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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Author

Sarah DeWeerdt

Contributing Writer, Spectrum

Sarah DeWeerdt is a Seattle-based freelance science writer specializing in biology, medicine and the environment. Her work has appeared in publications including Nature, Newsweek, Conservation and Nautilus. She has been a regular contributor to Spectrum since 2010, writing conference reports, news and Deep Dive articles.

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December 2012

Clinical research: Larger brains in autism, fragile X

by  /  19 December 2012

Young boys with fragile X syndrome or autism have larger brains overall than controls do, but the two groups show enlargement of different parts of the brain, according to an imaging study published in September in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

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Brothers and sisters

by  /  18 December 2012

People with autism have fewer children than average, and so do their brothers, according to a study of Swedes born between 1950 and 1970.

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Autism alternatives

by  /  14 December 2012

More than one-quarter of children with autism receive some kind of complementary or alternative therapy, according to a large study published 1 November in Pediatrics.

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Cognition and behavior: Slow response to faces seen in TSC

by  /  14 December 2012

Children with the autism-related disorder tuberous sclerosis complex show sluggish brain activity in response to images of faces, according to a study published 8 November in the Journal of Child Neurology.

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Teachers and students talk with each other while walking through a corridor.

Culture: Diverse diagnostics

by  /  6 December 2012

The study of autism around the globe must account for a variety of behavioural norms in different societies.

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November 2012

Cranial connection

by  /  30 November 2012

‘Hyperscanning,’ a set of techniques for simultaneously measuring brain activity in two people, is yielding insights into autism.

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Animal assistance

by  /  27 November 2012

There’s little rigorous evidence on whether animals help people with autism become more sociable, or which people with the disorder might benefit the most.

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Behavioral treatment for autism may normalize brain activity

by  /  12 November 2012

Early intensive therapy may normalize the brain’s response to faces in young children with autism, according to a study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The results are part of a randomized, controlled trial of a treatment called the Early Start Denver Model.

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October 2012

Social spontaneity

by  /  30 October 2012

People with autism don’t look at others’ eyes or mimic their actions in everyday life, but they can do these things when asked to, according a review published 7 September in Brain and Development. 

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Movement patterns may distinguish autism subgroups

by  /  19 October 2012

Analysis of the movement patterns of people with autism suggests a new approach to classifying the disorder, as well as opportunities for individualized treatment, according to research presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in New Orleans.

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