Lyme disease is carried and transmitted by ticks, especially in the northeastern US. There has been some concern that children with autism have higher rates of Lyme disease.

Autism runs in families, past research has shown. But even when a family risk is known, children are not usually diagnosed with autism until they are toddlers.

Some medications are linked to disorders such as autism or to birth defects when taken during pregnancy. However, that risk must also be balanced against the medication's benefits.

Dozens of studies have debunked the one study that falsely tried to link vaccines to autism. Yet some parents remain concerned about possible negative effects of children's vaccines.

The causes of autism increasingly appear to come from a variety of different risk factors. One of those risk factors may be related to the childhood experiences of the children's mothers.

A father's older age has already been linked to a risk for autism in children in past studies. Now researchers have turned their attention to grandfathers.

Depression, autism and schizophrenia have very different symptoms. But new genetic research suggests that they may share a root cause.

When walking the dog, it often seems easier to chat with strangers. Researchers thought animals might also help kids who had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with their social skills.

Past research has shown that autism risk was higher when mothers were sick during pregnancy. New research sheds some light on how illness might be affecting autism risk.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is fairly common in people with autism. With that in mind, researchers wanted to see if OCD treatments could be helpful for patients who also have autism.