for Language Development in Young Children with Autism, Sally J. Rogers
7. Promoting Social Reciprocity and Symbolic Representation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Designing Quality Peer Play Interventions, Pamela J. Wolfberg and Adriana L. Schuler
8. Imitation: Some Cues for Intervention Approaches in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Jacqueline Nadel and Nadra Aouka
9. Augmentative and Alternative Communication Systems for Children with Autism, Patricia Howlin
IV. Developmental and Neurobiological Issues
10. A Developmental Approach to Understanding Atypical Development, Tedra A. Walden and Jennifer J. Hurley
11. The Neural Basis of Early Joint-Attention Behavior, Peter Mundy and Danielle Thorp