Autism

In autism, lost sleep means more than just a drowsy morning: it's linked to serious problems. A new study of children with autism shows that those who slept less also had lower intelligence scores and more severe autistic symptoms than kids who slept more.

Parents of children with autism are under tremendous stress. What does that do to their marriage?

Most parents experience stress, but for those raising children with autism, everyday life often brings Stress with a capital S, from managing behavior and therapies to school problems. More than a few studies report that parents of children with autism experience more stress than other parents do. What can families do to cope?

One mother shares her family's journey toward registering as donors with Autism BrainNet, which hopes to unravel the mysteries of autism through brain tissue research.

How one mom pushed to get a diagnosis for her son's rare condition, find other children like hers, and amass a database of symptoms. She calls herself a "crazy obsessed, highly caffeinated, middle of the night, internet stalking, Mommy-Detective." And she has the ear of researchers on three continents.

A study finds some surprising gaps in the health care received by children and teens with autism. Despite seeing many specialists, they are more likely to skip routine physical exams and vaccines than their peers without autism.

This year, autism research saw a much bigger focus on family members of those with autism, particularly siblings. The goal of these studies is to understand the genetic and biological nature of autism so that help can be provided not just to those with a diagnosis, but to family members.

This research report looks at the parents’ concerns about their teens’ online networking and purchasing behaviors, as well as their concerns regarding online bullying (cyberbullying).

Learn about the results of an IAN study that explored how teens with autism are using the web.