A study tracking 3.7 million births reveals that a single factor can triple a child’s risk of Autism.

A massive nationwide cohort study published in JAMA Pediatrics has established a striking link between congenital ‘TORCH’ infections — a group of rare pathogens including cytomegalovirus, rubella, toxoplasmosis, and herpes simplex — and subsequent neurodevelopmental conditions.

By tracking nearly 3.7 million individuals born in Sweden between 1987 and 2021, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet found that while these infections are globally rare, they carry profound consequences.

Children born with a diagnosed TORCH infection were three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and more than seven times more likely to have an intellectual disability compared to unexposed peers.

Importantly, the researchers conducted sibling comparisons to rule out shared genetic or environmental factors, confirming that the pathogens themselves directly disrupt fetal brain development. While these maternal-fetal infections account for only a tiny fraction of overall autism cases, about one in five children diagnosed with a congenital TORCH infection in the study later developed autism.

Lead author Hugo Sjöqvist noted that even children without formal diagnoses faced long-term impacts, frequently earning lower school grades than their peers. The study underscores the critical importance of prenatal monitoring and infection prevention.

source: Sjöqvist, H., Gardner, R. M., & colleagues. (2026). Congenital TORCH Infections and Risk of Autism and Intellectual Disability: A Nationwide Cohort Study. JAMA Pediatrics.

People with ADHD – like me – deserve more than a life on benefits
As the number of people with ADHD who receive disability payments but aren’t required to work hits 100,000, entrepreneur and business coach John Spencer Williams says a diagnosis shouldn’t consign people to unemployment… but you should quit your office job
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/adhd-benefits-pip-claim-work-office-john-spencer-williams-b3049960.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcAUWF05jbGNrBRYXIHBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEe_ct_Q_Cstz5TWwhA8OojUBkBO5YybgKRBLUZYQGBAGrtcCIFAySaUhI9X9I_aem_P7Ih30JQ6tFHu36YVvmjNg

As I now know, this is because of executive dysfunction, a trait of ADHD. My brain only has two settings when it comes to time: “I have all the time in the world”, and “Oops, I’m late”.

But I’m also a best-selling author and founder of a thriving business helping entrepreneurial and creative people to launch their own ventures. One thing that strikes me is the sheer number of them who have ADHD. Rather than ADHD preventing them working, it appears to be aiding their success.

When I read that more than 100,000 people with ADHD are now receiving PIP – the monthly Personal Independence Payment given to individuals to help with extra living costs associated with a long-term physical disability or mental health condition – and, crucially, that the vast majority of them are not employed, I feel something is being missed. Are we encouraging people to write themselves off, potentially wasting lively brains and untapped talent?

More than a thousand people a day now apply to receive PIP, with psychiatric conditions including ADHD, anxiety and depression accounting for around 39 per cent of new claims.

But ADHD is not a mental illness, and a diagnosis doesn’t have to mean the end of your working life. In fact, I would argue that a life on benefits is the last thing people with ADHD need – instead, if they really can’t hold down an office job, they need to go it alone. Work for yourself. Start your own business.

People with ADHD have brains that are restless, novelty-seeking, sometimes chaotic and often vivid. Working out what to do with your life when you find out you’re wired differently should be approached with curiosity. Knowing yourself and what works for you – as well as what doesn’t – can be a game-changer.

Doomscrolling on your phone is rocket fuel for ADHD symptoms, for example. Working in an office job with multiple, ever-changing demands may cause extreme anxiety. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work.

People with ADHD have poor executive function and may experience pathological demand avoidance. They need structure, accountability and contact, and to put things in place that force them to do the things they need to do, even if they don’t want to do them. If you don’t work at all you lose all those things, so for some, relying on benefits could actually be counterproductive.

There will of course be a proportion of people whose ADHD is a major problem, for whom getting their life together enough to earn a living is unrealistic

The sad fact is that too many people with ADHD struggle because they haven’t been shown how to develop an effective set of practices that help manage their anxiety and improve their focus. Living with Inattentive ADHD myself, I have often struggled to follow structure – landing a senior role at Deloitte some years back proved impossible to sustain.

Setting a timer for a task can prevent endless procrastination.

As I explore in my book, Crazy Successful, alongside the challenging ADHD traits there can be advantageous ones, such as innovative thinking. It’s therefore no surprise that 35 per cent of entrepreneurs have ADHD (that’s at least 10 times higher than normal). Heightened alertness makes ADHD-ers better at spotting “unseen” opportunities.

