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Autism spectrum disorders news

Autism spectrum disorders

Scientists grow mini brains to uncover cells behind autism-related brain overgrowth

A new study in the lab of Jason Stein, Ph.D., modeled brain development in a dish to identify cells and genes that influence infant brain growth, a trait associated with autism.

Neuroscience

Molecular difference in autistic brains may explain signaling imbalance

Yale School of Medicine (YSM) scientists have discovered a molecular difference in the brains of autistic people compared to their neurotypical counterparts.

Autism spectrum disorders

AI-assisted device may improve autism care access

Access to autism evaluations through specialty health care is notorious for long wait times across the United States. In Missouri, many families wait nearly a year for a diagnostic appointment. AI might be a solution to cutting ...

Neuroscience

Protein abnormality illuminates communication struggles in autism

A DGIST research team identified that the mutation of the collybistin protein found in autistic patients weakens the brain's inhibitory synaptic function and leads to communication deficiencies. The results of this research ...

Neuroscience

Study maps brain wiring differences in youth with autism

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have uncovered new insights into how brain wiring differs in children and young adults with ...

Autism spectrum disorders

What to know about the CDC's baseless new guidance on autism

The rewriting of a page on the CDC's website to assert the false claim that vaccines may cause autism sparked a torrent of anger and anguish from doctors, scientists, and parents who say Health and Human Services Secretary ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Vaccines 'don't cause autism': How scientists figured that out

In the late 1990s, a theory gripped parents around the world: What if childhood vaccines—particularly the combined measles-mumps-rubella vaccine—cause autism? Nearly three decades later, the debunked theory has gained ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Autistic children left behind during pandemic school closures

Many children with autism or intellectual disability had poor attendance or even deregistered from school, often due to unmet needs, after their schools switched to online learning, reports a study and associated policy briefing ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Guidelines for inclusive language in autism research

In the decades since the "clinical" definitions of autism in the 1980s, many have been advocating to understand autism as a normal part of the neurodiversity spectrum rather than as a "problem" to be "fixed." Still, in the ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Therapy dogs aren't always the answer to help children with autism

Some children with autism spectrum disorder struggle with anxiety or have difficulty communicating in certain social situations. To help alleviate those struggles, researchers have studied various interventions, including ...

Autism spectrum disorders

How do we make workplaces work for autistic people?

The unemployment rate in Australia for autistic people is 34.1%, according to the most recent data. This is more than three times the rate for people with disability (10.3%) and almost eight times the rate of people without ...

Medications

Anti-diarrhea medication may help treat core autism symptoms

There are currently no effective treatments for the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), such as difficulties with socializing and communicating. A new study uses a computer-based protein interaction network to ...

Medical research

Studies of autism tend to exclude women, researchers find

In recent years, researchers who study autism have made an effort to include more women and girls in their studies. However, despite these efforts, most studies of autism consistently enroll small numbers of female subjects ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Clear expectations are instrumental for employees with autism

In addition to combating stigma in the workplace, employees with autism are challenged with navigating systems developed for the neurotypical. This means that supervisors and employees have fundamentally different understandings ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Extent of developmental delays varies with autism

Developmental milestone progress in autism varies substantially under different conditions, according to a study published online July 18 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Autism spectrum disorders

U. Michigan study to help those with autism improve driving

University of Michigan researchers are studying how well people with autism spectrum disorder can detect road hazards, and plan to assist the young motorists in sharpening their driving skills.

Autism spectrum disorders

Eye test could screen children for autism

Measuring how the eyes' pupils change in response to light—known as the pupillary light reflex—could potentially be used to screen for autism in young children, according to a study conducted at Washington State University.