Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Robots help kids with disabilities

A project which is using robots to help children with developmental or cognitive impairments to interact more effectively has just started at the University of Hertfordshire.

1 Jun 2007

Early interventions for children with autism

Psychologists at Swansea University have published results from the largest comparative study of different early teaching interventions for children with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) carried out in the UK to date.

1 Jun 2007

System allows autistic children to communicate with their environment

Communication ability among children who are intellectually disabled or have communication limitations (such as autism, down syndrome, or cerebral palsy) may soon be improved thanks to a research group of the University of Granada.

30 May 2007

Children with both autism and ADHD more likely to bully

Children with both autism and attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorders are four times more likely to bully than children in the general population, according to a study released in the journal, Ambulatory Pediatrics.

18 May 2007

Lack of association between Rh status, Rh immune globulin in pregnancy and autism

The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism in recent years has sparked concern that environmental toxins may cause this complex disorder.

17 May 2007

Environmental toxins may cause autism

The increase in the number of diagnosed cases of autism in recent years has sparked concern that environmental toxins may cause this complex disorder.

17 May 2007

The Phi Complex as a neuromarker of human social coordination

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) have been able to identify neural signatures of effective, real-time coordination between people in one of the first studies in the field of social neuroscience to actually record, measure and analyze both behavior and brain activity simultaneously in two interacting humans.

16 May 2007

Genetic component to autism

Using an innovative statistical approach, a research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, Los Angeles, has identified two regions of DNA linked to autism.

10 May 2007

Study provides clues about inability to imitate and empathize in autistic children

New imaging research at UCLA shows that impairments in autistic children's ability to imitate and empathize can be linked to dysfunction in the brain's mirror-neuron system.

8 May 2007

Social behavior differs in children with family history of autism

The baby brothers and sisters of autistic children do not seek emotional cues from adults, or respond to them, as often as other toddlers do, suggests new research from the University of California, San Diego.

8 May 2007

Multitasking mental cells

In the mid-1990s, scientists at the University of Parma, in Italy, made a discovery so novel that it shifted the way psychologists discuss the brain. After researchers implanted electrodes into the heads of monkeys, they noticed a burst of activity in the premotor cortex when the animals clutched a piece of food.

8 May 2007

Children with autism cannot read facial expressions

When we have a conversation with someone, we not only hear what they say, we see what they say.

8 May 2007

Smoking is No. 1 health concern for children and adolescents in the United States

It's only natural to for adults to worry about children's health and well-being at school, on the roads and even online.

4 May 2007

New understanding of genetic mutation that contributes to autism

The investigators now know more about how the mutation causes problems with a specific gene and are testing for additional mutations of the same gene in other people with autism.

4 May 2007

Study examines visual scanning patterns and recognition of faces and abstract patterns in toddlers with autism

Toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty focusing on people's faces and making eye contact, but a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers found that these same toddlers do not have difficulty looking at photographs of faces.

4 May 2007

No link between autism and celiac disease

Contrary to previous studies, autistic children are no more likely than other children to have celiac disease, according to new research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 28, May 5, 2007.

2 May 2007

Latest research findings on autism to be discussed in Seattle

More than 900 scientists, parents and activists from around the world who are focused on understanding the causes of autism and finding treatments for the developmental disorder will gather in Seattle May 3-5 to share the latest research findings at the sixth annual International Meeting for Autism Research.

26 Apr 2007

Developmental problems for siblings of autistic children

Younger siblings of children with autism are at risk to suffer from delayed verbal, cognitive and motor development in their early childhood years.

24 Apr 2007

Non-coplanar PCBs and related chemicals warrant serious attention for health reasons

Scientists have determined that a specific class of PCB causes significant developmental abnormalities in rat pups whose mothers were exposed to the toxicant in their food during pregnancy and during the early weeks when the pups were nursing.

24 Apr 2007

Internal part of prefrontal cortex identified as key structure for memory formation

Does a specific memory exist for events involving humans, French researchers from the Vulnerability, Adaptation and Psychopathology Laboratory (CNRS/Universit' Paris VI) and Canadian researchers from Douglas Hospital, McGill University (Montreal) have identified the internal part of the prefrontal cortex as the key structure for the memory formation of social information.

19 Apr 2007