On the occasion of Autism Awareness Month, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and the Office of Autism Research Coordination have released three new reports:
* 2015 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research– summarizing the IACC’s selections for the top twenty research articles of 2015
* 2014 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research– summarizing the IACC’s selections for the top twenty research articles of 2014
* 2011-2012 Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Portfolio Analysis Report– reporting on autism research funded by federal agencies and private organizations, and elaborating on data initially released in 2014 as a part of the 2013 IACC Strategic Plan Update. These data sets are also available through the new IACC/OARC Portfolio Analysis Web Tool.
Both “top advances” publications are organized in a lay-friendly manner by topic of interest, including:
“When should I be concerned?”
“How can I understand what is happening?”
“Which treatment and interventions will help?”
“Where can I turn for services?”
and
“What does the future hold, particularly for adults?”
The authors of the “top papers” selected by the IACC included more than a hundred researchers funded by or otherwise affiliated with Autism Speaks. They included Autism Speaks Senior Vice President for Public Health Research Andy Shih and Paul Shattuck, a member of the Autism Speaks Family Services Committee and director of the Life Course Outcomes Research Program of the AJ Drexel Autism Institute, in Philadelphia. Dr. Shih co-authored “Approaches to enhancing the early detection of autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review of the literature.” Dr. Shattuck co-authored the “National Autism Indicators Report: Transition into young adulthood.”