Autism News and Research

Latest Autism News and Research

Autistic children have a capacity to understand other people through stereotypes

The research shows that autistic children are just as able as others to predict people's behaviour when stereotypes, such as gender and race, are the only available guide.

19 Jun 2007

Structure of protein altered in autism revealed

As a result of mapping the structure of the protein complex implicated in autism spectrum disorders, a research team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has discovered how particular genetic mutations affect this complex and contribute to the developmental abnormalities found in children with autism.

15 Jun 2007

FPG Child Development Institute receives $8 Million to establish autism professional development center

Two of the most often-used classroom approaches for teaching young children with autism have never been evaluated, until now.

14 Jun 2007

Autism - MMR vaccine has it's day in court

A test case in an American court could in one way or another settle the debate on the possible link between autism and childhood vaccines.

11 Jun 2007

New target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein

Researchers in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine have identified a new regulatory target for the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), laying the groundwork for possible new treatments for Fragile X syndrome(FXS), the leading inherited form of mental retardation.

8 Jun 2007

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