I think we’ve developed a ‘patchwork’ sort of world in relation to Autism. By Jeanette Purkis I’ve been a diagnosed Autistic person for more than half my life. Here are some observations of where we were, where we are now and where we might be headed in terms of respect and Neurodiversity and other…

Microglia come into frequent contact with synapses, the connections between neurons, but they appear to nibble on them rather than engulf and digest them. The unpublished findings, presented today at the 2016 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, challenge the popular idea that micro…

Did you know October 7th is National LED Light Day? To celebrate, today’s blog highlights 3 creative projects that use LED lights to help kids with visual impairments have more independence – and fun! Because LEDs emit very little heat, they can safely be incorporated into everyday ob…

“We have spent so much time arguing about this and that that we can’t agree on anything. And agreement is the only way to make change.” By Carly Fulgham In February I wrote a blog about the words that matter. Frustrated at all the time I saw being spent around words that don’…

By Dr. Anton Shcherbakov, BCBA There are many reasons that kids can experience a delay in speech development. Sometimes it’s because of a neurodevelopment disorder, such as autism or intellectual disability. Other kids may have an oral-motor coordination or hearing problem. Regardless of the caus…

Autism is diagnosed more often in boys than in girls by at least a factor of four. Of the many hypotheses proposed to explain that gender difference, a biological one posits that testosterone exposure during gestation primes fetal brains to be more male-like. And some autism researchers have focused…

Autistic children in the United Kingdom are increasingly being suspended or expelled from school because of ‘behavioral problems,’ official figures show. Some regions in the U.K. have seen a 100 percent increase in these types of exclusions since 2011. Research carried out by myself and …

More than 80 percent of counties in the United States do not have diagnostic centers for autism, according to a new database1. And across the country, autistic people live, on average, about 22 miles from a diagnostic center. The findings are from an online database called GapMap, which displays abo…

With the new school year in session, it’s especially important to regulate sleep in students. In this month’s ASAT feature, Lauren Schnell, MA, BCBA, offers insight on a variety of approaches parents can take to address sleep disturbances in their kids with autism. To learn more about AS…

Around one and a half year ago, scientists at the Northwestern University developed a 3d printed Hyperelastic Bone that not only encourages bone regrowth but actually grows as the body grows. This is especially important when making implants in children. By 3D printing an implant the exact size and…

Austria — the Medical University of Vienna in particular — was once at the forefront of research in autism. More than 50 years ago, the Austrian neurologist Andreas Rett was the first to describe a rare neurodevelopmental condition in 22 girls. His work gave physicians in Europe, North America and e…

My memorable evening with Colin Farrell began with an inspiring message of inclusion by Bryan Neider. Bryan was happy at his job as a Senior VP at Electronic Arts, but his 25 years at EA doesn’t begin to compare to the experience he’s having as the CEO of Gatepath. “In joining Gatepath, I saw an opp…

Citing U.S. Congress’ failure to restore federal funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Alabama plans to drop 7,000 children from coverage on New Year’s Day, the first step to shutting down coverage for everyone, state officials said 18 December. Those children, who are up for th…

Bev Baker-Ajene waited so long to get an adult-sized wheelchair for her teenage daughter, Savitri, that she eventually forgot she’d ordered it. For the better part of a year, Baker-Ajene pushed Savitri — who has cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and epilepsy — in a child-sized chair that was too …