Clinical initiatives have aimed to reduce the age at ASD diagnosis in the UK. This study investigated whether the median age at diagnosis in childhood has reduced in recent years, and identified the factors associated with earlier diagnosis in the UK. Data on 2134 children with ASD came from two large family databases. Results showed that the age of ASD diagnosis has not decreased. The median age of diagnosis of all ASDs was 55 months. Factors associated with earlier age of diagnosis were autism diagnosis (compared with other ASD), language regression, language delay, lower socioeconomic status, and greater degree of support required. Effective clinical strategies are needed to identify children with characteristics that have in the past delayed ASD diagnosis.

The pilot study explored the effects of a mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on nurses' perceived stress (PS) and compassion. A quasi experimental pre-test-post-test design was used. Nurses (n=90) working at three university teaching hospitals completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Compassion Scale (CS) at the beginning of the MSBR intervention and 64 completed the scales at the end of the intervention. The 64 matched data sets were analysed using the ttest, Chi Square test and ANOVA. The findings indicated that the nurses' perceived stress was significantly reduced after the intervention. Notably, compassion scores were increased after the intervention, and this finding was significant for nurses working at one of the hospitals. There were no significant differences between results from a six week or eight week MBSR intervention. The results suggest that a MBSR can impact positively on nurses' perceived stress and also enhance nurses' compassion. MBSR may well be a suitable self-care, stress management intervention that can effectively teach nurses coping skills to assist them manage daily stressors inherent in their home and work life.

Early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tends to focus on enhancing social-communication skills. We report the acceptability, feasibility and impact on child functioning of a new 8 weeks parent-group intervention to manage restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRB) in young children with ASD aged 3-7 years. Forty-five families took part in the pilot RCT. A range of primary and secondary outcome measures were collected on four occasions (baseline, 10, 18 and 24 weeks) to capture both independent ratings and parent-reported changes in RRB. This pilot established that parents were willing to be recruited and randomised, and the format and content of the intervention was feasible. Fidelity of delivery was high, and attendance was 90 %. A fully powered trial is now planned.

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