Research, debate, and resources on autism, HIE, and the labels we use — from the memoir by Daniel Dow. https://hefeedsdinosaurs.com/ 2026-03-23T02:57:04.930830+00:00 Daniel Dow https://hefeedsdinosaurs.com/favicon.ico https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1188053/full 2026-03-23T02:57:04.930830+00:00

2023 — Frontiers in Psychology. Historical overview of how autism's diversity has been framed as both a scientific challenge and an opportunity for reclassification.

Daniel Dow https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330251348554 2026-03-23T02:57:04.757526+00:00

Russell et al., 2025 — Autism in Adulthood. Draws parallels between feminist identity politics and autistic identity — the label is a tool for collective action.

Daniel Dow https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635690/full 2026-03-23T02:57:04.551756+00:00

Leadbitter et al., 2021 — Frontiers in Psychology. Argues the autistic community's self-advocacy depends on a shared identity under the autism label.

Daniel Dow https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aur.3105 2026-03-23T02:57:04.304641+00:00

Davies et al., 2024 — Autism Research. Finds positive autistic identity is associated with better mental health, supporting the value of the diagnostic label.

Daniel Dow https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09687599.2016.1221666 2026-03-23T02:57:04.098245+00:00

Runswick-Cole et al., 2016 — Disability & Society. Examines how the autism label has become central to identity, community, and political mobilization.

Daniel Dow https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13534 2026-03-23T02:57:03.870515+00:00

Pellicano & den Houting, 2022 — JCPP. Calls for autism research to center autistic perspectives and the neurodiversity paradigm.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28524462/ 2026-03-23T02:57:03.701299+00:00

Baron-Cohen, 2017 — Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Argues autism reflects natural neurological variation, not disorder, and the label enables rights-based advocacy.

Daniel Dow https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-026-00601-z 2026-03-23T02:57:03.504501+00:00

2026 — Nature Mental Health. Argues heterogeneity is so extreme that each autistic brain may be unique, challenging the coherence of a single diagnostic category.

Daniel Dow https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1180981/full 2026-03-23T02:57:03.215670+00:00

2023 — Frontiers in Psychiatry. Questions whether autism constitutes a valid biological category given the vast number of risk factors and lack of neurobiological validity.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5360849/ 2026-03-23T02:57:03.004318+00:00

Lai et al., 2014 — Neuroscience Bulletin. Proposes reframing ASDs as 'the autisms' to account for multiple etiologies and distinct clinical entities.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34077611/ 2026-03-23T02:57:02.822233+00:00

Mottron, 2021 — Autism Research. Calls for abandoning the spectrum approach in research in favor of prototypical autism definitions.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12678725/ 2026-03-23T02:57:02.654981+00:00

Mottron et al., 2025 — Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. Argues the spectrum framework has diluted the diagnosis to near-meaninglessness and advocates for a categorical prototype.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9751779/ 2026-03-23T02:57:02.484837+00:00

Siegel, 2022 — Frontiers in Psychiatry. Argues autism is not a unitary biological or clinical entity and proposes endophenotype-based reclassification.

Daniel Dow https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-020-0748-y 2026-03-23T02:57:02.314313+00:00

Mottron & Bherer, 2020 — Molecular Psychiatry. Argues the limitless variety of presentations under one diagnosis poorly serves intervention planning and research.

Daniel Dow https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/128/2/344/30617/Perinatal-and-Neonatal-Risk-Factors-for-Autism-A 2026-03-23T02:57:02.090451+00:00

Gardener et al., 2011 — Pediatrics. Meta-analysis of 40 studies finding birth asphyxia/hypoxia significantly associated with autism risk.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16417661/ 2026-03-23T02:57:01.929871+00:00

Badawi et al., 2006 — Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Children with neonatal encephalopathy were 5.9x more likely to be diagnosed with ASD by age 5.

Daniel Dow https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220672 2026-03-23T02:57:01.676750+00:00

Wade et al., 2022 — American Journal of Psychiatry. The only randomized controlled trial of foster care vs. institutional care, examining causal effects on recovery from severe deprivation.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18093025/ 2026-03-23T02:57:01.485475+00:00

Rutter et al., 2007 — JCPP. Follow-up at age 11–12 confirming quasi-autism in >10% of children deprived for longer than 6 months.

Daniel Dow https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-019-0344-8 2026-03-23T02:57:01.209216+00:00

Grove et al., 2019 — Nature Genetics. Landmark GWAS meta-analysis of 18,381 ASD individuals identifying five genome-wide-significant loci.

