The State of Pennsylvania recently received permission from the federal government to allow spending of Medicaid dollars on services catered specifically to autistic adults, and help them live more independently. Prior to this, there was nothing in line to help those adults past the age of 21. Spending of Medicaid dollars has always been allowed on children, but not adults until this was made possible.

In the May 22 isssue of Neuron magazine, researchers published their findings in a recent brain study finding that the betrayal of trust can be tracked and suppressed with the brain chemical oxytocin. Researchers are excited about this discovery as it may lead to a better neural understanding of disorders such as autism and phobias.

Families all over Florida today celebrated the passing of a bill yesterday requiring insurance companies to pay for autism treatments. Effective April 1st the bill will require large insurance group policies to cover behavioral therapies for autistic children, up to $36,000 a year with a lifetime maximum of $200,000.

The Early Autism Study, led by Faculty of Science psychology professor Mel Rutherford, has found an ability to detect autism in children as young as 9 months of age. The study revolves around using eye tracking technology that measures eye direction while babies look at faces, eyes, and bouncing balls on a computer screen.

Findings released on Friday provided evidence leaning toward a link in the autism/vaccine theory. Testing done on infant macaque monkeys showed that some, when administered the vaccines officially recommended by the CDC and the AAP, exhibited autism-like symptoms. These findings were presented at the recent International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) and described the biological changes and sometimes altered behavior in the vaccinated macaques.

Dr. Fernando Miranda believes that there is more to diagnosing a child with autism than sitting on the floor watching how they interact with toys and other children. He believes many of the clues to a true diagnosis lie in brain imaging.

Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the National Institute of Health, speaks out on the autism/vaccine theory and speaks out against many in her field. She notes that it is quite possible that a subset of individuals may indeed react badly to vaccines. In many ways, she feels the dismissal of any possible links to autism by vaccines is so far unfounded and irrational.

Modern video gaming has come a long way from the days of Pong. While being mostly used for entertainment, some games being created now serve a fundamental purpose. Many games are education based, the Nintendo Wii Fitness teaches puts it's players thru random physical fitness tests to build strength, and some graduating seniors at Rensselaer Polytecnic Institute's Class of 2008 have created a game that directly serves OUR ASD affected children. Called CapAbility Games Research Project created games specifically tailored to teaching independence skills.

Molecular Biologists have realized that RNAs, which are known as a "working copy" of DNA sequences, directly influence which genes make proteins and in some cases how much protein gets made. They also discovered that RNAs play a unique role in protecting the integrity of genetic material.