Pregnant rats deprived of oxygen for short periods during sleep — mimicking a disorder in people called sleep apnea — have an increased likelihood of giving birth to pups with an excess of synapses and autism-like traits, according to a new study. Women who have sleep apnea periodically stop breathi…

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…

By: Nicole Gorden, M.S., BCBA, LBA  This blog post is part 2 of 2. Read part 1 HERE Autism spectrum disorder occurs in individuals from many different cultures and backgrounds. Therefore, cultural competency and sensitivity is imperative for effective delivery of services. To work with aut…

Most neuroimaging studies have too few participants to reliably link complex behaviors to variations in brain structure or function, according to a study published today in Nature. The results point to the importance of large, multisite collaborations and data-sharing to ensure that imaging studies …

In this issue of Spectrum’s data-centric newsletter: Rates of mental health diagnoses have jumped over the past 50 years, and psychotropic drug prescriptions are more common for autistic children taking melatonin. Also, a Spectrum analysis scrutinizes the gender gap in academic publishing. Let us kn…

“Autism has truly become my superpower throughout life.” Britini D’Angelo By Ron Sandison Britini D’Angelo (Niagara Falls, NY), is a teacher, dance instructor, a fourth degree black belt in the Chuck Norris System, and was recently a contestant on Big Brother 23 (CBS). Britini overcame m…

To think that what we are witnessing now in Ukraine is far removed from the world of autism would be a huge mistake. I was fortunate to travel to Ukraine twice to conduct research, train specialists and give lectures about autism. I am fluent in Ukrainian and worked directly with families and profes…

Jiedi Lei kicked off her training in clinical psychology at King’s College London in the United Kingdom in October 2020, seven months into the COVID-19 pandemic. For her entire first year, she assessed patients and provided therapies over the internet. Although many sessions were productive, Lei say…

My high-support adult autistic son’s many medical appointments have become routine. Even so, I broke into sobs during a recent session. Despite years of consults and procedures, no one seems to know how to treat his debilitating headaches. Not because potentially effective treatments don’t exist — t…

This week’s newsletter is a tale of two tweets, one marking important progress and the other a lack thereof. On Monday, the journal Autism highlighted a paper about a new parent training program, Spectrum of Care, developed by the Black community for the Black community. Michele Villalobos, associat…

The post Spotted around the web: Cerebellar CHD8, microglia metamorphosis, family tree findings appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

Lindsay Shea’s workdays are “windows of chaos,” she says — too much time on Zoom in her basement office, followed by late afternoons with her family and another work session after her three children go to bed. Amid the mayhem, though, she manages to bring a laser focus to reforming autism research a…

Welcome to the first monthly edition of Null and Noteworthy. We’ve doubled the newsletter’s frequency to deliver more notable null results and replications direct to your inbox. Thanks, as always, for your feedback, and please continue to send your thoughts, ideas, interesting studies and cat photos…

Many autistic people with a serious or life-threatening condition do not seek medical care, according to a new study. The most common health-care barriers include difficulties communicating with physicians or making appointments by telephone. “For me, as a physician, to realize that patients are sit…