Spectrum: Autism Research News

Research roundup

• Cultural barriers make it difficult for African-American parents to get information and services for their autistic children from white healthcare providers. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
• Mothers of adolescents with autism plus a second mental health condition experience stress, and struggle to find good care for their children, according to a small study. Journal of Child and Family Studies
• Children with autism and those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder share many of the same rare mutations. Nature Neuroscience
• Fenfluramine, a discontinued appetite suppressant, may decrease the frequency of seizures in people with Dravet syndrome who don’t respond to other medications. JAMA Neurology
• Practicing yoga may improve autistic children’s motor and imitation skills. Physical Therapy
• Women with an altered FMR1 gene — a ‘premutation’ that does not result in fragile X syndrome — differ from controls in how they look at faces. Physiology and Behavior
• A mouse model of fragile X syndrome shows unusual firing patterns even at the level of single neurons. eNeuro

Science and society

• Young people with autism should be screened for substance use disorder, says a group of clinicians. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Autistic college students benefit from on-campus support services. USA Today
• Families with newly diagnosed autistic children in the United Kingdom often wait longer than the recommended three months for referral services. BBC News
• In a scientific research program, students on the spectrum get hands-on experience but do not get paid for their work. Popular Science
• Scientists who are scooped in publishing a finding still get plenty of citations, particularly if they are employed by a high-ranking institution. Nature
• Two patient-advocacy groups and two research institutes plan to build a database of clinical treatments and outcomes. Angelman Syndrome Foundation
• Autism researcher Terje Falck-Ytter of Uppsala University in Sweden has been named a Wallenberg Academy Fellow. Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
• A vocational training program offers adults with autism experience in creating audio and video content about autism. Autism News NetWORK

Autism and the arts

• Autistic actor Madison Kopec, a high school senior from South Bend, Indiana, is set to appear in a staged reading of a new musical, “Indigo.” South Bend Tribune
• The Kennedy Center plans to present work by Malcolm Corley, an artist with autism from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as part of its 2019 touring exhibition of emerging young artists. Penn Live

Funding news

• More and more scientific funding agencies are using a lottery system to award research grants. Nature