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Autism spectrum disorders news

Autism spectrum disorders

Why some autistic people don't speak

Around a third of autistic people—children and adults alike—are unable to share what they want using speech.

Autism spectrum disorders

Survey shows only 36% of neurologists identify motor deficits as part of autism diagnosis

A new UCLA Health study highlights concerning gaps in how child neurologists understand and address motor difficulties in children with autism, despite research showing these movement problems affect the majority of autistic ...

Medications

Five things to know about folinic acid and autism

As the Food and Drug Administration moves to make folinic acid an official treatment for a neurological condition associated with autism, parents want to know how it might help children with autism spectrum disorder.

Health

RFK Jr pushes fringe claim linking autism to circumcision

US President Donald Trump and his Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on Thursday promoted another fringe theory about autism—this time linking it to circumcision or to pain medication given for the procedure.

Medications

Q&A: Autism and Tylenol

The federal administration offered health guidance at a press conference this week, urging pregnant women to avoid using the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen, marketed in the U.S. as Tylenol, saying use of the medication ...

Psychology & Psychiatry

Identity distress fuels mental health issues in autism

A new study from the Department of Psychology at Durham University has found that identity distress (difficulty forming a cohesive identity) could be behind the higher rates of poor mental health experienced by autistic people.

Autism spectrum disorders

What research really says about autism

About two to three percent of all Americans—including adults and children—are autistic. With recent reports that autism rates are rising, potentially due to improved diagnosis, there's a lot of conflicting information ...

Neuroscience

IQ appears to affect ability to listen in noisy settings

You're in a bustling café with a friend. The din is making it hard to tune in to the conversation. The scenario might suggest you'd benefit from a hearing aid. On the other hand, new research suggests that speech-perception ...

Medications

White House autism-Tylenol link leads to confusion

President Donald Trump's announcement advising Americans against taking acetaminophen during pregnancy to avoid the chance of autism was met with pushback from some lawmakers, including a key GOP health figure.

Autism spectrum disorders

WHO sees no autism links to Tylenol, vaccines

Neither the painkiller Tylenol nor vaccines have been shown to cause autism, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, following comments from the US president and his administration to the contrary.

Autism spectrum disorders

Does taking paracetamol while pregnant cause autism? No, experts say

There is no scientific evidence showing that pregnant women taking the painkiller paracetamol causes autism in their children, medical experts and drug regulators have emphasized after Donald Trump claimed the two were linked.

Autism spectrum disorders

Trump ties autism risk to Tylenol as scientists urge caution

US President Donald Trump on Monday vehemently insisted that pregnant people should "tough it out" and avoid Tylenol over an unproven link to autism, and urged major changes to the standard vaccines administered to babies.

Medications

Trump administration to link Tylenol to autism

On Sept. 22, Trump administration officials plan to link the active ingredient in Tylenol to autism, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Autism spectrum disorders

Trump autism 'announcement' expected Monday

US President Donald Trump was expected Monday to deliver what the White House called "an announcement" about autism, having long voiced concern about the condition's prevalence and potential causes.

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism is lifelong. Here's what support looks like in adulthood

The government plans to redirect some children off the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and onto a new program called Thriving Kids. When announcing the change last month, health and disability minister Mark Butler ...

Genetics

Tiny fish open new horizons for autism research

Researchers from Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Japan, have revealed that environment influences social behaviors in autism. By using zebrafish that have a mutation in ube3a, a gene linked to Angelman syndrome ...