Children who carry an extra copy of part of chromosome 7 have symptoms ranging from social phobia to speech impediments. About one-third of them show signs of autism, according to the first systematic analysis of people with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome.

Children who are diagnosed with autism after drastically and suddenly losing cognitive abilities may actually have a distinct disorder, according to data presented yesterday at the 2015 International Meeting for Autism Research in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The new diagnosis for intellectual disability emphasizes what children with the disorder can do rather than what they cannot. Some researchers are arguing for a similar ‘ability framework’ for autism.     

Researchers are using social media and an online ‘brain-training’ program to study people with rare chromosomal abnormalities linked to autism.

Watch the complete replay of Helen Tager-Flusberg’s webinar discussing what language differences in autism reveal about the disorder’s biology.

Tests that play to the strengths of nonverbal children with autism reveal the true intellect of those considered ‘low-functioning.’

The gender gap in science is strongest in fields that most value innate intelligence — perhaps because of mistaken impressions about the differences in innate intelligence between men and women.

Adapting traditional tests of intelligence for people with intellectual disability can deflate their scores over time. Somer Bishop calls for tests that more accurately assess intelligence in this group.

To optimize the search for autism genes, researchers should collect large numbers of sequences — but the sequences need to be of the right kind, says Michael Ronemus.

A group of scientists is using fast, accurate and minimally invasive measurement systems to revive the once-tedious trade of dysmorphology, or the study of unusual facial features, in autism.