Since 2016, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the U.S. have joined SPARK. Many have shared their autism and research journeys with us. These family stories are about everyday life, triumphs, challenges, and why finding answers through SPARK’s autism research is important.
Researchers have taken notice of parental stress in families of children with autism. More than a few studies report that parents of children with autism experience more stress than parents of typical-developing children and parents of children with Down Syndrome.
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Nataly Cuzcu’s twin daughters were 11 months old when she first noticed that their development seemed to be moving backward.
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Caitlin and Chad Calder long suspected that their daughter Della had autism. But they didn’t get an official diagnosis until they learned she had a change in the ASXL3 gene.
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Carrie is one of the first SPARK participants to get a genetic result. Her mother, Lynn, says everything has changed and nothing has changed.
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A parent uses SPARK resources to help her son during a challenging time at school.
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The SCN2A gene has traditionally been linked to early-onset epilepsy. But new research suggests it might account for roughly 1 in 333 cases of autism.
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Testing new therapies for autism can be a challenge. Psychiatrist Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele reviews available treatments, outlines some promising options on the horizon and describes how to get involved in research.
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Kevin Pelphrey, director of the Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute at George Washington University, reflects on how having two children with autism has shaped his scientific career.
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John Smigle says that participating in typical activities, like boy scouts and baseball, has helped his son Christopher, who has autism, develop social skills.
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Discovering their son’s genetic diagnosis helps one family in many ways.
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