Activity in the mirror neuron system may improve with age in people who have autism, according to a study published in February in Biological Psychiatry. The finding could help resolve contradictory reports on the involvement of mirror neurons in the disorder.

Adults with autism benefit in many ways from choosing their own activities: A new study says they get better at decision-making and their social skills improve.

The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee has released an updated list of priorities for government-funded autism research.

Several new studies challenge the ‘broken mirror’ hypothesis of autism, which suggests that defects in specialized brain cells called mirror neurons explain why people with the disorder find social interaction difficult.

High school graduation marks the end of opportunities for social engagement and access to services for many young people with autism.

High-functioning adults with autism pass false belief tests with ease, but struggle with moral judgment in real-life situations.

Men with fragile X syndrome have larger brains overall than controls do, but less matter in regions involved in language and social interaction.

The brains of people with autism show three distinct periods of abnormal development — overgrowth in infancy, prematurely arrested growth in childhood, and shrinking between adolescence and middle age — according to a study in Brain Research.

Autism is popularly viewed as a disorder of childhood, not old age, but that doesn’t mean senior citizens are unaffected.

The challenge of finding jobs for adults with autism is the focus of a special issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation. With the right training and tools, the articles suggest, it’s possible for many people with the disorder to be gainfully employed.