Brief Report: A Survey of Autism Research Priorities Across a Diverse Community of Stakeholders

Frazier, Thomas W.; Dawson, Geraldine; Murray, Donna; Shih, Andy; Sachs, Jessica Snyder; Geiger, Angela

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3642-6

Brief Report
Published: 15 June 2018

Brief Report: A Survey of Autism Research Priorities Across a Diverse Community of Stakeholders

Thomas W. Frazier¹,
Geraldine Dawson²,
Donna Murray¹,
Andy Shih³,
Jessica Snyder Sachs⁴ &
Angela Geiger⁴

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders volume 48, pages 3965–3971 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Inclusion of stakeholder voices in the allocation of research funding can increase the relevance of results and improve community engagement in research. We describe the results of an online survey that gathered input from community stakeholders regarding autism research priorities. A demographically diverse sample of respondents (N = 6004; 79.1% female; 72.5% ages 30–59; 86.4% USA) completed the survey. Results indicated a preference for applied relative to basic science topics, though both basic and applied science areas were rated as important. Respondents gave their highest ratings to research focused on co-occurring conditions, health and well-being, adult transition, and lifespan issues. These results can guide decision-making by public and private funders when developing science funding priorities and engaging in science dissemination activities.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge all the stakeholders who participated in this survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

Science Department, Autism Speaks, 1 East 33rd Street 4th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA
Thomas W. Frazier & Donna Murray
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
Geraldine Dawson
Global Autism Public Health, Autism Speaks, New York, USA
Andy Shih
Autism Speaks, New York, USA
Jessica Snyder Sachs & Angela Geiger

Authors

Thomas W. Frazier
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Geraldine Dawson
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Donna Murray
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Andy Shih
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Jessica Snyder Sachs
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Angela Geiger
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Contributions

TWF and DM conceived of the study. All authors participated in its design and coordination. TWF completed the initial draft of the manuscript; TWF performed the statistical analysis; and TWF, GD, DM, and AS contributed to results interpretation. All authors contributed to key revisions of the manuscript and all authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Thomas W. Frazier.

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Frazier, T.W., Dawson, G., Murray, D. et al. Brief Report: A Survey of Autism Research Priorities Across a Diverse Community of Stakeholders. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 3965–3971 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3642-6

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Published: 15 June 2018
Issue Date: November 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3642-6

Keywords

Autism
Research priorities
Caregivers
Funding
Stakeholders
Adult transition