Children with an extra copy of the 15q11-13 chromosomal region, the second most common genetic abnormality in people with autism, have unusually strong brain waves called beta oscillations. The preliminary findings, presented Friday at the Dup15q Alliance Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida, suggest that beta oscillations could distinguish children with dup15q syndrome from those with other forms of autism.

A mutation that prevents some amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, from entering the brain may lead to autism.

Mice with a genetic glitch in just one copy of SHANK3, a leading candidate gene for autism, show brain and behavioral features of the condition.

Dozens of small studies suggest that physical activity offers behavioral benefits for children with autism.

Applied behavioral analysis is the most widely used therapy for autism, but some people say its drills and routines are cruel, and its aims misguided.

Individuals with autism have trouble reading social cues because their brains connect sights and sounds over unusually long periods of time.

Unusually thin nerve fibers in the brain may underlie the motor difficulties seen in children with Angelman syndrome, an autism-related condition.

Manipulating MeCP2, the gene mutated in Rett syndrome, has revealed two neuron types as crucial contributors to the condition.

A newly created strain of mice lacking SHANK3 closely mimics the effects of the protein’s loss in some people with autism.

Clinicians can use play to deliver therapies that could improve a child’s social skills, language and certain cognitive capacities.