Spectrum: Autism Research News

Young people with autism have more psychiatric and medical conditions than do their typical peers or those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Harmful mutations in a gene called NAA15 may lead to autism, intellectual disability and delayed speech and motor function.

Missing one copy of a stretch of chromosome 16 leads to an enlarged brain; an extra copy of the region has the opposite effect.

A patent on variants in an autism gene is unlikely to hold up in court, but may still hinder research, some experts say.

Many children eventually diagnosed with autism lose social skills between 18 months and 3 years of age. But few parents notice this trend.

The bulk of the increase in autism prevalence in the United States between 2000 and 2012 can be attributed to children on the mild end of the spectrum.

Mutations in certain genes contribute specifically to autism, and others only to developmental delay.

A small wristband gives caregivers a one-minute warning that an individual with autism is about to become aggressive toward himself or others.

To find variants between genes that contribute to autism, researchers may need thousands more whole genomes than they have now.

About 1 in 59 children in the United States has autism, according to data released today by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.