
A Down Syndrome Advantage in Special Needs Parenting?
Study Finds that Marriages Dealing with Down Syndrome Have Less Stress than Marriages Managing Autism Parenting a child with any type of developmental disability is generally recognized as a situation which causes varying levels of stress on mothers and fathers. Recently, new research has investigated how this additional stress affects special needs parents’ marriages. In […]

Increased Cancer Risk Before Age 30 Identified in Some Individuals with Autism
Risk Linked to Those Who Have Co-Occurring Intellectual Disability and/or Birth Defects A study out of Sweden has discovered that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have comorbid intellectual disability (ID) and/or birth defects were at a higher risk of developing cancer in early life (before age 30) compared to those without ASD. This […]

Altered Gut Microbiota in Children with Autism
New Study Provides Further Evidence that Gut Microbial Dysbiosis is Linked to ASD New research from China demonstrates that children with autism carry altered gut bacteria compared to children without the disorder. The authors of this new study started their research by recognizing many previous works have already tied altered gut microbiota to autism spectrum […]

Prenatal External Environmental Exposure Linked to Increased Risk of ASD in Offspring
Study Finds That Valproic Acid Exposed Children Had a Higher Risk of Disorder than Non-Exposed Children Valproic acid (VPA) is a clinical drug used to treat epilepsy and mood disorders. Pregnancy exposure to the medication has been previously associated with a significant increase of autism risk in offspring. This previous research also showed that children […]

MIND Institute Reports ASD Characteristics Can Change Significantly Between Ages 3 to 11
About 50% of Children with Autism Had a Notable Change in the Severity of Their Symptoms The Autism Phenome Project (APP) was started in 2006 at UC Davis’s MIND Institute by Research Director David Amaral. The project includes a collaboration of numerous MIND Institute faculty and staff. It is intended to gather biological and behavioral […]

COVID with Schizophrenia Proves to be a Fatal Combination for Many
New Data Indicates that Immune System Dysfunction Could be Culprit for Deadly Outcome Shocking new research published in JAMA Psychiatry shows that individuals with schizophrenia were nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as the general population. This risk of dying from the virus is higher than those with diabetes, heart disease, […]