Erin Leif, David Celiberti, Maithri Sivaraman, Renee Wozniak

It can be challenging for journalists to sift through all of the literature and media content related to autism treatments. In this article, we will be sharing information about the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) and suggesting ways you might navigate the perils of a field fraught with pseudoscience and misinformation. It is our hope that you and your colleagues within the journalism community may find ASAT’s resources interesting and helpful in our shared commitment to keep science and evidence at the forefront when discussing autism treatment.

ASAT was established in 1998 as a not-for-profit organization of parents and professionals committed to improving the education, treatment, and care of people with autism. With a mission to promote safe and effective science-based treatments for people with autism. ASAT disseminates accurate, timely, and scientifically sound information while advocating for the use of scientific methods to guide decision making and combating unsubstantiated, inaccurate, and false information about autism and its treatment. Our newsletters and website can provide journalists and other media professionals with numerous resources to make reporting on safe and effective autism treatment easier.

Why is accurate reporting on autism treatment important? There are currently over 500 different marketed interventions for autism, with the vast majority lacking any scientific support. However, these treatments are often showcased as “ miracle cures ” and “ breakthroughs. ” When autism treatments without any scientific support are sensationalized, families may be lured into spending tremendous time and money on ineffective (or potentially harmful) treatments. But this need not be the case. Families deserve accurate, science based information about autism treatment, and your role as a journalist is critically important in helping concerned family members and other consumers make the best possible treatment choices for their loved one.

For this reason, it is important that researchers, clinicians, and journalists rely on a scientific framework to promote effective communication and collaboration. Members of the media need quick access to accurate, up to date, science based information about specific autism treatments, but it can often be difficult to cull this information from the pages of scientific journals (which are often locked behind paywalls and filled with technical terminology). It is our hope that this article serves to provide a comprehensive list of resources offered to journalists and other members of the media, to ensure that scientifically sound information about autism and its treatment is free and accessible. We anticipate this list of offerings will continue to grow, and with it an expansion of opportunities for collaboration.

We would like to take this opportunity to share details about four important ASAT initiatives that may be helpful to you as a journalist:

Published Newsletter: ASAT publishes a monthly newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment (SIAT), containing reviews of published research, books, and consumer resources (e.g., training videos, websites), interviews with leaders in the field of autism treatment and advocacy, answers to questions about important clinical issues related to treatment, strategies to differentiate evidence based options from others marketed as panaceas, guidance to media professionals, and more.

Website: ASAT’s website (www.asatonline.org) provides valuable information about weighing the evidence supporting various treatment options. ASAT regularly updates treatment summaries and research synopses so readers may access timely information about the current state of autism intervention research in an easy to read format. Each treatment summary includes a brief description, an assessment of the scientific research supporting or refuting that treatment, and key references for more information. The website features book reviews, interviews, topical articles, and information to assist with a variety of clinical issues. In addition to pages for members of the media, the website also contains pages specific to special interest groups such as parents of newly diagnosed children, medical professionals, and teaching faculty. Finally, you can find links to the current newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment (SIAT) as well as past issues in the Archived Newsletters section.

Media Watch: ASAT’s Media Watch initiative identifies, highlights, and shares published information about autism and autism treatments. Understanding that every media contribution has the potential to reach thousands of consumers and service providers, we support accurate media depictions of empirically – sound treatments for autism. We also respond to inaccurate information of proposed treatments reported and, at times, promulgated by news outlets. In our experience, inaccurate portrayals of autism treatments in the media often involve, but are not limited to:

  1. Exaggerating the research support for an intervention for which no, or too little research exists;
  2. Ignoring the research basis that may already exist for the treatment in focus;
  3. Disregarding the relevance of science altogether;
  4. Disregarding position statements from various professional organizations that warn against or discourage the use of a particular treatment; and
  5. Failing to acknowledge research that does NOT support a particular intervention.

You can review our 200+ published letters written in response to autism news in the media.

Specialty Pages for Media Professionals: We have created a section on the homepage of our website for members of the media community. Additionally, guidelines are provided for journalists to help you tackle your next autism story from a science minded and conscientious perspective. Please also familiarize yourself with our FAQ section. Although this list of frequently asked questions is a work in progress, we hope that you can find some responses to recurring questions here. We will be dividing questions and their responses into the following 4 sections:

  • FAQs about Autism
  • FAQs about Intervention Delivery
  • FAQs about Media Representations
  • FAQs about Research

In the remainder of this article, we would like to draw your attention to some specific resources that bear relevance to your important work:

ASAT’s Online Resources Specifically for Journalists

ASAT’s Website: Resources Pitched to Consumers of Media Representations (Family Providers, Treatment Providers)

ASAT’s Website: Other Relevant Links

How You Can Help Us

  • Encourage others to sign up for our newsletter and peruse the sections of our website.
  • Emphasize in your articles how essential it is for consumers to make careful choices guided by the best available scientific research.
  • Please keep in mind that April is Autism Awareness month and we are available to contribute content to your stories specific to promoting awareness about best practices.
  • We would be very interested in your feedback on this article. You can reach us at media@asatonline.org

Citation for this article:

Leif, E., Celiberti, D., Sivaraman, M., & Wozniak, R. (2018). How ASAT supports journalists. Science in Autism Treatment, 15(3), 33-35.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email