International Society for Autism Research News

http://autism-insar.org/

INSAR is the major professional, scientific organization devoted to advancing knowledge about autism spectrum disorders. We offer the following benefits to members:

1. Organization of the annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR). Members of INSAR do not pay for submitting abstracts and receive a reduced registration fee
2. Free online access to our flagship journal: Autism Research
3. Access to members only sections of the INSAR website
4. Job postings on the website
5. Ability to vote in elections and participate in committee activities

In November 2011 the board held its first strategic planning meeting to chart our goals for the next few years. Over the course of two days, we refined our mission statement and created 5 strategic initiatives to guide our decision making in meeting the mission of our organization:

INSAR Mission Statement:

To promote an integrated approach and understanding of research on autism spectrum disorder

Strategic Initiatives

1. Setting the Bar—INSAR will promote and enhance the highest quality research agenda at the society's annual meeting and in the society journal
2. Expanding the Scope—INSAR will cultivate cross-cutting breadth of research from basic science to service delivery that encompasses the range of ages and diversity of ASD.
3. Global Reach—INSAR will expand the scope of its activities to encompass global perspectives on ASD.
4. Next Generation—INSAR will foster opportunities for leadership and career development for the next generation of ASD researchers.
5. Building Identity—INSAR will grow its membership and organizational identity

We have already begun to address these initiatives, primarily through the work of our major committees, our annual conference: IMFAR, our journal and website.

In other news, we expect our new website to be launched any day now. Do watch out for the new “face” of INSAR, which has been developed under the leadership of Simon Baron-Cohen and his committee, and the tireless work of our website editor, Christa Anderson—we thank them all for their creativity and efforts.

Finally, IMFAR 2012 is just around the corner—don't forget to register and make your reservations! This year promises to be an especially exciting conference. We thank our conference co-chairs (Wendy Roberts and Lonnie Zwaigenbaum) and program co-chairs (Stephen Scherer and Peter Szatmari).

I look forward to seeing you in Toronto!

Sincerely,

• Helen Tager-Flusberg

• INSAR, President