Autism :: Study on joint attention has implications for understanding autism

A hallmark of human nature is the ability to share information and to comprehend the thoughts and intentions of others. This capability involves social cognition (the cognitive processes involved in social interaction) and makes a significant contribution to the foundations for language development, as well as social competence. It also sets us apart from other primates.

Autism :: Rutgers Genetics receives $7.8 million for autism research

The Simons Foundation, through its Autism Research Initiative, has signed a $7.8 million, two-year contract with the Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (RUCDR) to establish a collection of DNA samples for autism studies. The samples will be collected from 2,000 families that have a single autistic child.

Autism :: Autism Center of Excellence established at UC San Diego

One of six Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) in the country has been established at the University of California, San Diego by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to be directed by Eric Courchesne, Ph.D., professor of neurosciences at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a leading expert on brain abnormalities associated with autism, a brain disorder affecting an estimated two million people in the U.S. The symptoms are impaired social, emotional, language and cognitive development.

Autism :: The matrix of autism

Autistic children are doubly stigmatized. On the one hand, they are often dismissed as ?low functioning? or mentally retarded, especially if they have poor speaking skills as many do. Yet when autistics do show exceptional abilities?uncanny visual discrimination and memory for detail, for example?their flashes of brilliance are marginalized as aberrations, mere symptoms of their higher order cognitive deficit. They often earn a dubious promotion to ?idiot savant.?