NeuroTribes: history, stigma, and the neurodiversity idea (book digest)
A digest of Silberman's history of autism — from Asperger and Kanner to advocacy, vaccine panic, and neurodiversity — for families seeking context.
Articles tagged "Autism"
Articles in the "Autism" category.
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Best films, shows, YouTube, and communities on autism and neurodiversity
A curated media hub for families—documentaries, series, YouTube, podcasts, and online groups—with selection criteria, caveats, and what to avoid.
Uniquely Human: a deep digest for families and professionals
An expanded digest of Prizant: ask why, regulate before skills, interests as bridges, partnership over coercion — without replacing the book.
Best books on autism and neurodiversity for families
Twelve books worth reading for parents, caregivers, and therapists—selection criteria, who each is for, core ideas, and a forthcoming digest series.
Visual Communication Cards for Autism: A Complete Guide for Families
Use visual communication cards at home, school, and outside: starter words, routines, modeling, and respectful AAC support.
Medication Routines for Autistic Children: A Complete Family Guide
Build safer medication routines with schedules, caregiver handoffs, school plans, reminders, and useful notes for clinicians.
Home-Based ABA for Parents: A Gentle, Ethical Complete Guide
Use short, consent-aware ABA-informed practice at home: goals, reinforcement, data, school coordination, and when to seek a BCBA.
Toilet Training for Autistic Children — A Calm, Complete Guide
Why potty training often takes longer with autism, how to use visuals, timed prompts, and logging, and when to pause — plus a free parent tool for routines.
Masking and Camouflaging in Autism: A Complete Guide for Families and Therapists
What autistic masking is, why people do it, how it shows in kids and adults, links to burnout and anxiety, what research measures miss, and how to reduce costly camouflage without abandoning safety.
Autistic Burnout: A Complete Guide for Teens, Adults, and Families
What autistic burnout is, how it differs from depression and ordinary job burnout, how masking fuels it, and what recovery and support can look like at home, school, and work.
Autism and School: A Complete Guide for Parents and Support Teams
How to prepare an autistic child for school, build accommodations, handle transitions and sensory load, reduce masking burnout, and partner with teachers without turning every week into a crisis.
Anxiety in Autistic Children and Teens: A Complete Guide for Families
How anxiety shows up in autistic kids and adolescents, how it differs from ADHD and OCD patterns, what helps at home and school, when to seek clinical care, and how to avoid overload that fuels burnout.
Do Nuclear Accidents Increase Autism Risk? What We Know Decades After Chernobyl and Fukushima
An evidence-based guide for parents and professionals: how ionizing radiation affects the developing brain, what Chernobyl and Fukushima studies show, and whether autism rates rose in exposed populations.
Autism Therapies: Evidence and Myths — A Complete Guide
A full overview for parents and therapists: ABA, speech therapy, AAC, occupational therapy, medication, diets, and controversial methods — what research supports and what it does not.
How to Explain Autism to a Sibling — Age-Appropriate Ideas for Parents
Simple language, books, and routines that help brothers and sisters understand an autistic sibling without fear or blame.
Doctor and Dentist Visits for Autistic Children — How to Prepare
Visual schedules, desensitization steps, and communication tools that make medical appointments less overwhelming.
Haircuts and Grooming for Autistic Children — Reducing Sensory Overload
Why haircuts, nail trimming, and tooth brushing can be overwhelming, and practical ways to practice gradually at home.
What We Actually Know About Autism in 2026
A clear, evidence-based overview for parents and therapists: diagnosis, prevalence, genetics, what helps, what doesn't, and what researchers still debate.
Visual Schedules for Autistic Children — Easier Transitions at Home
How first-then boards, picture schedules, and now-next cards reduce meltdowns when changing activities — with simple steps to start at home.
Echolalia in Autism — What It Means and How to Respond
Immediate and delayed echolalia are common in autistic communication. Learn what your child may be doing with repeated words and how to support meaningful language.
