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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: specific language impairment

August 2013
A woman in a yellow sweater sits on a couch and uses a laptop computer.

Intelligence stable across life, says 40-year autism study

by  /  15 August 2013

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.

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July 2013

Clinical research: Autism, language impairment are unique

by  /  5 July 2013

Children with autism have similar language deficits to those who have specific language impairment, but are better at seeing the details in a scene, according to a study published 15 May in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The results support the idea that the two disorders resemble each other only superficially.

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June 2013

Minority outreach

by  /  4 June 2013

Many obstacles line the road to early diagnosis and treatment for children with autism, especially for immigrant families, says a study published in May.

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May 2013

Evidence weak for social communication disorder

by  /  30 May 2013

There are several reasons why social communication disorder should not have been included in the DSM-5, says Helen Tager-Flusberg.

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Simon Fisher: Hunting on the FOXP2 trail

by  /  20 May 2013

Simon Fisher made headlines in 2001 for finding the first gene related to language. He has been following FOXP2 ever since, and has found that it is important in autism and other psychiatric disorders.

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November 2012

Molecular mechanisms: Autism protein connects neurons

by  /  28 November 2012

An autism-linked protein called CASPR2 promotes the development of dendrites, the bushy structures atop neurons that receive signals from other neurons, according to a study published 30 October in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Lowering CASPR2 levels leads to sparse dendrites and few synapses, the junctions between neurons.

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Clinical research: Language disorder distinct from autism

by  /  2 November 2012

The families of children with specific language impairment do not have a history of autism, according to a study published 28 August in Genes, Brain and Behavior. The results bolster the theory that the two disorders have independent risk factors.

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September 2012

Molecular mechanisms: Autism mutations cause cell stress

by  /  25 September 2012

Autism-linked mutations in CNTNAP2 prevent proper localization and folding of the protein and activate a cellular stress response, according to a study published 23 August in Human Molecular Genetics.

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August 2012

Researchers probe source of language impairment in autism

by  /  20 August 2012

For nearly two decades, scientists have debated the relationship between language problems, seen in about half of children with autism, and another disorder called specific language impairment. Three papers published in the past several months attempt to resolve this debate, but their findings suggest that it is far from settled.

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July 2012

Genetics: Language disorder gene linked to autism

by  /  17 July 2012

A girl with autism has a spontaneous deletion in CMIP, a gene associated with specific language impairment, providing another genetic link between the two disorders. The case study was published 11 June in Autism Research.

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