Disorders of the Developing and Aging Brain: Autism and Alzheimer's on the Web Archive Collection

This collection was created in 2014 in an attempt to document and provide researchers with a representative snapshot of Internet materials available on the topics of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Alzheimer's Disease. The websites crawled are not an exhaustive list of web resources available at the time of collection, but rather a curated sample, representing different facets of the diseases' impacts.

Websites were crawled between January and March 2014 using the Archive-It tool, a subscription-based service of the Internet Archive.

The autism blog of Seattle Children's Hospital provides readers with an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder-related developments and provides resources for patients and caregivers.

The National Autism Association, a parent-run 501c(3), is one of the leading autism advocacy and education groups in the nation. Their website includes information about autism writ large, treatment, and support, among other things.

Another of the leading American non-profits that addresses autism, the Autism Society, has extensive information about autism now, including information on symptoms, diagnosis, causes, and facts and statistics.

Autism Speaks is one of the main US-based, autism non-profits.

This publication, put out and maintained by the National Institute of Mental Health is an excellent guide to Autism Spectrum Disorder for parents.

This article from the popular New York Magazine discusses the expanding diagnoses of "Autism Spectrum Disorder" in long-form journalism.

Written by a single mother in the Los Angeles area, "Autism Day By Day" chronicles her life as the caregiver to her 15 year old autistic son, Nick. The blog is from the perspective of the mother of a pubescent child with autism and the challenges that come along with it.

A Diary of a Mom author Jess is a Boston-area parent with two daughters, one neurotypical and one autistic. The blog chronicles her experiences raising both children with her husband and the special challenges presented by her younger daughter's autism.

This blog, written by parents of Kate, an autistic girl in the UK, documents the experiences of both Kate's mother and father, and tells the detailed story of her diagnosis.

Susan Senator's autistic son is now in his early 20s, and her blog is from the perspective of the caregiver of a young adult with autism.

Written by a school media specialist with two children (one neurotypical, one with ASD), the author blogs about life with a young child on the spectrum. She also includes reviews of books and resources for parents and caregivers.

Autism Daddy, an anonymous blogger, has a 10 year old son with severe, non-verbal autism. His blog provides the unique perspective of a primary caregiver father, and the caregiver to a child with "classic" autism. In addition to blogging about his son, he also writes about the effects of having a special needs child on marriage and other relationships.

The self-described "Aspie" (person with Asperger's) blogger is in her late teens and recently started at college. Her blog provides a front-row seat to the challenges of being a teenager with Asperger's who is just starting to live independently.

This blog is written by a young, autistic woman about her experiences and advocacy. She is a self-advocate and deeply involved in the larger autism advocacy community.

The NatKat blog is writing by a young woman with Autism Spectrum Disorder who began college in 2013. The blog chronicles her life as an autism patient and advocate, as well as college student and young adult.

Blogger Matt Friedman is an Asperger's advocate and cartoonist. He is a young man with Asperger's, and his blog is filled with reflections on ASD policy and experiences, and his own original drawings about the subject.

Written by a young adult with mild autism/Asperger's, this blog features essays related to many aspects of life with autism and clearly shows the perspective of someone with it.

The research page of the Autism Society's website aggregates some current research around two of the more promising areas in autism research: the Treatment Guided Research Initiative, and the Environmental Health Initiative.

The research on the CDC's Autism Spectrum Disorder Research and Tracking page is fed by a CDC surveillance monitoring system for relevant research tracking. It includes the most current research in the United States on ASD as of the crawl date.

The Interagency Autism Coordinating committee is a group set up by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The report on this page indexes all of the recent research (since the committee's inception) and breaks it down into several categories for ease of use.

The Center for Autism Research (CAR), located at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is a research institute dedicate to autism. Their page includes information about research being done both at CAR and around the country.

The Organization for Autism Research, a non-profit founded in 2001, funds research and studies related to autism in America.

This webpage from the UK's National Health Service lays out the potential causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

One of the potential causes of autism that is heavily researched involves environmental factors and environmental health. The National Institute of Environment and Health Services has significant information about the work being done on its website.

There are many potential causes of autism, nearly all of which are highly controversial. The National Autism Association outlines some of the most common theories.

A theory that has been popular for well over a decade is that the MMR vaccine, given to young children, causes autism. After years of litigation, the United States government awarded a settlement to some people whose children may have been effected by the vaccine. This page documents the filings, facts, and other relevant information about the case.

The Autism Treatment Network is hosted on the Autism Speaks website and includes information about treatment centers across the United States, as well as pertinent information about treatment methods and options.

The CDC sponsors a campaign called "Learn the Signs. Act Early." that is meant to educate parents and families about the early signs of autism. There is significant evidence that children who have early intervention fare better than those who do not, and getting an early diagnosis can be crucial.

This article, from Forbes magazine, outlines some of the more dangerous and bizarre alternative treatments that some use on those with autism.

The New York Times health guide on autism includes news stories and articles about autism published in the Times or on its website, as well as information about treatment.