Research roundup

• Cognitive behavioral therapy may alleviate anxiety in autistic children better than other treatments do, particularly in 10- to 12-year-olds. Journal of Affective Disorders
• People with intellectual disability and visual impairment often display repetitive behaviors, even if they don’t have autism. British Journal of Visual Impairment
• A gluten- and casein-free diet did not affect autistic children’s behaviors in a small clinical trial. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• People with autism rate their friendships with lower scores than typical people do; autistic women, nonbinary and transgender people give their friendships higher scores than autistic men do. Molecular Autism
• People who camouflage their autism traits have an elevated risk of suicidal behaviors. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• There are not enough certified providers of applied behavior analysis to meet the needs of children with autism in the United States. Psychiatric Services
• Genetic testing for copy number variants in siblings of autistic children may help predict the siblings’ likelihood of having the condition. Nature Communications
• Mice treated with antibiotics to diminish their gut microbiomes show more fear in a laboratory test than untreated mice do. Quanta Magazine

Science and society

• Employees with autism are particularly adept at analyzing restaurant phone orders that are unintelligible to an automated ordering system used by a number of Denver-area restaurant chains. The Denver Post
• The Youngstown, Ohio, police department has donated 100 ‘help belts’ to a local autism center; the devices attach to seatbelts or backpacks and alert first responders to a person’s autism or other diagnosis. The Vindicator
• A new park in Tucson, Arizona, plans to include a sensory area for young children with autism. KOLD News 13
• A Wisconsin clothing company, DIF KND, promotes autism awareness and includes a bag of sensory toys with every purchase; customers can donate the toys to a restaurant or company near them. WTMJ-TV
• A Florida law that allows police to temporarily hospitalize people exhibiting mental health problems or threatening self-harm is often inappropriately applied to autistic children. Tampa Bay Times
• The University of Virginia has launched a database of autism research on campus and helps match affected families to appropriate studies. UVA Today
• European Union countries have agreed to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a toxin that is thought to affect brain development. EUobserver

Autism and the arts

• A musician and father to three autistic children plans to play a benefit concert for an autism organization in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln Journal Star