Clinical Psychologist Alexandra Solomon, PhD Available to Discuss Issues Facing Families With Special Needs Children
Family Institute at Northwestern University
Shashank Dravid, Ph.D., received more than $400,000 from the NIH to study a protein believed to play a role in the development of autism spectrum disorders.
In the first molecular genetic study of families with a history of both language impairment and autism, scientists may have uncovered a shared origin for the two conditions, an important step toward explaining why some cases of autism are accompanied by language difficulties and others are not. The study indicates that a disorder called specific language impairment—one of the most common developmental delays in children—may be caused by the same genetic variants that lead to language difficulties in some children with autism.
Previous studies have identified links between women’s prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy weight gain to an increased risk for the development of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children. But in the new study from University of Utah, researchers build on prior research by identifying an association between autism spectrum disorder risk and prenatal weight gain, after accounting for important related factors such as a woman’s prepregnancy BMI.
According to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, children born to mothers with lupus may be at twice the risk of autism spectrum disorders than those born to mothers without the disease.
UNC School of Medicine researchers describe a major reason why current medications only moderately alleviate symptoms for Fragile X syndrome patients, a third of whom are clinically diagnosed with autism.
A novel autism intervention program using theatre to teach reciprocal communication skills is improving social deficits in adolescents with the disorder that now affects an estimated one in 88 children, Vanderbilt University researchers released today in the journal Autism Research.
The investigators found that brain connectivity data from 19 paths in brain scans predicted whether the participants had autism, with an accuracy rate of 95.9 percent.
Researchers say it’s clear that some cases of autism are hereditary, but have struggled to draw direct links between the condition and particular genes. Now a team at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has devised a process for connecting a suspect gene to its function in autism.
An unprecedented study of preterm birth suggests that only some of the problems previously associated with preterm birth are actually caused by preterm birth itself.
Parent sleep education is beneficial in improving sleep and aspects of daytime behavior and family functioning in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), according to a Vanderbilt study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Southern Tier Alternative Therapies, Inc. (STAT), together with Tina Caswell, a clinical faculty member in Ithaca College’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, is addressing helping autistic children communicate by combining equine therapy and assistive technology through an exclusive program called Strides©.
A new, large-scale study of more than 2,700 mothers of children with autism shows that about one in 10 mothers have antibodies in their bloodstream that react with proteins in the brain of their babies.
A new study of more than 2,700 mothers of children with autism shows that about one in 10 mothers have antibodies in their bloodstream that react with proteins in the brain of their babies.
Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to research announced today in the journal Nature. Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have described a finding that represents a significant advance in the hunt for environmental factors behind autism and lends new insights into the disorder’s genetic causes.
Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown that high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children appear to outgrow a critical social communication disability. Younger children with ASD have trouble integrating the auditory and visual cues associated with speech, but the researchers found that the problem clears up in adolescence. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Cerebral Cortex.
A Danish study of siblings suggests the recurrence risks for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) varied from 4.5 percent to 10.5 percent depending on the birth years, which is higher than the ASD risk of 1.18 percent in the overall Danish population, according to a study published by JAMA Pediatrics, a JAMA Network publication.
Play preferences of children with autism spectrum disorder were observed in a community-based museum designed to enable children to choose their preferred play activity. In this naturalistic setting, children with ASD preferred play options with a strong sensory component.
Pregnant women who don't make nearly enough thyroid hormone are nearly 4 times likelier to produce autistic children than healthy women, report scientists from the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute and Erasmus Medical Centre in an upcoming Annals of Neurology.
Pregnant women whose labors are induced or augmented may have an increased risk of bearing children with autism, especially if the baby is male, according to a large, retrospective analysis by researchers at Duke Medicine and the University of Michigan.
An analysis of North Carolina birth and educational records suggests that induction (stimulating uterine contractions prior to the onset of spontaneous labor) and augmentation (increasing the strength, duration, or frequency of uterine contractions with spontaneous onset of labor) during childbirth appears to be associated with increased odds of autism diagnosis in childhood, according to a study by Simon G. Gregory, Ph.D., of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C., and colleagues.
Autism researchers at the University of Kansas will test an iPad voice output app to help preschoolers with autism and their classmates communicate.
Researchers have developed a new screening and tracking tool for diagnosing autism. The method holds promise as a method to introduce interventions.
“Whole Person,” Family-Centered Conference Focused on Strengths to Address the Individual’s and the Family’s Needs on July 26, 2013 – July 27, 2013 at The Hilton Columbus at Easton.
A Vanderbilt research program that trains community pediatricians to diagnose autism within their individual practices may lead to more effective treatment of the disorder that now affects an estimated one in 88 children.
In a groundbreaking new study from UC San Francisco, researchers have found that children affected with sensory processing disorders (SPD) have quantifiable differences in brain structure, showing a biological basis for the disease that sets it apart from other neurodevelopmental disorders.
A new study by Valerie Hu, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, reports that RORA, a novel candidate gene for autism discovered by her group in a 2010 study, regulates a large number of other genes associated with autism.
Neuroscientists at The Scripps Research Institute have filled in a significant gap in the scientific understanding of how neurons mature, pointing to a better understanding of some developmental brain disorders.
Elevated antibodies to gluten proteins of wheat found in children with autism in comparison to those without autism. Results from a new study also indicated an association between the elevated antibodies and the presence of gastrointestinal symptoms in the affected children. They did not find any connection, however, between the elevated antibodies and celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder known to be triggered by gluten.
How does a social animal gain dominance over its fellows? A unique experiment conducted by Weizmann scientists provides insight into the behavior that enables a social hierarchy, complete with a leader, to form. Their system may be especially useful for understanding the societal aspects of disorders like schizophrenia and autism.
First study to describe clinical presentation of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome will help guide future research and clinical care.
Kennedy Krieger Institute and Maryland Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics partner to provide video tutorial to pediatricians statewide.
Kennedy Krieger researchers find children with co-occurrence of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders face greater impairments.
UCLA researchers find abnormal brain networks in Fragile X syndrome, a genetic malady that is the most common inherited cause of autism and intellectual disability.
The pattern of brain responses to words in 2-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder predicted the youngsters' linguistic, cognitive and adaptive skills at ages 4 and 6, according to a new study. The findings are among the first to demonstrate that a brain marker can predict future abilities in children with autism.
What started as a school project for a cognitively disabled son turned into a career focus for an Iowa State graphic design professor. Since Debra Satterfield discovered her son's talents as a painter, she has led a team who design educational, social inclusion and play experiences for kids with cognitive disabilities, including ASD.
In the first successful experiment with humans using a treatment known as sensory-motor or environmental enrichment, researchers documented marked improvement in young autistic boys when compared to boys treated with traditional behavioral therapies, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study.
Young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to be socially isolated. That’s the finding of new research that studies the social outcomes of young adults with an ASD. The study is part of a pioneering program of research on adolescents and adults with autism led by Paul T. Shattuck, PhD, associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Lead author is Gael I. Orsmond, PhD, associate professor at Boston University and an expert on the social development of adults with an ASD.
With awareness increasing about young adults with autism transitioning into the workforce, a 2012 study by Washington University in St. Louis researcher Paul Shattuck continues to get national recognition. Shattuck's June 2012 study “Postsecondary Education and Employment Among Youth With an Autism Spectrum Disorder” was one of 20 selected for inclusion in the 2012 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research.
The CDC recently released more staggering statistics on the increasing numbers of children affected by autism and the advocacy group – and, the advocacy group Autism Speaks, has projected that one half million children with autism will become adults over the next decade.
Neuroscientists from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the University of Toronto have developed an efficient and reliable method of analyzing brain activity to detect autism in children. Their findings appear today in the online journal PLOS ONE.
For the first time, researchers have linked autism in a mouse model of the disease with abnormalities in specific regions of the animals’ chromosomes.
Vectors of Autism presents a frank, artistic portrait of Laura Nagle, who says she is “not good at life.” But at 59, she strives to get better at it. The film, produced by Northern Arizona University professor Susan Marks to tell Nagle’s story as a window into autism, has already earned two awards.
The age at which a child with autism is diagnosed is related to the particular suite of behavioral symptoms he or she exhibits, new research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows.
A paper published this month in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet Neurology suggests that a broad spectrum of developmental and psychiatric disorders, ranging from autism and intellectual disability to schizophrenia, should be conceptualized as different manifestations of a common underlying denominator, ‘developmental brain dysfunction,’ rather than completely independent conditions with distinct causes.
As Autism Awareness Month kicks off this April, experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) offer tips to an increasing number of parents and children facing the challenges the disorder presents.
The need for professional care of African-American children with autism can go unmet. Some of the disparity could stem from cultural differences in parental perceptions of behavior, says autism expert Margaret C. Souders, PhD, RN, assistant professor of human genetics at Penn Nursing.
Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Nisonger Center are trying to determine if teaching strategies based on Shakespeare texts can help children with autism become better communicators.