ARI’s Accomplishments in 2020

ARI is awarding more than $280,000 in grants to fund exciting and innovative research that holds realistic promise in impacting the lives of those on the autism spectrum.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, colleagues around the world have shared that they are working as creatively as they can in their effort to find answers for individuals with autism during this time. Researchers are concerned about securing funding to keep their investigations at a high scientific level of integrity.

ARI continues expanding its Scientific Advisory Board, which attracts leading researchers in all areas related to the understanding of the underlying biology of autism. Panelists provide invaluable guidance in ARI’s rigorous grant review process by volunteering their time to assess submissions and participate in a juried review of finalists. They also present at our near weekly webinars and keep us up-to-date on promising new findings.

ARI is planning now for our post-pandemic national and regional think tanks, set to resume in 2021.

ARI provides researchers with advice and guidance on how to optimize their experimental designs. We also helped them recruit participants for their studies.

ARI assists two tissue banks, including a brain tissue bank for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the University of Maryland and a gastrointestinal tissue bank at the Digestive Function Laboratory Repository at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

ARI publishes its quarterly science newsletter, Autism Research Review International (ARRI), where we report on current medical, sensory, and educational research.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have leveraged technology to step up the frequency of our webinars — we have offered more talks in 2020 than in any past year. Presentations on coping at home during the pandemic were offered in addition to our regularly scheduled research updates, and talks on appropriate medical care, ABA, assessment, educational therapies, and adult issues.

Throughout the year we released Covid-19 social stories and downloadable handouts on handwashing, mask wearing, distance learning, social distancing and more  in both English and Spanish.

ARI’s monthly e-newsletter keeps nearly 140,000 subscribers up-to-date on new resources and research updates. ARI also publishes the bimonthly Clinical Research in Autism for clinicians.

ARI offers, in joint providership with the Cleveland Clinic, complimentary AMA PRA Category1 Credit™ to physicians and the general public. Connecting physicians to improved standards of care is crucial to amplifying understanding of the medical nature of the disorder. New talks on epilepsy and autism have been completed and are set for release soon. Translations of talks in Spanish and Portuguese are available. Learn more at ARI-CME.org.

ARI sponsors a telephone support line and provides the opportunity for viewers of its live webinars to ask questions directly to the presenters. We also moderate active social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube for parents and providers.

ARI is an NGO (non-governmental organization) of the United Nations.

ARI facilitates translation of many online articles, as well as the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC). Now available in 22 languages, the ATEC is completed by more than 150 users per day.

ARI networks with 61 parent support groups, located in 28 countries, and continues to add more. The goal is to improve communication and to share information about the science and evidence-based treatments.