WEEK OF
March 25th
Research roundup
- Children born in the autumn have a slightly increased risk of autism, at least in Sweden and Finland. European Journal of Epidemiology
- Poor adaptive skills in infancy are associated with an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with autism as a toddler. Molecular Autism
- School systems in the United States label some children as autistic who do not meet clinical criteria for the condition. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
- School-age children with autism tend to overestimate their academic performance. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Girls with epilepsy are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with autism than are those in the general population. Epilepsy and Behavior
- Specific gut microbiome profiles in infancy correlate with communication, social and fine-motor skills in 3-year-old children. JAMA Network Open
- Having a multidisciplinary team of clinicians decreases wait times for appointments and speeds diagnosis of autism in toddlers. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
- To explain the effects of loneliness, researchers propose a model of neural systems that maintain social connections. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Exposure to two languages has no adverse effect on the language abilities of autistic toddlers. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Science and society
- A gallery of images produced by biomedical researchers is on display at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. STAT
- Board members of an autism charity profit from the unfounded and debunked ‘treatments’ the charity promotes. Jezebel
- A group of 800-plus scientists call for “the entire concept of statistical significance to be abandoned.” Nature
- Medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder vary in their propensity to induce psychotic side effects. STAT
- Scientists find evidence of new neuron growth in human brains, but many remain skeptical. Scientific American
- Sun bears, which do not live in social groups, use facial expressions to communicate, suggesting the behavior is more widespread in the animal kingdom than scientists thought. The New York Times
- A new app is designed to help police officers and other first responders know how to interact with people who have disabilities. Saint Cloud Times
- A U.K. advertising watchdog group orders homeopaths to stop peddling an unproven and potentially harmful autism ‘cure.’ BBC
- Chinese-American scientists call out scientific and political policies that amount to racial profiling. Science
- The anti-vaccine movement creates a huge burden for the healthcare system to care for people with illnesses that vaccines prevent. Wired
- The Trump administration’s budget cuts Special Olympics funding, including a program in which students who have disabilities team up with typical students in various sports. The Washington Post
Autism and the arts
- The Royal Shakespeare Company continues to sell out its ‘relaxed performance’ shows, which accommodate audiences with autism and learning disabilities. Broadway World
- Art galleries in a Connecticut town plan to feature autistic artists for World Autism Month. The Westerly Sun
Funding news
- A U.K. charity evaluates gaps in funding for autism research. Autistica
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