By Jim Shelton, Register Staff
NEW HAVEN In a major step for autism research, the Yale School of Medicine is embarking on a five-year, $15 million push to develop new diagnostic tools and treatment protocols for autism in girls.
Its part of an overall $100 autism research project announced recently by the National Institutes for Health. Preliminary work already has begun, and Yale researchers expect to start working with patients by December.
This is a game changer, said Kevin Pelphrey of the Yale Child Study Center, who is director of the Yale Autism Center for Excellence and principal investigator for the project. Its a crucial time. If we can put all this research together, I think were going to do something fantastic. Ill be upset if we dont have some kind of treatment to offer.
Autism, a disorder that can impair socialization, communication, learning and behavior, affects one in 88 children in the U.S. It is diagnosed more often today than in previous generations, Pelphrey explained, owing to more standardized diagnostic methods and a greater awareness of autism by physicians.
Its not a true increase in the number of kids having autism, Pelphrey said. Were much better at picking it up now.
Yales work will focus on how autism affects girls. Roughly one in 250 girls in the U.S. develops autism, compared with one in 50 boys.
Due in part to the disparity in numbers, relatively little is known about autism in girls. Yet a small, but growing body of research seems to indicate that autism in girls is distinct both genetically and in terms of behavior.
For one thing, girls superior socialization skills appear to mask the effects of milder forms of autism, Pelphrey explained. This means girls often arent diagnosed with autism unless they have a more severe case.
It could be that a new diagnostic tool is needed for girls, based more on biology than on clinical observation, Pelphrey said. When girls are diagnosed with autism now, its much more devastating, both in their brain and whats going on in their environment. My hunch is more girls are actually affected by autism in a more subtle way, but they arent diagnosed.
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Yale receives $15M grant for 5-year study on autism in girls