Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a relatively recent technology that has been FDA-approved for the treatment of depression and migraine with aura. TMS uses a magnetic field to stimulate specific areas of the brain. In recent years, there has been interest in...

A recent paper (Boukhris et al., 2015) raised once again the concern that women who take antidepressants during pregnancy are at increased risk for giving birth to a child who will be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This is not a new finding – a series of...

Hans Asperger is a forgotten genius whose rightful place in the history of autism was pre-empted by the wrong-headed, self-serving plagiarist, Leo Kanner. So goes the alternative narrative put forward by Steve Silberman in his fascinating account of the evolution of...

The etiology of autism has been an open question since the identification of the syndrome over 70 years ago. Leo Kanner (1943) wrote: “We must, then, assume that these children have come into the world with innate inability to form the usual, biologically provided...

A popular business program airing daily on public radio plays different intro music for the segment on the stock market, depending on how the markets have fared that day. On a good day we hear “We’re in the money” while a down market brings “Stormy weather.” However,...

Recently, the parent of a young adult with ASD brought to my attention a diagnostic instrument that has received some attention in the press, following a presentation at the American Psychiatric Association meeting in May. The Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE)...

The publication of DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) saw the introduction of a new diagnostic label into the psychiatric ‘bible’, “Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder” (S[P]CD; see Table 1). As we warily approach this new entity, we...

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) appeared in bookstores last week and pre-ordered copies arrived in the mail. For those who followed the DSM draft versions over the past year, the published Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic criteria...

While those of us afflicted by maleness have long been aware that we are, sadly, the weaker sex with respect to sociability and emotional acumen, only relatively recently have clinicians and researchers concluded that a similar pattern exists in people with ASD; a...