Sleep Problems in Autistic Children — A Practical Guide for Parents
Why autistic children often struggle with sleep, how to build a calming bedtime routine, and when to talk to your doctor about melatonin or other support.
Food Selectivity and Picky Eating in Autistic Children
Why many autistic children eat a narrow range of foods, how to expand choices without battles, and when selective eating needs medical attention.
Autism at Home: A Complete Guide to Daily Life, Meltdowns, and Going Outside
A practical guide for parents: calm home routines, sensory activities, meltdown support, clothing comfort, and rebuilding safe walks with an autistic child.
What to Do with an Autistic Child at Home
Simple home activities for a child with severe autism: sensory play, sorting, daily-life tasks, guided tablet use, and a short visual routine.
Uneven cognitive profiles in autism, ADHD, and dyslexia: a computational take
Computational simulations suggest shared brain-like ‘substrate’ properties tuned by polygenic selection can create strengths-and-weaknesses profiles across tasks — a domain-relevance account of uneven cognition.
Speech–language delay and swallowing: family impact beyond the plate
Compared with typical peers, 40 Turkish-speaking toddlers with speech–language delay showed poorer swallowing/oral-motor scores and higher family feeding stress — even without major nutrition failure.
Brain activity in infancy and later language development: what this study found
A study of infants with both elevated and typical likelihood of autism suggests that certain patterns of brain activity at 10 months may be linked to how language develops over the next few years.
Bumetanide and autism: what this early study found
A preliminary study suggests that some autistic and neurodivergent children may experience improvements in anxiety and sensory difficulties during bumetanide treatment, but the results are still early and uncertain.
HCFC1 gene variants, autism, ADHD, and unusual brain findings
Two children with novel HCFC1 gene changes also had autism, ADHD, and brain malformations not previously linked to this gene.
Autistic social identity: a Dutch questionnaire linked to mental health
Among 1,443 autistic adults in the Netherlands, a 14-item SIAQ captured four identity facets; higher satisfaction and lower centrality linked to better mental health.
After a late autism or ADHD diagnosis: what people say they feel
A study of social media posts suggests that discovering autism or ADHD later in life can bring a mix of relief, grief, self-understanding, and emotional exhaustion.
Autism and BPD in women: where traits overlap and where they diverge
Comparing 51 autistic and 51 BPD-diagnosed women/PAFAB: sensory load marked autism more; identity disruption marked BPD more — with caveats about overlap.
Mothers and fathers of autistic preschoolers: stress has different triggers
Australian survey of 465 mothers and 216 fathers: mothers report higher stress tied to more child domains; fathers’ stress links mainly to behavioral difficulties.
What autistic adults say about CBT for social anxiety
Interviews with 27 autistic adults after a modified group CBT program: structured exposure helped most; cognitive work and real-world carryover need more autism-informed flexibility.
What autistic children say about home, school, and masking
136 autistic children (ages 8–14) report feeling safer at home than at school; many describe limited autism vocabulary and costly masking.
Autistic healthcare students on clinical placements: what six studies show
A UK scoping review of six papers: autistic trainees bring empathy and detail focus, yet face sensory overload, disclosure dilemmas, and thin support in clinical learning.
NICU history and autism screening: what a small exploratory study flagged
Among 66 children with NICU history, 6 screened in the ASD range; prematurity, PROM, longer stays, and more respiratory support linked to higher ASD scores — hypothesis-generating only.
Autistic symptoms within schizophrenia spectrum: what a narrative review highlights
A narrative review links stronger autistic symptoms in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders with more cognitive and social difficulties, and sketches three pre-onset severity patterns for future research.
Gut microbiota and child brain development: what 78 studies show
A systematic review links gut microbiome patterns to autism and ADHD, but most studies are weak and cannot prove cause and effect.
Camouflaging in autism research: why the concept is still messy
A review of 389 studies finds camouflaging/masking terms and measures are inconsistent — and samples often miss higher-support autistic people.
