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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: Asperger syndrome

December 2012

Diagnosis: Redefining autism

by  /  6 December 2012

Draft diagnostic guidelines are raising concerns that mild forms of the disorder may no longer be recognized.

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Collage of an image of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.

Sobering sample

by  /  4 December 2012

A survey of health and education professionals finds that about half of them object to the proposed changes in the diagnostic criteria for autism.

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November 2012

Defining language deficits across autism spectrum

by ,  /  27 November 2012

We are on the verge of a seismic shift in the definition of autism spectrum disorders, says David Skuse. Under proposed guidelines for autism diagnosis, the canard that most people with the disorder cannot speak, or have such disordered language that they cannot sustain a conversation, has been abandoned.

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Messy maps

by  /  23 November 2012

Geographical differences in autism prevalence can largely be accounted for by socioeconomic factors, according to research published 31 October in Environmental Health. The study confirms the importance of controlling for variables such as parents’ educational status when searching for environmental links to autism.

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Late arrival

by  /  2 November 2012

Girls with Asperger syndrome are diagnosed, on average, two years later than boys, and the delay is even worse among adults with classic autism, according to a large study in the Netherlands published 22 September in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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October 2012

Social spontaneity

by  /  30 October 2012

People with autism don’t look at others’ eyes or mimic their actions in everyday life, but they can do these things when asked to, according a review published 7 September in Brain and Development. 

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Genetics: More SHANK3 mutations in mild autism cases

by  /  26 October 2012

Mutations in SHANK3, a leading autism risk gene, occur in roughly two percent of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, according to a study published 15 August in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

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Clinical research: Maternal depression linked to mild autism

by  /  16 October 2012

Women who have a history of bipolar disorder or depression are more likely to have a child with Asperger syndrome than classic autism, according to a study published in the 2012 issue of Autism Research and Treatment.

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Proposed guidelines won’t miss autism cases, study says

by  /  1 October 2012

The proposed changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism are unlikely to exclude many people currently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified, according to a large analysis published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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September 2012

Genetics: Chromosomal syndrome narrowed to single gene

by  /  11 September 2012

Symptoms associated with a deletion of the 15q13.3 chromosomal region could result from the loss of a single gene, CHRNA7, according to a study published 9 July in Clinical Genetics.

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