All articles tagged with #autism
A BBC InDepth feature on the debate over what autism really is, highlighting a surge in diagnoses and questions about misdiagnosis—especially among women and people with learning disabilities—while Dame Uta Frith argues the spectrum is too broad and may fail those needing support, and others push for nuanced subtypes and sharper criteria to protect services and reflect lived experience.
Georgina Grasso, the Welsh winner of the Great British Bake Off, reveals she has bipolar 2 disorder and autism after previously discussing ADHD, describing the news as shocking but offering relief as she starts new treatment and seeks support while managing her workload.
A 21-year-old man with autism and long-standing mental health challenges, James Snowden, was found dead at his Altrincham home in December 2024 weeks after a plan to withdraw his sulpiride antipsychotic was made; he was under the care of the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and described by his mother as a 'gentle giant' who had a history of suicidal ideation, with the withdrawal process discussed on 26 November 2024 as the inquest continues.
President Trump signed an executive order to reshape vaccine policy, including a directive to offer MMR as three separate shots given in separate visits. Public health experts and the CDC say there’s no evidence this would improve safety or uptake, and it would complicate logistics, raise costs, and likely reduce vaccination rates, increasing risk of measles, mumps, and rubella outbreaks. Monovalent vaccines exist in some places but are not common in the U.S.; developing and approving separate shots could take years, possibly a decade. Merck and GSK emphasize the safety and practicality of the current MMR vaccine, while Japan’s experience with monovalents is cited as cautionary. The plan also touches on long-debunked autism concerns, which researchers say have no basis.
After a White House press conference suggested leucovorin could treat autism, a New England Journal of Medicine analysis found a 700% jump in pediatric prescriptions in 2025 (about 8 per 100,000 children by year’s end), with roughly 47,394 kids receiving 150,026 doses. Experts warn that the evidence for efficacy and safety is uncertain, caution against off-label use driven by government messaging, and note a 2026 retraction of the largest leucovorin–autism study, underscoring the need for rigorous data and better focus on services for autistic people.
A large study analyzing medical data from about 10 million U.S. siblings found birth order is associated with about 150 health conditions. First-borns showed higher rates of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric diagnoses (autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD) and immune/allergic conditions like food allergies, while second-borns had higher rates of migraines, shingles, substance-use disorders, and gastritis. The study shows correlations at the population level, not causation, and has limitations including reliance on insurance claims and possible differences in diagnosis and healthcare-seeking behavior. Researchers emphasize birth order as a modest risk marker, with mechanisms like parental attention, early microbial exposure, and maternal changes across pregnancies remaining to be proven.
A Missouri C-SPAN caller berates former CDC acting director Dr. Richard Besser over vaccines, claiming there are too many shots and alleging links to autism and childhood cancer; Besser apologizes for the caller’s loss and explains that vaccines protect vulnerable kids and have reduced deadly diseases. The report also notes President Trump’s executive order promoting fewer, more spaced-out vaccines and the spread of claims about the MMR vaccine, while medical experts reiterate that routine childhood vaccines are safe and effective.
A large study of 10 million American siblings across 569 disease categories finds birth order is associated with about 150 health conditions. First-borns show higher rates of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders (autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD) and several allergies, while second-borns have higher rates of migraines, shingles, substance-use disorders, and gastritis. The authors stress these are population-level correlations, not proof of causation, and note that insurance-claims data (not biology alone) and factors like parental attention, early microbial exposure, and maternal changes between pregnancies may influence the patterns. The work, by researchers at the University of Chicago and Columbia University, appeared in Nature Health and should be interpreted as a modest risk marker rather than a definitive predictor.
A study of 10 million U.S. siblings across 569 diseases found birth-order patterns: first-borns have higher rates of neurodevelopmental/psychiatric conditions (autism, ADHD, Tourette's, OCD) and allergies, while second-borns show more migraines, shingles, GI issues and substance-use disorders. The findings are correlations, not causation, and are limited by insurance-claims data and family dynamics; researchers describe birth order as a modest population-level risk marker rather than a precise predictor.
BBC fact-checks Trump's executive order reducing recommended childhood vaccines from 18 to 11 and proposing split MMR shots. The 72-injections figure is misleading, as vaccine requirements vary by state and the 72 count includes all doses by age 18 (including flu and COVID-19). A single MMR dose is 0.5ml. The CDC notes vaccines are generally safe and far safer than the diseases they prevent, and there is no proven link between vaccines and autism. WHO's comprehensive review found no causal link between vaccination and autism.
CNN fact-checks Trump’s White House remarks in which he again suggested a link between vaccines and autism, claimed the MMR vaccine is unsafe when given as a combined shot, and inflated vaccine doses and autism prevalence. Health experts from Johns Hopkins, University of Colorado, and autism groups, along with decades of international research, say there is no link between vaccines and autism, MMR is safe when given together, and that the numbers Trump cites are inaccurate. The article also notes the administration’s push to reduce vaccinations and that there is no new science supporting his claims.
President Trump signed an executive order calling for a reduced childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 core vaccines and proposing the MMR vaccine be split into separate shots. He argues this would give parents more choice, but health experts say there is no evidence that separating MMR is beneficial and delaying vaccines risks outbreaks. The order seeks federal-level changes but actual vaccine requirements remain state-level; critics from the AAP and lawmakers warn the move could undermine herd immunity and public health, while the CDC notes no demonstrated benefit to dividing MMR.
President Trump signed an executive order to overhaul the childhood vaccination schedule by challenging CDC guidance, proposing that the MMR vaccine be split into three separate shots and that vaccines be given at separate visits; it also moves several vaccines into high-risk or ‘shared clinical decision-making’ categories and empowers the attorney general to challenge conflicting state laws. The order has no immediate legal effect on the public and faces criticism from health experts who note vaccines are safe and do not cause autism, while noting that school vaccine requirements are set at the state level.
President Trump signed an executive order to reduce the routine childhood vaccine schedule to 11 shots, repeating a debunked link between vaccines and autism. The order would split the MMR vaccine into single-dose shots and directs the DOJ to investigate vaccine-exemption enforcement, even as health experts warn that more visits could increase missed immunizations amid rising measles cases and declining vaccination rates.
New research analyzing health data from over five million two-child families finds birth order is linked to different disease risks: first-borns have higher odds of neurodevelopmental conditions (ADHD and autism) and of food allergies and hay fever, while second-borns show higher odds of substance-use disorders and gastrointestinal conditions. A shorter gap between siblings may offer some protective effect for certain neuropsychiatric and allergic conditions. Experts caution these are population-level associations rather than causal links, and birth order is a non-modifiable, relatively weak predictor of individual risk.