The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) will be hosting its 7th semi-annual Research Day on July 22, 2024, in conjunction with the 2024 Autism CARES Meeting. This virtual event is an opportunity to highlight research related to the physical health and overall well-being of autistic individuals. The 2024 theme is "Translating Research to Community Impact" and will feature poster presentations from across the nation. This virtual event is open to all.

The Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is one of the premier conferences for behavioral scientists conducting research on intellectual and developmental disabilities. It has a rich history that started in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 1967, and the name of its original location remained. Each year, Gatlinburg Conference brings together scientists from around the world to gather to discuss research and collaborations in the field.

The National Training Directors Council (NTDC) hosted an interactive discussion on recruiting and supporting diverse trainees within your training programs. The panel highlighted three training programs in the AUCD Network with experience recruiting and supporting diverse trainees, including trainees across states, trainees utilizing distance learning, trainees with lived experience and finally, second-year trainees.

This webinar-- sponsored by the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) -- will focus on: The intersection of race and ASD. The webinar will include a presentation by Dr. Sophie Molholm on the findings from a multisite study on autism in African Americans focused on increasing diversity in genetics studies and understanding reasons for later age of diagnosis in this group as well as a collaborative discussion led by Dr. Lisa Shulman, a clinical leader of a large, diverse inner-city Developmental Center in concert with a parent of children with ASD and an Autistic Adult on practical strategies for supporting a diverse ASD population and their families in accessing diagnosis, therapeutic and medical services, and encouraging participation in research.

This webinar-- sponsored by the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P)-- will feature a collaborative discussion and brainstorming session hosted by the AIR-P Big Data Working Group, a newly formed interdisciplinary committee focused on using large datasets to improve equity and health for autistic individuals. This discussion will include insights from AIR-P research node leaders regarding the highest priority areas for big data work in autism as well as discussions on key issues in big data (e.g., participatory approaches, real-world implications, and others).

We know that a substantial number of autistic people are sexually-diverse (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual) or gender-diverse (e.g., transgender, gender non-conforming), but what do we know about their mental and physical health? Dr. Graham Holmes will discuss the current state of the literature and present findings from two studies that used innovative methods to learn about health disparities for this population. The first study investigated suicidality disparities among autistic versus non-autistic sexually-diverse and gender-diverse youth using a U.S. national sample recruited via social media. The second study investigated mental and physical health disparities more broadly among autistic sexually-diverse and gender-diverse adults versus cisgender heterosexual adults using electronic health record data. Clinical implications will be discussed.

Join the Project ECHO Orientation to learn more about the ECHO model and how you can incorporate it into your work as a UCEDD or LEND program (or partner organization). Cari Glantz and Amy Rieser from the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities will share how they have utilized ECHO in their trainings and how you can become an ECHO partner. ECHO is a training and capacity-building model intended to support inter-professional connection and best practice implementation. Hosted by AUCD's Community Education and Dissemination Council.

This webinar will focus on the methods and preliminary results of a qualitative, community-engaged study with queer and transgender autistic adults. We will chart how we partnered with 19 community organizations working with this population to conduct open-ended, in-depth interviews with 65 adults in the Philadelphia area. Preliminary findings address nonbinary identity, self reported autism, health and wellbeing, community engagement, and social support. We are using these findings to structure autistic-led programming for autistic adults to improve wellbeing.

The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) will be hosting its sixth plenary Research Day at the AUCD 2023 Conference in November 2023. This event is part of the AUCD Conference and will emphasize research led by autistic researchers and collaborators, highlighting content related to the physical health and overall well-being of autistic individuals. This AIR-P Research Day will include a poster presentation symposium and two concurrent sessions. AIR-P will also be present at the AUCD 2023 conference via two exhibit tables. This in-person event is open to all.

While most medical students report that they want to learn more about seeing patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and feel underprepared to serve these patients when they graduate from their programs, the actual amount and quality of IDD-focused curricular content in medical and dental school curricula greatly varies between institutions. This webinar will present data from a recent WITH-funded research project examining the development of inclusive IDD curricula at medical and dental schools, and will also introduce an AADMD initiative, NICHE medical, that coordinates and supports medical schools who are working to develop innovative, community-engaged IDD curricula.

This webinar will explore findings from the latest National Autism Indicators Report (NAIR) focused on health care in autistic people during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and health care among autistic children and adults. To build a comprehensive picture, we included various data sources.

Hear from a panel of college students about their experiences. Watch the "Think Higher. Think College." Campaign video. Get access to new resources for students, families, and educators, plus campaign tools to spread the word about college access for students with intellectual disability. Hosted by AUCD's Community Education and Dissemination Council.

ITAC's new LEND and Learn Monthly TA Series is an opportunity for LEND leadership and faculty to gather once a month to discuss priority TA topics and to learn from each other! A different LEND program will lead each session, including a 15-minute presentation and 45 minutes discussion. Please note that this is not a webinar series. Instead, it is designed to be an informal opportunity for LENDs to connect on topics identified as top TA needs. DBP programs are welcome to participate.

Dr. Rujuta Bhatt Wilson will share Neurology Node Updates from the AIR-P project. The webinar will include updates on intervention studies, examining neurologic conditions in genetic Neurodevelopmental syndromes, and examination of the prevalence of co-occurring neurologic and neurodegenerative diseases in autism in adulthood.

Dr. Samantha Ross will share updates on a current AIR-P Scholars Project that has engaged autistic youth and their parents as stakeholders to evaluate the construct validity of flourishing items within the National Survey of Children's Health.