Autism Science Foundation

#hotoffthepress and #openaccess. @GiacomoVivanti from @Drexel summarizes challenges in designing and implementing evidence-based interventions for autism. These include the marginalization in research for those with #profoundautism. He states: "Notably, the response from the workshop participants focused not so much on deploring the lack of services available to my brothers, but on questioning the reality of their impairments. This included the suggestion that my brothers chose not to use spoken language because they were misunderstood or abused from neurotypical family members, that their “apparent” communication and cognitive disabilities resulted from the double-empathy problem, whereby other autistics would be perfectly equipped, unlike their family members, to understand and address their needs, and finally, if their intellectual or language challenges were real, then their problem was not “the autism”, but unrelated cognitive and language impairments. This episode, offered here as an example for what has become a common experience, deserves a closer examination because it gives insight on the challenges of redressing the escalating trend towards unequal representation of profound autism in research." https://lnkd.in/gNGPcRiq

Model systems for psychiatric disorders have led to discoveries that have helped millions with psychiatric disorders and conditions from ADHD to schizophrenia. However, there has been some backlash about their use in autism. Why? This week's #ASFpodcast is a conversation with @JillSilverman from @UCDavis about the importance of model systems in research and scientific discovery. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gGw5ez5K

#sharethestage is only a week way! Join us at @worldcafelive for an afternoon of music with talented neurodiverse musicians. Tickets are going fast, buy yours now! https://lnkd.in/exkMUy8R

Be a part of scientific discoveries to help all families affected by #autism. Our #participateinresearch page allows you to sort by interest, age and geographical location. You can even earn some money or receive important information about your family and access new services. Brad Meshell, founder of @JacobsAudible, shares his experience. https://lnkd.in/eeZM_3XP

Special podcast correspondent Mia Kotikovski discusses cultural influences in bias by providing examples from around the world about how culture is different and how it influences #stigma. https://lnkd.in/eBFt7KH4

We are so excited for #sharethestage on November 2nd at @worldcafelive in Philadelphia. The performers have been rehearsing getting ready to perform. Check them out in the video and be sure to get your ticket! https://lnkd.in/exkMUy8R https://lnkd.in/eJgZk7sT

Save the Date for the next Day of Learning! April 9, 2025

ASF invites applications for its Suzanne Wright Research Accelerator Grants. These grants are designed to reasonably expand the scope, speed the progress, increase the efficiency or improve final product dissemination of active autism research grants. This mechanism is also meant to allow creative use of existing data that has not previously been analyzed to ask a question relevant to autism research. The deadline is December 11, 2024. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/enUhiqsh

Join us in 2 hours for a celebration of Disability Awareness Month by hearing from a #sibling about his experience moving towards a career in helping those with #autism. @elsforautism. https://lnkd.in/eFqeD4M8

How do you determine what helps what person with autism at what time in their lives? First scientists have to disentagle what leads to the broad spectrum of autism. This may not depend on core autism features, but on things like language, cognition, and motor abilities. Researchers from @Landlab_iit @LAND_IIT let the computers segregate different groups and found that they fell into two categories: one that was nearly indistinguishable from neurotypical and one that showed impairments across development. These groups also showed different brain functions as well. To hear more about the study, listen to the #ASFpodcast here: https://lnkd.in/ekFFjuDv