Articles by Andy
Activity
6K followers
-
Andy Shih shared thisThe Autism CARES Act of 2024 sets the direction for federal autism research, including a stronger focus on quality of life across the lifespan. This year is the first full funding cycle where we can begin to see how those priorities are showing up in the national research landscape. To help track how federal research dollars are being allocated, Autism Speaks launched a new dashboard mapping NIH autism research funding from 2024-2026 to the Act’s priority areas. The tool will be updated quarterly, offering a consistent, data-driven view of how funding is distributed. We hope that this dashboard provides greater transparency and is a helpful resource for policymakers, researchers and advocates to better understand how investments align with the autism community’s priorities. https://lnkd.in/ebXcgMHyA new Autism Speaks dashboard tracks how NIH autism research funding aligns with the priorities in the Autism CARES Act | Autism SpeaksA new Autism Speaks dashboard tracks how NIH autism research funding aligns with the priorities in the Autism CARES Act | Autism Speaks
-
Andy Shih shared thisReally interesting reporting from Ariana Eunjung Cha at The Washington Post on the emerging links between autism and Alzheimer’s—and what that could mean for how we study and treat both conditions. It’s exciting to see growing interest in aging and autism—an area that has been historically overlooked, but is becoming increasingly important as more autistic people reach older adulthood. Researchers like Joseph Buxbaum, who serves on our Medical and Science Advisory Committee, are uncovering shared biology that could ultimately lead to new approaches for intervention. At Autism Speaks, we’re focused on what this means for care across the lifespan. Through our collaboration with McLean Hospital, for example, we’re supporting research on aging and dementia in autistic people, so that the autistic community has access to the care and support they deserve at every stage of life. https://lnkd.in/eh5fhuHESurprising links between autism, Alzheimer’s could change how we treat bothSurprising links between autism, Alzheimer’s could change how we treat both
-
Andy Shih shared thisI love how this program will nurture and support a diversity of talents and abilities. Grateful for Franklin Becker's leadership and the warm and enthusiastic reception by the culinary industry. #worldautismawarenessmonth #autismemploymentFor People With Autism, Can Restaurant Kitchens Be a Haven?For People With Autism, Can Restaurant Kitchens Be a Haven?
-
Andy Shih shared thisGrateful to Her Excellency Ambassador Alya Al-Thani and the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar for their leadership. #WAAD2026 #AwarenessIntoAction #inclusion
-
Andy Shih reposted thisAndy Shih reposted thisThe IACC has played an important role in helping shape federal research priorities. The Autism CARES Act envisions a committee with strong representation from the autism research and clinical community, leading autism organizations, autistic self-advocates, and family members. We are concerned that the current composition does not fully reflect that balance. The committee’s impact depends on work that remains grounded in rigorous science and informed by the full breadth of lived experiences of autistic people and their families. https://lnkd.in/gGRrPWeW
-
Andy Shih shared thisMany thanks to Richard Gawel and Healio for the opportunity to weigh in on a new study showing mental health disparities among adults with IDD. The findings reinforce what we’ve long seen the autistic community—that autistic adults face disproportionately higher rates of anxiety and depression, along with real systemic barriers to accessing care that fits their needs. From a clinical perspective, there are practical steps we can take now to close this gap: 1. Make mental health screening routine. Autism Speaks has developed a series of clinical pathways to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment for anxiety, ADHD and irritability in autism that clinicians can implement in their practice. 2. Be mindful of diagnostic overshadowing. 3. Improve accessibility of services by improving communication supports, offering flexible appointment structures and ensuring providers have training in disability-informed care. 4. Build more coordinated, interdisciplinary care models that bring together primary care, psychiatry, behavioral health providers and developmental specialists. Policy also has a critical role to play. Federal efforts like the Autism CARES Act, long championed by Autism Speaks, are critical to building the research base, workforce capacity and infrastructure needed to close these gaps. https://lnkd.in/eSh9vDgtIntellectual, developmental disabilities linked to greater anxiety, depression risksIntellectual, developmental disabilities linked to greater anxiety, depression risks
-
Andy Shih reposted thisAndy Shih reposted thisUnfortunately, the United States has a well-documented history of fraud and waste across the health care system, and addressing those vulnerabilities is essential to protecting patients, families, and taxpayers alike. At the same time, efforts to root out fraud must be carefully designed so they do not unintentionally undermine access to the critical services that children and families depend on. The The Wall Street Journal’s recent article exposing fraud, abuse and excessive billing in the autism therapy sector is deeply troubling. The allegations highlight serious vulnerabilities in oversight that must be addressed. Billing practices that inflate costs or charge for services that are not delivered represent a breach of responsibility to taxpayers and to the autism community. Fraud and abuse ultimately harm the very people these programs are meant to serve by putting critical services at risk. Medicaid plays a critical role in helping families, particularly those with limited means, access services that support their children’s development, communication, and independence. When the system is exploited, it damages trust and diverts resources away from children and families who genuinely need care. It can also limit access to services for other families waiting for support and, in some cases, lead to poor-quality care. We at Autism Speaks know thousands of providers across the country who are working hard to deliver thoughtful, individualized support to autistic children and their families. For many, services like ABA play an important role in helping their child develop communication skills, build independence and participate more fully in everyday life. It is important that the work of these dedicated providers is not conflated with instances of serious misconduct and abuse that represent a clear departure from acceptable standards of quality and accountability. Stronger safeguards and consistent oversight are essential to ensure high-quality services that are focused on what matters most—supporting each child’s needs. At the same time, efforts to address fraud must be targeted and thoughtful so they strengthen accountability without unintentionally cutting off access to services families depend on. As policymakers examine these issues, it is critical that they protect access to the full range of Medicaid-funded supports, including services like ABA and other supports such as home and community-based services that help autistic people live and participate in their communities. Families deserve a system that protects access to effective services, ensures accountability and guarantees that every dollar is used to deliver meaningful support to autistic people and their families. https://lnkd.in/ewSqMwpHThe Boom in Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing JackpotThe Boom in Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing Jackpot
-
Andy Shih posted thisAppreciate the opportunity to offer Autism Speaks' perspective on FDA announcement regarding leucovorin yesterday. https://lnkd.in/e4GYzvfE
Andy Shih commented on a post
4w
Happy Birthday, Ari!!! 🎂
Andy Shih replied to a comment
2mo
Great question! Not that I am aware of. While we have ample evidence that autistic adults are at greater risk for just about every non-communicable disease. The lack of neuroinclusive approach to care, especially for common age-associated diseases like stroke, diabetes, cancer, etc. is glaring. The result of this knowledge and practice gap is poor quality of care and outcome for autistic adult. Autism Speaks is working to encourage and promote more neuroinclusive approaches in adult medicine, from primary health care to specialist care, and everything in between.
