Tony Charman
Biographic Data
| ID | 5758742 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tony Charman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tony |
| FAMILY NAME | Charman |
| SIGNATURE | CHARMAN T |
| AFFILIATIONS | King's College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1993-6549 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 39 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 39 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 39 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The stability of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule‐2 in children aged 14–36 months with elevated likelihood for autism
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the stability of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) classifications in a cohort of 304 siblings at elevated likelihood for autism (EL-siblings). METHODS: ADOS-2 assessments were conducted at 14, 24 and 36 months, with Clinical Best Estimate (CBE) autism diagnoses determined at 36 months. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that while some children have stable ADOS-2 classifications from …
Mid‐childhood developmental and behavioural outcomes in infants with a family history of autism and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
BACKGROUND: Prospective studies of autism family history infants primarily report recurrence and predictors of autism at 3 years. Less is known about ADHD family history infants and later childhood outcomes. We characterise profiles of mid-childhood developmental and behavioural outcomes in infants with a family history of autism and/or ADHD to identify potential support needs and patterns of co-occurrence across domains. METHODS: Two hundred and…
Parent–child similarity on autism and ADHD traits and children's social functioning and psychological well‐being at 3 years
BACKGROUND: There is a pressing need for research on neurodevelopmental conditions to focus on predictors of resilient or positive outcomes, rather than core symptoms and impairment. One promising avenue is to consider whether child-parent similarity contributes to a protective family environment. For instance, investigations of the similarity-fit hypothesis have shown that parent-child attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) trait simila…
Feasibility and acceptability of a parent‐toddler programme to support the development of executive functions in children at elevated likelihood of autism or ADHD
This study reports feasibility, fidelity and acceptability of a pilot of START; a 12‐week parent‐toddler, group‐based, neurodiversity‐affirming programme aiming to support executive function development in toddlers at elevated likelihood of autism or ADHD. After 4 days' training, community early years practitioner pairs delivered START to 13 UK families with a toddler showing elevated autistic traits, or with a parent or sibling with autism or AD…
Understanding the relationship between social camouflaging in autism and safety behaviours in social anxiety in autistic and non‐autistic adolescents
BACKGROUND: Social camouflaging (hereafter camouflaging) in autism includes factors such as masking and compensating for one's neurodevelopmental differences, and to assimilate or 'fit in' with non-autistic peers. Efforts to hide one's authentic self and autism traits (masking) resemble impression management (IM) in safety behaviours identified in Clark and Wells' (1995) cognitive model of social anxiety (SA). This study explores the relationship…
Mediation of 6‐year mid‐childhood follow‐up outcomes after pre‐school social communication (Pact) therapy for autistic children
BACKGROUND: There are very few mechanistic studies of the long-term impact of psychosocial interventions in childhood. The parent-mediated Paediatric Autism Communication Therapy (PACT) RCT showed sustained effects on autistic child outcomes from pre-school to mid-childhood. We investigated the mechanism by which the PACT intervention achieved these effects. METHODS: Of 152 children randomised to receive PACT or treatment as usual between 2 and 5…
The roles of sensory hyperreactivity and hyporeactivity in understanding infant fearfulness and emerging autistic traits
BACKGROUND: Existing evidence indicates that atypical sensory reactivity is a core characteristic of autism, and has been linked to both anxiety (and its putative infant precursor of fearfulness) and repetitive behaviours. However, most work has used cross-sectional designs and not considered the differential roles of hyperreactivity and hyporeactivity to sensory inputs, and is thus limited in specificity. METHODS: 161 infants with and without an…
Infant sleep predicts trajectories of social attention and later autism traits
BACKGROUND: Children with neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience sleep disturbances, but little is known about when these sleep differences emerge and how they relate to later development. METHODS: We used a prospective longitudinal design in infants with a family history of ASD and/or ADHD to examine infant sleep and its relation to trajectories o…
The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism
Unique dynamic profiles of social attention in autistic females
BACKGROUND: Social attention affords learning opportunities across development and may contribute to individual differences in developmental trajectories, such as between male and female individuals, and in neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism. METHODS: Using eye-tracking, we measured social attention in a large cohort of autistic (n = 123) and nonautistic females (n = 107), and autistic (n = 330) and nonautistic males (n = 204), aged 6-…
Altered theta–beta ratio in infancy associates with family history of ADHD and later ADHD‐relevant temperamental traits
