“Students with special needs need to be looked at for their true personality, and not to be looked at for their disability.” Source: The Autism Site

A wealth of research supports a role for the hormone vasopressin in social behavior. Also known as ‘antidiuretic hormone,’ vasopressin is a small peptide that regulates a variety of functions, such as thirst, water balance, blood pressure and social behavior. Because of its effects on social behavio…

As a BCBA, I am often asked to address problematic behaviors. One of the most common errors I see in addressing such behaviors is that the adults working with the child have not identified the function (or purpose) of the problematic behavior. Decades of research have shown that there are only four …

As May kicks off, we round up tweets about new appointments, FMRP and Alzheimer’s disease, disparities in autism diagnoses, and the power of genomics. The post Community Newsletter: Journal jobs, FMRP outside fragile X, convergent neuroscience appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News.…

By: Shahla Ala’i-Rosales and Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe At one time there were very few avenues available to the increasing number of families receiving autism diagnoses for their children. In the 1960s experimental psychologists took a new direction to improve the quality of life for people o…

Penny Vanderplank is an independent communication specialist and the proud founder of esSENtial learning, an organization that offers a high quality, professional service for children with communication difficulties. Penny partners with families to create custom programs to improve the communicative…

Late one October night in 2016, a group of friends set up recording equipment in a hotel lobby and settled in for three hours of wine-fueled banter about a so-called ‘elixir of life.’ The group comprised the molecular biologist David Sabatini, biologist Navdeep Chandel, a physician named Peter Attia…

"He just wanted to be loved and accepted and love others."Source: The Autism Site

Depression is more than three times as common among adults with autism as it is in the general population, according to new work1. And those with average or above intelligence are more likely to be depressed than those with low intellectual ability. The study found that about 20 percent of autistic …

Unemployment rates in the autism community are alarming, but the number of individuals entering the workforce only continues to grow. This presents an overwhelming challenge for special educators tasked with preparing learners for what is often an uncertain future. Vocational training is essential a…

According to a 2016 study, someone develops Alzheimer’s disease every 66 seconds. Alzheimer’s causes progressive memory loss as well as slow degradation of other cognitive functions that are needed for daily activities and chores. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, and ty…

This month’s ASAT feature comes to us from Carl Sundberg, PhD, BCBA-D Behavior Analysis Center for Autism and David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D Association for Science in Autism Treatment. To learn more about ASAT, please visit their website at www.asatonline.org. You can also sign up for ASAT’s free new…

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 …

Apple recently shared some exciting news about powerful new features designed to make their devices even more accessible later this year. These tools aim to help people of all abilities use their iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and even Apple Vision Pro more easily, independently, and productiv…