A class of medications used to treat depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder seems to ease compulsive behaviors in adults with autism. These medications, called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs, also known as SSRIs), work by increasing the available levels of the neurotransmitter se…

It’s among the most frustrating problems in autism research: Scientists have conducted hundreds of imaging studies, but they are no closer to identifying a brain signature for the condition. This is largely because studies come to widely different conclusions. A new analysis provides hints about the…

The boy's mother hid a camera in a pile of laundry when she began to suspect her friend was mistreating her nonverbal 8-year-old son.Source: The Autism Site

By Christa Holmans, Neurodivergent Rebel When I was diagnosed autistic at the age of twenty-nine, suddenly, my entire world view was shifted, as I began to dig through the memories and moments of my past through a new lens – the lens of autism. They say hindsight is twenty-twenty. Well, it certainl…

When Cristine Legare gives talks to groups of psychology researchers, she likes to take a quick poll of the room. How many of them, she asks, consider themselves to be “Western ethnopsychologists?” The question does not go over well. “They’re like, ‘What?’” Legare, associate professor of…

Siblings of autistic children, like those with the condition, tend to have faces that are more masculine than average, according to a new analysis1. The analysis classified features such as a wide forehead and long nose as masculine. The results in siblings follow from a 2017 study by the same team …

"I told the officer I had autism and he didn't understand me."Source: The Autism Site

You may have seen or heard about Virtual Reality recently – mostly about how real and entertaining it can be. A specialist care facility in Berkshire, England is taking advantage of VR and using it to make children with Autism comfortable with new places and environments. Children with sensory…

The prevalence of autism in the United States has risen steadily since researchers first began tracking it in 2000. The rise has sparked fears of an autism ‘epidemic.’ But experts say the bulk of the increase stems from a growing awareness of the condition and changes to its diagnostic criteria. Her…

A new map of the fetal brain during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy reveals the complex network of connections in the brain before birth1. The new functional connectome — a map of brain regions that communicate with one another — is among the first to chart large-scale connectivity patt…

The number of top autism genes has risen from 65 to 102, based on an analysis of more than 35,000 sequences. And researchers are seeing the first hints of autism risk variants in the regions between genes. The new findings are the payoff from increasingly sophisticated analyses of a growing number o…

The post Spotted around the web: Fragile X genetics, postpartum depression, teeth problems appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

People with autism have more brain-related health problems, such as headaches and epilepsy, than typical people do, according to a survey of twins1. The study is the first to look at associations between autism and physical health problems among twins. The study found no association between autism a…

Take A Deep Breath This advice seems so absolutely silly and obvious. I used to hate when people would tell me to take a deep breath. “Got it. I’m breathing. I’m not going to suffocate myself. Chill.” But then I realized that sometimes in a crisis I jump in split-second too early. Yes, when ther…