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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: behavioral interventions

June 2023
A researcher works with a young child.

Two scientists, two interventions: A ‘gentle rivalry’ to aid autistic children

by  /  2 June 2023

Minimally verbal autistic preschoolers gained new words and phrases in a head-to-head comparison of two interventions.

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May 2023
Illustration of DNA methylation.

‘Polygenic risk scores’ for autism, explained

by  /  23 May 2023

These scores — composite measures of a person’s autism-linked common genetic variants — cannot predict an autism diagnosis but could help researchers better understand the condition’s underlying biology.

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April 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null and Noteworthy: Reader response; cerebrospinal fluid; connectivity subgroups

by  /  18 April 2023

In this edition of Null and Noteworthy, researchers upend early interventions and diagnostic boundaries.

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March 2023
A toy or abacus with emoji-styled yellow faces instead of beads. The faces show different expressions, with many happy faces that are on the outside of the main framework.

‘Flourishing’ measure may not hold up for autistic children

by  /  29 March 2023

Evidence of measurement bias undermines past claims about autistic children’s lower well-being.

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Computer-generated image of mountains against a black background.

Detecting a signal amid noise in autism early-intervention research

by , ,  /  28 March 2023

Studies of behavioral treatments for autism are complex and can easily be misunderstood. Here we provide some guidance.

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Images of Marie-Eve Lefebvre and Punit Shah sitting at their laptops.

New journals seek to fill neurodiversity gap

by  /  8 March 2023

The two journals, although differing in initial support, both realized the need for a publication focused exclusively on the neurodiverse experience.

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A bar graph with a hand extending from below to push the center bar higher.

Private equity harms autism service market

by  /  1 March 2023

Time is running out to expose this disreputable push for profit over care and change insurance, funding and training practices for the better.

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January 2023
Illustration of hybrid objects: part light bulb, part lab vial, some in blue and some in red to signify null and replicated results.

Null & Noteworthy: Intervention flops; neural noise; gender care

by  /  18 January 2023

This edition takes aim at the autism-intervention evidence base with a slew of null results, plus findings that challenge a prevailing autism brain theory.

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September 2022
A mother and child stand, dwarfed by giant alphabet blocks spelling ABA.

Applied behavior analysis and autism: Flawed application of a proven science

by  /  1 September 2022

The field of ABA needs more compassion and individualization.

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August 2022
A young boy puts plates on a dining table.

Yen for routine seeds anxiety in autistic children

by  /  16 August 2022

Interventions that moderate a need for ‘sameness’ may prevent anxiety traits.

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