We asked autism researchers to enter the Spectrum science image contest. From sensational stem-cell snapshots to a ‘furry’ close-up of the hippocampus, these are the 10 top pics. The post 2017 in pictures: Spectrum’s picks for best images appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Sp…

Australia has become the latest country to establish guidelines for diagnosing autism, with the goal of making diagnoses consistent nationwide. Clinicians typically diagnose autism using criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classificatio…

“What does it mean to be autistic?” Amy Goodman “It means you have special talents and skills inside you,” Owen Suskind “What are those talents?” Amy Goodman “Being a good artist, and a piano player, and a good writer, author, and a storyteller, and a possib…

We’re so thrilled to be kicking off Autism Awareness Month with a special guest article from the Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D, who shares with us 10 compelling ways in which we should approach “autism awareness.…

“I know of nobody who is purely autistic, or purely neurotypical. Even God has some autistic moments, which is why the planets spin,” Jerry Newport, author of Your Life is Not a Label By Ron Sandison Every person experiences fear and anxiety. It’s part what makes us human. Sensory issues…

Dr. Grandin taught me that I did not need to blame, shame, or hate myself just because I was different. By Wendi E. Powers As an over-forty college graduate, I attributed my difficulties to complex childhood trauma. Although I was in therapy for PTSD and Dissociative Identity Disorder, I become dis…

By Kaelynn Partlow I am 24 years old and I am diagnosed with “high-functioning autism.” There is a broad misconception in the autism community that so-called “high-functioning autism” means “easy autism.” And while it’s largely true that those of us labeled “high-functioning” tend to hav…

A drug that curbs the expression of MeCP2, a gene duplicated in people with a certain autism-linked syndrome, normalizes brain function and reverses abnormal behaviors in mice1. The findings, reported 25 November in Nature, highlight the potential of a highly specific treatment for people with MeCP2…

Peruse our picks (above) for the best science photos published on Spectrum this year. We’ve showcased two videos below, too. Vascular view: A new technique provides a three-dimensional picture of blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord of a rat.   Sneak peek: This video speeds through a …

Charlie Keeble is a creative and innovative intellectual with a taste for developing new and original ideas. He says that he wasn’t always positive about his autism because he was brought up in a judgemental society that dismissed him as being too awkward to be able to achieve anything. He turned to…

“What people forget is that autism is a developmental disability. It’s not a learning disability. We’re not all nerdy guys who are good at math like Sheldon on the ‘Big Bang Theory.’ We come in all shapes and sizes. I want to create a paradigm shift to view students with autism as the bright…

As he begins his second semester of community college, I want to catch everyone up on Ian’s college career to date. Last semester, Ian and I attended College of Marin’s beginning acting class. While we originally discussed transitioning towards independence last semester, we never made the jum…

By Connie Hammer Being a friend and being a bully are two very different things. Can your child tell them apart? Learning the difference between a friend and a bully can be difficult for the autistic brain to comprehend but not impossible. It is vitally important because children with an Autism Spe…

How Autistic people experience the world is still not well understood by many mental health clinicians. As many Autistic adults – and particularly women – are undiagnosed, mental health clinicians may assume they communicate and behave like a non-Autistic person would in the same situati…