We are delighted to bring back Dr. Alycia Halladay, Chief Science Officer of the Autism Science Foundation, who we first featured way back in Episode 4. Alycia and host Jill Escher debate some of the more recent developments in autism research, including studies on genetics, prevalence, early intervention, and ... TikTok! It's a long episode and a bit "in the weeds" on some pretty technical topics but we hope you find it thought-provoking. First they discuss a new paper that probes the role of "common genetic variants" in autism risk, and Jill expresses her dissatisfaction with the assumptions underlying the study. Prevalence is rising, and Alycia says it's not just one thing driving the increase. Early interventions show some promise in improving functioning in young autistic children, but not in overcoming autism. And, surprise (not), Tik Tok is full of autism misinformation....Links:

The contributions of rare inherited and polygenic risk to ASD in multiplex families https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2215632120
The earlier the better: An RCT of treatment timing effects for toddlers on the autism spectrum https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13623613231159153
Building Community and Identity Online: A Content Analysis of Highly Viewed #Autism TikTok Videos https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/aut.2023.0019
ASF Podcast - Podcast: Tik-Tok for autism information? Nope https://autismsciencefoundation.org/resources/podcast-tik-tok-for-autism-information-nope/
Meet Alycia: https://autismsciencefoundation.org/teams/dr-alycia-halladay/