My high-support adult autistic son’s many medical appointments have become routine. Even so, I broke into sobs during a recent session. Despite years of consults and procedures, no one seems to know how to treat his debilitating headaches. Not because potentially effective treatments don’t exist — t…

This week’s newsletter is a tale of two tweets, one marking important progress and the other a lack thereof. On Monday, the journal Autism highlighted a paper about a new parent training program, Spectrum of Care, developed by the Black community for the Black community. Michele Villalobos, associat…

The post Spotted around the web: Cerebellar CHD8, microglia metamorphosis, family tree findings appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

Lindsay Shea’s workdays are “windows of chaos,” she says — too much time on Zoom in her basement office, followed by late afternoons with her family and another work session after her three children go to bed. Amid the mayhem, though, she manages to bring a laser focus to reforming autism research a…

Welcome to the first monthly edition of Null and Noteworthy. We’ve doubled the newsletter’s frequency to deliver more notable null results and replications direct to your inbox. Thanks, as always, for your feedback, and please continue to send your thoughts, ideas, interesting studies and cat photos…

Many autistic people with a serious or life-threatening condition do not seek medical care, according to a new study. The most common health-care barriers include difficulties communicating with physicians or making appointments by telephone. “For me, as a physician, to realize that patients are sit…

By: Nicole Gorden, M.S., BCBA, LBA  Autism spectrum disorder occurs in individuals from many different cultures and backgrounds. Therefore, cultural competency and sensitivity is imperative for effective delivery of services. To work with autistic learners, is to respect that they are th…

Briefly suppressing an overactive signaling pathway in juvenile mice that have an autism-linked mutation blocks them from developing some autism-like traits later, according to a new study. The findings help refine the exact timing of this “critical period” for intervention, the researchers say, and…

When I got my diagnosis of autism, it was like there was suddenly and explosive light that emerged in the darkness of all my mistakes. I am not broken. I am not just a bitch. I am autistic. By Jessica Penot I have administered the Autism Diagnostic Interview the Revised Addition (ADI-R) 132 tim…

Neuroscientist Ben Rein never intended to get into science communication. But simple frustration drove him to it after a shopping trip in early April of 2020, he says.   Rein saw so many people wearing face masks improperly that he decided to use the video-sharing app TikTok to record a 53-second cl…

Some aspects of rhesus macaques’ social behavior are strongly shaped by genetics, with differences tied to variants in autism-linked genes, according to a new study. The findings may shed light on the mechanisms that underlie social difficulties in autistic people, the researchers say. Like people, …

The post Spotted around the web: Reading boost, regulating prenatal tests, diversity in scientific publishing appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

Infinitely Polar Bear articulates an encouraging message about the ability of neurodivergent individuals to be successful parents, a goal they can achieve through love and support from their partners and from their children. By Nils Skudra This week I had the opportunity to watch Maya Forbes’ 2014 p…

Tweets in the autism research sphere during the first week of March have come in like a lion, roaring — over gaps in clinical care for autistic people, gaps in understanding and gaps in evidence. Mary Doherty, founder of Autistic Doctors International and a consultant anesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospi…