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International society for autism research news www.autism‐insar.org

International society for autism research news www.autism‐insar.org SOCIETY PAGE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR AUTISM RESEARCH NEWS www.autism-insar.org Autism has become a popular topic of media coverage over the past decade. Stories about the struggles of individuals with autism and their families, stories of compassion and triumph over challenges, and stories about advances in autism research seem to appear just about every day in local and national news outlets. A key part of INSAR’s mission is not only to support innovative autism research, but also to get the word out about important science that is advancing our understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – and how this new knowledge can help people living with ASD today. Each year, the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) provides an ideal stage for highlighting progress in autism science. Health and science media have come to view our meeting as an important source of autism research news. The INSAR Public Relations (PR) Committee has played a critical role in making this happen. In this issue, we want to high- light the important work of this committee so that INSAR members can better appreciate its role in communicating autism research to the broader community, including the media, those living with ASD, practitioners, and policy makers. Months before we convene for IMFAR, members of the INSAR PR Committee work with IMFAR leadership, and particularly the IMFAR Scientific Chair(s), to identify a handful of accepted abstracts that will be presented at a press conference at the beginning of IMFAR. At the press conference, the selected presenters discuss their research findings and, most importantly, the significance of their research and what it means for individuals with ASD and their families. How does the PR team determine which research is most newsworthy? The committee begins by closely examining reviewers’ comments and ratings of all abstracts. Other factors are taken into consideration, including how much a given abstract advances our understanding of some aspect of ASD, and whether the research topic is something that will likely be of interest to journalists – and the public– because it has clear potential to impact people’s lives. Additional media coverage is generated through the placement of op-eds and interviews with local press about IMFAR and its unique annual gathering of the world’s top autism experts. The media coverage for IMFAR 2016 was unprecedented, with stories appearing in outlets like CBS News, TIME magazine and NPR. In total, there were more than 757 million potential media impressions, more than twice what we had for IMFAR 2015. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Social media is also an important part of the communication effort. The PR Social Media Subcommittee, led by Dr. Michelle Villalobos, works to develop and push out content throughout IMFAR and continually seeks to expand the audience beyond the realm of researchers and advocates. In 2016, more than five thousand people were reached through IMFAR-related posts on Facebook. On Twitter, there was an audience of 21,147,896 for the 3,956 tweets posted about the conference. The #IMFARChat hosted by Spectrum News was also very popular, with more than 1,938 tweets and almost 10.3 million potential impressions. IMFAR now has more than 2,800 Facebook likes up from a modest 247 just five years ago. With the constant flow of autism science news in the media, it has never been more important to point health and science journalists to what is truly the most significant, innovative and potentially impactful research and to provide context that allows the public to understand why these findings are worth paying attention to. INSAR will be looking to play a more prominent role as a resource to these journalists and to the public, and we will be ask- ing for your help in that effort! Alison Singer Chair, INSAR Public Relations Committee Geraldine Dawson President, INSAR Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/aur.1737 V 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Research 9: 1369, 2016 1369 INSAR http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Autism Research Wiley

International society for autism research news www.autism‐insar.org

Autism Research , Volume 9 (12) – Dec 1, 2016
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN
1939-3792
eISSN
1939-3806
DOI
10.1002/aur.1737
Publisher site
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Abstract

SOCIETY PAGE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR AUTISM RESEARCH NEWS www.autism-insar.org Autism has become a popular topic of media coverage over the past decade. Stories about the struggles of individuals with autism and their families, stories of compassion and triumph over challenges, and stories about advances in autism research seem to appear just about every day in local and national news outlets. A key part of INSAR’s mission is not only to support innovative autism research, but also to get the word out about important science that is advancing our understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – and how this new knowledge can help people living with ASD today. Each year, the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) provides an ideal stage for highlighting progress in autism science. Health and science media have come to view our meeting as an important source of autism research news. The INSAR Public Relations (PR) Committee has played a critical role in making this happen. In this issue, we want to high- light the important work of this committee so that INSAR members can better appreciate its role in communicating autism research to the broader community, including the media, those living with ASD, practitioners, and policy makers. Months before we convene for IMFAR, members of the INSAR PR Committee work with IMFAR leadership, and particularly the IMFAR Scientific Chair(s), to identify a handful of accepted abstracts that will be presented at a press conference at the beginning of IMFAR. At the press conference, the selected presenters discuss their research findings and, most importantly, the significance of their research and what it means for individuals with ASD and their families. How does the PR team determine which research is most newsworthy? The committee begins by closely examining reviewers’ comments and ratings of all abstracts. Other factors are taken into consideration, including how much a given abstract advances our understanding of some aspect of ASD, and whether the research topic is something that will likely be of interest to journalists – and the public– because it has clear potential to impact people’s lives. Additional media coverage is generated through the placement of op-eds and interviews with local press about IMFAR and its unique annual gathering of the world’s top autism experts. The media coverage for IMFAR 2016 was unprecedented, with stories appearing in outlets like CBS News, TIME magazine and NPR. In total, there were more than 757 million potential media impressions, more than twice what we had for IMFAR 2015. That’s a lot of eyeballs. Social media is also an important part of the communication effort. The PR Social Media Subcommittee, led by Dr. Michelle Villalobos, works to develop and push out content throughout IMFAR and continually seeks to expand the audience beyond the realm of researchers and advocates. In 2016, more than five thousand people were reached through IMFAR-related posts on Facebook. On Twitter, there was an audience of 21,147,896 for the 3,956 tweets posted about the conference. The #IMFARChat hosted by Spectrum News was also very popular, with more than 1,938 tweets and almost 10.3 million potential impressions. IMFAR now has more than 2,800 Facebook likes up from a modest 247 just five years ago. With the constant flow of autism science news in the media, it has never been more important to point health and science journalists to what is truly the most significant, innovative and potentially impactful research and to provide context that allows the public to understand why these findings are worth paying attention to. INSAR will be looking to play a more prominent role as a resource to these journalists and to the public, and we will be ask- ing for your help in that effort! Alison Singer Chair, INSAR Public Relations Committee Geraldine Dawson President, INSAR Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/aur.1737 V 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Research 9: 1369, 2016 1369 INSAR

Journal

Autism Research – Wiley

Published: Dec 1, 2016

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