Tests for Autism? Companies Are Selling Them, but Research Is Still Scant

By: Azeen Ghorayshi — 7 January 2026 at 15:07

Backers claim the tests can predict a child’s risk of autism using a strand of hair or a mother’s blood, but critics say they are not ready for the market.

N T

Should the Autism Spectrum Be Split Apart?

By: Azeen Ghorayshi — 1 October 2025 at 13:51

Families of people with severe autism say the repeated expansion of the diagnosis pushed them to the sidelines. A new focus on the disorder has opened the way for them to argue their cause.

Jodie Singer, 28, is severely autistic, speaking only in short, repetitive phrases and requiring round-the-clock care.

N T

Trump’s Message on Tylenol Rankles People With Autism

By: Sonia A. Rao — 23 September 2025 at 18:35

Some welcomed more research and possible new treatments. But the administration’s embrace of unproven science and depiction of autism as a “crisis” has sown deep mistrust.

President Trump and his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have angered some people with autism by calling it a crisis.

N T

New York to Pay $10 Million in Woman’s Death After Abuse in Group Home

By: Hurubie Meko and Benjamin Weiser — 19 December 2024 at 23:11

The state in 2019 paid a $2 million abuse settlement. In retaliation, staff members withheld the victim’s medicine, and she died in a hospital.

The allegations of what occurred within the walls of the brick building that housed 24 developmentally disabled residents were staggering.

N T

An Autistic School Board Member Sued for Discrimination. She Won $10.

By: Claire Fahy — 1 February 2024 at 08:00

Sarah Hernandez said her school board colleagues discriminated against her by failing to accommodate her disability. She hopes her victory, despite the small payout, leads to change.

A jury sided with Sarah Hernandez, but the damages she received were nominal. She hopes to run for office again.

N T

Despite Bans, Disabled Women Are Still Being Sterilized in Europe

By: Sarah Hurtes — 26 November 2023 at 00:22

Governments have declared the practice a human rights violation. But they have made exceptions that are divisive among parents, doctors and social workers.

At age 20, Kristin Smith’s mother arranged for her to have a tubal ligation.

N T

He Admired Her ‘Grit and Grace.’ She Was Struck by His Kindness.

By: Valeriya Safronova — 25 August 2023 at 17:37

Bri Scalesse, model and disability advocate, knew Sheldon Nguyen was different right away. “We knew we could spend forever together,” she said, after quarantining together during the pandemic.

Bri Scalesse and Sheldon Nguyen, who met through a dating app in 2019, were married June 2 at Rule of Thirds, a Japanese restaurant and events space in Brooklyn.