Top Ten Autism Research Advances of 2012

In 2012, autism dominated headlines as never before. Public awareness skyrocketed with new updates on autisms estimated prevalence (1 in 88) and costs to society ($137 billion per year nationally). Controversy roiled around proposed changes to how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will be diagnosed in the years ahead. Behind the headlines or at least off the front page the field of autism research experienced a significant growth in the number of publications and scientists entering the field. In recent years, the field has drawn hundreds of talented scientists from other areas of science. In 2012, we saw many of these teams publishing important findings that confirmed and built on the pioneering discoveries of previous years.