For children with autism spectrum disorder and with an intellectual disability, the options for improving communication and social skills are limited.

Talking therapies and behavioural programmes can help some children develop these skills, but they depend on specialists who are in short supply – even in wealthy countries.

Around 30-35% of autistic children have an intellectual disability, according to research from the US. They are less likely to get treatment than those without one (in part because doctors lack confidence managing their needs and insurance coverage for intellectual disability is patchy) despite having greater needs and placing heavier demands on their families. It is a group that researchers often overlook.

That gap motivated us to test a different kind of intervention: using brief, targeted magnetic pulses to stimulate specific parts of the brain. The technique, known as non-invasive brain stimulation or neuromodulation, involves no surgery, no anaesthetic and no drugs.

A device held close to the scalp generates a rapidly changing magnetic field that passes harmlessly through the skull and stimulates the activity of neurons underneath. It has been used for years to treat depression, and researchers have increasingly been exploring whether it might also help with the social and communication difficulties that are a key symptom of autism.

The version we tested uses a technique called theta-burst stimulation, which delivers pulses in rapid clusters rather than one at a time. This makes each session much shorter than conventional approaches, which is a significant practical advantage when you are asking young children to sit still and cooperate.

In our study, published in the BMJ, each session lasted only a few minutes, and the full course ran over just five days. One group of children received real stimulation, another received a sham version. In the sham treatment, the equipment was applied in the same way and delivered vibrations, but no active pulses were delivered. That way, we could compare results without either group knowing what they’d received, which helps keep the findings reliable.

One hundred and ninety-four children took part, with an average age of around six and a half years. Roughly half had IQ scores below 70, which is typically described as the low-functioning range, though all scored above 50 – the minimum needed to ensure a reliable diagnosis and meaningful participation in the study.

Parents filled in a questionnaire about their child’s social communication, before the treatment, right after, and again a month later.

The improvements seen after five days were still there after a month, and the size of the effect was large by the standards of clinical research. Children also showed gains in language ability.

No serious side-effects were reported and all minor side-effects resolved without treatment.

Early days

Children were recruited from multiple sites by advertisements posted in outpatients clinics and through local clinical registries. All legal guardians gave written consent.

Children with intellectual disability are so often left out of trials of this kind that the evidence for treating them has remained seriously lacking. That this trial included them at all – and in significant numbers – is itself noteworthy. But it is only a first step.

It is still unclear how long the benefits last beyond a month, how many sessions would be needed to maintain them, or how the approach would work when moved from a research setting into an ordinary clinic.

Brain stimulation is not a replacement for behavioural support, and the equipment needed is not cheap or universally available. But conventional approaches – where they exist at all – often require daily sessions over several weeks with a professional, which carries its own costs in time, money and specialist input.

A five-day course is a different proposition. For families who are already stretched, even modest and durable gains in a child’s ability to communicate could matter enormously to them and their families and greatly improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

Alex Zanardi, the former Formula One star who lost both legs in crash, has died at the age of 59.

The Italian driver passed away ‘suddenly’ surrounded by his family on Friday.

Zandari made his F1 debut in 1991, losing both his legs in an accident in September 2001. He then turned his attention to hand cycling, winning four gold medals and two silver medals at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.

In 2020, Zanardi suffered another serious accident while competing in a handbike event, leading to severe head injuries which saw him placed in a medically-induced coma.

‘It is with deep sorrow ​that the family announces the passing of Alessandro Zanardi, which occurred suddenly yesterday ‌evening, ⁠1 May,’ Zandari’s family said in a statement.

‘Alex died peacefully, surrounded by the affection of those closest to him.’

More to follow

As Starmer acknowledged, it is balancing act that strikes at the heart of what freedom and democracy is all about – including the right to protest, while addressing the deep hurt, anger and fear the repeated protests cause for many in the Jewish community. Plenty of the Prime Minister’s critics, in opposition parties and beyond, say they are tired of what they see as warm words and platitudes about antisemitism and want to see concrete action.

The attacker was already serving a life sentence for murdering his friend and stabbing a 16-year-old boy

A convicted killer broke the jaw of a Jewish chaplain visiting a Cambridgeshire prison in an attack motivated by racial hate. Joseph Gynane, 41, was already serving a life sentence for murdering his friend and stabbing a 16-year-old boy when he shouted “Allah Akbar” as he attacked the chaplain visiting HMP Whitemoor on September 14, 2025.

The chaplain had been speaking to prisoners on the top floor landing of the prison when Gynane attacked him from behind at just before 2.30pm on September 14. Gynane punched the man to the back of the head with such force that he was knocked to the floor and continued punching him.