Gut bacteria byproducts differ in autistic children: a meta-analysis
A review of 16 studies finds higher levels of certain gut bacteria byproducts (valeric, hexanoic, isobutyric acids) in autistic children.
What siblings of autistic people shared about family life in China
A small study explored how adult siblings of autistic people in China described responsibility, closeness, loneliness, and balancing family needs with their own lives.
Diagnostic Tests for Autism in Preschool Children: A Review Protocol
Cochrane review will evaluate accuracy of common autism diagnostic tools in preschool children compared to clinical judgment.
VR and AR in digital psychiatry: what a narrative review found for autism and beyond
A narrative review finds strong VR evidence for anxiety/phobias and PTSD exposure, plus promising VR/AR gains for autism social-cognitive skills — with small samples, short follow-up, and cybersickness risks.
A new questionnaire for visual sensitivity in autistic and ADHD adults
ViPro-SR is an 11-item self-report tool with three subscales for contrast hypersensitivity, detail focus, and peripheral vision activation.
Visual perception and daily participation in preschool autistic children
In 48 autistic children aged 4–6, stronger visual perception linked to more participation in self-care and learning — correlational, India sample.
Virtual reality for social skills in autism: what the evidence can (and cannot) say
A review of 11 trials found studies too mixed to rank which virtual-reality approaches best support social skills in autistic children.
Are autistic children really motivated by technology, or just paying attention?
A perspective paper argues that engagement with apps, robots, or VR in autism research may reflect sustained attention rather than true motivation, and says measurement needs to be clearer.
Social reward in the autistic teen brain: connectivity during a live chat
fMRI in 86 youth during a live chat: autistic adolescents showed stronger task-evoked links between mentalizing temporal regions and the amygdala; stronger coupling related to lower social motivation scores.
Restrictive interventions rising among women in English mental health services
National NHS data suggest restraint-related rates for women rose about 12% a year from 2017–2025, including in autism and learning-disability services.
Electronic reminders and autism screening: what this study found
In a large U.S. healthcare system, electronic tracking tools were linked to more completed screening forms and faster follow-through for families.
Online Self-Compassion Training for Mothers of Autistic Children: What a Small Study Found
A small study suggests an online self-compassion course may help mothers feel less self-critical and emotionally stronger, even if parenting stress stays high.
Maternal health and autism: direct and indirect genetic pathways
A Danish three-generation cousin study (preprint) suggests some maternal diagnoses link to autism via shared genes, others partly via the prenatal environment.
Maternal Autoimmune Disorders and Child Mental Health: What a Large Study Found
A study of 1.1 million births found small increased risks for some neurodevelopmental disorders in children of mothers with autoimmune conditions.
Maternal autistic traits and preschool anxiety: what one Chinese study suggests
Among 590 typically developing preschoolers, higher maternal autistic traits linked to more child anxiety via emotion beliefs and emotional instability — correlational, not causal.
Autism Misdiagnosed as Schizophrenia for Decades: A Case Report
A 74-year-old man was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia after a brief psychotic episode at age 23; later reassessment revealed unrecognized autism.
Global Autism Prevalence: What the Latest Research Tells Us
A large review of 19 studies (20.6 million people) finds global ASD prevalence around 0.8-1.55%, with wide regional variation.
Gene Therapy for Autism: What the Latest Research Means
A review of gene therapy approaches for monogenic forms of autism and their potential for the broader spectrum.
Gender bias in autism diagnosis: what a systematic review found
A review of 26 studies finds autistic girls and women are often diagnosed later because tools were built mainly around male presentations.
Fine-motor sports games and autism symptoms: what a small trial found
In 45 young autistic children, a 12-week fine-motor sports-game program improved symptom and motor scores more than sensory integration therapy.
Stool inflammation markers similar in autistic children and their siblings
In 57 sibling pairs, three fecal inflammatory proteins did not differ significantly between autistic children and non-autistic siblings.