BACKGROUND: Uncovering the neural mechanisms that underlie symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) requires studying brain development prior to the emergence of behavioural difficulties. One new approach to this is prospective studies of infants with an elevated likelihood of developing ADHD. METHODS: We used a prospective design to examine an oscillatory electroencephalography profile that has been widely studied in both chil…
Investigating the Mechanisms Driving Referent Selection and Retention in Toddlers at Typical and Elevated Likelihood for Autism Spectrum Disorder
It was suggested that children's referent selection may not lay memory traces sufficiently strong to lead to retention of new word-object mappings. If this was the case we expect incorrect selections to be easily rectified through feedback. Previous work suggested this to be the case in toddlers at typical likelihood (TL) but not in those at elevated likelihood (EL) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (Bedford et al., 2013). Yet group differences …
Autistic Adult Services Availability, Preferences, and User Experiences
There is very little knowledge regarding autistic adult services, practices, and delivery. The study objective was to improve understanding of current services and practices for autistic adults and opportunities for improvement as part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder in the European Union (ASDEU) project. Separate survey versions were created for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services. 2,009 persons respon…
Ethical dimensions of translational developmental neuroscience research in autism
BACKGROUND: Since the 1990s, increasing research has been devoted to the identification of biomarkers for autism to help attain more objective diagnosis; enable early prediction of prognosis; and guide individualized intervention options. Early studies focused on the identification of genetic variants associated with autism, but more recently, research has expanded to investigate neurodevelopmental markers. While ethicists have extensively discus…
Annual Research Review
We present the Anterior Modifiers in the Emergence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (AMEND) framework, designed to reframe the field of prospective studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. In AMEND we propose conceptual, statistical and methodological approaches to separating markers of early‐stage perturbations from later developmental modifiers. We describe the evidence for, and features of, these interacting components before outlining analytic…
Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months
Background Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype. Methods Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants ( N = 264) enri…
Autistic Adult Health and Professional Perceptions of It
The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) survey investigated the knowledge and health service experiences of users and providers to generate new hypotheses and scientific investigations that would contribute to improvement in health care for autistic adults. An online survey designed for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services was translated into 11 languages and distributed electronicall…
A Phase II Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Arbaclofen Administered for the Treatment of Social Function in Children and Adolescents With…
Background: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD or autism) is characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction, which negatively impact on individuals and their families' quality of life. Currently no pharmacological interventions have been shown to be effective for improving social communication in autism. Previous trials have indicated the potential of arbaclofen for improving social function among autistic children and adolescen…
Autism spectrum disorder
Making the future together
Participatory research methods connect researchers with relevant communities to achieve shared goals. These methods can deliver results that are relevant to people’s lives and thus likely to have a positive impact. In the context of a large and growing body of autism research, with continued poor implementation, and some evidence of community dissatisfaction, there is a powerful case for participatory autism research. In order to develop a framew…
Development of adaptive communication skills in infants of blind parents
A fundamental question about the development of communication behavior in early life is how infants acquire adaptive communication behavior that is well-suited to their individual social environment, and how the experience of parent-child communication affects this development. The current study investigated how infants develop communication skills when their parents are visually impaired and cannot see their infants' eye gaze. We analyzed 6-min …
The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder
BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of 'specific' language impairment traditionally required nonverbal IQ to be within normal limits, often resulting in restricted access to clinical services for children with lower NVIQ. Changes to DSM-5 criteria for language disorder removed this NVIQ requirement. This study sought to delineate the impact of varying NVIQ criteria on prevalence, clinical presentation and functional impact of language disorder in the first UK …
Executive function in the first three years of life
What should autism research focus upon? Community views and priorities from the United Kingdom
The rise in the measured prevalence of autism has been accompanied by much new research and research investment internationally. This study sought to establish whether the pattern of current UK autism research funding maps on to the concerns of the autism community. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with autistic adults, family members, practitioners and researchers to identify their priorities for research. We also captured the views of…
