An inexpensive, noninvasive method has found evidence that babies in The Gambia and in the U.K. show subtle differences in their social brain development. The researchers are using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to study how the infant brain responds to social information. They presen…

A cellular pathway that helps neurons grow and move during fetal development may drive the changes in head size in some autistic people. The findings implicate RhoA, a protein involved in brain development. Researchers presented the unpublished findings today at the 2018 Society for Neuroscience ann…

It’s not time to file taxes yet but in a couple of months, starting January, each and every one of us (especially in the US) would be scrambling around to get their taxes filed. For deaf people, who need help filing their taxes, and would prefer interacting with tax experts in ASL, they would possib…

Administering a cholesterol drug alongside an antibiotic eases atypical behavior and restores the signaling balance in the brains of people with fragile X syndrome. Researchers presented the preliminary results yesterday at the 2018 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego, California. I…

Just as the arches and swirls of a fingerprint are unique to a person, so are the thousands upon thousands of links between regions of her brain. As few as 40 of these links can identify an individual with 98 percent accuracy, new findings suggest. Researchers presented the unpublished results yeste…

A software tool looks for patterns in the sequences of long RNA molecules that aren’t transcribed into proteins and predicts their function1. The work could help clarify the role that these so-called long noncoding RNAs play in autism. Long noncoding RNAs, which measure more than 200 nucleotid…

It takes about two weeks for a marmoset to get used to wearing a jacket embedded with motion sensors, coaxed along by strategically placed bits of monkey chow, the occasional marshmallow and the skilled hands of a graduate student. Once the jacket is on, it’s ‘Lights, camera, action!’: The researche…

The link between the gut and the brain is real and powerful.Source: The Autism Site

A team of researchers is trialing a fast approach to autism drug development: simultaneously testing candidates in people and in mice. Their approach has so far revealed that one drug, Tideglusib, is ineffective in mouse models of autism, and it might have been abandoned — except that it seems to wo…

Lattice-like structures that surround neurons may be overly abundant — or scarce — in various brain regions of three autism mouse models. The structures, called perineuronal nets, stabilize synapses (neuronal junctions) and are thought to inhibit their ability to change in response to experience. Th…

This is heartbreaking and infuriating.Source: The Autism Site

One of the most difficult tasks educators face is managing classroom behaviors and implementing effective behavior management systems.  There is nothing wrong with teachers applying positive reinforcement contingencies (such as implementing token boards, marble jars, or using teacher delivered …

By Megan Amodeo “Be true to yourself! Be who you are! Be fabulous!” So often we here mantras like “Be yourself,” “Let Your freak flag fly,” and “Be true to you.” I have always liked these sayings, but I couldn’t always embrace their true meaning. It’s so simple to recite these sayings. I often tel…

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