A study of 970 children born in farm-rich areas in California was published in Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers found that pregnant mothers living within one mile of crops treated with widely used organophosphate pesticides were 60% more likely to give birth to a child with autism. Most of the women lived in the Sacramento Valley.

Girls are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) later than boys, possibly because females exhibit less severe symptoms, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, April 28 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.

To study gender differences in age at diagnosis and compare symptom severity between boys and girls, researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md., analyzed data from the Institute’s Interactive Autism Network. This online registry includes almost 50,000 individuals and family members affected by ASD who work with researchers to better understand the nature of the disorder. In the registry, age of first diagnosis was available for 9,932 children, and 5,103 had completed the Social Responsiveness Scale, which identifies the presence and severity of social impairment.

A study found that children of obese mothers are three times more likely to develop autism by age 6 and four times more likely to develop ADHD. The researchers theorize that maternal obesity causes inflammation, which could affect foetus' development.

About one in 14 toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) no longer met the diagnostic criteria in elementary school, but most continued to have emotional/behavior symptoms and required special education supports, according to a study to be presented Sunday, April 26 at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.