Autistic traits, shame, and guilt: what resting-state brain links suggested
In 45 neurotypical adults, higher autistic traits tracked more shame-proneness and less guilt-proneness; midline connectivity with the right frontal pole mediated parts of those links.
Movie-viewing brain AI: autism signals strongest in high-emotion social moments
In 555 children, DualPathNet (>70% accuracy from 2–3 minutes of emotionally challenging movie clips) found autism-related neural signatures during empathy-demanding moments, not uniformly across viewing.
How people talk about autism online is changing
A multilingual study on X/Twitter found growing neuroaffirmative language, with important differences across languages and cultures.
ADHD treatment and suicidality in autistic women: three careful case reports
Three young adult autistic women with untreated ADHD and recurrent suicidality improved rapidly after ADHD treatment — with side effects in one case; authors call for larger studies and dual screening.
AAC for autistic people: still mostly request-training for children
A systematic review of 69 studies finds AAC research still centres on children, speech-generating devices and picture exchange, and proximal request goals — with almost no adult or quality-of-life outcomes.
Autism, ADHD, and daily living skills: what a twin study found
A Swedish twin study suggests autism and intellectual disability remain linked to adaptive challenges after accounting for genetics, while ADHD’s link looks partly genetic.
Social attention, autistic traits, and hidden eyes: what eye-tracking showed
In lab conversation videos, higher autistic traits meant less looking at faces/eyes; sunglasses delayed everyone’s gaze to a new speaker. ADHD traits did not show the same face-looking pattern.
Neurodivergent police officers: identity dilemmas at work
Interviews with 37 autistic or ADHD police officers map tensions between medical vs social identity, ability vs disability labels, and staying invisible vs advocating.
Sound sensitivity at age 11 may signal later adolescent anxiety
A UK birth-cohort study links parent-reported hyperacusis at age 11 to higher emotional difficulty at 13 and 16, even after accounting for autism traits and earlier anxiety.
Atypical antipsychotics in autism: what this Cochrane review found
A Cochrane review suggests some short-term reduction in irritability with risperidone and aripiprazole in children, but evidence on benefits and harms remains uncertain.
EEG variability may better distinguish autistic from non-autistic children
In 190 children, trial-to-trial EEG variability reached about 71% classification accuracy — better than traditional average power — but is not a diagnostic test.
Why autism is still missed: comorbidity and diagnostic overshadowing
A 2025 narrative review explains how biased tools, wait times, and overlapping conditions can delay or miss autism diagnoses in some groups.
Psychotropic prescribing in autistic children: an Australian study
Over half of autistic Australian children in this sample received a psychotropic medication; one in four had more than one class.
Medications for irritability and aggression in autism: what a large Cochrane review found
A large Cochrane review suggests that some medications may help reduce irritability in autistic people, but evidence for aggression, self-injury, and long-term safety is still limited.
Memory-related medications in autism: what this Cochrane review found
A small Cochrane review found no clear evidence that medications such as donepezil or galantamine improve core autism-related difficulties in children and teenagers.
Does an early autism diagnosis usually remain over time?
A large Cochrane review suggests that most children diagnosed with autism in early childhood still met diagnostic criteria years later.
Memantine for autistic children: what the evidence shows so far
A small Cochrane review found no clear evidence that memantine improves core autism-related difficulties in children and adolescents.
Music therapy for autistic children: what this Cochrane review found
A large Cochrane review suggests that music therapy may help autistic children with overall development, emotional connection, and quality of life, although effects on specific communication skills are less certain.
Parent support groups: what research actually shows
A large research review found that peer support groups often help parents feel less alone, but clear scientific evidence for reducing stress or improving wellbeing is still limited.
CBT for OCD When Autism Is Also Present: What the Evidence Says
A Cochrane review found very little research on CBT for obsessive-compulsive disorder in autistic people — and only one small trial to learn from.
Rare Genetic Changes Linked to Depression Risk
Study of 320,000 people finds rare gene variants, including SLC2A1, increase depression risk, overlapping with autism and schizophrenia.
