National News

A small double-blind clinical study, involving 13 adults with either a high-functioning form of autism or Asperger Syndrome, found that Oxytocin when inhaled by a nasal spray, could positively affect social behavior. Read More

Mental health providers and insurers all rely on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- the DSM - to classify and diagnose mental disorders. Dr. David Kupfer, chair of the DSM task force, and NPR's Alix Spiegel and Jon Hamilton discuss what the updated DSM means for people diagnosed with mental illnesses.

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Statistics on the unemployed have been dominating the news for months.

And while the current portrait of the jobless might seem dire, consider this: According to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 20 percent of the disabled population in the country has work.

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Msnbc.com talks to Temple Grandin about how autism affects her life, a life that she believes is different, but no less. Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University. a noted lecturer, best-selling author and autism advocate. Read More

Moms over 40 are nearly twice as likely to have a child with autism, according to the analysis of California births. The study finds that in most cases, the father's age plays little role. Read More

Temple Grandin seems a bit embarrassed, but simultaneously flattered, by all the hullabaloo about her life and accomplishments. A world-renowned designer of livestock handling facilities, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, and one of the world's highest functioning autistics, the most recent chapter of her life is being written right now, or filmed to be more specific, in Austin, TX. The completed work - a biopic on her life and experiences over the decades of the 1960s and 1970s - is set to air February 2010 in a two-hour production on HBO. Read More

The medical journal, The Lancet, retracted the 1998 paper by Wakefield, et. al that links the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine to autism spectrum disorder. Read More

NEW YORK, NY (January 28, 2010) - Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the establishment of the Autism Speaks Baker Summer Camp Scholarship Program, which will provide eligible camps with funding to offer scholarships to campers with autism. The program, funded by Norma and Malcolm Baker, began in Southern California and will now expand to the national level. Read More

California scientists have identified autism clusters where children are twice as likely to have autism and mostly have highly educated parents Read More