Maternal Age Linked to Increased Risk of Autism

On the 8th of February, the Autism Research journal published a research article showing an increased risk of autism correlates with increasing maternal age. The study showed that women who have children after the age of 40 have a 50% increased risk (over women in their 20’s) of having a child with autism. The age [...]

Research Study About Child Gestures

Child Gesture Study Website
I wanted to let everyone in the autism community know about an interesting study being conducted by Jason Wallin at Central Washington University. Some of you may know Jason’s name because of his autism resource website.
Jason is currently studying gesturing in the early years of development. All participants need to do [...]

Embedding Social Interactions Within Reinforcement

A new study was published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders this month (September 2009). The authors (Robert Koegel, Ty Vernon and Lynn Koegel) investigated the effect of an intervention on the social engagement and nonverbal orientation (i.e. eye contact) in three young children with autism. They found that by embedding social interactions [...]

New Study to Identify Genetic and Environmental Factors in Autism

A new research study, funded by the NIH and Autism Speaks, is beginning aimed at investigating genetic and environmental factors linked to autism.
This is a longitudinal study that will follow the new pregnancies of women who already have a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (including:autism, aspergers and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) [...]

Treating Anxiety in Adolescents with ASD

In a pilot study by Susan W. White, Thomas Ollendick, Lawrence Scahill, Donald Oswald and Anne Marie Albano, published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, the authors were evaluating the efficacy of a modified cognitive-behavioral treatment program to address anxiety and social skills in adolescents with ASD. Prior to treatment the participants were [...]

Visual Schedules May Not Be Enough

A study recently published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis looked at whether or not visual schedules were a sufficient intervention to address problem behavior during transitions. They found that they were helpful, but did not have a sufficient impact on problem behaviors without the use of an extinction procedure and differential reinforcement of [...]

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