A drug called atomoxetine eases hyperactivity in children who have both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)1. A parent-led therapy also improves symptoms, although to a lesser extent than either the drug alone or a combination of the two. The standard treatment for children wh…

Sorting autism from other developmental conditions is no simple matter. Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for example, can be particularly tough to tell apart. And a new study suggests that even the gold-standard tests for diagnosing autism are not a foolproof solution to t…

A boy with autism gained internet fame with an amazing dance. But it's his backstory that makes this story truly touching.Source: The Autism Site

Many special needs parents wonder: "What will happen to my child after I'm gone?" Fortunately, there are ways to provide for your child's future, no matter where they fall on the autism spectrum.Source: The Autism Site

Happy November, Different Roads family! We’re incredibly excited to announce our newest product, the Structured Ecological Assessment tool (SEAT) by J. Tyler Fovel, M.A., BCBA. The SEAT is a structured protocol and manual that guides you through the process of conducting an Ecological Assesme…

As a member of the Autistic Creatives Collective,* Colin Eldred-Cohen channels his creative and active mind towards writing and storytelling. He’ll tell you that he constantly has story ideas buzzing around his head, fiction and nonfiction. “They can spring up from anywhere, from media I consume to …

Children born to parents who are 35 or older are at an increased risk of autism, and the risk continues to rise with parental age, a new study suggests1. For schizophrenia, by contrast, the increased risk is limited to those born to mothers in their teens or early 20s. The study is one of the larges…

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind,” Virginia Woolf By Patrick Jasper Lee Autism and fiction aren’t commonly mentioned in the same sentence. It took me some time to realize that there seems these days to be f…

If you watched Apple’s “Hello Again” event last week, you would have noticed that the keynote event opened with this video: There was emphasis on accessibility right from the get go. Tim Cook announced the new Apple accessibility website, which puts emphasis on how people with dis…

The gene editor CRISPR is as versatile as it is precise. By tweaking the tool or deploying it in novel ways, researchers are solving an expansive list of scientific problems. Here are three of the latest CRISPR hacks: Cell switch: Many researchers use CRISPR to mutate genes, but a modified version o…

The post Meaningful mentors; book club; paper money appeared first on Spectrum. Source: Spectrum News

Parenting is difficult, especially when your child has a different neurotype than you do. That's where adults with autism can help neurotypical parents of kids on the spectrum. Here's some pieces of advice from a few of them.Source: The Autism Site

Subsets of neurons lacking a gene called RAI1 contribute to Smith-Magenis syndrome, a rare condition related to autism, researchers reported last week in Neuron1. RAI1 is either mutated or missing in people with the syndrome, which is characterized by movement problems, obesity, sleep disturbances a…

Scanning young children with autism as they sleep reveals reduced synchrony between a brain region that processes emotions and structures involved in social communication1. The findings, published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, add t…