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Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: IQ

April 2012

Analysis of new diagnostic criteria for autism sparks debate

by  /  2 April 2012

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.

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March 2012

Rising rates

by  /  30 March 2012

A new report from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention finds that autism rates have risen 23 percent since 2009, from 1 in 110 children to 1 in 88.

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How do we measure autism severity?

by  /  20 March 2012

Accurately measuring the severity of autism remains a challenge for the field. The answer may lie in using more than one approach that varies depending on whether it is being applied in a clinical or research context, says Raphael Bernier.

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Clinical research: Joint attention can predict autism outcome

by  /  20 March 2012

How easy it is to engage the attention of a child with autism by gazing or pointing at an object may predict how well he or she will be able to function as an adult, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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Imaging study reveals insula disruption in Williams syndrome

by  /  15 March 2012

A detailed brain imaging study of people with Williams syndrome, a developmental disorder characterized by a highly sociable personality, has found a series of structural, functional and connectivity deficits that converge on a part of the brain called the insula. The findings were published online 12 March in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Swedish study dissects autism risk in immigrants

by  /  1 March 2012

Immigrating to another country during pregnancy appears to boost the risk of having a child who has low-functioning autism, according to a comprehensive, population-based study in Sweden. The research was published online 23 February in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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January 2012

Cognition and behavior: Brain scans yield few signs of autism

by  /  31 January 2012

The results of two new studies support recommendations against the use of brain scans to diagnose autism.

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November 2011

Normocentric world

by  /  15 November 2011

In a Nature commentary, Laurent Mottron, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal, argues that autism is not a defect that needs fixing.

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Clinical research: Early therapy in autism yields big gains

by  /  11 November 2011

Children with autism who receive intensive behavioral interventions of various types show the most improvement on tests of social and communicative abilities, according to a study in the January-March 2012 issue of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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Cognition and behavior: Bilingualism doesn’t hinder language

by  /  8 November 2011

Growing up bilingual doesn’t impair language skills in children with autism, according to two studies in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

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