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The State of Autism Research: TPGA Takeaways From IMFAR 2016

Shannon Des Roches Rosa with Carol Greenburg Your faithful TPGA editors spent most of last week in Baltimore, Maryland at IMFAR, the International Meeting for Autism Research. We gleaned as much as we could from the 2000 scientists, professionals, autistic people, and family members from all over the world who spent three full days talking about the most current findings and trends in autism research. But we didn’t cover everything or meet everyone we wanted to, because doing so is not physically possibly without a Time Turner. (If you ever want to experience abject FOMO — fear of missing out — by all means, go to IMFAR.) Overview Ninety-nine percent of the researchers at IMFAR are the nicest, most well-meaning scientists one could ever meet, which makes for a friendly atmosphere. We were happy to see significant progress on some research fronts: only a single presentation about vaccines, and it…

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IMFAR 2016: Bridging the Research Gap: Incorporating Autistic Intellect in Research Design & Evaluation

IMFAR 2016: Bridging the Research Gap: Incorporating Autistic Intellect in Research Design & Evaluation Storify by Shannon Rosa Mon, May 23 2016 18:26:57 Edit IMFAR 2016: Bridging the Research Gap: Incorporating Autistic Intellect in Research Design & Evaluation Dena L. Gassner and Stephen Shore, Alexa Pohl and John Elder Robison discussed the importance of including autistic people in all areas of the autism research process. Unfortunately, session catalyst Monique Blakemore was unable to attend IMFAR due to funding hiccups. Incorporating #Autistic Intellect #IMFAR2016 SIG featuring @AlexaPohl, Dena Gassner, @johnrobison, & @Tumbalaika: pic.twitter.com/Ex6AqkQhKu ThinkingAutismGuide@thinkingautism · Mon, May 16 2016 19:58:32 ReplyRetweetFavorite Special Interest Group (SIG) description: Recent IMFAR gatherings have emphasized the need to close the gap between the bench and the community in regard to autism outcomes. This SIG seeks to create dialogue about what autistic individuals can bring to the research bench as contributors to design, analysis and review…

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Going to IMFAR 2016? Read These Articles About Autism Research And Presentations First

Photo © Bobby Wade/Flickr [image: White woman with long brown hair and glasses, giving a presentation at a TEDx autism conference.] Our editors Carol and Shannon are spending the latter half of this week at IMFAR, the International Meeting for Autism Research, which is May 11 – 14 in Baltimore, MD. If you’re going, say hi! You can also follow us on Twitter at @ThinkingAutism, @ShannonRosa, and (Carol) @AspieAdvocate. IMFAR has improved a lot: We are glad to see the annual conference welcome increasing numbers of autistic speakers and attendees, so that autism researchers can listen to the people whose lives they are studying (and ideally trying to benefit), and vice versa. But since our editorial roles include being autism research ethics gadflies, we have to note that IMFAR is still mostly about the medical model view of autism and disability (curing and fixing), rather than the social view (understanding…

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Neurodiversity In The High-Tech Workforce Conference: Coming to Silicon Valley This June

Stu Shader photo © Shannon Des Roches Rosa [image: Smiling white man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses.] Microsoft’s Stu Shader is putting together a conference on Neurodiversity In The High-Tech Workforce, and it’s coming to Silicon Valley on June 7th. Conference partners include The Morgan Autism Center, The ARC of California, Bridges Academy, and Lime Connect. If you are autistic, or in any way interested in how to increase employment for autistic people, this (free!) conference is an opportunity to learn how traditional high-tech workplaces can better include autistic people, and also to give autism employment best practices feedback to employers and consultants. (Please note that the “high-tech workforce” encompasses more than coders and engineers.) Keynote speakers include: Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes, who will talk about the history of autism with regards to Silicon Valley workers, as well as the untapped employment potential of autistic people. Jose Velasco,…