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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: intellectual disability

August 2020
Small group of Chinese students looking at tablet together.

Autism prevalence estimates for China, Greece align with global patterns

by  /  6 August 2020

About 0.7 percent of children in China aged 6 to 12 — and 1.15 percent of 10- and 11-year-olds in Greece — have autism, figures that are consistent with prevalence estimates elsewhere.

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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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small toddler looks at colorful motor skills toy in store with mother

Popular screen may mistake intellectual disability for autism

by  /  30 July 2020

A common autism screening tool misses more than 70 percent of autistic toddlers but flags more than 80 percent of non-autistic toddlers who have intellectual disability.

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A young woman wearing a face mask looks out the window

COVID-19 may be deadlier for group-home residents

by  /  23 July 2020

Intellectually or developmentally disabled group-home residents are dying from COVID-19 at twice the rate of all New Yorkers with the virus.

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May 2020
map of the world.

Autistic in a pandemic: Stories from around the world

by  /  26 May 2020

Nearly two dozen autistic people or their caregivers in 19 countries told Spectrum how the initial weeks of the pandemic have challenged and changed them.

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Rare mutations in autism genes tied to intellectual disability

by  /  22 May 2020

A new study highlights the challenge of distinguishing genetic variants linked to autism from those associated with cognitive development.

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Coronavirus threatens autistic people living in group homes

Living in close quarters, with rotating staff and sometimes inadequate protective equipment, group-home residents are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

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April 2020
Preteen girl taking test with assessor sitting nearby

Cognitive tests may help characterize intellectual disability

by  /  29 April 2020

Standardized tests can reliably assess memory, language ability, executive function and other traits in people with intellectual disability linked to autism.

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Illustration shows a boy with converging patterns overlapping; these lines signify autism and intellectual disability.

The blurred line between autism and intellectual disability

by  /  15 April 2020

Doctors often conflate autism and intellectual disability, and no wonder: The biological distinction between them is murky. Scientific progress depends on knowing where the conditions intersect — and part ways.

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March 2020
Illustration shows classroom scene with adults learning about relationships and sex.

Why adults with autism need sex education

by  /  13 March 2020

Too few students with autism or intellectual disabilities have sex education. That omission may prevent them from forming fulfilling romantic relationships, and it may make them targets of abuse.

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