Logo

Get Healthy!

Results for search "Autism".

Health News Results - 126

Researchers working to unlock the mysteries of autism report they have discovered differences among children when two in a family have the condition versus just one.

Scientists from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York have been researching the genetic origins of autism for two decades. Their discoveries have included thousands of genes that, when damaged, may cause a child to be bor...

While a lot of research has focused on autism in children, much less effort goes toward studying adults with autism.

Now, two new reports find this group is at substantial risk for age-related physical conditions and injuries, as well as being particularly susceptible to certain mental health issues including loneliness, social isolation and lower quality of life.

“There is accumu...

About a third of children with autism aren't able to speak -- but that doesn't mean they're unable to listen and comprehend, a new study reports.

About 1 in 4 kids and teens who have autism and are minimally verbal understand significantly more language than they're able to produce, said lead researcher

Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls are, but girls may be more likely to experience anxiety alongside the disorder than boys, new research reveals.

Anxiety tends to travel with autism, which is characterized by problems with social interaction, communication and behavior. About 1 in 36 kids in the United States has autism, according to the U.S. Centers f...

"Mindfulness" practices may help parents of young children with autism manage their daily stressors, and it could benefit their kids in the process, a preliminary study suggests.

Parenting is stressful, and studies show that parents of kids with autism often have particularly high stress levels.

Autism is a developmental brain disorder that, to varying degrees, impairs communication...

Researchers have long tried to pinpoint a reason that some people have autism or autistic traits.

A new study from the United Kingdom builds upon evidence about one potential factor, finding that young children with ear, nose and throat problems were more commonly diagnosed with autism later.

This isn't to sa...

While mild cases make up the majority of autism diagnoses, "profound" autism affects about 27% of American children with the developmental disability, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.

This is the first time the CDC has broken down that definition statistically.

Children with profound autism are nonverbal, minimally verbal or have an IQ of ...

A leading doctors' group recommends that toddlers get screening for autism at 18 months old. That may not be a moment too soon — and earlier may be even better, researchers say.

A new randomized clinical trial, the gold standard for studies, backs up the recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Intervention at 18 months for children on the autism spectrum led to be...

About 1 in 6 preschoolers with autism get expelled from their day care program, new research finds.

On average, such kids are about 3 years old when they get kicked out.

While their parents may already harbor concerns, many of these kids "do not as yet have a diagnosis or label," said study leader

There's no single known cause for autism, but researchers now point the finger at higher lithium levels in drinking water.

Their new study found that pregnant women in Denmark whose household tap water had higher levels of lithium were more likely to have kids with autism, compared to pregnant women living in areas where tap water had lower levels of this element.

Autism is ch...

Boys born to women who had COVID-19 during pregnancy may be at risk for developmental delays, a new study suggests.

Delays in speech and motor function were the most commonly diagnosed conditions in these children at 12 months. They were seen in boys but not in girls, the study authors said.

"

  • Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
  • |
  • March 27, 2023
  • |
  • Full Page
  • Children with autism are less likely than their peers to receive important vision screening despite a high risk for serious eye disorders, researchers report.

    Only about 36% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) completed vision screenings during their health checkups,

  • Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
  • |
  • March 24, 2023
  • |
  • Full Page
  • More American children have autism than previously thought, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

    It also finds that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed diagnosis for many, which could have lasting impact.

    Data from 11 communities in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, which tracks the number and characteristics of children with autism and ...

    Some toddlers who don't interact with their parents may have early signs of autism, a new study suggests.

    Researchers showed kids between 12 and 48 months of age "split-screen" moving images, then used eye tracking to evaluate their attention. Some toddlers who paid closer attention to scenes without people rather than to someone saying playful phrases a mother might use were later diagno...

    People who have autism feel pain at a higher intensity than others, which is the opposite of what many believe to be true, new research suggests.

    The prevailing belief is that those with autism are indifferent to pain, possibly because of a tendency for self-harm. However, "this assumption is not necessarily true," said

    Autism services are harder to find in many of the places where Black, Hispanic and Native American families live, new research shows.

    It's known that there are racial disparities in U.S. families' receipt of autism services — ranging from diagnosis and behavioral therapy to school and community programs.

    The

  • Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
  • |
  • January 30, 2023
  • |
  • Full Page
  • Autism cases are surging in the New York-New Jersey metro area, mainly fueled by the diagnosis of autistic children who don't have intellectual disabilities, a new study reports.