Creativity and divergent thinking mean they can think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions that others might miss. They are more adaptable and can change course when necessary. High energy and passion, when properly channelled, can drive ADHD-ers to pursue their goals relentlessly.

– Kyllähän se ärsyttää. Koen rajoittavana, kun joku käskee puhumaan hiljempaa tai rauhallisemmin. Sitä olen kuullut lapsesta ja teinistä asti, hän kertoo.

Hellén sai tarkkaavuus- ja aktiivisuushäiriö ADHD:n diagnoosin vuonna 2023. Diagnoosi on helpottanut elämää ja itseymmärrystä paljon.

Siksi hän teki kesällä Instagram-päivityksen, jossa pohti humoristisesti, mikä on ADHD-ihmiselle niin raskasta, että se voi saada jopa raivon partaalle.

Hän listasi esimerkiksi hitaasti puhumisen ja kävelyn, pitkät sanalliset ohjeet, käskemisen, paheksunnan motorisesta levottomuudesta, kuten kynän räpeltämisestä, ja useita muita asioita. Moni samaistui niihin.

– Enhän minä oikeasti mitään raivokohtausta saa, mutta se kuvastaa sitä, mikä arjessa voi turhauttaa erityisen paljon nimenomaan ADHD:n näkökulmasta, Hellén kertoo.

Hellén kuvailee olevansa nopeatempoinen ja impulsiivinen ihminen, mutta huomauttaa, ettei kaikessa välttämättä ole kyse ADHD:stä.

– On mahdotonta eritellä, mikä on täysin persoonaani ja temperamenttiani ja mikä on ADHD:n piirteistöä.

Hellén onkin joskus pohtinut, olisiko ADHD-oireisen helpompi elää sellaisessa kulttuurissa, jossa äänekkyys on sallitumpaa kuin Suomessa.

– Ehkä se on sitten ADHD:tä, kun kehossa on hyperaktiivisuutta ja sisäistettyä fyysistä levottomuutta.

Kuormitus vaikuttaa

Moni ADHD:n tai autismin diagnoosin saanut kertoo voimakkaan aistikuormituksen lisäävän uupumusta ja levottomuutta. Tämä on tuttua myös Hellénille hälyisissä ympäristöissä.

– Kun arjen kuormitus kasvaa tarpeeksi suureksi, myös aistiärsykkeet alkavat tuntua aivan eri tavalla. Silloin kovat äänet, päällekkäiset keskustelut tai jopa kirkas valo voivat muuttua lähes fyysisesti kivuliaiksi, hän kertoo.

Silloin aistiärsykkeet voimistuvat ja keskittyminen kärsii.

– Alan ärtyä enkä enää jaksa keskittyä, kuunnella tai olla sosiaalinen.

Vastaavat kuormitukseen liittyvät piirteet ovat monille tuttuja sekä ADHD:ssä että autismissa.

– Levänneenä samat asiat eivät ärsytä itseä niin paljon. Kun kuormitus kasvaa suureksi, tällaiset yksittäiset tilanteet alkavat häiritä vaikkapa ruokakaupassa.

Diagnoosi on helpottanut hermostumisen ja turhautumisen käsittelyä sekä niiden ilmaisua.

– Tärkein syy hankkia diagnoosi on minusta itseymmärrys, hän toteaa.

Hellénin mielestä ADHD on ennen kaikkea hermostollinen haaste.

– Suurimmat kamppailuni ja uuden opetteluni ovat liittyneet hermoston rauhoittamiseen ja palautumiseen.

Hellénin mukaan diagnoosi toi selityksen nopeille tunnereaktioille, kärsimättömyydelle ja kuormittumiselle. Samalla niiden hallintaan löytyi keinoja.

Syvähengityksen lisäksi hän on opetellut löytämään arkeen hiljaisia hetkiä.

ADHD-diagnosoiduilla toiminnanohjaus on usein puutteellista, minkä vuoksi erilaisia työtehtäviä tai kotitöitä voi olla vaikea saada tehdyksi.

– Minun haasteeni on aina ollut, että teen liikaa asioita. Olen tehokas ja innostuva, otan paljon projekteja ja saan muutkin mukaan.

