On Early Development of Children, Psychological State of Families Raising Children with ASD – in the Journal "Autism and Developmental Disorders"

The autumn issue of the journal "Autism and Developmental Disorders" (No. 3-2026) has been published, featuring eight scientific articles.

The issue opens with the section "ASD Research" and an article by M.A. Shvetsova and N.V. Andrushchenko dedicated to the early speech development of prematurely born children with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic lesions of the central nervous system. The authors studied the development of 36 children aged two to three years and identified a connection between neurodynamic and regulatory development and indicators of expressive speech.

Two articles in the issue are dedicated to the psychological state of mothers of children with ASD. In the study by V.P. Gertseva and O.A. Goncharov, the time perspective and resilience of mothers raising children with autism, Down syndrome, and without health limitations are compared. The authors note that working with negative past experiences and using approaches based on the time perspective model can contribute to reducing stress and improving the psychological state of parents. A.S. Kuzmina, I.Ya. Stoyanova, and K.O. Krivoshey investigated the psychological predictors of mothers' attitudes toward the illness of a child with ASD. The results showed that a mother's self-attitude plays a key role in the perception of the disease: with low self-interest, anxious reactions occur more often, and with low self-respect, mothers tend to exaggerate the severity of symptoms. Emotional support and self-respect, on the contrary, are associated with a decrease in overall tension regarding the illness.

The review by K.K. Danilina, K.R. Salimova, and A.V. Khaustov is dedicated to studying the effectiveness of alternative and augmentative communication systems in children with ASD. The authors showed that such systems contribute to the development of communication skills, an increase in vocabulary, and the improvement of expressive and impressive speech. Their use may also be accompanied by a decrease in undesirable behavior, anxiety, and aggressiveness, as well as an improvement in interpersonal relationships.

N.V. Zvereva examined the features of age-related crises in children and adolescents with autism, schizophrenia, and intellectual disabilities. Based on an analysis of scientific literature and clinical cases, the author showed that the manifestations of age-related crises significantly depend on the type of mental dysontogenesis and the presence of a mental illness.

In the article by K. Konev and Roshchina, supplementary education is considered as a factor in the mental development of children with disabilities. The authors analyze its influence from the standpoint of the bioecological model of development and emphasize the importance of interaction between three microsystems – school, family, and the institution of supplementary education.

The section "Models of Organizing Comprehensive Assistance" is represented by a study by I.A. Nigmatullina, V.V. Garashchenko, and O.V. Balandina, dedicated to the development of a modular-competency model of additional professional education for teachers working with children with ASD. A total of 149 educators participated in the survey: educators, teachers, special education teachers, and speech therapists. The study showed an average level of professional competence formation among all categories of specialists. The most pronounced deficits are related to working in an interdisciplinary team supporting children with ASD and their families, as well as to the use of technologies for propaedeutics and prevention of disorder progression.

The work by N.V. Romanovsky, O.E. Strikha, Yu.A. Chaika, and A.G. Peshkovskaya is dedicated to the problem of diagnosing the development of young children. The authors propose a diagnostic methodology that allows assessing a child's development from birth to three years in the process of interaction with a significant adult; the methodology is aimed at identifying features of communication, object activity, sensory development of the child, as well as difficulties associated with insufficiently formed parental competencies.

This year marks the 80th birthday of Tatyana Ivanovna Morozova, co-founder of the Regional Public Charitable Organization "Society for the Assistance of Autistic Children 'Dobro'." A congratulation to Tatyana Ivanovna concludes the issue of the journal.

The full issue of the journal is available in open access on the PsyJournals.ru portal.