Free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time (US), Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Tune in to hear about The ASSERT Project. The ASSERT: All StakeholderS Engaged in Research Together project seeks to engage people on the autism spectrum, with Down syndrome, or with other intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) along with caregivers, clinicians, and researchers. Our goal is to build an online learning community where these stakeholders learn about research together in a way that is collaborative and multidirectional (all learners gain knowledge from each other). Through this project, stakeholders will “assert” themselves and make their voices heard as they work together as partners in research to improve health outcomes.

All StakeholderS Engaged in Research Together—the ASSERT learning community

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About the speakers:

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Dr. Beth Malow is Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to joining the faculty at Vanderbilt, Malow was a tenured associate professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan and director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program and the General Clinical Research Center Sleep Program. She received her B.S. degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL in 1984 and her M.D. from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. She then did her internship in Medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY from 1987-88. Her residency in the Harvard-Longwood Neurological Training Program in Boston, MA from 1988-91 was followed by a fellowship in epilepsy, EEG, and sleep at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD from 1991-94. Learn more about Dr. Malow.

 Susan Brasher, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, is an Assistant Professor, tenure track, and has an extensive pediatric background in both the inpatient setting as a Registered Nurse in a pediatric dedicated hospital and in the outpatient setting as a Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (CPNP). She has several years of experience teaching Pediatric Nursing to both undergraduate and graduate nursing students. She received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Florida with an emphasis on pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism spectrum disorder. She has served as a Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-Investigator (Co-I) of numerous funded grants focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has several years of experience as PI, Co-I, and project coordinator of multiple funded patient-centered outcomes research institute (PCORI) awards working with community members and research teams to address health disparities of children and young adults on the autism spectrum. She has served as a PCORI ambassador since 2018 to expand knowledge and participation in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) across the country. Learn more about Dr. Brasher.

The post All StakeholderS Engaged in Research Together—the ASSERT learning community appeared first on Autism Research Institute.

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Epilepsy Alliance Florida case manager Beatriz O offers tips for thriving while navigating uncertainty.

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SPECIAL TIME – Free webinar at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time (US), October 29, 2025

Tune in to hear Adrien Eshraghi, MD, MSc, FACS, a 2022 ARI grant recipient, discuss the ongoing translational research in his lab.

Animal Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Foundations for Translational Therapeutic Research

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Dr. Adrien Eshraghi is board certified in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. He is Board Certified in Neurotology. He served as the past President of the Florida Society of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.

His training and experience at Sorbonne University in Paris, UCLA, and University of Miami encompasses medical, surgical, holistic, and integrative approaches to disease management. By combining these approaches, he provides comprehensive management of Ear and Hearing Disorders (Otology and Neurotology)

He is a surgeon-scientist with over 200 scientific papers published (H-Index 50), over 500 presentations at national and international scientific meetings. He is selected by his peers to be one of the “Top Doctors” and “Best Doctors in America” yearly since 2012. He is ranked as one of the Top 2% Scientists in 2024 that are leading the minds in science (Stanford University Top’s 2% Scientist List in the world).

  • Upset child sitting alone on a playground bench
2025-01-21T13:12:18-05:00

Externalizing behavior among children with neurodevelopmental disabilities: Addressing unmet needs and setting up an environment for success.

2025-01-21T13:12:18-05:00June 4th, 2025|Anxiety, Anxiety, Executive Function, Health, Medical Care, Meltdowns, Neurological, Parenting, Research, Research, Self Care, Self Injury, Self-Injury, Sensory, Sleep, Social Skills, Webinar|

Free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time (US), Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Dr. Bottini discusses externalizing behavior among children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and a behavioral framework for how this behavior develops and persists

  • Serious male researcher working with his microscope
2025-01-17T11:30:55-05:00

Microbiome Dysbiosis in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms in a Gene x Environment Neurodevelopmental Disorders Model System

2025-01-17T11:30:55-05:00May 28th, 2025|Biomarkers, Gastrointestinal, Health, Medical Care, Research, Research, Webinar|

Free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time (US), Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Tune in to learn about ARI Research Grant recipient, Dr. DiCicco-Bloom’s ongoing research. Approximately 17% of children are diagnosed with NDDs,

The post Animal Models of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Foundations for Translational Therapeutic Research appeared first on Autism Research Institute.

