By Claudia Tanner

Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) – characterised by avoiding everyday demands and expectations to an extreme extent – is increasingly, but not universally, accepted as a profile that is seen in some autistic people.

When Francesca Manca’s son Simon was diagnosed with autism, she felt some relief that this would mean she would get the right support for him.

Autism researchers are starting to think that autistic and non-autistic faces may “speak a different language” when conveying emotion. This could mean the “social difficulties” often associated with autism may, at least partly, result from differences in the facial expressions produced by autistic and non-autistic people. It means we may need to re-think the idea that autistic people have difficulties with expressing their emotions and instead consider that non-autistic people may have trouble reading them.

Following a series of scandals in the United Kingdom over people with autism being held against their will and mistreated in hospitals, a watchdog group has issued a legal challenge to the government.

The incidents highlight that the entire system of care for people on the spectrum is in need of an overhaul, the challengers say.

Keren MacLennan, University of Reading

Dan Carney

One of the most well-known psychological biases is the Dunning-Kruger effect: the tendency for individuals less skilled or knowledgeable in a particular area to overestimate their own performance. Now, a team of researchers from Miami University, Ohio, have offered the most robust evidence yet that this may apply to knowledge about autism — that what people think they know about the condition may not be that closely related to what they actually know.

Craig Goodall

Researcher Craig Goodall asked autistic pupils what they wanted from their teachers – and their answers surprised him

During my PhD research, autistic young people told me that mainstream education was a place they came to dread. 

Every inpatient with a learning disability or autism in a mental health hospital will have their case reviewed over the next 12 months.

All 2,250 patients with learning disabilities and autism who are inpatients in a mental health hospital will have their care reviewed over the next 12 months, the Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has announced today.

Moheb Costandi is a molecular and developmental neurobiologist, author and freelance science writer. He writes the blog Neurophilosophy, and his latest book is Neuroplasticity (2016). He lives in London.

Supported housing is falling outside remit of watchdog Care Quality Commission, say campaigners and MPs

James Tapper

Autistic people are at risk of abuse because they are forced to live in unregulated housing that is never inspected by care watchdogs, warn campaigners and MPs.