http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. JobTIPS, a free, Web-based program unveiled today, aims to help youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other disabilities develop and maintain skills needed for successful employment. Supported through the Recovery Act with a grant for just under $1 million over two years from the National Institutes of Health, this resource targets a critical transition period as teenagers leave the school system, which is usually their primary source of ASD-related services throughout childhood. http://phys.org/news220874398.html Medicine & Health Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:30:01 EST news220874398 A computational physicist and a cognitive neuroscientist at Children's Hospital Boston have come up with the beginnings of a noninvasive test to evaluate an infant's autism risk. It combines the standard electroencephalogram (EEG), which records electrical activity in the brain, with machine-learning algorithms. In a pilot study, their system had 80 percent accuracy in distinguishing between 9-month-old infants known to be at high risk for autism from controls of the same age. http://phys.org/news217583089.html Medicine & Health Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:45:10 EST news217583089 Use of medical, mental health and case management services for young adults with an autism spectrum disorder appears to decline after high school, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. http://phys.org/news216318848.html Medicine & Health Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:50:01 EST news216318848 Targeting the core social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in early intervention programs yielded sustained improvements in social and communication skills even in very young children who have ASD, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The study was published online December 8, 2010, in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. http://phys.org/news211025798.html Medicine & Health Wed, 08 Dec 2010 10:16:57 EST news211025798 An autism study by Yale School of Medicine researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified a pattern of brain activity that may characterize the genetic vulnerability to developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Published today in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study could eventually lead to earlier and more accurate autism diagnosis. http://phys.org/news209061881.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:00:07 EST news209061881 Magicians rely on misdirection -- drawing attention to one place while they're carrying out their tricky business somewhere else. It seems like people with autism should be less susceptible to such social manipulation. But a new study in the U.K. finds that people with autism spectrum disorder are actually more likely to be taken in by the vanishing ball trick, where a magician pretends to throw a ball in the air but actually hides it in his hand. http://phys.org/news206810359.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:19:48 EST news206810359 Most health care professionals agree that early intervention is critical for the nearly 1 in 100 children now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and repetitive behavior patterns. http://phys.org/news206180615.html Medicine & Health Wed, 13 Oct 2010 09:24:39 EST news206180615 (PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Connecticut expert says early intervention can help some children recover from autism. http://phys.org/news203599039.html Medicine & Health Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:17:33 EST news203599039 Using eye-tracking methods, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that toddlers with autism spend significantly more time visually examining dynamic geometric patterns than they do looking at social images - a viewing pattern not found in either typical or developmentally delayed toddlers. The results of the study suggest that a preference for geometric patterns early in life may be a signature behavior in infants who are at-risk for autism. This preference was found in infants at-risk for autism as young as 14 months of age. http://phys.org/news203011174.html Medicine & Health Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:00:49 EST news203011174 The way the brain reacts differently to the sense of touch in people with Autism will be examined as part of an innovative Cardiff University study designed to create better understanding of the condition. http://phys.org/news200060724.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:00:02 EST news200060724 The actress Claire Danes, usually so expressive and radiant, looks blank and awkward. The scene is an HBO movie in which Danes plays Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who became an acclaimed animal behavior expert and cattle-chute designer. In real life, Grandin says that autism makes social interactions difficult, but gives her special abilities that make her better at her job. http://phys.org/news198487111.html Other Sciences Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:50:02 EST news198487111 University of Illinois at Chicago researchers are part of an international consortium working with Autism Speaks, the world's largest autism science and advocacy organization, which today reports new autism genetic discoveries. http://phys.org/news195307136.html Medicine & Health Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:50:02 EST news195307136 Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a drug that improves communication between nerve cells in a mouse model of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS). Behavioral symptoms of PMS fall under the autism spectrum disorder category. The research will be presented Friday at the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) in Philadelphia. http://phys.org/news193576396.html Medicine & Health Thu, 20 May 2010 12:14:05 EST news193576396 Having a child with autism can put stress on the parents' marriage, and a frequently cited statistic leads to a common perception that the divorce rate among these families is as high as 80 percent. But a study to be released at a news conference today by researchers from Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore found that a child's autism has no effect on the family structure. http://phys.org/news193499096.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 May 2010 15:20:05 EST news193499096 A new discovery raises hope that autism may be more easily diagnosed and that its effects may be more reversible than previously thought. In a new study appearing online in The FASEB Journal, scientists have identified a way to detect the disorder using blood and have discovered that drugs which affect the methylation state ("DNA tagging") of genes could reverse autism's effects. This type of drug is already being used in some cancer treatments. http://phys.org/news189949239.