The findings, based on Swedish national registry data, suggest a critical need to expand mental health services for autistic people.

The co-occurring conditions may stem from the heightened stress people in minority communities experience.

The sex-specific effects may help elucidate why the small number of boys with DDX3X syndrome are born to unaffected mothers.

In this edition, a diagnostic measure shows no significant differences between sexes, and a survey confirms increased gender diversity among children with autism.

Menopause poses significant challenges for autistic people, according to a small survey published in 2020 — the first to explore the transition among people with autism traits.

Pups born to mothers that experience low oxygen during sleep have overactive mTOR signaling, which has been linked to some forms of autism.

Given the known link between severe maternal infections and autism, some scientists are investigating whether COVID-19 during pregnancy can affect a child’s neurodevelopment.

The fact that autism seems to affect more boys than girls is often attributed to diagnostic gaps, but the skew remains largely unexplained. Some scientists are turning to basic biology for answers.

Model animals don’t develop the usual behavioral and motor problems when reared in an enclosure containing exercise wheels, toys and treats.

As 2021 comes to a close, Spectrum recaps some of the biggest trends in autism science this year: studies of sex differences, noncoding regions of the genome and points of convergence, as well as efforts to improve screening and participatory research.