Seizures early in life render brain circuits incapable of supporting learning during critical periods in development, according to a new mouse study1. The findings add to a body of evidence that suggests early-life seizures exacerbate features of autism. Treating the mice with a chemical that blocks…

An interview with Karla Akins, Author of A Pair of Miracles: A Story of Autism, Faith, and Determined Parenting By Ron Sandison 1. What were the first signs your twin boys had autism? The twins cried and screamed constantly. They bit one another mercilessly from the time they could crawl. They were…

These women are proving that beauty makes room for everyone!Source: The Autism Site

Recently I was supervising a session in which the current goal was for the child to identify cards by category. The teacher was placing three cards in a messy array, and asking “Where’s the animal?” or “Point to the food.” When the child got it right, the teacher did a great job of providing reinfor…

The post Can a computer diagnose autism? appeared first on Spectrum | Autism Research News. Source: Spectrum News

A new method allows researchers to assess the biological impact of thousands of subtle mutations1. So-called missense mutations change only one of a protein’s amino acids. Researchers have identified hundreds of these mutations in studies of autism. But they have few ways to assess the mutations’ in…

"It seems like [brain folding] is actually a rather sensitive anatomical metric."Source: The Autism Site

For almost a decade, the National Institutes of Health has been supporting research into the ‘human connectome’— the collection of information pathways in the brain that coordinate sensation, emotion, action and thought. The goal is to better understand how the 100 billion cells of the brain work to…

By Ryan Smoluk My art exhibit (Reflections at Great West Life) came to an end June 6th. It was well received and I met some nice people. Thank God for the 2 strong women in my life, my Mom and my sister Lisa. They helped dismantle all my art, pack it up and lug it over to my studio. I love them dea…

Find out which conditions made the cut for cannabis. Source: The Autism Site

He says that most of the math test "was easy," but the rest of the school didn't think so!Source: The Autism Site

The post Pick of the Week: Fine Motor Skills Supports! appeared first on Different Roads to Learning Blog. Source: Different Roads to Learning

Jonah wants you to know that he has Asperger’s Syndrome. Yes, he says, it has hardships but his autism comes with many strengths. One of his greatest is his imagination. He uses it in a positive, creative way to help him through day-to-day tasks or when he needs to go to a place where he knows he’ll…

The brains of children with autism fold differently than those of their typical peers, two new studies suggest1,2. But whether they are unusually smooth or convoluted depends on location and age. Certain regions of the brain’s outer layer, the cerebral cortex, are more intricately folded in school-a…