Daniel Dow https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1159F 2026-03-23T02:57:00.996425+00:00

Kaufmann et al., 2017 — Pediatrics. ~50% of males and ~20% of females with FXS met DSM-5 criteria for ASD.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25738232/ 2026-03-23T02:57:00.828332+00:00

Colvert et al., 2015 — JAMA Psychiatry. UK twin study finding heritability of 56–95% depending on ASD measure used.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4440679/ 2026-03-23T02:57:00.579435+00:00

Hallmayer et al., 2011 — Archives of General Psychiatry. Challenged prior high heritability estimates, finding larger shared environmental component than expected.

Daniel Dow https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2654804 2026-03-23T02:57:00.362214+00:00

Sandin et al., 2017 — JAMA. Large population study estimating ASD heritability at 83%, based on over 2 million Swedish children.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4996332/ 2026-03-23T02:57:00.109071+00:00

Tick et al., 2016 — Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Meta-analysis finding heritability estimates of 64–91%, with MZ concordance of 88%.

Daniel Dow https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30045-4/fulltext 2026-03-23T02:56:59.955270+00:00

Sonuga-Barke et al., 2017 — The Lancet. English and Romanian Adoptees study: extended deprivation (>6 months) linked to persistent autism features.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12123166/ 2026-03-23T02:56:59.789022+00:00

Rodriguez-Perez et al., 2025 — Autism Research. Direct comparison of deprivation-related autism with community-diagnosed autism.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10476691/ 2026-03-23T02:56:59.563797+00:00

Sonuga-Barke et al., 2023 — Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Long-term follow-up of deprivation-related quasi-autism into adulthood.

Daniel Dow https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10357161/ 2026-03-23T02:56:59.381738+00:00

Rutter et al., 1999 — Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. Landmark study finding 12% of Romanian adoptees showed quasi-autistic features vs. 0% in controls.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC548305/ 2026-03-23T02:56:59.163757+00:00

Reddy, 2005 — BMC Medical Genetics. Examines chromosomal abnormalities and Fragile X in ASD populations.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2954865/ 2026-03-23T02:56:58.988663+00:00

Hagerman et al., 2010 — Molecular Autism. FXS is the most common single-gene cause of ASD, with 30–60% of FXS patients meeting ASD criteria.

Daniel Dow https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50187-0 2026-03-23T02:56:58.777902+00:00

2023 — Scientific Reports. Long-term developmental outcomes including neurodevelopmental diagnoses in HIE survivors.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7377542/ 2026-03-23T02:56:58.498998+00:00

Finder et al., 2020 — Neonatology. Found that children with moderate to severe HIE had significantly elevated ASD screening rates.

Daniel Dow https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10979301/ 2026-03-23T02:56:58.317793+00:00

Kromm et al., 2024 — Pediatrics. Systematic review of neurodevelopmental outcomes after HIE, including autism spectrum problems.

Daniel Dow https://www.americanbrainfoundation.org 2026-03-23T02:56:58.141801+00:00

Funds research on brain diseases and disorders, including neurodevelopmental conditions

Daniel Dow https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism 2026-03-23T02:56:57.930908+00:00

Trusted government source for screening, diagnosis, and treatment guidance

Daniel Dow https://colorofautism.org 2026-03-23T02:56:57.766098+00:00

Culturally competent resources focused on Black families and children with autism

Daniel Dow https://www.aane.org 2026-03-23T02:56:57.482193+00:00

Support, community, and advocacy across the lifespan

Daniel Dow https://sparkforautism.org 2026-03-23T02:56:57.296249+00:00

Research participation and educational content from the Simons Foundation

Daniel Dow https://autisticadvocacy.org 2026-03-23T02:56:57.062618+00:00

Run by autistic people; an important voice for understanding the community's own perspective

Daniel Dow https://researchautism.org 2026-03-23T02:56:56.852125+00:00

Applies research to real-life challenges faced by autistic individuals and their families

Daniel Dow https://autismsociety.org 2026-03-23T02:56:56.648046+00:00

Grassroots network with local chapters and a national helpline

Daniel Dow https://www.autismspeaks.org 2026-03-23T02:56:56.383181+00:00

One of the largest autism organizations; strong resources for newly diagnosed families

Daniel Dow https://nathanielshope.org 2026-03-23T02:56:56.166878+00:00

Nathaniel’s Hope celebrates kids with special needs (our VIPs) as well as educates and equips communities and churches to provide FREE respite care and programs to enrich the lives of VIP families. Our programs are designed to provide hope and practical assistance to VIP kids of all ages and their families. They also give Buddies an opportunity to invest in the lives of VIPs!

Daniel Dow https://hiehelpcenter.org 2026-03-23T02:56:55.895858+00:00

Comprehensive guide for HIE families, including associated conditions like autism and cerebral palsy

Daniel Dow https://hopeforhie.org 2026-03-23T02:56:55.714100+00:00

Hope for HIE began as a virtual network of parents seeking to connect after their children had been diagnosed with HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy). Since beginning on Facebook in 2010, the network has grown to serve thousands of families worldwide.

Daniel Dow