(NEW YORK, N.Y., November 26, 2012) – Autism Speaks Chief
Science Officer Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D. describes how the
dramatic progress in autism research has paralleled increased
recognition of autism’s prevalence and financial impact in the
December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry published
on line today. “This issue of the journal features three
articles on autism,” she writes in her editorial. “A decade ago,
the journal published about the same number of autism articles
per year.” Dr. Dawson also notes that, while the funding for
autism research has dramatically increased over the last decade,
it hasn’t kept pace with the increasing scale of the public
health challenges posed by autism. Despite an increase in
research and funding, “we have not yet fully described the
causes of ASD or developed effective medical treatments for it,”
Dr. Dawson writes. “[This issue’s] articles point to an urgent
need for more autism funding. We especially need more research
on prenatal and early postnatal brain dev