Crossroads of Adverse Childhood Experiences, PTSD, and Autism Symptoms
Without a specific, objective diagnostic test for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), clinicians can struggle to distinguish behavioral symptoms of ASD from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or other behaviorally-based disorders.
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Categories: Early Childhood Development, Associated Conditions
From Picky to Adventurous Eater
Food selectivity, or picky eating, can be the source of significant difficulties for autistic individuals and their families. As a child develops a selective food palate, it may first be developmentally appropriate in early childhood and only pose mild challenges to family eating habits and mealtime.
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Categories: Early Childhood Development, Associated Conditions
Hefty Toll for Autistic Children
Childhood obesity continues to be a concern for parents and healthcare providers alike. In the recent years, overweight and obesity have emerged as important issues among autism researchers.
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Categories: Early Childhood Development, Associated Conditions
Doctors’ orders: "Play Your Medicine?" Promising results for a Digitalized Medicine to reduce ADHD symptoms
ADHD is very common among children on the autism spectrum, with researchers estimating as many as 50 percent of children with ASD have some ADHD symptoms
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Categories: Associated Conditions
Celebrating 10 Years: A Special Report on the Past, Present, and Future of Research CAR
2018 marks the the 10th anniversary of CAR's founding. We are celebrating with a series of blog posts and the release of a special report on the past, present and future of CAR's research. We are grateful for your partnership and excited for what lies on the near horizon.
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Categories: Center and Staff News, Current Events and Announcements
Strength In Numbers
Hundreds of different genetic factors contribute to autism and likely a similar number of environmental factors. Each combines differently to affect an individual diagnosed with ASD. The many different possible combinations of genomic and environmental “risk factors” results in many different individuals with ASD.
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Categories: Genetics
The Revolution Will Be… Digitized
In the three years since its inception, the Center for Autism Research (CAR)’s Technology and Innovation Lab has developed tools with the potential to revolutionize the way in which psychologists assess a child for ASD, develop new therapies, and predict and measure the effectiveness of a behavioral therapy or medication
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Categories: Movement and Behavior
Innovation Overcomes A Longstanding “Speed Bump” In Autism Research
Nonverbal and verbal communication forms the basis of our social connections and relationships. During a conversation, partners respond to or reciprocate countless verbal and nonverbal cues, without thinking about it at all.
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Categories: Movement and Behavior
Future Focused: Pathway to Personalized Medicine
Looking to the future, scientists at CAR say studies examining brain structure and function as it relates to social cognition, repetitive behaviors, anxiety, and ADHD- as well as those aimed at refining research methodology to incorporate emerging data processing capabilities- hold the most promise for helping us to understand how we might develop treatments that target the core symptoms of autism.
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What Do We Know About Autism and the Brain?
Over the past decade, foundational brain imaging research looking for the brain regions responsible for ASD has provided a deeper understanding of how the brain works, but has raised as many questions as it has provided answers. We learned that the brain’s role in ASD is not as simple as pinpointing a single aspect of brain development or function.
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Categories: Brain Structure and Function, Center and Staff News