Today's autism research draws on a variety of scientific disciplines, from genetics to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to neural development. At the 35th Carnegie Symposium on Cognition, "Development and Brain Systems in Autism," 16 of the world's most prominent autism researchers will present their latest groundbreaking findings on the disorder and discuss the direction of future study that will continue to improve scientists' understanding of autism.

Research funded by the Wellcome Trust suggests that many children diagnosed with severe language disorders in the 1980s and 1990s would today be diagnosed as having autism. The research supports the theory that the rise in the number of cases of autism may be related to changes in how it is diagnosed.

Government and mass media are worried about the increased cases of autism among children. The number of autism diagnoses has grown in recent decades.

Autism Campaigners are calling on Her Majesty's Government to take firm and decisive action on World Autism Day, scheduled for 2nd April 2008. World Autism Day was designated by the United Nations in New York on the recommendation of Qatar.

Genome-wide scans of families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have revealed new evidence that previously unknown chromosomal abnormalities have a substantial role in the prevalent developmental disorder, according to a report published online Jan.

Toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often have difficulty focusing on people's faces and making eye contact, but a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers found that these same toddlers do not have difficulty looking at photographs of faces.