Clinical research: Placenta’s structure signals autism risk
Abnormal cells in the placenta, usually discarded at birth, may be early indicators of autism, suggests a study published 22 April in Biological Psychiatry.
Abnormal cells in the placenta, usually discarded at birth, may be early indicators of autism, suggests a study published 22 April in Biological Psychiatry.
The lack of substantial evidence to support the use of music therapies for autism limits its implementation in schools and clinics, says Anjana Bhat.
The precious few long-term studies of autism have produced unique insight into the development and ultimate outcomes of the disorder. How can we encourage more of them?
Little evidence supports the use of sign language for nonverbal children with autism, but other therapies show promise, says a review published 24 April in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.
A handful of long-term studies, each including up to several hundred participants, have followed people with autism for close to two decades. As the children in some of these studies come of age, researchers are piecing together the disorder’s trajectories.
Pivotal response training, a form of behavioral therapy for autism, alters brain activity in children with the disorder, normalizing it in some regions and triggering compensatory activity in others, according to a small study. The unpublished results were presented Wednesday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in San Sebastián, Spain.
An intervention designed to help infants at high risk for autism also improves interactions between parents and their children, says a study published 27 March in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
In a virtual world, children with autism can become dolphin trainers, using gestures to elicit flips and leaps, and perhaps learning to communicate at the same time.
Riding horses may help children with autism learn to trust others, says a study published 1 February in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Some children classified as having autism outgrow their diagnosis, but it’s not yet clear why this group does better, says Cathy Lord.