Presentations, publications & media
Browse Dr. Sterling’s selected publications, presentations, books, and podcast appearances. For more details about her experience, please see her CV.
Publications
Validity of the Revised Children’s Anxiety and Depression Scale for youth with autism spectrum disorders
High rates of anxiety and depression are reported among youth with autism spectrum disorders. These conditions are generally assessed using measures validated for typically developing youth. Few studies have investigated their validity for autism spectrum disorders,...
Daily living skills in school-age children with and without anxiety disorders
Anxiety may interfere with school-age children’s independent behaviour and hence, their daily living skills (DLS). Nonetheless, this has not been tested in previous studies of children with clinical anxiety. [button...
Evidence for Latent Classes of IQ In Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism is currently viewed as a spectrum condition including strikingly different severity levels. IQ is consistently described as one of the primary aspects of the heterogeneity in autism. To investigate the possibility of more than one distinct subtype of autism...
Abnormal functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorders during face processing
Abnormalities in the interactions between functionally linked brain regions have been suggested to be asso- ciated with the clinical impairments observed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We investigated functional connectivity within the limbic system during face...
Loneliness and Social Isolation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental disorders (autism, Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction and restricted repetitive and...
Level of Intellectual Functioning Predicts Patterns of Associated Symptoms in School-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
The relation between level of intellectual functioning and risk for associated symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was investigated. Cognitive ability and associated symptoms were assessed directly and/or via parent report in 74 children with ASD...
Examining the Validity of the Columbia Impairment Scale for Assessing Level of Functioning in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Background: Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairment in numerous areas of functioning, most notably in the areas related to social interactions, communication, and behavior at school and at home. Understanding the severity of the impairment in each...
Characteristics Associated with Presence of Depressive Symptoms in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Evidence suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often exhibit associated psychiatric symptoms, particularly related to depression. The current study investigated whether individual characteristics, specifically, severity of ASD symptoms, level...
Fear-Potentiated Startle Response Is Unrelated to Social or Emotional Functioning in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders
It has been suggested that atypical amygdala function contributes to the social impairments characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Previous research has demonstrated that adolescents and adults with ASD generate normal response during a fear-potentiated...
The Role of Face Familiarity in Eye Tracking of Faces by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
It has been shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) demonstrate normal activation in the fusiform gyrus when viewing familiar, but not unfamiliar faces. The current study utilized eye tracking to investigate patterns of attention underlying...
The Relationship Between Early Neural Responses to Emotional Faces at Age 3 and Later Autism and Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescents with Autism
Abstract Both autism spectrum (ASD) and anxiety disorders are associated with atypical neural and attentional responses to emotional faces, differing in affective face processing from typically developing peers. Within a longitudinal study of children with ASD (23...
Presentations
Sample of invited presentations & lectures
Sterling, L. (March, 2023). Neurodivergence: Challenging the Idea of Normal. Lecture presented to Fusion Academy, Community Education Series.
Sterling, L. (February 2023). Everything You Wanted to Know about Getting an Autism Diagnosis, But Were Afraid to Ask. Lecture and discussion presented to the OC Aspergers Support Group.
Sterling, L. (February 2023). What Does Autism Look Like in Girls, and How Can it Interfere with Learning? Lecture presented to Stowell Learning Center, Irvine, CA.
Sterling, L. (April 2022). Early Signs of Autism. Lecture presented to the “Baby J” Alpert Jewish Community Center.
Sterling, L. (April 2022). The Social Survival Guide for Teens on the Autism Spectrum. Lecture and discussion presented to the OC Aspergers Support Group.
Sterling, L. (March 2022). How to Talk About Dating, Sexuality, and Sexual Development. Lecture presented at the Spring Mental Health Symposium, Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders, The Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Sterling, L. (February 2022). Coping with Anxiety. Lecture presented at Hopkinson Elementary School Parenting Series.
Sterling, L. (September, 2020). Autism and Dating. Orange County Aspergers Support Group.
Sterling, L. (November 2019). Autism and Dating. Guest lecture presented to Professional Didactic at Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine.
Sterling, L. (September, 2019). Depression and Anxiety Among Individuals with ASD: The Impact of Psychiatric Comorbidity on Successful Transitioning to Adulthood. Keynote lecture delivered to the 3rd Annual Autism Conference for the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Costa Mesa, CA.
Sterling, L. (September, 2018). Psychiatric Comorbidity in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Guest lecture presented at the Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder course for Speech-Language Pathology, CSULB.
Sterling, L. (May, 2018). The Next Frontier: Neurodiversity in the Workplace. Lecture presented at Advance LA Resilience Conference, The Help Group, Los Angeles, CA.
Sterling, L. (May, 2017). Depression, Anxiety, and Neurodevelopmental Challenges: The Impact of Comorbidity on Successful Transitioning into Adulthood Functioning. Lecture presented at Advance LA Resilience Conference, The Help Group, Los Angeles,
Sample of peer-reviewed presentations
Yoo, G., & Sterling, L. (April, 2019). The Impact of College Life Among Students with Autism. Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association, Pasadena, CA.
Phou, A., Johnson, P., & Sterling, L. (April, 2018). Romantic Relationship Satisfaction, Depression and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Poster presented at the Western Psychological Association, Portland, Oregon.
Renno, P., Sterling, L., Yang, J., & Wood, J. (May, 2018). Anxiety and sleep disturbance in youth with autism. Poster presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Netherlands.
Johnson, P. and Sterling, L. (July 2016). Investigating the Relationship between Cognitive Flexibility, Rumination and Depression in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Presented at BUILD Summer Symposium, Long Beach, California.
Sterling, L., Wood, J., & Renno, P. (May, 2015). Physiological Arousal Is Related to Parent-and Self-Report of Anxiety in Youth with ASD: Preliminary Evidence for the Concurrent Validity of Anxiety Symptoms. Poster presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Salt Lake City, UT.
Renno, P., Sterling, L., McCracken, J., Mallya, K., & Wood, J. (May, 2015). Variability in Autism Symptom Severity: The Role of Diurnal Cortisol and Daily Stress in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Books
The Social Survival Guide for Teens on the Autism Spectrum: How to Make Friends and Navigate Your Emotions
Podcasts
Autism: Diagnosis and Roadmap - Dr. Lindsey Sterling - Episode #59
