There’s growing evidence that the brains of autistic children are very different from the brains of other youngsters. Now a new study that found an excess of brain cells in children with autism comes closer to pinpointing the …
Autism
Risk of Autism Is Five Times Higher in Low-Birthweight Babies
Low-birthweight babies are at risk for all sorts of motor and cognitive delays, and researchers have just added autism to the list. A new study from the University of Pennsylvania finds that premature babies weighing less than …
Could the Way We Mate and Marry Boost Rates of Autism?
In this week’s paper issue of TIME, author Judith Warner explores a provocative theory about why rates of autism, particularly the mild form known as Asperger’s, are on the rise: because people who have certain “autistic” traits …
For Siblings of Autistic Kids, Risk Is Far Higher Than Thought
Autism runs in families to a much greater degree than previously thought, according to new research that has tracked the younger siblings of children with the developmental disorder.
Video: Ballet’s Emphasis on Repetition Helps Autistic Kids
This week, TIME Video features the dance program Ballet for All Kids, which was created for children on the autism spectrum. “A lot of these kids with autism, they’re trying to communicate something and they have all this stuff …
Study: Siblings of Autistic Kids Show Similar Brain Activity
The genetic roots of autism may reach further in families than previously thought, according to new research.
Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy Linked to Higher Risk of Autism
Children whose mothers use antidepressants during pregnancy may be more likely to develop autism than kids whose mothers do not, say researchers in California.
Study: Environmental Factors May Be Just as Important as Genes in Autism
Autism is undeniably influenced by genes, but a new study suggests that environmental factors may also contribute significantly — more than researchers previously thought — to the developmental disorder. In fact, …
Could Amanda Knox Have an Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Amanda Knox, the 23-year-old American college student who was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy in 2007, allegedly after an orgy gone wrong, got good news this week. Independent …
A Controversial Autism Therapy Unravels a Family
Some unproven psychological therapies and techniques for autism aren’t simply ineffective. They can split families and cause untold harm to children, as one family in Michigan learned at terrible cost.
Studies: New Clues to the Genetic Roots of Autism
Random changes in genes, rather than changes handed down from parents, may be responsible for some cases of autism, say scientists who report in three new papers a major breakthrough in understanding where those genetic changes may lie.
Study: Could Brain Scans Help Spot Autism?
A brain scan may someday be able to help identify cases of autism, a new study suggests. Currently, autism is diagnosed based on subjective evaluations of a child’s behavioral and developmental deficits, but researchers at …
Viewpoint: In Wake of Founder’s Arrest, ‘Shock School’ for Autistic Children Should Be Shuttered
On an August night four years ago, following phoned-in instructions from someone they believed was a supervisor, staff members of a group home for emotionally disturbed boys in Stoughton, Mass., rousted two teenage residents from …