30/07/2025
🧠 Autism Isn't Just One Condition—It's Four, Says New Research
A groundbreaking study is changing the way we understand autism.
Researchers from Princeton University and the Simons Foundation have identified four distinct subtypes of autism, each with its own biological and clinical features. By analyzing data from over 5,000 children in the SPARK autism cohort, the team used a person-centered, data-driven approach to classify autism based on shared developmental, behavioral, and medical traits.
The four newly defined subtypes are:
1. Social and Behavioral Challenges
2. Mixed ASD with Developmental Delay
3. Moderate Challenges
4. Broadly Affected
Each of these types presents unique genetic signatures and developmental timelines—some showing signs only later in childhood. This reveals that autism isn't a single disorder, but rather a spectrum of distinct biological conditions.
🔬 The implications are huge.
This research opens the door for:
- More personalized interventions
- Better developmental monitoring
- Precision medicine approaches in treating autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders.
This marks a major shift in autism research and offers hope for more tailored, effective support for individuals on the spectrum.
📄 Published in: Nature Genetics, July 9, 2025
Study title: Decomposition of phenotypic heterogeneity in autism reveals underlying genetic programs
Lead author: Aviya Litman et al.