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Halloween can be a lot of fun for kids regardless of label – so here are our “5 Ps” to achieving safe and fun trick or treating!

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Featured Photo by Nam Quân Nguyễn Let’s Talk About Those Tough Days Last month, whilst juggling multiple deadlines, my autism assessment, and the launch of my […]

The post When OCD Flare-Ups Happen: Managing During Stressful Times (Your Brain Isn’t Broken, It’s Just Having a Moment) appeared first on Exceptional Individuals.

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Autism self-advocate Christian Gonzalez shares his experiences with parental communication, and offers ways it can be improved.

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Featured image Photo by Andrea Piacquadio When you’re neurodivergent, getting the right diagnosis can feel like solving a puzzle where the pieces keep changing shape. For […]

The post OCD in Neurodivergent Individuals: Overlaps, Misdiagnosis, and Tailored Support appeared first on Exceptional Individuals.

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Autism and driving don’t seem to go together in the

The post Tips for the Trip: Driving with Autism  appeared first on AngelSense.

High school marks a major life transition, and for autistic

The post Preparing Your Teen with Autism for High School Independence appeared first on AngelSense.

Free webinar at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (US), October 8, 2025

This webinar will:

· Describe scientific barriers to progress in developing laboratory-based diagnostic tests and new medications for patients with autism spectrum disorder.

· Determine the relative scientific merits of published findings from animal models of autism spectrum disorder by assessing their face and construct validity to the human disorder.

· Provide detailed scientific information on the biology of social deficits with an emphasis on vasopressin and oxytocin signaling pathways and biologically informed treatment trials in patients with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is currently diagnosed behaviorally because its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Consequently, there are no laboratory-based diagnostic tests to detect ASD and no disease-modifying medications that effectively treat its core behavioral features. The capability of rapidly detecting ASD based on neurochemical markers, however, would revolutionize ASD detection, enable more timely behavioral intervention, and provide targets for pharmacological treatment. To address these urgent unmet needs, we developed a translational ASD research platform, spanning studies of naturally low-social rhesus monkeys to children with ASD. Converging evidence from this body of research indicates that the neuropeptide vasopressin plays a critical and conserved role in regulating social abilities, and that brain vasopressin (but not oxytocin) signaling is impaired in low-social monkeys, children with ASD, and newborn infants before the period when ASD first manifests. On the basis of this compelling evidence, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial. We found that intranasal vasopressin treatment is well tolerated and significantly improves social abilities in children with ASD. These findings suggest that a neurochemical marker of impaired social functioning may be present very early in life, before behavioral symptoms emerge, and that the vasopressin signaling pathway may hold diagnostic and therapeutic promise for ASD.

Vasopressin Biology in Autism: From Biomarker to Treatment Target

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Karen J. Parker, PhD is the inaugural Truong-Tan Broadcom Endowed Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, where she leads the Major Laboratories Steering Committee and directs the Social Neurosciences Research Program. She is also an Affiliate Scientist at the California National Primate Research Center and a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). Dr. Parker received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. She completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University and joined the Stanford faculty thereafter. The principal goal of her research program is to better understand the biology of social functioning across a range of species, and to translate these fundamental insights to drive diagnostic and treatment advances for patients with social impairments, with a core focus on autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Parker’s research has been supported by the NIH, Simons Foundation, and Department of Defense, published in leading scientific journals (e.g., Science Translational Medicine, PNAS, Molecular Psychiatry), and featured across diverse media outlets (e.g., Huberman Lab podcast, NPR, CBS, New York Times, LA Times, Science, Scientific American). She has attended key opinion leader meetings at the U.S. National Academies and NIH, and held leadership roles on international research and ethics advisory committees for the Society for Neuroscience and ACNP. Dr. Parker currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, three children, and two Australian shepherds.

The post Vasopressin Biology in Autism: From Biomarker to Treatment Target appeared first on Autism Research Institute.

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