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Open research questions in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

1,815 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 10,406 Autism Spectrum Disorder Research papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Limited interventions targeting joint attention in children with ASD. Lack of low-cost, accessible digital games for improving joint attention in children with ASD.

    A Digital Game Intervention for Improving Joint Attention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Pilot Pre–Post Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Replication of these findings, - More specific examination of these theories, - Potential interrogation of longitudinal cohorts, - Examination of the interplay of physical and psychological factors

    Embracing complexity: connecting bipolar affective disorder, joint hypermobility and neurodivergence · 2026 · DOI

  • The existing literature has not fully explored the relationship between joint hypermobility and bipolar affective disorder. The mechanisms underlying the association between joint hypermobility and bipolar affective disorder are not well understood. There is a need for further research to replicate the findings and examine the interplay between physical and psychological factors.

    Embracing complexity: connecting bipolar affective disorder, joint hypermobility and neurodivergence · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies challenges in ensuring comprehensive and robust assessments, including the lack of suitably trained professionals. It highlights the challenge of managing the growing demand for assessments, with long waiting times and inadequate resources. The paper also discusses the challenge of preventing misdiagnosis and ensuring accurate diagnoses.

    The changing landscape of autism diagnostic assessments in the UK · 2026 · DOI

  • investigation into the causes of the increasing demand for autism assessments, - evaluation of the effectiveness of different assessment tools and strategies, - examination of the impact of COVID-19 on autism assessments and services

    The changing landscape of autism diagnostic assessments in the UK · 2026 · DOI

  • Diagnostic overshadowing due to shared phenomenological features between autism and psychosis. Fragmented pathways and unadapted interventions leading to poorer outcomes. Limited knowledge, confidence, and training among staff to conduct neurodevelopmental assessments and adapt psychological interventions.

    Improving outcomes for people with co-occurring autism and psychosis: from diagnostic overshadowing to system-wide clinical capability · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited high-quality evidence on the experiences of autistic people with psychosis services and treatment. Unknown roles of service design in outcomes such as duration of untreated psychosis, engagement with services, treatment tolerability, and long-term recovery.

    Improving outcomes for people with co-occurring autism and psychosis: from diagnostic overshadowing to system-wide clinical capability · 2026 · DOI

  • The number of levels within the hierarchy, the relationships between them and how discrete they are, are matters for clinical conceptual analysis and further research

    Re-thinking the diagnostic hierarchy in psychiatry · 2026 · DOI

  • The current diagnostic hierarchy in psychiatry is facing profound conceptual and practical challenges. There is a need for a new model of diagnostic stratification to navigate complexity without losing proportion. The paper identifies a gap in the current understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly in relation to ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.

    Re-thinking the diagnostic hierarchy in psychiatry · 2026 · DOI

  • The heterogeneity among the instruments in terms of their disciplinary and content-related orientations as well as their measurement quality. The lack of information on the validity or reliability of the instruments. The insufficient engagement with the current discourse on the inclusion of autistic children.

    An International Review of Assessment Tools for Teachers’ Professional Competence in Teaching Autistic Children · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of information on measurement characteristics made it difficult to interpret the studies and their results, - Many studies do not define what aspect they are analyzing, or are not concrete enough in their definitions, - Insufficient engagement with the current discourse on the inclusion of autistic children

    An International Review of Assessment Tools for Teachers’ Professional Competence in Teaching Autistic Children · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of research on the comprehension of the right to silence among autistic individuals. Prior research has focused on the general public, with little attention to the specific needs and vulnerabilities of autistic individuals. This study aims to address this gap by examining the comprehension of the Canadian right to silence caution among autistic and non-autistic adults.

    You are not Obliged to say Anything: A Comparison of Autistic and Non-autistic Adults’ Comprehension of the Canadian Right to Silence · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies the challenge of ensuring clinical safety when using AI platforms to interpret complex ASD case narratives. The study finds that incorporating stratified frameworks and standardized protocols remains essential for clinical safety. The study identifies the challenge of evaluating the precise role of AI platforms in identifying ASD.

