When it comes to a beat such as autism that is the subject of so much media interest, it would seem that there is little fresh ground to cover. But SFARI.org published a number of stories in 2014 in which I tried to look beyond what we think we know about autism, and found surprisingly rich narratives. A story on early intervention for autism digs into what ’early’ intervention really means and wrestles with the contradictions inherent in trying to intervene before autism can even be reliably diagnosed. Stories on autism characteristics in girls and on suicidal thoughts in people with autism shed light on relatively little-known, even ignored, aspects of the disorder. And a story on genetics-first studies of autism focuses not only on a flashy new research technique, but on the people — both researchers and study participants — who make studies using that approach possible.
