neurotypical – ASF Weekly Science Podcasts

Understanding factors that make each person with autism different has been a challenge, affecting diagnosis, interventions and the way we think about autism in general. Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy, used computers to see how language, intellectual ability, motor and adaptive functioning grouped individuals into different categories. It turns out there are …...

Scientists have spent a lot of time trying to understand the biology of autism, unfortunately in the past, scientific studies had everyone with autism lumped together in one group and there are so many differences between people with a diagnosis that any features of the diagnosis itself were hard to detect. In the past, researchers … Continue reading "Biology of profound and non-profound aut...

Clinical trials in autism are so incredibly important to families and adults, but sometimes hard to understand. Why? How can it help me or my family? What do I need to do? What do all of these terms mean? For researchers: it’s hard to get families to participate in my study. What can I do … Continue reading "The meaningful impact of clinical trials"

Hot off the press:  new data from a collaboration between the BSRC and geneticists in Canada demonstrate the utility of genetics to predict either ASD or atypical development in infant siblings of children already with a diagnosis.  Researchers have been trying to develop more precise biological mechanisms to make predictions in these infants, because they … Continue reading "The newest on u...

Since the ASF policy statement on marijuana for the treatment of ASD was published this summer, there have been some new scientific studies that may be of interest to families.  As it turns out CBD has opposite effects in the brains of people with autism compared to those without autism, meaning that it is absolutely … Continue reading "The latest on marijuana and autism across the globe"

A study conducted by researchers at Yale this week revealed that while people with autism have disabilities in reading individual emotions, they have an unexpected amazing ability to understand and apply social rules to groups of people.  They understand social phenomena much better than those without. So how can this be?  Also, a new groundbreaking … Continue reading "Where superior ability...

The question of whether or not autism is a difference or a true dysfunction in brain development has been debated for years.  A new study from Canada demonstrates that within an autism diagnosis, there is less of a difference in symptoms in the last 5 years than there was 30 years ago.  This raises a … Continue reading "Autism: Difference or Dysfunction?"

This week, a new systematic review published by researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute looked at the existing evidence around caregiver (parent) mediated interventions and not child outcome, but family relationships and dynamics. While it isn’t the focus on the intervention, what effect does allowing parents to be involved and empowered on their child’s support on … Contin...

This week’s podcast includes a summary of the new study, this time in an animal model, looking at microbiome transplantation.  Because this was more of an experimental model, the researchers could be more rigorous in their design and look at things like behavior, brain activity, and specific biological pathways.  While a mouse does not have … Continue reading "Yeah, another study about...

This week we want YOUR feedback on a new paper in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders which suggests that the reason there is so much discord in the autism community, is that people with autism are just too different, and have difficulties understanding each other’s perspective.  Is this true?  What do you think? … Continue reading "Why can’t we all just get along?"