The convicted killer continued even while being sprayed with PAVA (a chemical spray designed to incapacitate attackers) by a prison officer. He eventually stopped the attack, and the chaplain was taken to a different part of the prison where he received medical treatment.

He later visited Peterborough City Hospital, where medical checks revealed he had suffered a broken jaw and a broken thumb. The chaplain told officers he believed the attack was religiously motivated due to him being Jewish and wearing a black skull cap at the time.

Gynane was moved to the prison’s segregation unit and covered his cell in graffiti, including the phrases “free Palestine” and “Death to the IDF”. He was charged with racially aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) and admitted the offence at a court hearing in March this year.

On Friday, May 1, he was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court where he was handed 11 years (six years plus an extended five years on licence) on top of his existing life sentence. His life sentence holds a minimum term of 30 years, meaning Gynane will not be eligible for release until at least 2055.

Sentencing, Judge Andrew Hurst said chaplains provided support for prisoners and were “valuable, cherished and should be protected”. He noted that Gynane converted to Islam in 2007 and it was clear he held “antisemitic, florid and ideologically disturbing” views.

Judge Hurst said Gynane had a “long record for serious violence, including stabbings”. He also held an “appalling record for violence within prison”, with the highest number of assaults to his name at HMP Whitemoor.

He said the attack was a “serious assault motivated by racial hatred”. He noted his concern about a “very high risk of future assaults” from Gynane, who “will seek to harm innocent members of Jewish community”.

Detective Constable Emma Purser said: “Gynane was already serving a life sentence for murder, but I am pleased he has now had his sentence extended by quite some time and has faced justice for his actions – which were shocking and despicable.

“The Jewish chaplain involved in this case was providing a valuable service and no-one deserves to be attacked in this way, with such strong violence – and especially not because of their religion.”

Jack Wilshere believes Martin Odegaard must start against Fulham, insisting Arsenal are a ‘different team’ with their skipper in the heart of midfield.

The Gunners can temporarily move six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with a win against Fulham on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s side are set to be without Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz, while Odegaard is a minor doubt for the game after his withdrawal in the secodn half against Atletico Madrid.

The Norwegian midfielder has had an injury-affected campaign, which has seen him able to start just 15 league games so far this season.

But former Arsenal midfielder Wilshere believes the Odegaard has to start against Fulham if fit, such is his importance to the side with and without the ball.

‘With Arsenal, I think Odegaard is key,’ Wilshere told talkSPORT. ‘He’s a player who takes risks. He’s a player who, even out of possession, sets everything.

‘I think he’s had a few injuries this season, maybe lost a bit of form at times. When Martin’s playing, it’s a different team. It’s a different team, and they look braver.’

But Wilshere, who was part of Arsenal’s academy coaching set-up under Arteta before moving to Norwich and then Luton Town, said he would like to see his former side get back to a more free-flowing style of football.

‘When Mikel first came in, it was about playing,’ he said ‘It was a big focus on build-up, on finding the free play, and they were really, really good at it.

‘I think then, as a coach and as a team, you always have to look for ways to evolve, to look for ways to change a little bit how you’re playing, because teams will start to work you out. I thought Mikel’s done that really well.

‘I think over the last few years, there has been a little bit of a change in style, but this is also not just Arsenal, right? You look at City and bringing Haaland in, and how they played into him a little bit more.

‘I remember playing against City in a cup final at Wembley, and then the goalie kicking it over all of us, and Aguero scoring. It’s been around for a while.

‘Mikel has obviously thought that this is the best way to win the league. They’ve fallen short over the last few years against the Liverpool team, against the City team that like to dominate the ball.

‘And Arsenal couldn’t get it done. He obviously sees this as the way forward. At times, I would like to see them play a little bit more as well.’

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Looking to capitalise on any slip-up from the Tractor Boys is third-place Millwall, who host relegated Oxford as they look to book their place in the Premier League for the very first time. A point behind them is Middlesbrough, on the road at Wrexham with a tough task to end a top-tier exile that has lasted for almost a decade. Only one of those teams can go up this afternoon, with the other two having to pick themselves up quickly for the lottery of the play-offs, where Southampton are already guaranteed a place.

Arguably the biggest Japanese fight of this generation will take place today, as Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani meet in an undisputed-title clash.

The unbeaten pair will square off in Tokyo, where Inoue puts all the major super-bantamweight belts on the line against his compatriot.

• Follow LIVE: Inoue and Nakatani clash in generational super-fight

The bout sees Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) fight in a division that is relatively new to him, as the former three-weight champion competes at super-bantamweight for just the second time. The 28-year-old moved up in December, scraping past Sebastian Hernandez Reyes to set up this bout with Inoue.

