Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Using virtual reality to train autistic youth for job interviews may help build their skills and lower their anxiety. Autism
• Pivotal response treatment may improve social communication in children on the spectrum, according to a new randomized clinical trial; past trials have been equivocal, as Spectrum reported last year. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Reframing social-communication challenges as different, not deficient, may help to align research efforts with the autistic community’s objectives. Perspectives on Psychological Science
• A lack of research has hindered the development of good career guidance for adults on the spectrum. Autism
• Early intensive behavioral intervention over three years may increase language development in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Most autistic people experience a sensitivity to sound at some point during their lives, according to a literature review. Ear and Hearing
• Clinicians’ misunderstanding of autism may interfere with their treatment of anorexia nervosa in autistic people. Autism
• Research on how gut microbes affect the brain and behavior has moved beyond skepticism and is inspiring clinical trials in children with autism; Spectrum has two features related to this work. Nature
• Two neuroscientists have documented 10 statistical errors they regularly come across in research papers. eLife

Science and society

• The coronavirus pandemic has presented major challenges for academic scientists who are also mothers. Science
• Instagram has removed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s account for promoting anti-vaxxer views and COVID-19 misinformation. The New York Times
• Many U.S. states are not collecting data on COVID-19 cases in group homes and other facilities for disabled people. Kaiser Health News
• In the 20 years since the first human genomes were sequenced, genetics research has exploded; yet a lack of data-sharing and diversity in datasets continues to limit the field. Nature
• Darold Treffert, a psychiatrist specializing in autism and savant syndrome, died in December in his Wisconsin hometown; he wrote about early reading abilities for Spectrum in 2016. FDL Reporter
• Virginia has passed a law that requires criminal courts to take a defendant’s disability or mental illness into account for sentencing. WRIC