D-cycloserine and social skills training in autism: what one study found
A small Cochrane review found no clear evidence that adding D-cycloserine to social skills training improves communication or social interaction in autistic children.
CBT for Anxiety in Children: Does It Help Autistic Kids Too?
A large Cochrane review suggests cognitive behavioural therapy often helps children with anxiety disorders, including autistic children.
Gluten-free and casein-free diets for autism: what the research says
A Cochrane review of two small trials found weak evidence for gluten- or casein-free diets and called for larger, rigorous studies.
Communication support for autistic children who speak very little: what the research found
A Cochrane review found only limited evidence that parent play training or PECS lead to lasting improvements in communication for autistic children who speak very little or not at all.
How accurate are common autism tests for preschool children?
A large review found that tools like ADOS, CARS, and ADI-R can help identify autism in young children, but no single test is reliable enough to replace a full clinical evaluation.
ADHD medication in autistic children: what studies found about methylphenidate
A Cochrane review suggests methylphenidate may help some autistic children with hyperactivity and attention, but appetite loss was common and evidence is still limited.
Family therapy for autism: is there research evidence?
A Cochrane review found no randomised trials of family therapy for autism — only a call for better studies on communication and family stress.
Hyperbaric oxygen for autism: this Cochrane review found no clear benefit
A Cochrane review found no evidence from one small trial that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves core autism features, and minor ear side effects were reported.
Omega supplements for learning disorders: what a Cochrane review found
A 2016 Cochrane review found too little evidence to say whether omega-3 and omega-6 supplements improve reading, writing, or math in children with specific learning disorders.
L-acetylcarnitine for fragile X: what a Cochrane review found
Two small trials in boys found low-quality evidence that L-acetylcarnitine does not clearly improve IQ or hyperactivity versus placebo.
Chelation therapy for autism: no proven benefit, serious risks
A Cochrane review found no evidence that chelation therapy improves autism symptoms in children, while prior reports describe serious adverse events.
Can You Teach 'Theory of Mind' to Autistic People?
A Cochrane review of 22 studies found that some Theory of Mind programs improved specific test skills, but there is still little evidence that those gains meaningfully change everyday social life.
SSRIs for autism: what studies found in children and adults
A Cochrane review of nine trials found no clear benefit of SSRIs for core autism symptoms in children, with limited and mixed evidence in adults.
Parent-supported early intervention in autism: what this Cochrane review found
A Cochrane review suggests that programs teaching parents how to interact and communicate with autistic children may improve everyday parent-child interaction, although evidence for broader developmental changes is still limited.
Do Social Skills Groups Help Autistic Children and Teens?
A Cochrane review of five studies suggests social-skills groups may modestly improve confidence and friendships for some autistic young people.
Aripiprazole for irritability in autistic children: what two studies found
A Cochrane review suggests aripiprazole may help reduce irritability and hyperactivity in some autistic children, but the medication can also cause important side effects such as weight gain and sleepiness.
Intravenous secretin for autism: over 900 children, no evidence of benefit
A Cochrane review covering more than 900 children found no evidence that intravenous secretin improves core autism features and concluded it should not be recommended.
Tricyclic antidepressants for autistic children: what a Cochrane review found
A 2012 Cochrane review found limited and conflicting evidence on tricyclic antidepressants for autistic children, with notable side effects such as drowsiness.
MMR vaccine: what a large Cochrane review found on effectiveness, side effects, and autism
Across ~14.7 million children, MMR was highly effective against measles and mumps; evidence did not support a link to autism.
Auditory integration training for autism: does sound therapy help?
A Cochrane review of seven trials with 182 participants found no reliable evidence that auditory integration or similar sound therapies improve autism symptoms.
Omega-3 supplements for autism: what the evidence shows
A Cochrane review of two small trials found no clear evidence that omega-3 fatty acid supplements improve core autism symptoms.
Acupuncture for Autism: What Research Shows
A Cochrane review found no strong evidence that acupuncture improves core autism features, and reported possible side effects in some children.