December Digest

Welcome to our All Autism News series! Whether you’re a parent, advocate, professional in the field or individual with autism, All Autism News is here to give you a summary of this past month’s biggest news stories affecting the autism community.

National News

Is my autism a superpower?
The Guardian – Greta Thunberg, Chris Packham, Jack Monroe and others credit their Asperger’s with giving them the focus to get things done.

Research

Drug combination mutes sensitivity to noise in autism mice
Spectrum – A mix of two drugs nixes noise hypersensitivity in an autism mouse model, according to new research.

Using technology to help close the autism job gap
Seattle Times – Byran Dai was 24 when he promised his mother, who passed away less than two months later, that he would look out for his younger brother Brandon, who is autistic.

Risk genes for autism overlap with those for attention deficit
Spectrum – People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) carry rare, harmful mutations in many of the same genes as people with autism, an analysis of thousands of sequences suggests.

Brains of autistic people show unusual left-right symmetry
Spectrum – The hemispheres in autistic people’s brains are more symmetrical than those of their typical peers, according to the largest imaging study to explore this relationship.

Teens & Adults

Thursday’s Child: 13-year-old with autism dreams of a family to celebrate life with him
Fox 4 – James has always wanted a family. It’s something he’s wanted for so long he can’t tell you when he first started dreaming of his future family.

Severity predicts autistic children’s ability to learn life skills
Spectrum – How well autistic children perform basic tasks of daily living — dressing, grooming and the like — at about age 6 depends on their language skills, age of diagnosis and the extent of certain autism traits between ages 2 and 4.