“Autistic burnouts for me feel like the puzzle pieces in Tetris falling so fast you don’t have enough time to line them up before they reach the top and the videogame is over, burnouts leave me feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.” Ron Sandison By Ron Sandison I’ve experienced many autistic burnouts …

Autistic women and girls experience more frequent and more disabling pain than autistic men and boys do, according to new unpublished research. They are also more likely to miss work, school or other activities as a result. “Autistic individuals are experiencing a fair amount of pain, often on a dai…

A delayed brain response to viewing faces may predict social-skill development lags in autistic people, according to an unpublished study, suggesting the response could be used as a biomarker for autism. Researchers presented the findings virtually today at the 2021 International Society for Autism …

Stay informed!Source: The Autism Site

October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Although there may be a genetic or biological predisposition to acquire the “schizophrenic trait” of expanded experience, it is really only allowed full expression in the willingness to learn about the unconventional. This willingness alone might be enough to a…

Token economies are used in many different environments. They’re typically simple to implement and achieve desired results for behavior change, especially in autism classrooms. Furthermore, there are tons of research on how to best use them. If you want to get the best results while simultaneously p…

The post A ‘cure’ for autism at any cost appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

This Spectrum journal club will focus on two papers published this year that explore the role of mosaic mutations in autism. Rebecca Barnard, a postdoctoral researcher in Brian O’Roak’s lab at Oregon Health and Science University, will describe results from their paper “Exonic mosaic mutations contr…

Treatment with the hormone oxytocin improves social skills in some children with autism, suggest results from a small clinical trial. The results appeared today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1. Oxytocin, dubbed the ‘love hormone,’ enhances social behavior in animals. This eff…

The post Spotted around the web: Week of 10 December 2018 appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

Stanley Duran, 29, was caught on camera paying for a drink, but stealing the bodega's cat, Luna.Source: The Autism Site

The end of the year is a time for reflection — and making predictions for the year ahead. As part of our 2019 Year in Review, we asked researchers to ‘fill in the blanks’ and take a playful look at their past, present and future. The result is Spectrum’s ‘Lab Libs’ — a cheeky homage to the infamous …

By Kris McElroy The holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year while also being one of the most difficult for me. I love the decorations, music, and lights of the holiday season, but I struggle with sensory overload, crowds, and the social expectations and requirements of holiday gatheri…

Autistic people who carry mutations in a gene called PTEN have distinct behavioral, sensory, cognitive and motor problems, a new study suggests1. PTEN is known for its ties to cancer but is also strongly linked to autism. In one study, researchers found that 7 of 99 autistic people carry a mutation …