By Kristina Gasiewski, MEd, MOTR/L, BCBA
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
What is ASAT?
The Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) is a not-for-profit organization of parents and professionals committed to improving the education, treatment, and care of people with autism. ASAT has a website dedicated to disseminating the evidence behind autism treatment and provides articles on different topics including treatment summaries, research synopses, interviews with leaders in the field of autism, Clinical Corner and Media Watch Letters, to name a few. In addition to the vast material available on the website, Science in Autism Treatment is published monthly. To keep you informed and help you to make the best decisions for care, the team is always updating information based on the current research, as science is continuously evolving.
Who is ASAT for?
ASAT is for families and professionals who are looking for current, objective, high-quality autism treatments to make informed choices regarding treatment options. Many families, members of the public, service providers, and medical professionals are bombarded with the plethora of interventions that are available for autism. Since autism was first identified, there has been a long history of failed treatments and fads. Sifting through it all to determine what is scientifically sound can be a long and difficult task. ASAT synthesizes all of the available information and provides you with the facts. ASAT’s mission is to promote safe, effective, science-based treatments for people with autism by sharing accurate, timely, and scientifically sound information, advocating for the use of scientific methods to guide treatment, and combating unsubstantiated, inaccurate and false information about autism and its treatment.
ASAT’s 25th Anniversary Year!
ASAT was established in 1998, with the primary goal of working towards adopting higher standards of accountability for the care, education, and treatment of all individuals with autism. Since ASAT has been established, the free newsletter has provided consumers with accurate information about science-based autism treatments in language that is easy to understand. Currently it is being distributed to over 13,000 recipients in all 50 states and 100 countries around the world. ASAT’s website was launched to increase the reach of our information through suggested reading lists, web-based links, and key articles on autism and its treatments. It is visited by over 25,000 visitors every month from over 175 countries. Additional ASAT accomplishments and goals can be found here.
Why ASAT is important to me!
I joined the board of ASAT in 2022 because I believe deeply in ASAT’s core mission! I have been an occupational therapist (OT) within the school setting for many years and have worked with several individuals with autism and their families. Through the years, I have come across several different proposed interventions. As a practicing clinician, it is so important to have knowledge of the evidence behind interventions, but finding unbiased presentations of the facts is not always easy. ASAT is a neutral platform to reference that disseminates science-based information regarding autism. As I am dually credentialed in Occupational Therapy and Applied Behavior Analysis, it has been my passion to provide families as well as professionals within the autism community with the most up to date research on current interventions. ASAT serves the autism community as one place to gain knowledge of current treatments for autism. Additionally, collaboration across disciplines is imperative for effective treatment. Providing all professionals with the most up to date research on current interventions can aid in this endeavor. ASAT continues to work on articles and research summaries that are relevant across disciplines and provides free access via our website and newsletters.
Ready to make a difference and support ASAT?
Support real science in autism and help us promote evidence-based autism treatment! Facebook users can raise money and awareness for causes that they care about. Join me in being one of the 25 people to host a Facebook Fundraiser to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. Not sure how to host a Facebook fundraiser? Check out this article for detailed steps. It only takes a few clicks to create your own Facebook campaign.
Citation for this article:
Gasiewski, K. (2023). ASAT celebrates its 25th Anniversary: Will you join me in being one of 25 individuals to host a Facebook campaign. Science in Autism Treatment, 20(8).
