In this webinar Dr. Heini Natri will discuss the topic that equitable and just genetic research requires an examination of the ethical questions pertaining to marginalized communities. Many have expressed concerns over current practices of autism-related genetic research, urging the field to shift towards practices that ensure benefits and protect against harm. As an interdisciplinary working group of autistic and non-autistic individuals, we have developed guidelines for leveraging genetics to enhance the quality of life, health, and autonomy of autistic persons.

AUCD's Autism Special Interest Group (SIG) is sponsoring a series of webinars for Autism Acceptance Month. This webinar series will focus on mentorship and leadership in the Autism Spectrum community.

The Autism Society of America's Vaccine Education Initiative has increased vaccine education, confidence, and accessibility throughout the Autism community. Join this discussion on health equity to learn about grassroots messaging, key lessons learned, evidence-based practices, and opportunities for community impact.

This presentation will review literature on environmental factors, and gene-environment interactions, for autism and related traits and discuss gaps and needs for future research studies. Topics will include: -How do environmental factors contribute to Autism? -Autism comes from both genetic and environmental factors, though few studies have examined them jointly. -Future research needs to more frequently examine modifiable exposures and impacts on traits and disabilities associated with autism.

This in-person, semi-annual event is an opportunity to highlight innovative life course intervention research  supported by the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). This event is part of the AUCD 2022 Conference.

In this talk, Dr. Botha will discuss the relevance of the Minority Stress Model for understanding health outcomes in the autistic community. The minority stress model posits that marginalized groups have an additional stress burden to contend with related to living in unequal society. This stress burden can translate into health inequalities. Yet, there are also factors which may buffer against these effects such as community connectedness, collective resilience, and positive identity, and the creativity of marginalised communities in facing minority stress should not be ignored.

In this webinar, Laura will begin by discussing the research to practice gap in autism education, before emphasizing the need to take a collaborative approach when it comes to meeting the needs of autistic young people in school. Laura will then focus on a case example of a research-practice partnership, where researchers at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) worked collaboratively with staff from an inclusive school for children aged 4-11 years, to evaluate the use of flexible seating in classrooms.

The urgency for sensory considerations in clinics has never been more pressing as clinical services transition from remote to in-person. Dr. Nunez will present strategies to create sensory inclusive clinical spaces for patients of all ages. The webinar will focus on outpatient clinical care and methods to support patients that will benefit from sensory considerations in medical care.

This presentation by Dr. Lisa Croen and Dr. Maria Massolo from Kaiser Permanente will: -review the principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) -discuss its late arrival to the field of autism research highlighting the ongoing contributions of AASPIRE -review US government support of patient centered research through PCORI funding. They will illustrate the benefits of collaborating with community partners by presenting a project in which a team of researchers and a team of autistic community advocates are co-producing autism research.

This virtual, semi-annual event is an opportunity to highlight innovative life course intervention research  supported by the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P).

This webinar will be presented by Dr. Dora Raymaker, on the following topics: -An overview of systems approaches to inquiry, including systems thinking and action research -An overview of relevant concepts and methodologies within these approaches, including leverage, generative causality, system dynamics, and critical systems heuristics -Using leverage to identify how to create to long-term change through intervention -Real-world examples of using systems approaches within autism employment research and public health

Segmented Public Health Messaging will help participants harness the power of storytelling to enhance messaging and evoke emotion and compassion within a diverse audience. Content will focus specifically on weaving social justice themes into your content, and building audience engagement by highlighting community efforts to combat health inequities.

In this webinar, Dr. Christine Wu Nordahl will provided an overview of current research focused on understanding autism in girls and women. Topics included biological and clinical theories about: -the difference in the sex ratio of autism -current insights into neurobiological sex differences in autism -unique challenges faced by autistic girls and women