Monen ADHD-diagnosoidun tavoin Hellén on huomannut, että diagnoosi aiheuttaa muissa ihmisissä joskus väärinymmärryksiä.

– Stereotypioita on liikkeellä. Suurin myytti on, että ADHD olisi ennen kaikkea keskittymisongelma. Minusta kyse on paljon enemmän motivaatiosta. Kun ADHD:n kanssa elävä ihminen on motivoitunut ja innostunut, keskittymisessä ei välttämättä ole mitään ongelmaa.

– Kaikilla on joskus vaikeuksia keskittyä tai muistaa asioita, mutta se on eri asia kuin ADHD-diagnoosi ja koko elämän läpi vaikuttava neurokehityksellinen piirre.

– ADHD ei tarkoita sitä, että unohtaa välillä jotain. Kyse on siitä, että aivot toimivat eri tavalla joka päivä, läpi koko elämän.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DYlu7n0sF7w/

”Erityisen mielenkiintoista oli se, että ADHD-potilaat eivät ainoastaan kokeneet enemmän unenomaisia tiloja, vaan myös haaveilivat enemmän kuin neurotyypilliset henkilöt”, hän selittää.

”ADHD-potilaat tunsivat tutkimuksessa olonsa väsyneemmäksi itse tehtävän aikana, mikä viittaa siihen, että heidän aivonsa väsyvät ehkä nopeammin jatkuvan rasituksen aikana, eivätkä he yleisesti ottaen ole väsyneitä”, kertoo Elaine Pinggal.

”Se osoittaa tieteellisesti osan siitä, mitä jo tiedämme kliinisestä työstä: ADHD-potilailla on vaihteleva tarkkaavaisuus- ja energiataso. Se, mitä kutsumme vireystilan vaihteluksi, heijastuu myös heidän aivotoiminnassaan”, hän kertoo Tieteen Kuvalehdelle.

Voidaan sanoa, että ADHD-potilailla on ”hieman epätasainen virransyöttö akkuihin”, kuten Per Hove Thomsen asian ilmaisee. Ja tämän uusi tutkimus vahvistaa EEG-mittausten ja aivokäyrämittausten avulla.

Hän huomauttaa myös, että ADHD on monimutkainen tila ja että unen kaltainen aktiivisuus aivoissa ei voi täysin selittää ADHD-potilaiden kokemia keskittymisvaikeuksia.

Per Hove Thomsenin mukaan osa selityksestä liittyy myös niin sanottuihin ärsykkeisiin ja siihen, miten ADHD-potilatt käsittelevät niitä.

”Monet asiat kiinnittävät huomiomme – tämä koskee meitä kaikkia päivän aikana. Eikä tilanne ole helpottunut nyky-yhteiskunnassa, missä meitä pommitetaan jatkuvasti ärsykkeillä”, professori sanoo.

Hän selittää, että ADHD-potilailta puuttuu suodatustoiminto, jonka avulla he voisivat käsitellä ärsykkeitä. ADHD:n voimakkaasti leimaamalla aivoilla on yksinkertaisesti vaikeampaa suodattaa pois ”epäolennaisia ärsykkeitä”, toteaa Per Hove Thomsen.

”Tämän vuoksi ADHD:stä kärsivät joutuvat usein ärsyketulvaan, mikä johtaa sekavuuteen ja keskittymiskyvyn puutteeseen siinä tehtävässä, mihin oikeastaan pitäisi keskittyä”, hän sanoo.

Phoebe Gates appears to have revealed that her father, Bill Gates, has “Asperger’s syndrome.”

During this week’s episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, host Alex Cooper asked the 22-year-old daughter of the billionaire Microsoft co-founder what her experience has been with bringing men home to her dad.

Her response: “For the guy, terrifying. For me, it’s hilarious because my dad’s pretty socially awkward. Like he’s said before, he has Asperger’s. So, like to me, it’s so funny.”

The 69-year-old software engineer has never spoken publicly about having Asperger’s syndrome, a diagnosis previously given to some autistic people. The term has since been merged with other conditions into autism spectrum disorder (ASD). People with ASD may experience social and communication difficulties, obsessive interests, and repetitive behaviors.

