To my 25-year old self on the day I receive my diagnosis, I know you have a lot emotions going through your head right now. 1) Relieved- because you finally find out why you struggled in clinical internship. 2) Depressed- because you realize you actually have a disability AND you have a strike aga…

Exactly a month ago, I wrote about Bruce Hall, an exceptionally talented legally blind photographer who is very well known for  underwater photography and various other photography related work. His work has been published in various textbooks and magazines, and recently, The Library of Congres…

The U.S. government has injected $1.8 billion into autism research with a potential new focus: adults on the spectrum. The funds are slated for efforts to detect autism, develop treatments and educate physicians, but not for new services or quality-of-life improvements for autistic people. President…

A theoretical neuroscientist, Kennedy uses a blend of computational modeling and real-world experiments to understand how brain activity shapes the behaviors of animals that model autism and other conditions. The post Rising star: Ann Kennedy bridges gap between biology, computational theory appeare…

This year, the community of autism scientists heralded numerous advances, making it difficult to prune a long list of notable papers to just 10. Our selection, based on input from autism researchers, captures the full spectrum of findings — from molecular biology to large-scale epidemiology. Here, i…

Two changes to the criteria for diagnosing autism are slated for release tomorrow in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), published by the American Psychiatric Association. The small changes add clarity and nuance to how the reference te…

Every day, your clicks, purchases, and petition signatures help make the world a better place. Here's three things that wouldn't have been possible without you... Source: The Autism Site

By Kimberly Gerry-Tucker I have an abacus in my basement. It’s got a wooden frame and is about the height of a Kindergartner. My late mother worked in the school system over 25 years and when the classroom updated their room, my mother took the abacus from the discard pile. When I walk by it t…

Autism prevalence in the United States continues to rise, according to a new study of 8-year-old children in 11 states1. Boys are 4.3 times as likely as girls are to have autism, a ratio that is consistent with previous estimates. The report, released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Pre…

A new startup, WeWalk, which recently graduated from the Microsoft for Startups program, is making waves in the assistive technology world. WeWalk has invented a product by the same name that attaches to a regular white cane that not only detects obstacles for visually impaired people but also enha…

Hello, and welcome to Spectrum Launch — the newsletter for early-career autism researchers. This month, we have a Q&A with Andrew Jaffe, head of data sciences at Neumora Therapeutics, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm that develops treatments for brain conditions. Before joining Neumora in Sept…

Monkeys with a mutation in the Rett syndrome gene, MeCP2, show characteristics of the condition, such as sleep problems and sensory sensitivity, as well as social difficulties and repetitive behaviors reminiscent of autism1. The monkeys also show features that are difficult to assess in mouse models…

The next day, Officer Lynema returned to his home -- only this time, he brought some very special backup.Source: The Autism Site

The ability to see plays a large role in the development of the brain — so it makes sense that there would be a connection between vision and autism, which is essentially a condition of brain development. When the eyes are open, vision is the dominant sense. Continuous input from the eyes links stim…