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.

Big data can provide population-level indicators for autism research focused on physical health. Claims data are a useful big data tool that emerge from health systems and provide translational research opportunities to improve health outcomes across large groups and communities. Claims data are generated at local, state, and federal levels, and from multiple insurance sources. In this webinar, we will describe existing approaches to the use of claims data for autism research focused on physical health and present and discuss opportunities for future research.

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 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

In this webinar, Dr. Kristen Choi will discuss emerging evidence on using telehealth to deliver therapy to children with autism spectrum disorder (e.g., speech therapy, occupational therapy, applied behavior analysis). Using data from a recent survey of parents in Southern California, the mental health impact of the pandemic on parents and their children will be discussed, as well as how COVID-related stress affected perceptions of telehealth.

Understanding and Reaching your Audience-will help participants identify and reach their target audience in their public health communication efforts during and post-COVID-19. Content will focus specifically on reaching neurodivergent populations and those with multiple intersectional marginalized identities.

This month, AIR-P celebrated Autism Acceptance Month with two webinar presentations! We held a back-to-back webinar session as follows. 12-1pm PT / 3-4pm ET: The Intersection of Autism, Health, Poverty and Racial Equity (2022 National Autism Indicators Report (NAIR)). This presentation will be provided by Dr. Lindsay Shea and Dr. Kristy Anderson from Drexel Autism Institute. 1-2pm PT / 4-5pm ET: Why Studying Puberty in Autism Research Matters. This presentation will be provided by Dr. Jenny Mai Phan, postdoctoral fellow at University of Wisconsin Madison.

Dr. Rujuta B. Wilson provided education on sleep difficulties in autism in this webinar. The following areas were addressed: (1) prevalence and diagnosis of sleep difficulties in autism, (2) the current knowledge in the field of why sleep difficulties occur in autism, and (3) behavioral and pharmacologic treatment for sleep difficulties.