ARI’s Accomplishments in 2021

ARI is awarding more than $300,000 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 pandemic in 2020, we have been helping many of our colleagues worldwide adjust their research plans so they can continue their efforts with minimal interruptions.

Our Scientific Advisory Board attracts leading researchers in all areas related directly or indirectly to understanding the underlying biology of autism. Advisory board members provide crucial support for ARI’s rigorous grant review process, participate in our near-weekly webinars, share their latest research findings, and contribute to our library of articles.

ARI held its first-ever, online, multi-day, scientific meeting in 2021 featuring researchers sharing updates on a variety of topics including gastrointestinal issues and emerging metabolic findings. We are planning now for our in-person think tanks to resume in April 2022.

We provide researchers with guidance on how to optimize their experimental designs, and help them recruit participants for their studies. ARI assists two tissue banks: a brain tissue bank for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the University of Maryland and a gastrointestinal biorepository 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.

Disruptions to personal and professional lives, schedule changes, and school closings continued to present unique challenges for individuals on the autism spectrum and their families, as well as research professionals and clinicians throughout 2021. As students returned to school and travel and holidays resumed, we worked to provide webinars and social stories with helpful updates for coping with these ongoing changes.

ARI’s monthly e-newsletter keeps nearly 140,000 subscribers up-to-date on new resources and research updates.

ARI publishes a bimonthly e-newsletter, Clinical Research in Autism, for more than 10,000 obstetricians, pediatricians, and nurses who want to keep current with research relevant to their practice.

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 were released in 2021. 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 25 languages, the ATEC is completed by more than 150 users per day.

ARI networks with 222 support group members located in 77 different countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Croatia, Egypt, Hungary, Israel, Moldova, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam.

ARI is an NGO (non-governmental organization). The goal is to improve communication and to share information about the science and evidence-based treatments.