Autism Spectrum Disorders News

Children who were abandoned at birth and raised at institutions may have an increased risk for social communication difficulties and autism spectrum disorder, according to data published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Only a small portion of developmental trajectories in autism spectrum disorder severity and adaptive functioning occurs during the preschool years, suggesting that some children with more severe and stable symptoms show significant improvements.

The presence of typical behaviors — or absence of atypical behaviors — among children during brief observation periods at a medical visit was not sufficient to provide evidence for symptoms associated with autism in a recent study.

Video feedback-based video therapy improved infant attentiveness to parents, parent-child interactions and other positive behavioral outcomes, according to data published in the Lancet Psychiatry.

Patients with autism spectrum disorder, particularly those who are nonverbal, demonstrated a lower success rate in intraocular pressure testing, according to a study recently published in Optometry & Vision Science. However, Coulter and colleagues reported that other tests in the eye examination displayed a high rate of testability.

Children with autism who live in homes with dogs show greater social skills compared to those without dogs in the home, according to a recent study.

In 2014, Healio Psychiatry provided the latest developments in psychiatry and mental health research. The most-read articles summarized peer reviewed journal publications; allowing specialists to critically examine the relevant information they can apply in day-to-day practice.

Findings from an ongoing study suggest that a mother’s exposure to particulate matter air pollution during pregnancy may be linked to the development of autism spectrum disorder in her offspring.

Current best practices for the treatment of autism are focused on understanding the prevalence of the condition, discussing concerns with parents, making appropriate referrals and monitoring patients after diagnosis, according to joint guidelines from the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Neurology.

Changes to diagnostic criteria explained the apparent increase in prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in Denmark, according to recently published research.