On the same night, Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) outclassed Alan Picasso to uphold his end of the Nakatani deal, which now brings the “Monster”, 33, one of his most-intriguing tests ever.

Here’s all you need to know:

When is the fight?

Inoue vs Nakatani will take place on Saturday 2 May at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Coverage is due to begin at 10.40am BST (2.40am PT / 4.40am CT / 5.40am ET), with main-event ring walks expected at 1pm BST (5am PT / 7am CT / 8am ET).

How can I watch it?

The action will stream live exclusively on DAZN, with plans starting at £15.99 per month. The fight card has not been announced as a DAZN pay-per-view event, meaning it is available to any DAZN subscriber.

Latest Odds

Inoue is a heavy favourite with all the major UK betting sites, with Nakatani a best price of 7/2 to emerge victorious.

Inoue – 1/4

Nakatani – 7/2

Draw – 16/1

Odds via Betfred. The Independent vets betting sites for usability, security and responsible gambling tools. You can claim free bets to use across a range of sports. Please read the terms.

Fight card in full

Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion

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Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing

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Buy Now

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Naoya Inoue (C) vs Junto Nakatani (undisputed super-bantamweight titles)

Takuma Inoue (C) vs Kazuto Ioka (WBC bantamweight champion)

Toshiki Shimomachi vs Reiya Abe (featherweight)

Sora Tanaka vs Jin Sasaki (welterweight)

Kosuke Tomioka vs Shogo Tanaka (flyweight)

Deok No Yun vs Yuito Moriwaki (super-middleweight)

Yoshiki Takei vs Dekang Wang (super-bantamweight)

We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

On 30 April, the US embassy in Beirut suggested a meeting between Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would give Lebanon “the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity, secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support, and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over every inch of its territory”.

Made In Chelsea stars, Jamie Lang and Sophie Habboo, who recently became parents to son, Ziggy, discussed their relationship in candid detail with Olivia Attwood

Reality star, Jamie Laing, has made a bombshell revelation about his sex life with wife, Sophie Habboo. The Made In Chelsea stars, who became parents to son, Ziggy, in December, were discussing their relationship with Olivia Attwood on her podcast, Olivia’s house.

The couple documented their journey to parenthood on Disney + documentary, Raising Chelsea, which was a huge hit with the couple’s Made In Chelsea fans. However, Jamie, 37, has now admitted that the pressure to conceive affected his performance in the bedroom – something wife, Sophie, 32, revealed left her “raging”.

Lifting the lid on the tense time, Jamie said: “For some reason, every part of my being was like ‘don’t do this’ and I was like: ‘What’s going on?’ So, nothing was working.”

“Wait, nothing was working?” shocked host Olivia interjected, as Jamie repeated: “Nothing was working.” Sophie, who met Jamie on Made In Chelsea, then revealed how Jamie’s worries had affected her, admitting: ‘Raging, I was like, you’re f*****g joking, this is f****d…’”

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Revealing that the pressure to perform was “so full on”, Jamie continued: “She [Sophie] was like: ‘I’m ovulating’. I was like: ‘How long for?’”

“So the pressure got to you?” Olivia clarified, as Jamie confirmed: “So much pressure, so much pressure. It was like so full on.”

Raising Chelsea follows the couple as they try to conceive before adjusting to pregnancy and eventually becoming parents. For many, the idea of filming such intimate moments, including the birth of your baby, would be out of the question, but for Sophie and Jamie, who have lived so much of their lives on camera, it felt like a ‘natural continuation’.

Speaking to the BBC about deciding to film their pregnancy journey, Sophie said: “People are used to following our journey, so documenting this and having an audience come with us felt really natural and fun.”

Claiming there were times she ‘forgot the cameras were there’, she continued: “We only had one camera so it was very vlog style and there are lots of times I didn’t know we were even filming.”

Meanwhile, Jamie said the couple made a pact to show the real them in the film, warts and all, sharing: “We wanted to capture everything and I wanted to make sure it was really real so you see everything Even when things happened that were intense we kept it in because we made a deal.

“There is nothing off limits – I don’t like the idea of a filtered version of ourselves, it’s not true, authentic or real.”

The couple welcomed baby Ziggy on December 4 and shared a snap of the tot’s tiny hand on Instagram while telling their followers how happy and grateful they were to be parents.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

But the headline attraction is in East Asia, where Inoue defends his four belts in the 122-pound division for the seventh time in a super fight. ‘The Monster’, one of the sport’s modern pound-for-pound greats and most formidable knockout kings, can add another exceptional chapter to his remarkable legacy on home soil, though is wary of the challenge posed by Nakatani. ‘Big Bang’ is himself a three-weight world champion who held the unified bantamweight titles before stepping up again in preparation for facing Inoue.