Episodes

Organoids are miniaturized 3D tissue structures that have mimic the structure of a human organ, such as the brain. But can an organoid mimic not just the structure, but the function of a brain, and can it grow past beyond the small structure? How much can an organoid develop into something that is useful for studying disorders like autism? On this week’s podcast, we interview Dr. Kevin Kelley, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist from @Stanford University who spent that past decade developing tools...

This week we talk to Dr. Dan Geschwind from UCLA who was funded by the Autism Data Science Initiative to study thousands of environmental chemicals and medicines across various genetic backgrounds. A decade ago, this study would have taken a decade, but through new technology, robotics, and existing knowledge about genes and these chemicals, it is automated and can be done is 3 years. Dr. Geschwind will explain how he is using cells from people with autism to identify potential environmental fac...

How do you know an intervention is working? It starts with making sure you are measuring the right thing. This week, Drs. Mary Wojnaroski from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Natasha Ludwig from the Kennedy Krieger Institute who work on the Inchstone Project to talk about outcome measures around intellectual function and cognition. Some tools might be used to measure both strengths and weaknesses in those with intellectual disability. But first, clinicians need to know what impacts families t...

Autism does not start at one, two or three years. It is a condition with trajectories, where some individuals show signs early, others later. It doesn’t just happen after some mysterious “medical event”, people are born with it. Scientists know this by tracking outcomes of those with a high likelihood of autism all the way from birth to school age. We need more research on why features do not show up the same in each person, and how you can predict not just an autism diagnosis but other co-occu...

This week we talk to Drs. Steve Scherer, Lisa Bradley and Graham Collingridge who recently published research that shows the gene PTCHD1-AS influences social functioning in humans and mice, without influencing intellectual deficits. This is the newest data that shows a single gene can control social communication and not some of the other comorbid features of ASD. They review the data around genetic influences in autism, why the knowledge of the role of genes in autism has exploded in the past d...

Traditionally, scientists have been able to calculate the role of genes in autism, or the environment in autism. However, understanding the role of genes together with the environment, or the effects of the environment with a genetic background, has been very difficult. This is especially true with polygenic genetic risk factors, which is not a single gene but a combination of multiple genetic influences. Different environmental factors might be good candidates for testing because some of them a...

This week’s podcast features beloved UCLA child neurologist Dr. Rujuta Wilson who helps families with autism and other neurological conditions, both with and without a known genetic condition. We discuss the overlap of motor disability with autism spectrum disorder, what we know, what we need to know and what research families can participate in to help solve these questions. Dr. Wilson also explains some common terms in motor abilities or disabilities and how recreational activities can enhance...

Happy Pride! In honor of June, this week’s podcast focuses on the specific needs of those who are transgender or sexually diverse and also autistic. What is the prevalence of autism in those who are transgender and what is the prevalence of being transgender in those who are autistic? New research has emerged which shows that mental and physical health problems are more prevalent in those with an autism diagnosis and transgender compared to those who are not autistic and transgender. What can we...

We have talked already about the link between autism and dementia, however a lesser known association is the one between autism and another disorder of aging: Parkinson’s Disease. A recent presentation at INSAR revealed what is known about the relationship, why they are related, what causes the association and what people with autism can do to possibly mitigate the onset of dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. Thank you to Dr. Blair Braden and Samantha Harker and Manuela Velez Galindo from the Auti...

In all the recent hype on the “overprescribing” of psychiatric medications, there is a circulating rumor antidepressant use in the mother during pregnancy has could be linked to an autism diagnosis in the child. Thankfully, there is research on this topic, and the results are clear: antidepressant exposure during pregnancy does not cause autism in children. Where would this idea come from? Early studies did show a weak link, but the association arises because there is a genetic link between havi...

SPARK – neuroscience, known to autism researchers as the other “SPARK”, is a project based out of Stanford University. This project does not collect genetics on hundreds of thousands of people, instead, they that provide funding, advice, support, mentorship, coaching and project management to scientists who have some evidence of a target in the brain relevant to autism. They help these scientists turn it into a potential drug or therapeutic that can help families. This is known as “translational...

