Community-based interventions are limited for autistic adults. Could community programs fill some of the gap? Programs that foster self-expression, confidence, and leadership offer promising opportunities to help neurodivergent adults to develop skills they need to achieve their goals. In their 2022 OAR-funded study, Amplifying Autistic Voices: Investigating the Impact of a Community-Based Public Speaking Program, researchers…
The alarm goes off late. You rush through the morning, skipping breakfast and brushing your teeth with the last squeeze of toothpaste. By the time you’re out the door, the plan for the day already feels derailed. It’s a familiar pattern. One small change snowballs into giving up on the rest. Keeping up with sleep, hygiene, and nutrition can be hard for anyone, and…
Substance use disorder is a widespread problem that affects one in 10 Americans, including autistic adults. While there is evidence-based programming for adults who engage in unhealthy substance use, those programs are not designed for autistic people. In their 2023 OAR-funded study, ADAPT: Development of a Substance Use Disorder Prevention Class for Autistic Adults, Laura…
A recent analysis of 338,415 health records found that males are being diagnosed with autism earlier in life while the age for females has remained static, and many are not diagnosed until adulthood. In 2024, 44% of boys were diagnosed before age 5 while only 34% of girls were diagnosed before age 5. Epic Research—the…
Problem behavior, such as self-injury, aggression, and disruptive behavior, which many autistic children demonstrate, can strain family relationships and result in challenges at school and other places. If not addressed, it can lower quality of life, limit the autistic child’s access to education and community activities and raise parental stress. In a two-year OAR-funded study,…
Sleep difficulties are highly prevalent in autistic youth, often contributing to negative child and family outcomes. Behavioral sleep interventions have been shown to reduce those difficulties, yet few studies have examined how they would work for autistic youth. In 2024, co-investigators Cameron Neece, Ph.D., and Tori Van Dyk, Ph.D., conducted a two-year, OAR-funded study to…
ARLINGTON, VA, July 9, 2025 – The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is delighted to announce the recipients of its 2025 Graduate Research Competition. The program offers up to $1,000 to master’s students and $2,000 to doctoral candidates or post-doctoral students to conduct autism-focused research. This year, OAR is awarding 10 grants totaling $19,306. With…
In October 2024, OAR’s Board of Directors authorized funding for six applied autism research grants and one autism resource grant. These new research grants, totaling $338,844, bring OAR’s total research funding to $5.3 million since 2002. This article, describing the resource grant, is the seventh of the previews to be featured in The OARacle this year. Autistic people who…
OAR staff members attended the 24th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) in Seattle at the beginning of May. The conference showcased the ongoing and latest scientific studies, elevating the field of autism research through interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers, self-advocates, and those who serve the autism community. Conference presentations, speakers, and…
