Category: Autism News

Motley crew: Among people who share a psychiatric diagnosis, gray-matter volume differences compared with controls are rarely found in the same brain regions (pink and red). Decades of brain imaging have failed to surface reproducible signatures of autism and other psychiatric conditions, and a new study may explain why: The specific brain areas that are…

Bench marks: Formally outlining an individual development plan can bring structure to the postdoc role. Luis Alvarez / Getty Images Like many newly minted Ph.D.s, Ayushe Sharma started a postdoctoral position this month. She knew that her new role, at Yale University, would be different from her time as a graduate student, but she also felt that…

A Missouri pastor is under fire for claiming that children living with autism are demon-afflicted. Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland was forced to resign his position as a member of the Stoutland School Board as a result of the comments.  Morrow’s remarks came in the context of a Wednesday evening service on Sept.…

The pastor of a Baptist church in Missouri has doubled down on comments saying autism is caused by “demonic” forces. Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland, Mo., has received heavy criticism following the comments made during a sermon last week. Morrow claimed autism can be treated if you “just cast the demon out.”…

Each unit within the leveled curriculums has a pre and posttest. They are quick, have the same structure every time and pinpoint exactly what skills to target.  From there you can see if you need to move up a unit, repeat a unit or target a specific set of skills. I just love seeing how…

Last Wednesday, Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland, Missouri ignited fury when he asserted in a sermon that autism was the result of demonic forces corrupting children’s minds. “I know a minister who has seen lots of kids that are autistic, that he cast that demon out, and they were healed, and then…

THESE are the sports stories we need. Bayleigh Teepa-Tarau incredibly won a 9-hole tournament playing in basketball shoes. The attention of the New Zealand golf world is now on a 12-year-old boy with almost no experience, who borrowed clubs, and competed in basketball shoes. Bayleigh Teepa-Tarau won the nine-hole competition at the AIMS Games, a…

By the slice: Staining organoids reveals early differentiation in the forebrain, including the development of plexus- and plate-like structures. Essentially opposite paths in fetal brain development may explain two major subtypes of autism. In one of these subtypes, an unusually high number of excitatory neurons in a key brain region leads to large heads, or…

Last night was one of those special nights. I was outside in the backyard pushing your younger siblings on the swings when I heard you come outside. You wandered to a deck chair and sat down. Then to the stairs leading down the deck. I think you found a fly. It must have landed on…