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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: attention

November 2020
Owen leaving his home for a bike ride, followed by his therapists and teachers.

Owen’s odyssey: A year and a half after an autism diagnosis

by  /  25 November 2020

This is part 2 of Owen’s story. It tracks his early progress in treatment for autism. Part 1 described his difficult path to a diagnosis.

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Researcher-provided images show experiment that tracks gaze.

Autistic people do not shift attention based on social cues

by  /  16 November 2020

A new eye-tracking study highlights how social cues shape attention differently in people with and without autism.

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October 2020
four images show pattern of eye movement

Social attention shifts differently over time for autistic adults

by  /  23 October 2020

Neurotypical adults change how they view social scenes over time in a way that autistic adults do not, reflecting different underlying mechanisms of social attention.

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Toddler vocalizing next to parent.

Autistic toddlers do not tune in to sounds with others

by  /  2 October 2020

Unlike typical toddlers, those with autism tend not to share experiences involving sound — dancing to music with their parents, for example, or calling attention to the source of a sound.

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September 2020
The knight Perceval leaves his mother in extreme distress, oblivious to his effect, as he rides into the distance.

The perils of suggesting famous historical figures had autism

by ,  /  22 September 2020

Looking for signs of autism in characters from history and literature can offer insight into society’s changing perceptions through time — but it can also increase the risk of stigma against people with the condition.

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August 2020

New measures of social skills tap what monkeys see, do

by  /  14 August 2020

A pair of tools that gauge social abilities in rhesus macaques may help researchers study autism-like behaviors in monkeys.

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July 2020
Man working from home office.

INSAR 2020, from home

by  /  31 July 2020

Like so many other events this year, autism’s biggest annual conference — the International Society for Autism Research meeting — was forced to go virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Illustration shows a lone figure is dwarfed by a field of letters

How one communication tool may fail some autistic people

by  /  1 July 2020

Parents say the so-called ‘rapid prompting method’ unlocks hidden talents in their minimally verbal autistic children, but researchers question whether the words produced are the child’s own.

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June 2020
Two fractal images side by side

Altered learning may drive social inattention in autistic children

by  /  18 June 2020

Children with autism have trouble learning that faces convey information, which may explain their tendency to miss social cues.

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People with autism may smell songs or hear colors

by ,  /  16 June 2020

One in five autistic people may have synesthesia, a crossing of the senses. Studying synesthesia in autism may deepen our understanding of both conditions.

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