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Autism spectrum disorders news

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism charities portray autistic people as helpless and a burden—our research shows why it matters

Autism charities are important organizations. They provide essential services for autistic people, influence policy decisions, and often speak on behalf of autistic people.

Autism spectrum disorders

Autistic adults push back on 'fear-based' Trump rhetoric

Composer William Barnett started his YouTube channel as an outlet for his music—but today he also uses it to debunk the steady stream of White House rhetoric on autism while sharing his own experience living with it.

Autism spectrum disorders

FDA and Kenvue say no autism link to Tylenol use during pregnancy

The maker of Tylenol is urging U.S. health regulators not to add an autism warning label to it and other pain-relievers containing acetaminophen, calling the request "unsupported by the scientific evidence and legally and ...

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.

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.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Evaluating a new form of therapy for autistic individuals

A doctoral thesis at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has investigated whether Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be used for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The results show that the treatment can be carried ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism-friendly MRI for more inclusive medical imaging

Autism is neither a disorder nor a disease; it is part of neurodiversity, which affects the wiring of the brain and may impact on how autistic people communicate and interact with the world. About one in 100 people are autistic ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Autistic adults report high rates of COVID-19 vaccination

As reported in 2021, autistic adults, adults with intellectual disability and adults with mental health diagnoses have multiple risk factors for COVID-19 infection, and more severe disease if contracted. Public health messaging ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Does autism begin in the womb?

An international research group led by Professor Toru Takumi (Senior Visiting Scientist, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research) and Researcher Chia-wen Lin at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine has shown ...

Autism spectrum disorders

With autism numbers rising, how best to provide support?

Recently released data from the Centers for Disease Control show childhood autism rates are at their highest level since the CDC began tracking data in 2000. About 2.3% of U.S. children, or one in 44, were diagnosed with ...

Neuroscience

Zeroing in on a new treatment for autism and epilepsy

Children with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that begins in infancy, experience seizures, usually for their entire life. They are at high risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and can also develop ...

Autism spectrum disorders

New program may help parents of children with autism, study finds

Researchers at Penn State and the University of South Carolina have recently found that a program for parents of children recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) shows promising evidence of helping parents ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Minimal race, sex bias identified in the ADOS-2 autism measure

Differential item functioning (DIF) is minimal across race and sex in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), according to a study published online April 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Neuroscience

Some autism spectrum disorder symptoms linked to astrocytes

Abnormalities in a type of brain cell called astrocytes may play a pivotal role in causing some behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Genetics

A 'social' gene in fish could contain new clues to autism

Zebrafish are social creatures. When they see another member of their species, they'll orient towards them and swim closer, much like a human at a cocktail party turning to face someone who's telling a joke over a plate of ...

Autism spectrum disorders

New review finds autistic mothers face extra barriers to breastfeed

A new review by Swansea University, working with the University of Kent and non-profit organization, Autistic UK, has found that breastfeeding support from midwives and health visitors is often not well suited to meet the ...

Autism spectrum disorders

New AI-driven algorithm can detect autism in brain 'fingerprints'

Stanford researchers have developed an algorithm that may help discern if someone has autism by looking at brain scans. The novel algorithm, driven by recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), also successfully predicts ...

Neuroscience

Miniature brain models help our understanding of autism

To better understand the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), it is crucial to look at what is happening in the brain during development. The closest we come to observing human brains this early is by using organoids—miniature ...