Corinne Purtill is a health and science reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her writing on science and human behavior has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, the BBC and elsewhere. Before joining the Times in 2022, she worked as the senior London correspondent for GlobalPost (now PRI) and as a reporter and assignment editor at The Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. Her writing and reporting have been recognized by the California Journalism Awards, the Best of the West Awards, Best American Science and Nature Writing and Best American Essays. She is a graduate of Stanford University.
Articles
Autistic youth face a significantly higher risk of suicide, often at younger ages, highlighting the need for better screening, mental health care, and community education.
Even deeply attentive parents may miss signs of suicidal distress in autistic kids and teens, as they often differ from those shown by neurotypical youth.
A science reporter for the Los Angeles Times shares her strategies for drawing readers’ attention back to the truth, as waves of misinformation emanate from the highest levels of government.
It’s true that the rate of autism diagnoses in the U.S. have been rising. But experts say that it’s most likely due to the expansion of autism diagnostic criteria since the 1980s.
The diagnostic definition of autism has greatly expanded to include a much broader range of human behaviors, and we look for it more often than we used to.