Breakthroughs in autism: the real progress, without the hype.

1. Autism may have biologically distinct subtypes

In July 2025, researchers at Princeton University and the Simons Foundation analyzed more than 5,000 children in the SPARK study and described four subtypes, each with different patterns of traits, development and genetic variation: Social and Behavioral Challenges, Mixed ASD with Developmental Delay, Moderate Challenges, and Broadly Affected.[1][2]

What it changes: it supports the idea that “autism” covers different biological stories, which may eventually make care more tailored. What it does not: there is no clinical test that assigns a subtype today.

2. Tools that support earlier diagnosis

EarliPoint, an eye-tracking assessment for children aged 16–30 months, received FDA authorization in 2023 to help clinicians diagnose and assess autism.[3] Tools like this aim to support, not replace, an expert clinical evaluation—and may help shorten long waits for assessment.

3. Better counting

The CDC’s 2025 surveillance report estimated that about 1 in 31 eight-year-olds in its monitoring sites had been identified with autism in 2022, up from 1 in 36 two years earlier.[4] Rising numbers largely reflect better identification and changing awareness; they also signal growing demand for services.

4. A narrow medication label

In March 2026 the FDA announced expanded use of leucovorin for cerebral folate transport deficiency in people with a confirmed FOLR1 variant. That is a specific, rare indication—not an approval to treat autism in general. See our full brief.

How to read the next headline

Ask: who was studied, what was measured, how large was the study, and has it been repeated? Our headline-reading guide walks through it.