Research

The International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) was recently held in San Diego from May 12-14 by the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). In one of many research symposiums, recent findings from multiple randomized controlled trials of autism treatments were presented. The methodology used in randomized controlled trials requires substantial resources to develop strong study designs that have often not been used in autism research. Therefore, the research presented in this symposium was quite exciting, as it begins to address many of the current gaps in knowledge that have occurred due to the previous use of study designs that are not well controlled.  Read full post »

What’s in a number? 

Why does it seem so hard to figure out how many people have autism spectrum disorders (ASDs)? Those of us who have followed the various studies over the past 20 years are amazed and sometimes quite confused by the rising prevalence rates. Is there a worsening “epidemic” of autism cases? Are our children getting sicker and sicker? Two studies recently published may provide some clues to this puzzling problem. Before reviewing these new studies, a few words are in order about the dilemmas inherent in the strategies used for counting people with autism. Read full post »

The International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) was recently held in San Diego, May 12-14, by the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). INSAR describes itself as,

“a scientific and professional organization devoted to advancing knowledge about autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including autism, Asperger’s syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorders-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The Society’s main role has been to run the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR), which is an annual scientific meeting to exchange and disseminate new scientific progress among ASD scientists and their trainees. INSAR also recently launched a new peer-reviewed journal, Autism Research.” Read full post »