Robot-assisted therapy improves communication in autistic children
A new randomized controlled trial shows that a humanoid robot can significantly improve social communication and interaction in children with autism. The study found that robot-led therapy was more effective than both human-only intervention and no intervention at all.
New study: AI can identify autism from tiny hand motion patterns
Hand movements during a basic grasping task can help identify autism, new research suggests. The study used motion tracking and machine learning to analyze finger movements and found that classification accuracy exceeded 84% using just two sensors.
These 5 recent studies reveal surprising insights into autism
What do anime faces, brain imaging, and curiosity games have in common? They’re all helping scientists uncover the hidden complexities of autism.
Emotional recognition difficulties may stem more from alexithymia than autistic traits
People with higher autistic traits struggled to recognize emotions in human faces, but not in anime faces. However, this difficulty was fully explained by alexithymia.
Why people with autism struggle to get hired
New research shows that social behaviors often misunderstood by interviewers can overshadow qualifications, leading to unfair hiring decisions.
Scientists should repeat more studies, but not those looking for a link between vaccines and autism
Calls to revisit the discredited vaccine-autism claim miss the mark, but they raise an important question: how reliable is scientific research if it’s rarely replicated?
Brain imaging method detects genetic markers of autism with over 90% accuracy
Scientists have found a way to spot genetic risk for autism by analyzing brain scans, moving closer to earlier, objective diagnosis based on brain structure.
Could oxytocin nasal spray help children with autism by making faces less overwhelming?
Oxytocin nasal spray may lower social stress in autism by dampening face-related brain activity, researchers report.
New study finds online self-reports may not accurately reflect clinical autism diagnoses
A new study finds online self-reports of autistic traits may not reflect the same behaviors or diagnoses as those confirmed by clinical evaluation
Reduced male hormone exposure may be linked to autism-like traits in males, study suggests
Lower exposure to male hormones during development may be linked to autism-associated traits in males, researchers report.
Mentalizing skills drive teen storytelling ability more than autism diagnosis
Teenagers' storytelling hinges on understanding others' minds, more than autism diagnosis, a new study reveals. Mentalizing skills are key for both structure and coherence.
Scientists just discovered a key connection between face processing and intelligence
Recent research found that face processing abilities form a general factor, are positively linked to intelligence, and negatively associated with autistic-like traits.
Brain connectivity deviations linked to social challenges in boys with autism
Scientists have developed a new method to understand autism by studying individual variations in brain connectivity.
Psychedelic use linked to reduced distress, increased social engagement in autistic adults
Can psychedelics help autistic adults? A new study reveals some report benefits like reduced anxiety and better social connection, but also highlights potential downsides.
People with autistic traits show reduced attentional bias towards animals
People with lower autistic traits pay more attention to images of animals than objects, while those with higher autistic traits do not. This suggests a link between our ability to quickly spot living creatures and our broader social skills.