From early markers to neuro-developmental mechanisms of autism
A fast growing field, the study of infants at risk because of having an older sibling with autism (i.e. infant sibs) aims to identify the earliest signs of this disorder, which would allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention. More importantly, we argue, these studies offer the opportunity to validate existing neuro-developmental models of autism against experimental evidence. Although autism is mainly seen as a disorder of social interaction a…
Infants with autism
Systematic studies of infants with autism have not been previously carried out. Taking advantage of a new prospective screening instrument for autism in infancy (S. Baron-Cohen et al., 1996), the present study found that, compared with developmentally delayed and normally developing children, 20-month-old children with autism were specifically impaired on some aspects of empathy, joint attention, and imitation. Infants with autism failed to use s…
Is there a Gender Difference in False Belief Development
The contribution of children's social environment to their acquisition of theory of mind skills, combined with the well documented advantage for girls in mental state talk with siblings, peers and mothers, might lead to a female advantage on false belief tasks. We present a post‐hoc analysis of large datasets from two independent laboratories. A slight advantage for girls on false belief task performance was found in both datasets and was only ap…
"Infants' behavioral reenactment of "failed attempts
Personality and Religious Beliefs
The aim of this study was to examine Flugel's (1945) Superego Projection Theory, in relation to Christian beliefs. A total of 124 subjects, preselected to include subjects with strong Christian beliefs as well as nonbelievers, completed a set of four questionnaires designed to measure their religiosity, superego and ego strength, locus of control, and self-esteem. A significant positive relation was found between degree of religiosity, externalit…
Personality and Religious Beliefs
The aim of this study was to examine Flugel's (1945) Superego Projection Theory, in relation to Christian beliefs. A total of 124 subjects, preselected to include subjects with strong Christian beliefs as well as nonbelievers, completed a set of four questionnaires designed to measure their religiosity, superego and ego strength, locus of control, and self-esteem. A significant positive relation was found between degree of religiosity, externalit…
Infants with autism
Systematic studies of infants with autism have not been previously carried out. Taking advantage of a new prospective screening instrument for autism in infancy (S. Baron-Cohen et al., 1996), the present study found that, compared with developmentally delayed and normally developing children, 20-month-old children with autism were specifically impaired on some aspects of empathy, joint attention, and imitation. Infants with autism failed to use s…
An experimental investigation of social-cognitive abilities in infants with autism
Competing theoretical accounts of psychopathological development in individuals with autism emphasize the role of different infant social, cognitive and affective factors, including affective responsivity, pretend play, joint attention, and imitation. However, due to the fact that autism is rarely diagnosed before the age of 3, until now these abilities have only been studied with school-age children, adolescents, or young adults with autism. Tak…
The Internal Structure of the Child Depression Inventory in Russian and UK Schoolchildren
Is there a Gender Difference in False Belief Development
The contribution of children's social environment to their acquisition of theory of mind skills, combined with the well documented advantage for girls in mental state talk with siblings, peers and mothers, might lead to a female advantage on false belief tasks. We present a post‐hoc analysis of large datasets from two independent laboratories. A slight advantage for girls on false belief task performance was found in both datasets and was only ap…
"Infants' behavioral reenactment of "failed attempts
Measuring early language development in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (Infant Form)
Parent report data on early language development measured using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (CDI–Infant Form) was collected on 134 preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. The pattern of development of understanding of phrases, word comprehension and expression, and production of gestures, was compared to the typical pattern. In common with typical development there was considerable variability in language acquisiti…
Social cognitive development during adolescence
Social relationships are particularly important during adolescence. In recent years, histological and MRI studies have shown that the brain is subject to considerable structural development during adolescence. Brain regions that are implicated in social cognition, including parts of prefrontal, parietal and superior temporal cortex, undergo the most pronounced and prolonged change. However, the development of social cognition during adolescence a…
Prevalence of disorders of the autism spectrum in a population cohort of children in South Thames
Adolescent development of motor imagery in a visually guided pointing task
Psychiatric Disorders in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Failure to learn from feedback underlies word learning difficulties in toddlers at risk for autism
Children's assignment of novel words to nameless objects, over objects whose names they know (mutual exclusivity; ME) has been described as a driving force for vocabulary acquisition. Despite their ability to use ME to fast-map words (Preissler & Carey, 2005), children with autism show impaired language acquisition. We aimed to address this puzzle by building on studies showing that correct referent selection using ME does not lead to word learni…
