Autism Speaks announces top 10 advances in autism research 2013

Each year Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, asks its science leadership and scientific advisory committee to consider the hundreds of studies that have been reported on this year in the organization's news column. From these, they selected the ten advances in autism research they saw as the most significant in 2013.

The year 2013 brought a number of advances in autism research. Many of the year's most important advances used new technologies and built on the foundation of knowledge established by years of investment in basic research.

Increasingly, there has been a shift toward research projects that delivered concrete advances in the prevention, diagnosis and personalized treatment of autism and its associated medical conditions. This progress also reflected the growing appreciation that, for some individuals, autism is a whole-body disorder.

"This year has offered us plenty of exciting and relevant science stories to discuss, making it incredibly difficult to narrow down to a top ten," said Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Rob Ring. "When it comes to scientific discovery in autism research, it just keeps getting better and better."

Here are Autism Speaks' Top Ten Advances in Autism Research 2013:

Provided by Autism Speaks