Deborah Fein is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychological Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut in Storrs.
Deborah Fein
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus
University of Connecticut
From this contributor
‘Prototypical autism’ research is likely a dead end
Efforts to define “frank” or “classic” forms of the condition build on several assumptions that the science has not yet borne out.
‘Prototypical autism’ research is likely a dead end
By
Deborah Fein, David Amaral, Einat Waizbard-Bartov
25 January 2024 | 8 min read
Journal club: Why do some children lose their autism diagnosis?
More than one-third of a cohort of autistic toddlers no longer meet criteria for the condition at school age, according to a new study, but the findings may not generalize because the cohort is predominantly white and affluent.
Journal club: Why do some children lose their autism diagnosis?
By
Deborah Fein
9 October 2023 | 5 min read
Screening toddlers for autism is worthwhile
A Norwegian study published in February suggested that the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers fails to detect many cases of autism at 18 months of age. The creators of the test explain why there’s more to the story.
Screening toddlers for autism is worthwhile
By
Deborah Fein, Diana Robins
29 April 2014 | 6 min read
Explore more from The Transmitter
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
The genome offers a recipe, not a blueprint, for the brain
During brain development, genes set the rules and turn the knobs; self-organization does much of the rest.
By
Ila Fiete
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
Autism research involving monkeys contends with uphill battle
Macaques and marmosets recapitulate the condition’s core traits better than mice can, but funding uncertainty and challenges at primate centers in the United States could make this work difficult to continue.
By
Diana Kwon
2 November 2026 | 8 min read
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
When is self-organization a mechanism in brain development?
Retinal waves offer a powerful example of a self-organizing system that can build structure without external guidance. The field would do well to embrace such phenomena more broadly as a type of mechanistic explanation.
By
P. Robin Hiesinger
2 November 2026 | 6 min read