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Autism spectrum disorders news

Autism spectrum disorders

Prescribed opioid pain medications during pregnancy likely aren't associated with increased risk of autism, ADHD

Previous studies have suggested that children exposed to opioid pain medications while in the womb have higher rates of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a new study ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Autism is not a scare story: What parents need to know about medications in pregnancy, genetic risk

Over the past couple of months, headlines have warned expectant parents that something as ordinary as a pain reliever or an antidepressant taken during pregnancy could "cause autism."

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 ...

Autism spectrum disorders

New review highlights need for menopause support for autistic people

A new evidence review undertaken by Swansea University academics to better understand the menopause-related experiences and needs of autistic people, has revealed significant gaps in knowledge, support, and health care provision, ...

Autism spectrum disorders

What we do (and don't know) about autism and aging—new research

Autism is often thought of as a childhood condition, but this is far from true. Autism is a lifelong condition—and most autistic people are adults. Yet less than 1% of autism research has focused on older autistic people.

Autism spectrum disorders

No strong evidence for alternative autism treatments, study finds

The most comprehensive quantitative review of research into complementary and alternative treatments for autism has found no strong evidence to support their use, and that the safety of these treatments was rarely assessed.

Autism spectrum disorders

New study reveals gaps in autism diagnosis for girls

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered the most compelling evidence to date that girls present with different symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than boys—highlighting the need for new and innovative ...

Autism spectrum disorders

New data examines health spending among children with autism

Families with a child receiving treatment for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) incur almost 10 times more in health care costs than those of other children, including those diagnosed but not receiving any ASD treatment.

Neuroscience

Researchers reverse autism symptoms in mice with epilepsy drugs

Stanford Medicine scientists investigating the neurological underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder have found that hyperactivity in a specific brain region could drive behaviors commonly associated with the disorder.

Psychology & Psychiatry

Daily mindfulness practice can reduce anxiety for autistic adults

Just 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness practice a day led to reduced stress and anxiety for autistic adults who participated in a study led by scientists at MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. Participants in the study ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Transcranial pulse current stimulation found beneficial in autism

Twenty sessions of prefrontal-cerebellar transcranial pulsed current stimulation (tPCS) over four weeks in children aged 3 to 14 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can improve social functioning and sleep, according ...

Neuroscience

Compromised synapse-clearing ability linked to autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition in which affected individuals experience difficulties in social communication and exhibit restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior or interests.

Autism spectrum disorders

HHS clarifies: No new autism registry will be created

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it will not create a new autism registry, reversing an earlier announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Genetics

Predicting how an autistic child will develop cognitively

Will a child who's evaluated for autism later develop an intellectual disability? Can this be accurately predicted? Early-childhood experts in Quebec say they've have come up with a better way to find out.

Genetics

Study reveals new genetic mechanism behind autism development

Scientists from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV) have uncovered a genetic link between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a rare genetic condition called myotonic dystrophy ...