    The percentage of kids identified with autism spectrum disorder rose from about 1% in 2000 to 3% in 2016 in that region, said lead researcher

    Children with autism often have difficulty grasping the emotional cues in other people's voices, and now researchers may have zeroed in on the reason why.

    In a study of 43 kids with and without autism, researchers were able to trace such difficulties to a particular brain area -- one involved in social communication.

    Experts said the findings suggest that children with autism are pr...

    When children have autism, it's possible to recognize the symptoms as early as when they are 18 months old.

    Although it takes a doctor to diagnose the condition, parents and caregivers should be aware of the signs, advises the Autism Research Institute, offering some other tips for noticing early symptoms.

    Children with autism may have variety of social, communication and behaviora...

    A common characteristic of autism is a reluctance to make eye contact with others, and researchers now think they know where in the brain this comes from.

    Brain scans show that folks with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had significantly less activity in their dorsal parietal cortex during eye-to-eye contact, compared to people without ASD, researchers report.

    This brain region has b...

    Autism is a more comprehensive disorder than previously thought, and appears to arise from brain changes located throughout the cerebral cortex, not just in specific areas, a new study reports.

    Because of autism's specific symptoms, scientists had thought the disorder was likely caused by changes in brain regions believed to affect social behavior and language.

    But the new study -- ...

    Women who have autism are more vulnerable during pregnancy to depression and anxiety, according to a new British study.

    That makes it imperative that effective mental health screening and support is available to help this group, said lead researcher Sarah Hampton, from the University of Cambridge.

    ...

    For many kids with autism, Rhett, a black Labrador retriever, has been a calming and comforting influence in his seven years as a therapy dog.

    But parents shouldn't assume that a service pooch is the solution for every child on the autism spectrum, a new study...

    Could air pollution land children with autism in the hospital?

    A new study found that short-term exposure to air pollution is linked to a higher risk for hospitalization among kids with the developmental disorder.

    People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often admitted due to such ...

    Research has suggested that kids born to moms who had the flu or another infection during pregnancy may be more likely to have autism, but a new study implies infection may not be the cause after all.

    "We found no evidence to suggest that infections contracted by mothers during pregnancy would cause autism in the child," said study author Martin Brynge. He's a doctoral student in the glob...

    A frequently used screening test for autism creates a gender gap that could hinder diagnosis and treatment for women and girls, a new study suggests.

    Researchers who study autism have been working to include m...

    While half of mothers of children with autism suffer symptoms of depression, a new study has discovered that did not raise the risk of behavioral problems for their kids.

    It was both a surprising and heartenin...

    More than 70 genes are very strongly associated with autism and more than 250 are linked to the condition, a major new genetic analysis has revealed.

    The analysis is the largest of its kind to date, involving more than 150,000 participants, including 20,000 diagnosed with autism.

    The researchers found t...

    Dr. Shaun Murphy, the lead character in "The Good Doctor," is a brilliant medical mind who also happens to have autism.

    He's not the only television character you may know and love who navigates the challenges of ...

    Adults with autism have high rates of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and shots, a new study shows.

    That's good news, because autistic adults have multiple risk factors for COVID-19 infection and for more severe illness if they contract the disease, the researchers said.

    "Reaching this group effectively in public health messaging about vaccination is critical," said study co-author Kait...

    For some children with autism, there's a connection between gastrointestinal problems and stress, anxiety and social withdrawal, a new study suggests.

    The findings could help efforts to develop personalized treatments for autism patients with gastrointestinal problems such as stomach pain and constipation, the University of Missouri researchers suggested.

    Such problems tend to occur...

    Bella Kofner, a 24-year-old graduate student in special education at the College of Staten Island in New York, was 10 when her parents first told her she had autism. Developmental psychologist Steven Kapp, now 35, was 13 when he was told the same.

    So, is there a best time to tell children they have the developmental disorder? New research suggests that younger is better.

    Kofner, Kap...

    Researchers report that overgrowth of a part of the brain that's associated with autism occurs during infancy, a finding that may make it possible to diagnose the disorder at an earlier age.

    The amygdala is a small structure in the brain that's crucial in interpreting social and emotional cl...

    Researchers have discovered differences between the brains of girls and boys with autism that they say may improve diagnosis of the developmental disorder in girls.

