Viewpoint

Preprints are gaining traction in biology, but some researchers have lingering concerns. Should they?

The DSM-5 acknowledges how gender shapes autism more than any previous diagnostic manual has, but it’s time to fold in a few new findings.

The strict definition of autism in the latest version of the diagnostic manual is antithetical to the idea that autism comes in a wide variety of forms.

Since the DSM-5’s debut, schoolchildren have gained stronger legal rights and better opportunities for accessing services; for adults, it’s a different story.

The move to replace ‘mental retardation’ with ‘intellectual disability’ is widely accepted, but little data exist on the impact of this change.

Our concept of autism has evolved over the past 20 years, rendering redundant the diagnostic labels of Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified.

A new law’s increased protections on privacy are likely to make research projects involving big data less efficient, more complex and more difficult to reproduce.

The annual meeting of International Society for Autism Research has aligned its offerings with the priorities of people with autism and their families.

A diagnosis of social communication disorder only keeps people from a community and resources they desperately want and need.

We must diversify databases of reference DNA to improve our ability to interpret the consequences of genetic variation.