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Spectrum: Autism Research News

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Science & Society

From funding decisions to scientific fraud, a wide range of societal factors shape autism research.

September 2011

People with milder forms of autism struggle as adults

by  /  8 September 2011

Contrary to popular assumption, people diagnosed with so-called mild forms of autism don’t fare any better in life than those with severe forms of the disorder. That’s the conclusion of a new study that suggests that even individuals with normal intelligence and language abilities struggle to fit into society because of their social and communication problems.

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Chromosome 16 duplication raises risk of extreme thinness

by  /  1 September 2011

Individuals with a duplication of a chromosomal region associated with autism and intellectual disability are at higher risk for low birth weight, restricted eating leading to extreme thinness, and smaller-than-average head size.

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August 2011

Questionnaire rates social skills during play

by  /  31 August 2011

Researchers can use the Manchester Inventory for Playground Observation, a questionnaire that rates children’s interactions with their peers, to reliably measure social skills in children with autism.

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Food fight

by  /  30 August 2011

Girls who score high on a test that assesses symptoms of eating disorders have many features of autism.

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Women researchers in autism face glass ceiling

by  /  29 August 2011

Women scientists did much of the important early work in the field of autism, but they still struggle with lower salaries, more teaching responsibilities in their institutions and fewer opportunities to head up large, multi-center collaborations.

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Jersey score

by  /  23 August 2011

New Jersey has the highest rates of autism in the U.S., but prevalence is highest in neighborhoods where annual incomes exceed $90,000.

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Clinical research: Metabolic disorders rare in autism

by  /  23 August 2011

Screening for metabolic disorders in children with autism is not cost-effective, according to a study published 7 July in PLoS One. The researchers argue instead for careful individual clinical analysis.

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Attention deficit, autism share genetic risk factors

by  /  22 August 2011

Some of the same genetic risk factors may underlie both autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published 10 August in Science Translational Medicine.

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New focus on repetition, obsession in autism studies

by  /  18 August 2011

New studies of restricted and repetitive behaviors link autism to other disorders and may lead to more effective treatments.

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Fair representation for the fairer sex in autism research

by  /  16 August 2011

Including more females in autism research studies will aid the search for genetic and environmental susceptibility factors for the disorder, says genetic psychiatrist Lauren Weiss.

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