As part of ARI’s work to advance autism science and education, we offer free bi-monthly expert-led webinars on topics related to autism. Presenters discuss emerging trends and research findings on the underlying biology of autism and effective care strategies. Information presented in ARI webinars is evidence-based, making our video library a trustworthy resource for the autism community. Webinar playbacks are free on our website and YouTube Channel, with more than 1.35 million views.
ARI’s recurring Research Update webinar series offer uniquely up-to-date insights on critical topics in autism. These series cover ongoing investigations and their implications for research and care, providing families and practitioners with crucial information in a timely manner. Within the ever-changing landscape of autism science, these webinar series also offer a transparent look at how our understanding of autism continues to evolve. Research topics recently updated include systemic inflammation, sleep, challenging behaviors, trauma, and gastrointestinal issues.
Research Update Series
Sleep
Research Updates: Bringing Sleep and Autism into Community Settings (2025)
Beth Mallow, MD, shares current research updates on sleep and autism. She highlights the multifactorial nature of sleep patterns and how they affect daily functioning and core autism traits like emotion regulation. The speaker provides helpful sleep questionnaires and tips for minimizing sleep resistance and night waking. Mallow outlines preliminary work from ongoing sleep education trials for parents and therapists and emphasizes the efficacy of behavior-based interventions. She provides contact information for potential study participants and notes the lack of research surrounding common medications before the Q&A.
Systemic Inflammation & PANS/PANDAS
Research Updates: At the Crossroads of Infection, Inflammation, and Mental Health (2024)
Jennifer Frankovich, MD, MS, dives into the intersection of infection, inflammation, and mental health. She discusses the increase in recognition of this critical overlap over the last decade, highlighting how systemic inflammatory conditions have the highest rate of co-occurring psychiatric disorders. The speaker outlines ten inflammatory diseases that frequently co-occur with mental health conditions, including spondyloarthritis, psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, Behçet’s Syndrome, Sjögren’s disease, Scleroderma, CNS Vasculitis, Sydenhams’ Chorea, and Lupus. Frankovich underscores the connection of Streptococcal infections to many of these inflammatory conditions, noting their similarities to PANS and challenges with diagnosis. She provides thanks and acknowledgments before the Q&A.
This is a follow-up to our June 12, 2024 webinar featuring Dr. Jennifer Frankovich, Ayan Mondal, Ph.D., and Noor A. Hussein, Ph.D.
Challenging Behavior
Self-Regulation Strategies for Self-Injury
Emily Ferguson, Ph.D., discusses self-regulation strategies for self-injurious behaviors (SIB). She outlines recent research on the frequency and distribution of different SIBs across a large sample, underscoring the importance of assessing individual behavior severity instead of an overall SIB score. The presenter considers the role of emotion regulation in SIB interventions. Ferguson considers emotion recognition, coping strategies, and prevention methods and provides free online resources for parents and clinicians.
Trauma
Autism and Trauma: Research Updates (2025)
Dr. Connor Kerns delivers research updates on the intersection of trauma and autism. She describes the relationship between childhood adversities, trauma, and mental health and highlights the need for trauma measurements that are specific to the autism community. The presenter considers the complexities of diagnosing PTSD in autism and details the development of the Childhood Adversity & Social Stress Questionnaire (CASS-Q). Kern’s ongoing work aims to describe the adversities of autistic youth and compare the CASS-Q PR symptom subscale to the DSM-5 PTSD descriptors. She discusses preliminary results revealing high validity and summarizes limitations and implications before the Q&A.
Gastrointestinal Issues
Autism and Gastrointestinal Comorbidities (2025)
Mojdeh Mostafavi, MD, describes gastrointestinal conditions commonly seen in individuals with autism, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Eosinophilic GI disease (EGID), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), disorders of the gut-brain interaction (DGBI), and constipation. She outlines recent research on the prevalence of these conditions in people with autism, emphasizing the complexities of symptom presentation, drivers, and care. The speaker provides a free social story for endoscopies and considers the relationship between pain expression and GI conditions. Mostafavi considers the difficulties of transitioning from pediatric to adult healthcare in autism. She summarizes the presentation before the Q&A.