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:50:05 EST news189949239 Two genes have been associated with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) in a new study of 661 families. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's journal Molecular Autism found that variations in the genes for two brain proteins, LRRN3 and LRRTM3, were significantly associated with susceptibility to ASD. http://phys.org/news188731240.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Mar 2010 10:21:30 EST news188731240 There has been a major increase in the incidence of autism over the last twenty years. While people have differing opinions as to why this is (environment, vaccines, mother's age, better diagnostic practice, more awareness etc.) there are still many children who have autistic traits that are never diagnosed clinically. Therefore, they do not receive the support they need through educational or health services. http://phys.org/news188483574.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:50:01 EST news188483574 Angelman Syndrome is a rare but serious genetic disorder that causes a constellation of developmental problems in affected children, including mental retardation, lack of speech, and in some cases, autism. Over a decade ago, researchers found that AS was caused by mutation in a single gene, but no one had been able to explain how this defect resulted in the debilitating neurological symptoms of the disease. http://phys.org/news186928261.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:50:01 EST news186928261 A paper published online today in Molecular Cell proposes that Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) impacts the entire genome in neurons, rather than acting as a regulator of specific genes. Mutations in MeCP2 cause the autism spectrum disorder Rett Syndrome as well as some cases of neuropsychiatric problems including autism, schizophrenia and learning disabilities. http://phys.org/news186327516.html Medicine & Health Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:39:09 EST news186327516 (AP) -- Don't say "mental retardation" - the new term is "intellectual disability." No more diagnoses of Asperger's syndrome - call it a mild version of autism instead. And while "behavioral addictions" will be new to doctors' dictionaries, "Internet addiction" didn't make the cut. http://phys.org/news185007072.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:51:36 EST news185007072 The American Psychiatric Association today released the proposed draft diagnostic criteria for the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The draft criteria represent content changes under consideration for DSM, which is the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health and other health professionals, and is used for diagnostic and research purposes. http://phys.org/news185002498.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:50:01 EST news185002498 Studying a rare disorder known as tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), researchers at Children's Hospital Boston add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that autism spectrum disorders, which affect 25 to 50 percent of TSC patients, result from a miswiring of connections in the developing brain, leading to improper information flow. The finding may also help explain why many people with TSC have seizures and intellectual disabilities. Findings were published online in Nature Neuroscience on January 10. http://phys.org/news182327031.html Medicine & Health Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:00:18 EST news182327031 Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism. http://phys.org/news182177052.html Medicine & Health Fri, 08 Jan 2010 13:10:04 EST news182177052 Researchers at UC Davis have identified 10 locations in California where the incidence of autism is higher than surrounding areas in the same region. Most of the areas, or clusters, are in locations where parents have higher-than-average levels of educational attainment. Because children with more educated parents are more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, one need look no further for a cause, the authors say. The other clusters are located close to major autism treatment centers. http://phys.org/news181911558.html Medicine & Health Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:59:54 EST news181911558 A researcher from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has defined a new, integrated interpretation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which makes it easier to understand both the commonalities and differences between ASD and other conditions. http://phys.org/news181832834.html Medicine & Health Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:30:03 EST news181832834 Autism and related development disorders are becoming more common, with a prevalence rate approaching 1 percent among American 8-year-olds, according to new data from researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). http://phys.org/news180363847.html Medicine & Health Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:05:56 EST news180363847 Commonly prescribed beta 2 adrenergic agonist drugs for the treatment of asthma in pregnant women as well as pre-term labor may increase the incidence of autism-spectrum disorders, psychiatric pathology, cognitive problems and poor school performance in their children, according to a new study published in the December 2009 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. http://phys.org/news178979208.html Medicine & Health Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:40:02 EST news178979208 (PhysOrg.com) -- Oxford University scientists are using brain-scanning technology to understand how we learn to recognise and 'read' faces as children. http://phys.org/news177940432.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:54:55 EST news177940432 (PhysOrg.com) -- UA researchers present evidence that the Ritalin is effective in treating preschoolers with Autism in a first-ever clinical trial to test the medication's efficacy with children with the disorder. http://phys.org/news177846441.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:20:01 EST news177846441 Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting and trouble forming letters compared to children without autism, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. http://phys.org/news177008511.html Medicine & Health Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:30:05 EST news177008511