The debates surrounding the newest changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism have been percolating for decades, writes Sally Ozonoff in an editorial published 16 July in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

A report from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network analyzes the impact that the proposed changes to diagnostic criteria for autism are likely to have on people with the disorder.

Contrary to previous studies, preliminary results from field trials of the new criteria for diagnosing autism suggest it will capture people on the high-functioning end of the spectrum.

A new analysis of proposed changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism suggests that the revision could exclude a substantial number of people with high-functioning autism. But critics say the study is fundamentally flawed.

Two new studies support the idea that the core symptoms of autism cluster into two categories — social communication, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior — rather than the traditional triad of deficits in communication, problems with social reciprocity, and rigid thoughts and behaviors.

When twins differ in their diagnosis of autism, the twin with the lower birth weight is about three times more likely to develop the disorder than his or her sibling, according to a study published in the December issue of Psychological Medicine.

Over the past 30 years, autism research pioneer Fred Volkmar says he has learned that researchers should be humble when assigning meaning to autism behavior, and seek to translate their findings into useful applications.  

Mouse pups with a duplication of GTF2I, a gene linked to Williams syndrome and autism, show extreme separation anxiety when separated from their mothers, according to unpublished findings presented Thursday at the International Congress of Human Genetics in Montreal, Canada.

The six diagnostic measures used to distinguish Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism do not identify a unique subset of people, according to an analysis of 69 studies, published 2 August in Autism.

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.