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Excerpt

This issue of JADD provided many examples of how complex autism, behavior, and the brain are. Superimpose on this the variability that comes between individuals, with the life span and with the full range of IQs. Consider also that the brain and the human genome and all the processes connecting them to their expression in behavior within the environment are the most complex structures on the planet, and studies of autism do yet begin to address this level of complexity or that of the processes entailed. This issue reveals an encounter with the complexity which is a cause for celebration, not defeat or failure. It marks the transition to the next era of research when another level of complexity has been confronted and must now be integrated. Not surprisingly, the research methodology needed to address these issues is complex if findings are to be meaningful. Sample sizes must be much larger than current studies have been able to achieve. This means families must commit to participation in research in far greater numbers despite the challenges of daily life, if the future is to produce the promises for autism that science can deliver. …