The cracker is designed to dissolve even without the help of saliva or chewing. The post Self-Dissolving Cracker Makes Swallowing Easier for People Struggling with Dysphagia appeared first on The Autism Site News. Source: The Autism Site

In the late 1990s, while working to identify the gene that causes a neurodevelopmental condition known as double cortex syndrome, Christopher Walsh noticed something odd: The gene mutation he thought was responsible, which he had observed in two siblings with the condition, was also present in their…

My year in pictures. And what a year it has been. By Christian Espicha I have gone from being a terrified wreck in fear for my health and very existence to a grateful and (mostly) peaceful being who has taken control of my health, faced the fear of death and have become healthy and well adjusted wit…

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Community Newsletter! I’m your host, Chelsey B. Coombs, Spectrum’s engagement editor. Our first tweet comes from Dheeraj Roy, a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who highlighted his new study in Neuron on the role of the …

By Aaron Bouma For much of my life I have been mainly focused on military history and military affairs as my main special interest. Many Autistics have a strong interest in a specific topic which we fixate on. In 2007, a year after I graduated from high school, I attempted to join the Canadian Force…

For the past nine years, Brainhack events have merged ‘hackathon’-style group projects with informative talks and hands-on tutorials in neuroscience. Several are held each year in cities across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. Before the pandemic, 25 or 30 people — both academics and non-ac…

The post Spotted around the web: Cannabinoid receptor, survey snafus, auditory test for autism appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

Sign the pledge to remind yourselves and other parents of children with autism that we're all in this together! The post How You Can Support Parents Of Children On The Autism Spectrum appeared first on The Autism Site News. Source: The Autism Site

A new engineered protein for optogenetics experiments requires less light than traditional techniques to excite or inactivate neurons, reducing thermal damage to brain tissue. The protein, described in eLife in May, improves a method called two-photon optogenetics, which enables researchers to study…

Considered the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, Alan Turing’s idiosyncrasies have led some historians to speculate that he may have had Asperger’s syndrome. Editor’s Note: Asperger’s syndrome is a previously used diagnosis which was under the autism …

11-year-old Tiana has autism, sensory processing disorder, and Tourette's syndrome. Her dad built her the treehouse to give her a place to get away and enjoy some quiet time. The post Dad Forced to Take Down the Treehouse That Was a “Safe Place” for His Autistic Daughter appeared first o…

Autistic people have valuable skills to bring to the table, especially when employers understand that neurodiversity is a strength. The post How You Can Support the Hiring of Adults on the Autism Spectrum appeared first on The Autism Site News. Source: The Autism Site

The U.S. government today announced the latest iteration of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), the body of scientists and advocates that helps set priorities for federally funded autism research and services. The committee plans to hold a public meeting virtually on July 21 and 22…

Leveraging cross-species data on the evolution of proteins can help make sense of subtle genetic variants in people with autism and identify hundreds of new genes that may contribute to the condition, according to a new analysis. The work focuses on ‘missense’ variants, which alter a single amino ac…