Science – ASF Weekly Science Podcasts

Episodes

1. 26

   “Profound” Autism

   On Tuesday, the journal Lancet published a 2+ year long endeavor around understanding the heterogeneity of autism not just in features but in access to services for individuals and families across the world. They called for a stepped care to help individualize and prioritize needs in different...

   Dec 12, 2021

   37m
2. 25

   Tristram Smith, 1961-2018

   Two weeks ago, the autism research community lost a pioneer, mentor and advocate for the autism community. This podcast only highlights a portion of the enormous contribution he made to autism research and the impact his research had on families with ASD. Also, two people that know him best, one…

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   Aug 27, 2018

   12m
3. 24

   What is the real prevalence of ASD?

   Unfortunately this podcast does not really provide an answer, but does highlight data published over the holidays which shows in another dataset, that the prevalence of autism seems to be leveling out, rather than continue to increase as it has done for the past several decades. It isn’t the…

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   Jan 8, 2018

   9m
4. 23

   Your taxpayer dollars at work in the Autism Centers for Excellence Awards

   About two weeks ago, the National Institute of Health announced part of the government’s commitment to autism research through the ACE projects, or Autism Centers for Excellence. Highly competitive and intensely scrutinized, these 5 year projects all investigates areas of autism aimed at helping...

   Oct 15, 2017

   15m
5. 22

   A new understanding of autism genetics

   Lots of people tend to think of the genetics of disorders or disease about one mutation or genetic variation that is inherited from the mother or the father, that causes a trait directly. Unfortunately, the genetics of autism isn’t that simple or scientists would have found “the gene” by now. In...

   May 22, 2017
6. 21

   A new clue to autism found in fluid in the brain

   Last week, another Baby Siblings Research Consortium Project (BSRC) published an intriguing finding which also has the bonus of being a replication. Mark Shen, PhD, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found higher levels of extra axial fluid in the brains of infants who went on…

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   Mar 19, 2017
7. 20

   And now….the 2016 year end summary of autism science

   The year 2016 was eventful for many reasons. In this 20 minute podcast, we review some of the scientific discoveries that highlighted findings in causes, understanding, and treating ASD. Featured more this year is studies on the sibling of individuals with ASD, so we are calling 2016 “The Year of...

   Dec 18, 2016
8. 19

   Unfortunate new risk discovered for people with autism and their siblings

   In addition to risks of anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders and other psychiatric issues, people with autism (and their siblings) show increased risk of substance abuse issues. This information comes from a large scandanavian registry study that included over 26,000 individuals with ASD. On this week’s...

   Oct 17, 2016
9. 18

   How early do females with autism show differences?

   Using high risk baby siblings research design, scientists at Yale University showed that as babies, girls with autism show an unusual pattern of social attention for their age, spending most of their time looking at faces. This is in stark contrast to findings in boys. Together with other data…

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   Feb 8, 2016
10. 17

    A year of autism research in under 30 minutes

    What was impactful this year in autism research? This last podcast of 2015 explores the year of the female, highlighting the relatively new exploration into what makes females with ASD different and what they can tell us about everybody with autism and their families. Some of what is discussed…

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    Dec 21, 2015
11. 16

    Moving the needle towards earlier diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders

    This week, the CDC published data that showed that the average age of first developmental evaluation for concerns was lowered by 5 months. Five months is a lot to a family whose child is suffering and in need of help. Separately, research out of Houston shows that many families are able to skip…

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    Dec 14, 2015
12. 15

    Managing real life autism situations.

    Compared to researchers, community clinicians don’t have time for the same rigorous training on the standard autism diagnostic instrument called the ADOS, so can they still do it as well? Or does this group not have the resources they need to use it properly? Also, because psychiatric hospitals...

    Nov 30, 2015
13. 14

    Sisters, sisters, there never were such devoted sisters

    A special podcast this week on the Autism Sisters Project, in partnership with Icahn School of Medicine. I talk about how the idea came about, what ASF is doing to help find out what sisters can contribute to the science of autism, and why sisters are in a unique position to do so. Please read...

    Oct 19, 2015
14. 13

    A traditional strategy in autism intervention may be hurting not helping.

    Two interesting studies this week. The first from researchers studying a learning strategy called repetition. As it turns out, it may impair the ability for people with autism to generalize what they learn into new situations, like learning that a golden retriever is a dog and a beagle is also a...

    Oct 12, 2015
15. 12

    Moving away from genes OR environment towards genes AND environment

    On Thursday October 1st, Autism Science Foundation, Autism Speaks and the Escher Fund for Autism co-organized an online symposium which examined the possibility that early mutations in cells that pass along genetic information from generation to generation (sperm and egg and cells that make the...

    Oct 5, 2015
16. 11

    The sad realities behind educational services and ASD

    Whoops, Donald Trump did it again. During the Republican debates, comments around vaccines and autism were made that could cause more confusion. This at a time when the matter should be settled in the minds of the public. ASF president Alison Singer comments on what people should know. Also, a…

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    Sep 21, 2015
17. 10

    Females with autism and the idea of an ‘extreme male’ brain

    New studies were published this week highlighting differences, or lack of differences, in males and females with autism. This podcast explores one of these theories called the ‘Extreme Male Brain’ theory which is actively studied by Simon Baron-Cohen’s lab in the United Kingdom. While this theory...

    Sep 4, 2015
18. 9

    Can people with autism lose their diagnosis?

    Researchers have been studying a small group of individuals who were diagnosed with autism, then later no longer met criteria for diagnosis. Most of these people received early intense behavioral intervention before the age of 3, and what is called “optimal outcome” by researchers is the…

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    Jul 17, 2015
19. 8

    Targeting environmental chemicals in neurodevelopmental disorders

    This week a group of experts met to build consensus around the effects of environmental chemicals on the developing brain. Autism was part of this discussion. And a new large-scale study shows that c-sections do not cause autism, it is something else related to c-sections.

    Jul 8, 2015