UNSW scientists have discovered a link between autism and genetic changes in some segments of DNA that are responsible for switching on genes in the brain.

UNSW scientists have discovered a link between autism and genetic changes in some segments of DNA that are responsible for switching on genes in the brain.

The finding is the result of a world-first study of the human brain that identified more than 100 of these DNA segments, known as enhancers, which are thought to play a vital role in normal development by controlling gene activity in the brain.

The overwhelming sense of feeling ‘different’ is familiar to many of the 230,000 Australians living with autism. But how does that actually play out as an adult in day-to-day life? 

A first of its kind UNSW-led study is aiming to better understand how adults with autism experience their world.

The overwhelming sense of feeling ‘different’ is familiar to many of the 230,000 Australians living with autism. But how does that actually play out in day-to-day life?

The trial of the $22 billion Nation­al Disability Insurance Scheme in South Australia has twice as many eligible clients as predicted, is 12 months behind schedule and is such a disaster that the federal minister responsible priv­ately calls it the country’s “worst” pilot of the scheme.

The agency delivering the NDIS has sought to hide the exten­t of the overrun in the state by releasing figures it knows are out of date.

A teenager with Asperger’s syndrome has given an important lesson to a gang of bullies who beat him up.

Rather than pressing charges, he recorded a 20-minute video about his condition for them to watch and learn about life from his point of view.

Gavin Joseph was tricked by a group of boys into thinking that they wanted to be friends with him, but they then violently attacked him because they felt his condition makes him ‘weird’ and ‘creepy’. 

Many people tend to think of autism as a male disorder, but emerging research shows that girls often have different symptoms which cause them to slip through the net. These girls and women are often misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed altogether. Lynne Malcolm and Olivia Willis report.

With the exception of a few notable women around the world, autism is widely considered to be a disorder that affects men.

A disabled young boy was "punched" in the throat by a Jiu Jitsu trainer and repeatedly restrained at a specialist school in Victoria, court documents show.

Swedish researchers suggest that outside factors, from diagnosis to socioeconomics, may have inflated reports that suggest rates of autism are spiking.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s March 2014 report showing a 30 percent rise in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) over the span of a few years triggered widespread concern over one simple question: what is the cause?