Children missing a stretch of DNA on chromosome 16 show worsening motor and social skills in the first eight years of life; those with an extra copy of the region do not show this decline.
Children with autism inherit a greater burden of common genetic variants associated with autism than would be expected by chance. These variants combine with rare, spontaneous mutations to boost autism risk.
Between the ages of 2 and 8, intelligence increases in half of children with autism. In some of these children, intellectual disability gives way to average intelligence.
The idea that one residential model is appropriate for the entire spectrum of intellectual and developmental disability is patently absurd.
A massive new analysis drops the ratio of boys to girls who qualify for an autism diagnosis to about 3-to-1.
A minority of boys with autism have brains that are unusually large relative to their bodies — a trait tied to regression and intellectual disability.
A picture-based test is a fast and flexible way to assess intelligence in large studies of people with autism.
Girls who show severe emotional or behavioral problems are more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those who do not.
A combination of multiple diagnostic tests may gauge the extent to which adults with autism attempt to blend in.
Children with an extra copy of the 15q11-13 chromosomal region, the second most common genetic abnormality in people with autism, have unusually strong brain waves called beta oscillations. The preliminary findings, presented Friday at the Dup15q Alliance Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida, suggest that beta oscillations could distinguish children with dup15q syndrome from those with other forms of autism.