Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field of autism research. The "2021 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles…

Maureen Murphy-Ryan offers a clinical look at attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Her thorough definition of ADHD and the diagnoses that may occur simultaneously offer teachers an awareness of what this could look like in a classroom. However, it is only with professional medical input that a true diagnosis can be made and appropriate…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2017 Summary of Advances" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles nominated by the members.…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases a list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The "2020 Summary of Advances in Autism Research" provides short, plain language summaries of the top research breakthroughs selected by the IACC from a pool of research articles…

Objective: Tobacco smoking and ADHD frequently co-occur. So far, the bulk of research on the ADHD-smoking comorbidity has been done in children with ADHD and nonclinical adult samples. To assess smoking habits in adults with ADHD, the authors used the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Method: In 60 adult outpatients, with an ADHD…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, examined the state of the science in early…

Developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment, are biologically based disorders that currently rely on behaviorally defined criteria for diagnosis and treatment. Specific behaviors that are included in diagnostic frameworks and the point at which individual differences in behavior constitute abnormality…

Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes; one set from the mother and one from the father. However, nondisjunction errors during meiosis can lead to a case of trisomy, where there are three rather than two chromosomes. Although such events are not uncommon, they are usually lethal, and account for a high proportion of spontaneous abortions. There…

Each year, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) releases its annual list of scientific advances that represent significant progress in the field. The 20 studies selected have given new insight into the underlying biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and potential risk factors, tested approaches for improving early screening…

Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder believed to be genetic. The most visible symptom is the presence of tics. These involuntary movements or sounds can range from simple (sniffing, throat clearing, blinking) to complex (words or phrases, hopping, body contortions). They may be frequent for a few weeks, then fade away almost…

For three decades after Leo Kanner's first clinical description, research progress in understanding and treating autism was minimal but since the late 1960s the growth of autism discoveries has been exponential, with a remarkable number of new findings published over the past two decades, in particular. These advances were made possible first by…

Objective: Pediatrician is the first contact in the Pathway to Care in children with Mental retardation (MR). Following the recent advancements in the area of molecular genetics, understanding of specific conditions of MR or Developmental Delay (DD) is expanding. Hypothyroidism is a treatable metabolic/endocrinological cause of MR. The aim of this…

Background: Fragile X syndrome is a common inheritable cause of intellectual disability (ID) and is characterised by a large number of CGG repeats at the gene "FMR1" located on the X-chromosome. It has been reported that this genetic mechanism may protect against malignant transformations. Methods: We extracted from the Finnish registry…

The cognitive and behavioral symptoms of nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD) have been described by previous investigators. Nevertheless, we know far less about the potential genetic contributions that may predispose a child to have NLD. An endophenotype model was investigated in 5 samples of children ages 9 to 15 years: NLD (n = 32); reading…

Family histories, comprehensive physical examinations, and chromosome analyses of 35 males with autism were performed. Results indicated that the fragile X syndrome may be present in less than 16 percent of persons whose family history or physical features suggest the condition's possible presence. Screening 42 autistic children for…