Stockholm conference to present new findings on autism

[PRESS RELEASE 20 April 2012] New research on autism will be presented at a large international conference in Stockholm on 26-27 April. Considerable progress has been made in the field over the past years; for instance, much more is now known about the hereditary causes and environmental factors that affect the development of the autistic spectrum.

This has made it possible for more people with autism to have their condition identified earlier and to be given the help and treatment they need. The Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment (SBU) recently declared that more research needs to be done on the most effective types of intervention, an issue that will be addressed at the conference.

Another theme is the new DSM5 diagnostic criteria which are set to come into force next year and the possible implications of the proposed changes. An earlier set of criteria are applied in Sweden and many other countries in the West to diagnose the syndrome. The conference will also be addressing gastrointestinal aspects of the autism spectrum, the importance of functional diagnostics, and the joint intervention of medical and social care for people with the condition.

Leading scientists in the field will be participating, including Professor Sally Rogers from the UC Davis M.I.N.D Institute in the USA, Dr Timothy Michael Buie, paediatrician and gastroenterologist from Boston, as well as professors Christopher Gillberg from Gothenburg University (and elsewhere) and Sven Bölte from Karolinska Institutet.

Journalists are invited to cover the conference and interview its participants:

• Thursday 26 April, 9.30am-5.30pm and Friday 27 April, 8.30am4.30pm.
• City Conference Centre, Folkets Hus, Barnhusgatan 12-14, Stockholm.

• Programme

The "Focus on autism" conference is arranged by the following organisations, all of which are part of or linked to the Stockholm County Council: Handikapp & Habilitering, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Paediatric Medicine, Sachsska children's hospital at Stockholm South General Hospital and the Adult Psychiatric Clinic in Stockholm. Other arrangers include: Stockholm University's Department of Special Education, the Autism and Asperger's Association, the Stockholm Autism and Asperger's Society, Attention Stockholm County and the Centre of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND) at Karolinska Institutet.

To contact the researchers or to request further information, contact: