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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: diagnostic tests

May 2022
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: Sex bias and gender blend

by  /  9 May 2022

In this edition, a diagnostic measure shows no significant differences between sexes, and a survey confirms increased gender diversity among children with autism.

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March 2022

Web-based autism screening service raises a host of concerns

by  /  21 March 2022

Neurona Health, a company in San Francisco, California, backed away from part of its newly launched services after Spectrum started reporting about them.

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New autism clinicians reflect on skill gaps, gains after remote training

by  /  15 March 2022

The pandemic has forced many health-care students to train online, raising concerns about their readiness.

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January 2022

FDA cites hair-based autism diagnostic aid as ‘breakthrough’

by  /  17 January 2022

Despite scant publicly available data, makers of the ‘exposome’-based method say it could help with diagnosing autism and identifying subtypes.

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December 2021

Trends in autism research 2021

 /  23 December 2021

As 2021 comes to a close, Spectrum recaps some of the biggest trends in autism science this year: studies of sex differences, noncoding regions of the genome and points of convergence, as well as efforts to improve screening and participatory research.

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Parent with toddler and clinician with clipboard.

Reimagining autism screening: A conversation with Roald Øien

by  /  21 December 2021

The questionnaires used to screen for autism are far from perfect, and tweaking them may not be enough. Roald Øien wants researchers to find better solutions.

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Earlier autism diagnosis associated with greater trait improvement

by  /  2 December 2021

Children who are diagnosed with autism before age 2 and a half years show more gains in their social skills than children who are diagnosed later.

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November 2021
An illustration shows mother and child facing a grey monolithic shape that breaks apart to reveal a bright monitor that signifies remote assessments.

Rethinking autism assessments in the time of COVID-19: Q&A with Bishop, Zwaigenbaum

by  /  2 November 2021

Moving most clinical assessments online during the coronavirus pandemic has created a digital divide while closing some geographical ones, say Somer Bishop and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum.

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October 2021

How an understudied trait has skewed autism studies for decades

by  /  27 October 2021

Many autistic people have a little-known trait called alexithymia, defined as having difficulty identifying one’s own emotions. New research suggests that the overlap has been confounding studies of emotional issues in people with autism for decades.

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How traits relate to brain activity may differ between autistic boys, girls

by  /  11 October 2021

Scientists should heed these differences when considering resting-state brain activity as a biomarker for autism, the researchers say.

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