Autism Science Foundation Weekly Science Report

Instead of a podcast, this week is a message in honor of the 1 year anniversary of the death of advocate and mother Feda Amaliti. Stay safe. Out of this tragedy, a website has been built that contains information for families on how to prepare for an unexpected emergency and what to do when it happens. Please go to www.september26.org.

Also, we need your help in figuring out what the needs of families with disabilities are in terms of safety training and education. Please fill out this survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LivingSafelyWithDisabilities2

Early changes in eye gaze – or the time spent looking at another person’s face compared to the scene around them – is diminished in ASD. It starts to decline at about 12 months and is linked to later social communication behaviors. But many people wonder why this is an early developing behavior worth studying? Also, what happens in school age to kids that show poor eye gaze and infancy, and those who are on the “broader spectrum” but not a diagnosis in infancy – how do they fare at school age? Devon Gangi from UC Davis MIND Institute talks to us about both of these things and why baby siblings are so important

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33615438/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34008921/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34378867/

There have been several small, or small-ish, studies looking at the link between dementia and autism or ID. However, recently, the largest medical record study of 500k people, 12k of which were autistic and 26k were autistic and had ID, examining early onset dementia was published. Those with ASD had a 1.9 increased risk for dementia and it was even higher for those with ASD + ID. Why? Is it psychological or biological or both? Researchers at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute investigate.

Siblings of people on the spectrum, including autistic adults, are amazing. They support, advocate, fundraise, and now we know they actually have a direct influence on the outcome of their affected brother or sister. What’s that effect? When is it most obvious? Does gender or race matter? All of these questions will be answered by Nicole Rosen of UCLA on this week’s #ASFpodcast. And make sure to tune on on September 8th to or Sam’s Sibs Stick Together webinar. Info below.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34120483/

https://autismsciencefoundation.org/resources/sams-sibs-stick-together/

click here for a link to register for September 8th

Food insecurity during the pandemic is affecting us all, but even before the pandemic it was a greater problem in families affected by ASD. Now, during the pandemic and restrictions in access to food, food programs at schools and unemployment, it’s an even bigger problem. Dr. Arun Kapur from Autism Speaks describes his study examining the rates of food insecurity before and during the pandemic, and a study by Purdue University ties those insecurities to problem behavior in children and adults with ASD. This is a problem we can work on solving together, and society needs to have a better fallback for these basic needs.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34147945/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34075809/

It’s estimated that anywhere from 10%-30% of females on the spectrum also suffer from an eating disorder, and that autistic traits are high (even without a diagnosis of ASD) in those with eating disorders. There is clearly crossover in the underlying biology somehow, but while that is being determined – help for those with ASD and eating disorders is not waiting. There are many obstacles for autistic women to receive help for their eating disorders, and this podcast outlines the overlap between ASD and ED, and describes what could help women on the spectrum who experience eating disorders.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33653157/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34193255/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34264484/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33588579/

Children and infants who later go on to have an autism diagnosis show impairments in communication. Is there anything that parents can do? Yes! Talk. Talk in complicated sentences. Talk responsively and keep it up. This isn’t always an inherent skill, it’s learned, and in this podcast we talk about the biological basis of why infants with ASD are more sensitive to verbal input, how hyposensory features are involved and what you can do to improve your verbal responsiveness that needs to be different for your child with ASD

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34128355/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34185234/

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While there are commonalities across autistic adults on many things, they differ. It might be time to stop saying “…..all autistic adults” when describing those on the spectrum. For example, for the most part, most autistic adults prefer email or text over other methods except when talking to friends and family. It was not universal, but the most preferred methods. This is important for scientists to want to gather the input from autistic adults – use email and online surveys NOT the telephone. But even these online surveys have problems. Large online research studies have the advantage of gathering large sets of data from geographically diverse people in a short period of time, but they may be biased if they don’t report who answered them. Recommendations for how to at least deal with diversity in scientific literature is included.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34169750/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34169230/

It turns out that autistic individuals have a higher rate of gender variance than those not on the spectrum. This doesn’t require treatment in the traditional sense, but a better awareness, psychosocial supports, and understanding among clinicians that can provide services and help for those that need it. Today’s podcast focuses on recent studies linking being LGBTQIA+ and autistic, sharing information on mental health issues in this group as well as guidelines to help those with ASD receive the services they are entitled to. As illustrated in one study included in the podcast, shamefully, his does not always happen.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32770077/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34121545/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33526233/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32056117/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613211024098

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27775428/

Is it genes or is it the environment? or is it a combination? This question has plagued researchers and scientists and caused a lot of confusion in families about what caused their own or their child’s ASD. This week we review the mechanisms by which de-novo mutations could be the work of gene x environment interactions, and share new evidence of how SSRI’s do or don’t contribute to ASD through gene x environment interactions. We also want to recognize the valuable work of scientist Li-Ching Lee to these efforts. Dr. Lee recently passed away but will be sorely missed.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34002022/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34116791/