Autism traits aren’t just topics to study — they can also educate, hearten and inspire — as some scientists have discovered. For instance, researchers have found inspiration for autism studies or innovative sports programs in the unusual behavior or abilities of their own or others’ children on the …

Dear Readers, 2017 was the year we at Spectrum committed to being open — to new ideas, new types of stories, new ways of telling them and new ways to reach you, our audience. For example, as I promised in last year’s letter to you, we made our podcast, “Spectrum Stories” a regular feature. The…

This year’s list of top papers highlights nuances in the genetics of autism and new leads on early treatment. Each year, we ask autism researchers to weigh in on the year’s most ‘notable papers’ — studies that changed the way we think about autism. We then count the votes and pick 10 winners. In 201…

Getting to the top generally requires years of hard work, committed mentors and many missteps along the way. We asked a few of the most distinguished autism researchers to share memories from their first autism study, including their initial assumptions and what they’ve learned since. Their answers …

Banking group ANZ finds people with autism do very well with cyber-security and as test analysts.Source: The Autism Site

She thought everyone hated her, but then her community proved her wrong.Source: The Autism Site

Men with autism respond differently to human odors — and the social signals that they contain — than do their neurotypical peers, according to a new study1. The results suggest that men with autism misread social signals present in human odors — causing them to misinterpret others’ emotions. Human s…

Death may be difficult, but it's also inevitable.Source: The Autism Site

These two candidly share their experiences as boyfriend and girlfriend.Source: The Autism Site

This week’s blog comes to us from Rosemarie Griffin, MA, CCC/SLP BCBA, creator of the Action Builder Cards! Head to our site to check out some of Rosemarie’s favorite supports for language instruction!    Helping students with autism and other communication disorders increase their …

By Emma Dalmayne In his song Wicked Ways Eminem says he has Aspergers: Ever heard of Aspergers? It’s a rare condition It’s what you’re suffering from when you simply don’t care if it’s an 80 degree day And there’s no fricken air conditioning. In another song called Legacy he raps: “I use…

Citing U.S. Congress’ failure to restore federal funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Alabama plans to drop 7,000 children from coverage on New Year’s Day, the first step to shutting down coverage for everyone, state officials said 18 December. Those children, who are up for th…

Delivering a healthy copy of a gene mutated in children with spinal muscular atrophy dramatically improved the children’s survival and symptoms in a small clinical trial1. The trial’s success suggests gene therapy might treat single-gene conditions related to autism. Spinal muscular atrophy type 1 (…

We know there's a diagnostic disparity. The question is, why?Source: The Autism Site