    An in-silico comparative cross-sectional diagnostic- accuracy study evaluating artificial intelligence platforms in identifying autism spectrum disorder from standardized pediatric case vignettes 2026 · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the ability of AI platforms to accurately identify Autism Spectrum Disorder from clinical narratives. The study finds that specialized platforms are architecturally designed for clinical precision, but general-purpose models demonstrated an ability to navigate the nuances of complex differential diagnosis.

    An in-silico comparative cross-sectional diagnostic- accuracy study evaluating artificial intelligence platforms in identifying autism spectrum disorder from standardized pediatric case vignettes 2026 · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited access to gold-standard instruments for ASD diagnosis in low and middle-income countries - The need for cultural adaptation and validation of diagnostic tools in diverse contexts - The challenge of ensuring diagnostic accuracy and reliability in resource-limited settings

    The Autism Mental Status Exam Indonesian Version(AMSE-INA): A Cross-Culturally Validated Pre-Diagnostic Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Resource-Limited Specialist Settings · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited access to gold-standard instruments for ASD diagnosis in low and middle-income countries - The need for a brief, observational tool to support diagnostic decision-making in resource-limited settings - The lack of a validated pre-diagnostic tool for ASD in the Indonesian context

    The Autism Mental Status Exam Indonesian Version(AMSE-INA): A Cross-Culturally Validated Pre-Diagnostic Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Resource-Limited Specialist Settings · 2026 · DOI

  • Further mechanistic studies can be conducted to determine whether caregiver behaviors reflect compensatory adaptations, intrinsic caregiver characteristics, or bidirectional parent-child dynamics, - Investigating the generalizability of the Autism-CLIP model to other populations and settings

    Automated screening of autism via a pretrained vision-language model in naturalistic caregiver-child interactions · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for a clinically viable solution for autism screening in children under 2 years. The limitations of manual coding and prior work. The lack of a vision-language model for autism screening.

    Automated screening of autism via a pretrained vision-language model in naturalistic caregiver-child interactions · 2026 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in terms of the complexity of the referral population. The authors note the potential for bias due to the retrospective design. The study highlights the need for further research to fully understand the relationship between ACEs and diagnostic outcomes.

    Adverse childhood experiences in adults completing ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment: associations with diagnostic outcome and psychiatric symptom burden · 2026 · DOI

  • Further investigation of the relationship between autistic traits and depression in adulthood is needed. Exploration of the potential confounders and their impact on the results.

    Childhood trauma as a mediator between autistic traits and depression: Evidence from the ALSPAC birth cohort · 2026 · DOI

  • Further validation of the EDI-SR in different populations, - Examination of the EDI-SR's sensitivity to change over time

    The emotion dysregulation inventory – self-report: development and psychometric evaluation · 2026 · DOI

  • Many questionnaires lack strong psychometric properties. There is a lack of a self-report measure for emotion dysregulation. Most measures were not developed with autistic samples, and most lack validation with autistic people.

    The emotion dysregulation inventory – self-report: development and psychometric evaluation · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in understanding the relationship between evidence accumulation and social functioning in individuals with psychosis, social anxiety, and autism. The study aims to investigate whether aberrant evidence accumulation during gaze perception is associated with social functioning or psychopathology.

    Evidence accumulation during self-referential social processing captures social functioning and psychopathology dimensions in a transdiagnostic sample · 2026 · DOI

  • Urgent discussion is needed on why unmet mental health problems are currently accommodated within the wide autism spectrum, - Differentiating cases according to co-occurring conditions could lead to individualized approaches

    Autism spectrum disorder: has it lost its meaning and is it leading to misdiagnosis? · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of understanding of the reasons behind the increasing prevalence of ASD. The current diagnostic criteria for ASD may be too broad, leading to overdiagnosis and misdiagnosis. There is a need to consider alternative explanations for the increasing prevalence of ASD.

    Autism spectrum disorder: has it lost its meaning and is it leading to misdiagnosis? · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research

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1,815 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 10,406 Autism Spectrum Disorder Research papers in our 4.5M-paper local library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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