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Autism spectrum disorders news

Autism spectrum disorders

Researchers work to improve communication support for children with autism

For people with autism—especially those with intellectual disabilities, or others with extensive support needs—communicating needs and ideas can be difficult. Many rely on intense individualized support and educational ...

Genetics

In search for autism's causes, look at genes, not vaccines, researchers say

Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged that the search for autism's cause—a question that has kept researchers busy for the better part of six decades—would be over in just ...

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

Q&A: Telehealth study may help improve access to autism assessments

A study by UC Davis Health and Vanderbilt University Medical Center has found that developmental assessments for autism performed through telehealth may be a good alternative to in-person evaluations. The research, published ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Prepping autistic or sound-sensitive kids for cicada noise

As Chicagoans await the emergence of the cicadas, parents of children on the autism spectrum and/or who have sensitivities to sound can take a few steps to prepare for what is expected to be a loud summer.

Autism spectrum disorders

Autistic children could be the real winners from online games

Online gaming could be beneficial for pre-teens on the autism spectrum, with new research by the University of Adelaide indicating the popular pastime can help improve social skills and expand friendship networks.

Autism spectrum disorders

Metabolism of autism reveals developmental origins

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have shed new light on the changes in metabolism that occur between birth and the presentation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) later in childhood. ...

Neuroscience

Potential link between PTSD and autism found in mice

People on the autism spectrum are predisposed to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a new study from The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Queensland has shown.

Autism spectrum disorders

Helping your child make friends with a child with autism

Kids are very likely to make the acquaintance of a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at some point, whether they know it or not. An estimated 95% of children with disabilities enroll in regular schools, experts ...

Autism spectrum disorders

Understanding autism: The path to diagnosis, awareness and support

Diagnosing a person with autism spectrum disorder can be challenging. It's a medical condition that no blood test, brain scan or objective test can pinpoint. And because of each person's distinctive pattern of symptoms, it ...