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Autism spectrum disorders news

Health

Texas sues Tylenol makers over alleged autism link

The Texas attorney general announced a lawsuit Tuesday against the pharmaceutical companies behind Tylenol that echoes the Trump administration's allegations linking the painkiller to increased risk of autism.

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

Amygdala changes in autistic individuals linked to anxiety

A long-term study involving hundreds of brain scans finds changes in the amygdala linked to the development of anxiety in autistic children. The study by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers also provides evidence of distinct ...

Neuroscience

Examining the gene-environment interactions that drive autism

People with autism spectrum disorders all have characteristic behavioral difficulties. Nevertheless, the important heterogeneity of their symptoms remains one of the major questions for scientists and physicians. While a ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Screen time linked to autism spectrum disorder in boys

(HealthDay)—Screen time is significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder among boys at age 3 years, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Study identifies biomarkers linked to autism risk

A large study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Norwegian National Institute of Public Health has identified molecular signatures of gestational inflammation linked to the risk ...

Autism spectrum disorders

When mom talks, are infants with ASD listening?

Motherese is a form of simplified, exaggerated melodic speech that parents use to communicate with newborns and young toddlers. A horse becomes horsie; a dog becomes doggie; parents become mama and dada. The tendency to speak ...

Neuroscience

Autism-linked gene, if deleted, results in less myelin

Myelin, a sheath of insulation around nerves that enables electrical impulses to efficiently travel through the central nervous system, is diminished in mice that have a gene deletion associated with autism spectrum disorder, ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Research that potentially links autism and brain-gut microbiome

A new scoping review of nearly 200 publications covering the relationships between autism spectrum disorder and the brain–gut–microbiome system was published online today in Nutrients. The review synthesizes the growing ...

Neuroscience

New autism marker discovered in kids

Why do so many children with autism often suffer from epilepsy? Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered an important brain protein that quiets overactive brain cells and is at abnormally low levels in children with ...

Genetics

New hope for people living with a genetic cause of autism

Fragile X syndrome, or FXS, a leading genetic cause of autism, affects around one in 4,000 males and one in 6,000 females. Its symptoms include increased anxiety, intellectual disability, repetitive behaviors, social communication ...