Why autism may not be on a ‘spectrum’ after all
The idea of a single autism spectrum, stretching from mild to severe, may be misleading
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/autism-spectrum-test-aspergers-diagnosis-b2950846.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcARAMEJjbGNrBEAwLWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHhnPk4D1pG4S5PEU-SYHUckxTnLqTZcNuGbvzk5LHfAuDCngJHwFnTNqy-pt_aem_YqHc5gjS2nZuh_YGNPCC0Q&test_group=lighteradlayout

The phrases “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” have become part of everyday language. They are often used as different ways of referring to someone who is “neurodivergent”.

The term was coined in the 1980s by psychiatrist Dr Lorna Wing, whose work transformed how autism was understood in the UK. At the time, her “autism spectrum” concept was groundbreaking. Instead of seeing autism as a rare, narrowly defined condition, she recognised a wide range of traits and experiences.

But the idea of a single spectrum, which stretches from “mild” to “severe”, may be misleading. And some autism experts, including me, argue the term has outlived its usefulness.

When most people hear the word “spectrum”, they may picture a straight line, like colours arranged from red to violet. Applied to autism, this suggests autistic people can be ranked from “more autistic” to “less autistic”. But that’s not how autism works.

Autism is made up of many different traits and needs, which show up in unique combinations. Some autistic people rely heavily on routine, while others find comfort in repetitive movements known as “stimming”. And some have an intense focus on particular topics, a concept researchers call “monotropism”.

There are also known links with physical conditions such as hypermobility. Because autism is made up of all these different elements, there can be no single line on which every autistic person is placed.

Attempts to draw boundaries still persist, however. The American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual divides autism into three “levels” based on the amount of support a person is judged to need. They run from level 1 “requiring support”, to level 2 “requiring substantial support” and level 3 “requiring very substantial support”.

But there is research that argues these levels are vague and inconsistently applied. They don’t always reflect someone’s real-world experiences.

Life circumstances can also change a person’s needs. An autistic person who usually copes well may experience “burnout” and have an accompanying increase in support needs if their needs have been unmet for a long time.

More recently, the label “profound autism” has been suggested by the Lancet commission – an international group of experts – for autistic people with learning disabilities or high support needs. But other experts say the phrase is unhelpful because it tells us nothing about a person’s particular challenges or the type of support they require.

The legacy of Asperger’s
Dr Lorna Wing also introduced the term “Asperger’s syndrome” to the UK. Like the concept “profound autism”, using this term also divided autistic people into those with higher support needs and those with Asperger’s syndrome (lower support needs).

However, the label was drawn from the name of Austrian physician Hans Asperger, who in the 1940s identified a subgroup of children he called “autistic psychopaths”. During the Nazi period, Asperger was associated with the genocide of autistic people with higher support needs. For this reason, many autistic people don’t use the term any more, even if that is what they were originally diagnosed with.

Underlying all these debates is a deeper concern that dividing autistic people into categories, or arranging them on a spectrum, can slip into judgments about their value to society. In the most extreme form, such hierarchies risk dehumanising those with higher support needs. It’s something some autistic campaigners warn could fuel harmful political agendas.

In the worst case, those judged as less useful for society become vulnerable to future genocides. This may seem far-fetched, but the political direction in the US, for example, is very worrying to many autistic people.

Recently, US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior, said that he was going to “confront the nation’s (autism) epidemic”. So far, this has included strongly refuted claims that paracetamol use in pregnancy is linked to autism in children, urging pregnant women to avoid the painkiller.

Often people use the term “autism spectrum” or “on the spectrum” as a way of avoiding saying that somebody is autistic.

Many autistic adults prefer the words “autism” and “autistic” directly. Autism is not a scale of severity but a way of being. It’s a difference rather than a defect.

Language will never capture every nuance, but words shape how society treats autistic people. Moving away from the idea of a single spectrum could be a step towards recognising autism in all its diversity, and valuing autistic people as they are.

“Just make a list.”

The revolutionary piece of advice we hear all the time. Another good one is “build good habits and routines.” Suddenly, every ADHDer on the planet has been cured!

The internet is filled with more and less helpful tips for hacking ADHD and productivity. One of the themes of Nordic Business Forum 2026 is performance, so I am sharing my personal two cents on the topic as a Gen Z ADHDer who has had to learn a lot over the past few years, the beginning of my career. The following tips are based on personal experience, advice from professionals, discussions on the internet, credible and less credible sources I’ve encountered over the years, and, most importantly, some things I wish someone had told me when I first began my career.