Autism in the News: Part V

It's been a while since the last instalment of our 'Autism in the News' series of blog articles but, by popular demand, it's back! Here we share some recent stories to have hit the headlines...

Autism & Board Games Link Responding to much anecdotal evidence that seems to suggest autistic individuals enjoy playing board games more than most, a research team made up of professionals from Edge Hill University and the University of Plymouth teamed up to try and prove that such a link exists. The findings of the research were published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders as well as in the American Journal of Play.?

The team surveyed 1,603 board game enthusiasts and found that 7% of them were autistic, contrasting with the fact that autistic people only make up around 1% of the general population. Interviews with the autistic players revealed that the 'rigid structure to proceedings with less need to make small talk' while playing board games helped to relieve social anxiety. The team concluded that 'the rules and structure involved are both stimulating and comforting'.?

Autism and the Gut Microbiome In what has been described as 'one of the broadest, most comprehensive studies of its kind yet conducted', the link between the gut microbiome and autism has been confirmed. Published in Nature Microbiology, the research was carried out by a team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

After analysing and sequencing samples of faecal matter from 1,627 children both without and with an autism diagnosis, the research team identified numerous bacteria, metabolic pathways, microbial genes, viruses, fungi and archaea that differed significantly between autistic and neurotypical children.?

Using machine learning algorithms to combine the 31 markers of data obtained resulted in an extremely good rate of diagnostic accuracy reaching as high as 88.6%. Though the researchers admitted to not yet being able to understand the link completely, they cited that the research, along with growing evidence from similar studies, would help to find 'new ways to both understand and diagnose autism'.

Ante4Autism Event Raises Over ￡127,000 Ante4Autism is a poker tournament which takes place each year to raise money for autism charities. The 16th edition of the event, which took place in Las Vegas recently, raised a remarkable $162,957 (￡127,615), breaking all fundraising records from previous Ante4Autism events. This bumper figure brought the total amount raised by the tournament over the past 16 years to a whopping $1,477,447 (￡1,157,025).?

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