The genomes of people who have both autism and intellectual disability have more regions that may harbor recessive mutations than those of their unaffected siblings, according to a study published 11 July in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
To better understand and treat nonverbal autism, the field must paradoxically move beyond focusing on speech production, say many researchers. Emerging research suggests that seemingly unrelated issues such as motor skills and joint attention may instead be key.
Children with autism who are older than 13 years and have low intelligence are at the greatest risk of having epilepsy, according to one of the largest epidemiological studies on the issue to date, published 4 July in PLoS One.
Children with autism, even those with low intelligence, can improve their self-control by practicing a Chinese mind-body exercise technique, reports a study published 10 July in PLoS One.
Children who have severe autism symptoms, epilepsy or poor intelligence and language skills fare worse as they age than their peers with milder symptoms, according to two long-term studies published in July, one of which spanned 40 years.
Iceland’s autism prevalence of 1.2 percent is on par with that of other countries, according to a study published 20 June in BMJ Open.
To study attention in people with autism during complex social situations, researchers have developed a virtual reality version of public speaking, according to a study published 20 May in Autism Research.
The newest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders relies on intellectual function in daily life, both for diagnosing intellectual disability and for determining its level of severity, says Walter Kaufmann.
There is little to fear in the definition of autism in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and a lot to recommend it, says Simon Baron-Cohen.
The brainstems of children with autism are smaller than average, but reach sizes similar to those of controls by age 15, according to a two-year imaging study published 22 April in Behavioral Brain Research.