Severe mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in a parent significantly ups autism risk.

The idea that people with autism don’t feel strong emotions is a myth: Many of them are vulnerable to depression, despair and even suicide. New research documents alarmingly high rates of suicidal thoughts and actions in this group — and suggests that their distress takes unique forms.

Paul H. Patterson, a transformative figure in autism research, died on 25 June. His groundbreaking discoveries advanced novel paradigms in neuroscience and immunology, and introduced concepts that will continue to be developed by researchers worldwide.

Epidemiological ‘just-so’ stories, which infer causes of autism from general trends in prevalence, are in danger of repeating the mistakes of social Darwinism, says Mayada Elsabbagh.

By treating the medical complications that accompany Rett syndrome, women with the disorder are living longer than ever before, says Alan Percy. 

Common genetic variants that have minor effects may contribute about half the risk of developing autism, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Genetics. Identifying these variants would require tens of thousands of samples.

Children and adolescents with autism are more likely to be overweight or obese than their typically developing peers, finds a large survey published in Academic Pediatrics.

Having one child with autism raises the odds of having a second child with the disorder 20-fold, according to one of the largest epidemiological studies so far to address the inheritance of autism risk.

Lorna Wing, who died in June, was the modest, kind and thoughtful mother of a daughter with severe autism. She was also a towering figure in the history of autism research, and her contributions to our understanding of autism cannot be overestimated.

The growing prevalence of autism is no different from that of other neurodevelopmental disorders, finds a study of more than 4.5 million people in four countries.