What we've achieved so far Until we fully understand autism and which interventions improve the quality of life of autistic people and their families, we will continue to fund cutting edge research. Browse below a list of the milestones achieved by the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge: 2015-present 2016: Raised awareness about autism and employment (BBC2 Employable Me).2015: Demonstrating oxytocin increases eye-contact in autism.2015: Identifying elevated fetal steroid hormones in children who later develop autism. 2011-14 2014: First meta-analysis of typical sex differences in brain structure.2014: Confirming GABRB3 as a key gene in autism.2014: Molecular genetic study links mathematical ability and autism.2013: Identifying synaesthesia is more common in autism.2013: Opening of the Chitra Sethia Autism Centre, Cambridgeshire.2012: Linking FT to regional gray matter volume and functional activity in the typical brain.2011: Development of ‘red flags’ for autism (short AQs).2011: Elevated rates of autism linked to an IT-rich city (Eindhoven).2011: Zero Degrees of Empathy (Penguin)2011: Linking elevated androstenedione to autism2011: Elevated autistic traits linked to female-to-male transsexuals 2005-2010 2010: Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Facts (OUP)2009: Establishing autism as 1% of the population2009: Linking FT to autistic traits2007: The Transporters (DVD) (www.thetransporters.com)2006: The Adolescent AQ2006: Benefits of emotion recognition training demonstrated2006: Linking FT to empathy and systemizing2006: Role of Cannabinoid Receptor Gene (CNR1) in emotion perception and neural activity2006: The broader autism phenotype in parents using fMRI2006: The 'Assortative Mating/hyper-systemizing' theory of autism2005: Development of a diagnostic method for adults with Asperger Syndrome (Adult Asperger Assessment (AAA))2005: The EMB theory at the biological level (Science)2005: Linking FT to social development and narrow interests2005: Dysconnectivity with amygdala in autism demonstrated 2000-2004 2004: 'Prenatal Testosterone in Mind' (MIT Press)2003: Mind Reading DVD for teaching emotion recognition (jkp.com)2003: The Empathy Quotient (EQ) and Systemizing Quotient (SQ)2003: The Essential Difference (Penguin)2003: Amygdala lesions impair ToM demonstrated2002: The prenatal testosterone theory of autism2002: The 'empathizing-systemizing (E-S)' theory of sex differences2002: Linking foetal testosterone (FT) to eye-contact and vocabulary development2002: The 'extreme male brain' (EMB) theory of autism2001: Dimensionalizing autistic traits on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)2001: Linking mathematical talent to AQ2001: Prevalence of Asperger Syndrome in childhood reported as 1 in 166.2001: Understanding Other Minds-Second edition (OUP)2001: The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test - Revised2000: Establishment of the Cambridge Lifespan Asperger Syndrome Service (CLASS)2000: Neonatal sex differences in social interest 1995-1999 1999: Establishing the rate of Tourette Syndrome in autism1999: The amygdala theory of the brain basis of ToM in autism1999: Reliability of early diagnosis of autism established1998: Superior attention to detail in autism demonstrated1997: The extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism1997: Teaching children with autism to mind-read (Wiley).1997: The broader autism phenotype identified in parents1997: Autism linked to parents or siblings who are high 'systemizers'1997: The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test1996: Population study of the CHAT1995: Mindblindness (MIT Press). 1990-1994 1994: The orbito-frontal cortex (OFC) theory of the brain basis of ToM in autism1993: Understanding Other Minds (OUP)1992: Gaze-direction as a cue to ToM identified1992: Lowering the age of diagnosis of autism to 18 months old in 'baby sibs' using the Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) 1985-1989 1989: Joint-attention recognized as a key developmental precursor to ToM1989: The 'specific developmental delay' hypothesis of autism1988: Pragmatic impairment demonstrated1987: Pretend play deficits demonstrated1985: The 'theory of mind' (ToM) hypothesis of autism