IAN Community E-Newsletter - March 18, 2010Date First Published: March 18, 2010 Contents Prevalence Studies: How many people have ASD?There have been a number of new studies focused on the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Prevalence simply means the percentage of people with a given condition in a specific population at a certain time. All of these studies came up with a higher rate of ASD than had been reported in the past. Are there really more people with ASD than there used to be? What do we know about what goes into these numbers? Several of the studies seemed to converge on a rate of ASD of about 1 in 100, or roughly 1% of the population. Are we finally approaching a "real" figure for ASD prevalence? Learn more about what ASD prevalence figures really mean: Careful Counting. IAN Research Report: From First Concern to Diagnosis and BeyondThis IAN Research Report focuses on the path parents with a child on the autism spectrum tread, from first niggling worry to deep concern, from evaluation to diagnosis and beyond. What is this journey like? Read this report based on information submitted by families participating in IAN Research, as well as the comments they have shared. Explore this topic further in IAN Research Report #13 - February 2010. The Autistic Brain: Male Plus?One intriguing theory about how autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) occur has been put forward by Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at the Cambridge University Autism Research Centre. They propose that a too-high exposure to fetal testosterone in the womb predisposes a child to ASD, and that individuals with ASD have "an extreme male brain." Autistic traits, they claim, are just typical male traits, but supercharged. What do they mean by this? What evidence have they gathered in support of their theory? Read The "Extreme Male Brain": An Explanation for Autism? "Grandparents" Report Coming Soon!The AARP recently published a three-article series on grandparents of children with ASDs which featured some of the results of the IAN Grandparents of Children with ASD Survey. We will soon have a detailed preliminary research report based on our "grandparents" data. For now, enjoy AARP's exploration of this topic: Grandparents Fortify Families of Autistic Kids. Autism Tissue ProgramFind out about the Autism Tissue Program and how you can make a unique and valuable contribution to autism research. |