    "We detected significant differences between the brains of boys a...

    Young people with autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a higher risk of dying early from a range of causes, a new research review suggests.

    Researchers found that before middle-age, people with autism face higher-than-average rates of death from both "natural" causes, like heart disease, and "unnatural" ones, including accidents and suicide.

    Meanwhile, unna...

    A medication that acts on certain brain receptors can temporarily ease visual-processing problems in some adults with autism, a small study has found.

    Researchers said it's far too early to know whether the drug, arbaclofen, could prove useful in managing those visual issues. But the findings do give in...

    That sing-song speech parents use when talking to their babies is universal, and infants tend to prefer it.

    So, when a baby doesn't seem to engage with this melodic "motherese," or baby talk, it can be an early sign of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

    Researchers at the University of California, S...

    Having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can make communication a challenge, and some of these children are also deaf, making social interactions even more daunting.

    But new research suggests that cochlear implants can go a long way toward helping these kids understand speech and connect with others.

    A long-term survey that followed 30 children who had

  • Cara Murez
  • |
  • December 29, 2021
  • |
  • Full Page
  • Determining whether a young person with autism is ready to drive can be tricky for their health care providers.

    That's the upshot of a new survey that included 78 pediatric physicians, psychologists and other providers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

    Half of the respondents said they routinely...

    Kids with autism have low levels of a protein that quiets overactive brain cells, which may explain why so many have epilepsy, according to a new study.

    Because the protein can be detected in cerebrospinal fluid, it may have promise as a marker to diagnose autism and as a potential treatment target for the epilepsy tha...

    Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows.

    One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.

    But a second study offered more heartening news: After look...

    Teens and young adults with autism show marked differences in their brains' white matter compared to those without the disorder, a new study finds.

    "If you think of gray matter as the computer, white matter is like the cables," said study co-author Clara Weber, a postgraduate research fellow at Yale University School of Medicine.

    The changes are most apparent in the region involved ...

    A significantly increased risk of self-harm and suicide among people with autism shows the need for programs to reduce that risk, researchers say.

    For their study, the investigators analyzed 31 studies on the link between autism and self-harm/suicide that were posted to five databases between 1999 and 2021. Overall, children and adults with autism had a threefold increased risk of self-ha...

    Despite hints of promise from early research, a new clinical trial finds no evidence that kids with autism benefit from nasal sprays containing the "love" hormone oxytocin.

    Researchers called the findings disappointing.

    But they said the study also offers important information: Some parents of children with autism are already using oxytocin nasal sprays in the hopes of supporting th...

    When you're putting on a brave face to mask disappointment or shedding tears of joy, kids with autism are likely to misunderstand how you're really feeling.

    That's because they don't use context to identify underlying emotions, according to a new study investigating whether kids with autism are able to tell when one emotion is concealing a different one.

    The comparative analysis loo...

    Pregnant women who receive an epidural to ease their pain during labor aren't any more likely than others to have kids with autism, two new studies show.

    Earlier research suggested this practice may increase autism risk in offspring, but the pair of studies should put this concern to rest for good, experts say.

    "Parents can be reassured that there is no link between using epidurals ...

    Eating well and exercising regularly can be a challenge for anyone. But for those with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disabilities, that challenge is exponentially greater.

    Many young men and women with autism and intellectual disabilities face a significantly higher risk for obesity, and all the health complications that follow.

    Yet, a small, new pilot study suggests...

    Infants may show early signs of autism, but a diagnosis usually isn't made until age 3. Now, a new study suggests that jumpstarting therapy might stave off that diagnosis altogether.

    Researchers say their preemptive, parent-led intervention could have a significant impact on children's social development and longer-term disabilities.

    "What we found is that the babies who received ou...

    Parents of a child with autism might wonder if a pet cat would be a good fit for the family. Now, research suggests both children with autism and cats benefit when a feline joins the household.

    Gretchen Carlisle, a research scientist at the Missouri University Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction, in Columbia, Mo., and her colleagues studied the pet dynamic from both sides.

    ...

    Adults with autism, intellectual disabilities or mental health disorders are at increased risk for COVID-19 and severe illness, researchers report.

    Being aware of the heightened risk is important in prioritizing COVID-19 prevention measures, such as vaccination, testing, masking and distancing for these groups, the researchers said.

    "These high-risk populations should be recognized ...

    Show All Health News Results