Sensory Processing Difficulties Related to Executive and Cognitive Dysfunction in Children with Autism
By comparing a group of children with autism (n = 40) to a group of neurotypical children (n = 40), Spanish researchers established that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have more sensory processing difficulties than the comparison group of children. The ASD children’s sensory challenges negatively affected their executive and cognitive functioning, especially in the areas of inhibitory control, auditory sustained attention, and short-term verbal memory.
Michigan Autism Organization Sets Lofty 10-Year Employment Goal
The Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM), a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise expectations and expand opportunities for people touched by autism across their lifespan, has just set an extraordinary goal of creating 101,000 jobs for adults on the spectrum over the next ten years.
Researchers Begin Mission to Lower Age of Autism Diagnosis for African American Children
Earlier this month, SafeMinds Shares covered a disturbing news story which reported that obtaining an autism diagnosis takes longer for African American Children. In order to make this startling fact a thing of the past, a research team out of Washington University in St. Louis, using a long-standing grant from the State of Missouri, is evaluating at-risk Black children at their Autism Clinical Center.
Lower Levels of Serotonin Transporters Found in Brains of Individuals with ASD
Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published a paper last month in Molecular Psychiatry which shows that people with autism have lower levels of a protein which regulates the amount of serotonin in the brain.
Coronavirus Economic Relief for People with Disabilities Becoming More Unlikely
As reported in June, the HEROES Act which aims to provide economic relief to the disability community was passed out of the House of Representatives. Sadly, as predicted, the related coronavirus relief legislation has stalled in the Senate.
Researchers Call for More Insight Concerning Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts For Those with Autism
An editorial published this month in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders written by several leading autism researchers requests further exploration into the field of self-harm and suicidal thoughts in individuals with autism.
