We hope you’ve had a great week so far, but we’ve got something to make it even better – a new edition of The Autism Digest, carefully curated to bring you a fresh dose of what’s happening in the world of Autism.

This edition highlights research examining the role of a particular gene in brain development and social communication, as well as new training for law enforcement officers to improve interactions with Autistic individuals. We’ve also featured some whimsical women creating magic for their community and encouraging autistic kids to get out into nature.

In the spotlight this week is an Autistic researcher who persisted through challenges to achieve an outstanding career milestone, outlining her journey and how the support she received from her dedicated supervisor helped her along the way.

An important note – things are changing for The Autism Digest so that we can bring you the best quality content. We’re now moving to a monthly cadence, so the next edition will be posted in the first week of April.

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Latest Research and News

Recent publications

🧠 Synthetic brain studies reveal gene involved in socialization : GTF2I is a gene that has previously been implicated in conditions that affect socialization and communication. By growing synthetic human brain cells with this gene removed, researchers found that GTF2I impacts brain cell death and the way brain cells communicate with each other. These changes may impact brain development, and the authors hope this information will help identify new treatments for Autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Link to article.

📱Building Autistic Community and Identity Online: This study analysed TikTok videos with >1M views posted with #autism further understand the type of content about Autism that people are exposed to online. The researchers found that ‘features of Autism’ was the most common topic (39.7%), and the least common was positive social interactions (5.2%). Videos that recounted peoples’ experiences were the most common format (61.4%). This highlights that most of the widespread information about Autism on TikTok is about personal experiences with the condition. Link to article.

🩺 Accuracy of initial diagnostic impressions in Autistic children: 55 toddlers were seen by clinicians who were asked to determine if the child was Autistic or non-Autistic after 5 minutes of assessing the child’s behavior. Futher assessments were completed to reach a definitive diagnosis for each child. It was found that 63% of the Autistic children were correctly initially diagnosed, but 37% were missed on the initial assessment. This highlights that more extensive assessment is necessary for some children to achieve an accurate diagnosis. Link to article.

New in News

🍪 Protein bar sales to support Autistic nonprofits: Plant-based nutrition company GoMacro® have pledged to donate a proportion of March sales from their Kids MacroBars to nonprofits supporting Autistic individuals. The charities include Autism Society and Autism Tree. Link to article.

👮‍♀️ Autism awareness training now mandatory for Utah police: The training program will help equip law enforcement officers to interact with and respond to incidents involving Autistic people. The modules are run on a virtual simulator and have been co-designed with medical and education experts, alongside input from families with Autistic children. Link to article.

💰 NIH grants $2.4M to furthering research for neurodiversity: The grant was awarded to Professor Iryna Ethel at the University of California, Riverside. Her future projects will focus on understanding the role that certain brain cells called astrocytes have on the development of neuropsychiatric conditions such as Autism and ADHD. Learn more.

Featured

Autistic researcher awarded PhD

On February 22, Lizan Kivitz successfully defended her dissertation in the field of Electrical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, earning her the well-deserved title of Doctor.

In a recent interview, Lizan described realizing she was different to her peers in her early school life, saying “I didn’t understand why two passing teachers in an empty hallway would say “Hi!” to each other”, and that she “didn’t talk much and preferred to do things alone”.

Lizan’s PhD supervisor expressed that he had initial reservations about taking her on as a candidate. He knew that she was capable of doing amazing research, but was concerned about whether or not she would be able to handle the intensity of the role, and whether his supervision style would best fit her needs.

Over 7 years, the two have grown a great relationship, and worked together to create accomodations for Lizan that helped her achieve her goals. These included access to a quiet meeting room, agreed-upon schedule, and exercise breaks at lunch time to work through overstimulation and decompress during the day.

After practising presenting in front of groups and slowly building up the skills to engage with an audience, both Lizan and her supervisor are both proud of her successful achievement, as well as her personal and professional growth. Her story is an inspiring and motivating tale of overcoming challenges, collaborating, and building understanding to reach new heights.

Read more here.

Community Corner

😓 I didn’t realise what ‘doing my best’ really meant: Instagram user and Autistic advocate @neurodivergentlou shared a post about how their literal interpretation of the phrase as well as their autistic traits influenced how they worked and completed tasks, to the point of mental and physical exhaustion. Read more.

🧚 Whimsical idea helps Autistic kids explore nature: Volunteers in New Jersey, now affectionately known as ‘Fairy Trail Keepers’, make tiny fairy cottages by hand. The initiative was started to encourage young kids and children with special needs to use their creativity and imagination, and to spend time outside and learn about their natural environment. Read more.

🦋 Appreciation for an Autistic artist: Autistic TikToker @soundoftheforest shares many posts on their account about their special interest in butterflies. The creator shared footage of the moment they received a pair of handcrafted wearable butterfly wings, and their joy in this video is infectious! The amazing creation was from artist @MoonMoth, also an Autistic creator. View post.

Resources and Tools

🗣️ FREE resources: Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) has a comprehensive library of digital and printable resources for Autistic people and to improve awareness and understanding about Autism for neurotypical people. Find resources here.

📖 Autism Hub webpage: A knowledge base for current information about Autism, including live feeds of the latest clinical trials and publications, news articles, community stories, and more. Visit the Autism Hub.

📱 Health tracking: Human Health is a free mobile app that helps you track Autism symptoms and treatments. Download the app here.

💬 Support groups: You can find a list of Autism support groups and organizations on the US Autism Association website. Link to list.

Inspiration and Motivation