Spectrum: Autism Research News

Cognitive traits associated with autism may have helped our ancestors survive, according to a fascinating new study. But those traits are no longer an advantage.

A Spanish-language treatment center is just one of the innovative programs that a new autism institute will use to expand existing services in the New York area.

A new mouse model of 15q duplication syndrome, a genetic disorder associated with autism, falls short of recapitulating the symptoms of the syndrome. But it nonetheless points to a cluster of well-known risk genes as the most likely culprits.

The symptoms of Asperger syndrome look slightly different in girls than in boys, according to a new study. However, gender differences in autism are poorly understood, and the results are preliminary, say other researchers.

Under the proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis, some people with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism may lose their diagnosis and, as a result, their access to services, according to a new study.

A new study calls into question the assumption that Rett syndrome is exclusively a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the lack of a critical protein in utero.

Developmental disorders increased by 17 percent between 1997 and 2008 in the U.S, according to a report published 6 June. Is this cause for alarm, or a sign that we are at last assessing the true rate for these disorders?

Researchers have identified hundreds of previously unknown connections between proteins involved in autism spectrum disorders, according to a report published last week in Science Translational Medicine.

Three new studies analyzing genetic data from families in which just one child has autism have found the strongest evidence yet that rare new mutations contribute to the disorder.

Sensory sensitivity is one of the most understudied aspects of autism. That’s a serious problem, because it underlies much of the distress experienced by people with the disorder, says best-selling author and animal scientist Temple Grandin.