Intentional, Ritualized Request
What should autism research focus upon? Community views and priorities from the United Kingdom
The rise in the measured prevalence of autism has been accompanied by much new research and research investment internationally. This study sought to establish whether the pattern of current UK autism research funding maps on to the concerns of the autism community. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with autistic adults, family members, practitioners and researchers to identify their priorities for research. We also captured the views of…
From early markers to neuro-developmental mechanisms of autism
A fast growing field, the study of infants at risk because of having an older sibling with autism (i.e. infant sibs) aims to identify the earliest signs of this disorder, which would allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention. More importantly, we argue, these studies offer the opportunity to validate existing neuro-developmental models of autism against experimental evidence. Although autism is mainly seen as a disorder of social interaction a…
Spontaneous belief attribution in younger siblings of children on the autism spectrum
The recent development in the measurements of spontaneous mental state understanding, employing eye-movements instead of verbal responses, has opened new opportunities for understanding the developmental origin of "mind-reading" impairments frequently described in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Our main aim was to characterize the relationship between mental state understanding and the broader autism phenotype, early in childhood. An eye-track…
The impact of nonverbal ability on prevalence and clinical presentation of language disorder
BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of 'specific' language impairment traditionally required nonverbal IQ to be within normal limits, often resulting in restricted access to clinical services for children with lower NVIQ. Changes to DSM-5 criteria for language disorder removed this NVIQ requirement. This study sought to delineate the impact of varying NVIQ criteria on prevalence, clinical presentation and functional impact of language disorder in the first UK …
Executive function in the first three years of life
Development of adaptive communication skills in infants of blind parents
A fundamental question about the development of communication behavior in early life is how infants acquire adaptive communication behavior that is well-suited to their individual social environment, and how the experience of parent-child communication affects this development. The current study investigated how infants develop communication skills when their parents are visually impaired and cannot see their infants' eye gaze. We analyzed 6-min …
Making the future together
Participatory research methods connect researchers with relevant communities to achieve shared goals. These methods can deliver results that are relevant to people’s lives and thus likely to have a positive impact. In the context of a large and growing body of autism research, with continued poor implementation, and some evidence of community dissatisfaction, there is a powerful case for participatory autism research. In order to develop a framew…
Autism spectrum disorder
Ethical dimensions of translational developmental neuroscience research in autism
BACKGROUND: Since the 1990s, increasing research has been devoted to the identification of biomarkers for autism to help attain more objective diagnosis; enable early prediction of prognosis; and guide individualized intervention options. Early studies focused on the identification of genetic variants associated with autism, but more recently, research has expanded to investigate neurodevelopmental markers. While ethicists have extensively discus…
Annual Research Review
We present the Anterior Modifiers in the Emergence of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (AMEND) framework, designed to reframe the field of prospective studies of neurodevelopmental disorders. In AMEND we propose conceptual, statistical and methodological approaches to separating markers of early‐stage perturbations from later developmental modifiers. We describe the evidence for, and features of, these interacting components before outlining analytic…
Development of the pupillary light reflex from 9 to 24 months
Background Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heritable, the mechanisms through which genes contribute to symptom emergence remain unclear. Investigating candidate intermediate phenotypes such as the pupillary light reflex (PLR) prospectively from early in development could bridge genotype and behavioural phenotype. Methods Using eye tracking, we longitudinally measured the PLR at 9, 14 and 24 months in a sample of infants ( N = 264) enri…
Autistic Adult Health and Professional Perceptions of It
The Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union (ASDEU) survey investigated the knowledge and health service experiences of users and providers to generate new hypotheses and scientific investigations that would contribute to improvement in health care for autistic adults. An online survey designed for autistic adults, carers of autistic adults, and professionals in adult services was translated into 11 languages and distributed electronicall…
Psychology (34 works) · Developmental psychology (30 works) · Autism (28 works) · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research (28 works) · Psychiatry (18 works) · Autism spectrum disorder (16 works) · Clinical Psychology (13 works) · Family and Disability Support Research (13 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Cognition (11 works)