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Giving Girls a Chance: Educating Females with Autism
While autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is more prominent in males, females are also diagnosed at much lower rates (Autism Speaks, 2019). Females diagnosed with ASD require similar services in addition to diverse gender specific supports from their special education teachers and related service...
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Largest-Ever Genetic Study of Autism Yields New Insights
Anyone who’s spent time with people affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can tell you that it’s a very complex puzzle. The wide variability seen among individuals with this group of developmental brain disorders, which can disrupt communication, behavior control, and social skills, has...
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Genome Testing for Siblings of Individuals May Aid in a Diagnosis Before Symptoms Appear
One of the key priorities of interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is starting early, with some evidence showing infants as young as seven months old could benefit. Yet, most children in North America aren’t diagnosed with ASD until they’re over four years of age. New research led by...
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NIH Awards $4 Million in Funding for Early Autism Screening
November 6, 2019 - The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than four million dollars in FY 2019 to support seven research projects aimed at developing and validating screening tools to detect signs of autism spectrum disorder in the first year of life. Approximately 19 million...
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Community Engagement Conference Promotes Partnership Between Autism Researchers and Community
Despite the advancement in autism research, one of the challenges that researchers still face today is engaging low-income, racial/ethnic minority, and non-English speaking families. Underresourced families who work multiple jobs have less time to participate in research; some families do not have...
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Scientists Want to Know Your Opinions About Participating in Research
Poor or slow recruitment into research studies has a negative impact on research discoveries and shorten patient lives. There are lost opportunities for new discoveries, and evidence-based resources and services are delayed. Funding organizations and researchers need to come up with creative...
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When Anxiety and Depression Coexist with Autism
Today, one in fifty-nine children are diagnosed with Autism. The characteristics of Autism often present in poor communicative and social skills, restricted or inappropriate affect and poor emotional regulation. Most of these individuals have significant functional impairments in one or more areas...
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Using Gene Editing, Neuroscientists Develop a New Model for Autism
By introducing a gene variant associated with autism into monkeys, researchers hope to use the model to study treatment options for severe neurodevelopmental disorders. Using the genome-editing system CRISPR, researchers at MIT and in China have engineered macaque monkeys to express a gene...
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Supporting Pioneers: Building Better Networks for Adults Aging with Autism
Although traditionally understood as a childhood condition, autism is a lifelong disorder that presents in both children and adults. Many of the children with this disorder who were born during the last century and who are now reaching mid- and later-life did not receive formal diagnoses of autism....
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Autism Science Foundation Statement on the Use of Medical Marijuana for People with Autism
Medical marijuana is now legal in several states and the District of Columbia. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the term “medical marijuana” means either the marijuana plant itself or one its many extracts or compounds. Use of the marijuana plant is not approved by the FDA for...
