A study that uses brain imaging reveals new information about why children (and adults) who have been diagnosed with autism tend to have difficulty selecting the correct pronoun to use. This could reveal some clues as to why people who have autism tend to have problems picking up social skills. Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to compare the areas of the brain that were activated when participants were doing a task that involved rapid comprehension of pronouns. The researchers included participants who were young adults that had high-functioning autism, and also a … Continue reading →

A new study finds that kids who have an autism spectrum disorder are not accessing the language areas of the brain in order to identify behavior that is socially inappropriate. They can recognize the behavior, and understand that it is bad, but lack the language to effectively communicate about it. One of the symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder is that the child has great difficulty with social skills and in appropriately and comfortably navigating through social situations. Typically, the social cues and behaviors that children automatically pick up on as they grow are things that need to be systematically … Continue reading →