In November, there will be many Congressional seats open. Wouldn’t it be great if it was someone with firsthand knowledge of the experiences of autism families and understood what they were facing? In NJ, that is happening. Dr. Samuel Wang, autism researcher and autism sibling, is running for Congress. Today’s podcast interviews Dr. Wang, why he decided to run, what he will do when elected and what he hopes to accomplish as a Congressmember. You can read more about him at www.samfornj.org

Another study on acetaminophen (known as paramecetol in Denmark) on probability of having a child with autism, this one with over 1.5 million pregnant women, 31k who were exposed to acetaminophen. The HHS Secretary is calling it “garbage in and garbage out” because it showed no link, but in fact, it is a strong study that examined multiple confounding variables and addressed questions that had been unanswered previously. This podcast is short and so is the message: Tylenol, also known as acetami...

The word “mitochondrial deficits” gets thrown around a lot as a cause of autism, but what does this really mean? This week we interview Dr. Carisa Sirois from the University of Wisconsin, who recently published a review of how the mitochondria are involved in neurodevelopmental disorders. The ways mitochondria are involved in ASD are not simple, there are many different ways in which they affect cellular function, including genetic variations leading to impaired functioning, which then leads to ...

What is the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee and why did it meet? This week’s podcast discusses the need and the agenda of Thursday’s meeting. In addition, more research showing that epidemiologists should consider different features of autism together with prevalence numbers because they may differ across the spectrum. Finally, different types of language development are seen in those with autism, so interventions should address these differences. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41786...

This week’s podcast summarizes some highlights in scientific research and includes a recognition of Rare Disease Week and actions taken by the FDA to ease the criteria for evaluating genetic therapies for rare genetic disorders, the best study to date on the mortality in autism, genetic prediction of outcome in individuals with a diagnosis, and Uta Frith’s commentary on the concept of “spectrum”. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41773580 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41651809 https://pubmed.nc...

This week we talk to Dr. Emily Hotez from UCLA, (and a sibling to an autistic adult) who has focused her research on reducing stigma and marginalization, which will ultimately improve research participation to increase scientifically valid options for families. She also works on a nationwide project to improve health outcomes in autistic individuals, from birth through adulthood. Her new project focuses on chronic stress on physical health in adolescents with autism. She explains the focus of he...

A landmark study that uses brain organoids from different people with different genes associated with autism showed that the different genes act as roads that go on different journeys to the same destination. This will be an enormously important discovery for identifying targets to treat different autism symptoms across different genetic causes of autism and understand the diversity of symptoms. Also, the new Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee was announced and there is not much breadth o...

Air pollution, specifically one part of air pollution called PM 2.5 (named for the size of the crud in the air pollution) has been linked to autism. It’s also been tied to cancer, heart disease, asthma, obesity, and premature births. Air pollution typically comes from industrial sources and car exhaust, but it can also be the result of smoke from wildfires. Four new studies this week link air pollution exposure during pregnancy to autism. The Environmental Protection Agency has responded by easi...

On this week’s podcast, we present new research summarizing how autism is part of a larger spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders and issues. There are issues that people with autism experience that are not unique to autism; they are seen in people with ADHD, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. This is what is meant by “transdiagnostic”. These things include core autism features, co-morbid health problems, and can partially be explained by genetics. While autism is a unique condition...

This year was a VERY eventful year for autism. If you want to hear a highlight of the good news, the great science that was discovered and the ideas developed to help families with autism, listen to this podcast or read the summary here: https://autismsciencefoundation.org/2025-year-in-review/. In summary: more precise subtypes of autism have been discovered and validated using biological markers, explanation for sex differences, new precision medicines for those with known genetic causes of aut...

The immune system is critically involved in autism. Of course, there are still a lot of questions to answer, particularly whether dysregulation of the immune system is the cause or a consequence of autism among others. But it is not studied enough. This week’s podcast includes new studies that examine the role of the immune system in autism, and outlines the different theories of how the immune system is involved in ASD. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41345879 https://www.sciencedirect.com/sci...

You may have heard terms in early intervention like “NDBI” or “Early Start Denver Model” and wondered if there was a difference in efficacy behind all these flavors of toddler interventions. On this week’s podcast, we speak to Dr. Giacomo Vivanti from @DrexelAutism, who combined data from 4 of these interventions across 700 children to see if they found similar or different effects of each protocol. This group of scientists also examined these interventions on the development of spoken language....

Everyone knows cognitive ability is critical for understanding autism, however, how does it affect developmental trajectories of autism traits, and can it be accurately measured in those with severe intellectual disabilities? We discuss. Plus, more evidence that tylenol doees not cause autism. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41207796 https://www.aaidd.org/docs/default-source/prepressarticles/which-score-for-what-operationalizing-standardized-cognitive-test-performance-for-the-assessment-of-chan...