I read in the newspaper today that there may be a breakthrough in the understanding of possible causes to Autism. The research is made by a Swedish-French research group who have found a genetically based dysfunction in the brain.
It is the internal communication system of the brain that seems to be hampered in these cases. The author describe it as if you get access to the Internet, but can only reach one single page on the webb. You can’t reach out.
Hopefully this will also result in a treatment. Experiments on rats have shown promising results, and some initial tests with humans do reflect these results, although there is of course still a long way to go before autism can be treated, or even cured.
As far as I can understand the article, not all types of autism are caused by this genetic deficiencies, so there might still be autistic variations that will not be helped by this. Still it is a very promising research.
Great news! In the meantime, it is very nice to see that awareness is raising and some experiences are being adapted to include as many of us as possible, like this one: http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/event/5779/the-lion-king-autism-friendly-performance
I think this is not exactly the same study but I would say it is related: http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-news/study-provides-new-clues-oxytocin-autism-connection (it includes a link to the researchers report). I find very interesting not only the findings in themselves but the way the treatment was tested: just a nasal spray.