-
Andy Shih liked thisOn #Autismacceptancemonth, spotlighting Dr Azadeh Kushki, one of few transformative scientists using #AI and #DataScience to understand the many autisms, and drive personalized solutions for kids and familiesAndy Shih liked thisTo close our Autism Acceptance Month series, we’re highlighting Dr. Azadeh Kushki, senior scientist, associate chief of data science at the Bloorview Research Institute, and Canada Research Chair in Neurodiversity and Personalized Health. Dr. Kushki’s work focuses on understanding and supporting the unique needs of each child - recognizing that no two children experience the world in the same way. Her research uses data science, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to better understand how biological and environmental factors shape each child’s experiences, including how they respond to different supports and interventions. This work is helping move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches toward more personalized, responsive care. Her team is also exploring innovative tools, including wearable and digital technologies, to better understand children’s day-to-day experiences - with the goal of supporting more individualized, proactive and neurodiversity-affirming approaches to care. Her work is helping shape a future where care is tailored to each child’s unique strengths, needs and environment - supporting more meaningful and individualized outcomes. Learn more about Dr. Kushki’s work: https://lnkd.in/e8GxjuXZ Over the past month, we’ve highlighted ARC scientists working across disciplines - from early identification and family-centred interventions to mental health, community-based care and data-driven approaches - all contributing to more inclusive, responsive and meaningful care for autistic children, youth and families. #AutismAcceptanceMonth #AutismResearch #BRIResearch
-
Andy Shih liked thisAndy Shih liked thisI came to Washington this week as the CEO of Autism Speaks. I left reminded, again, that I’m a parent first. This week, 140 advocates traveled from across the country for Autism Speaks’ Advocacy Forum & Hill Day. They showed up to meet with lawmakers, ready to lead with their lived experiences. Their leadership took many forms. Subodh, who many recognize from Love on the Spectrum, spoke about something very practical—job security, independence, and what it takes to secure stable housing. Joseph, a young advocate from Connecticut, made his mother proud by leading a meeting himself—clearly articulating what support looks like from his perspective. Bin from New York, who has limited speech, was there with his family—working together to ensure his experience was part of the conversation. And Tyler, a self-advocate from Missouri, encouraged us to advocate at the state level too and asked his representative an important question: how will you keep me updated on what you’re doing for autistic people? We also heard from parents navigating complex realities—fighting for diagnoses, searching for services, planning for adulthood. Over the course of Hill Day, advocates met with over 125 offices across Capitol Hill—Republicans and Democrats alike—focused on two priorities. First, robust funding for the Autism CARES Act, the primary source of support for federal autism programs, which advance research on aging and co-occurring conditions, train healthcare providers, and help families plan across a lifetime. Second, strengthening the systems people rely on every day. That includes bipartisan legislation to improve access to healthcare, education, employment, and financial stability—from caregiver training and special education funding to policies that allow people with disabilities to build savings without losing benefits. We’re grateful for the leadership of Congressman Chris Smith, founder and co-chair of the Congressional Autism Caucus, and for partners on both sides of the aisle who continue to engage on these issues. If you’re interested in turning lived experience into action, I encourage you to apply to the Autism Speaks Advocacy Academy: https://lnkd.in/erFQGSer You’ll build the skills and knowledge to engage with elected officials and ensure the autism community is represented in the decisions that shape daily life. We saw what that leadership looks like this week in Washington. There’s room for many more voices in these conversations.
-
Andy Shih liked thisAndy Shih liked thisDiscussing the global private equity environment with my colleague, Lily Chan, at our 11th annual Alternative Investments Conference in Hong Kong last week. #GoldmanSachs #AlternativeInvestments #PrivateWealth #APACFinance #AI #PrivateEquity
-
Andy Shih reacted on thisAndy Shih reacted on thisThe Lashuel Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar: https://lnkd.in/e44gbrg8 Our Research in Simple Terms Our Mission: Understanding and Stopping Brain Degeneration What We're Trying to Solve Imagine your brain as a highly organized city where proteins are the workers keeping everything running smoothly. In diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, these proteins start malfunctioning—they lose their shape, stick together in clumps, and eventually cause the brain's vital systems to break down. The Lashuel Laboratory is working to understand exactly why these proteins go wrong and how we can stop them. Our research combines chemistry, biology, and advanced cell technology to uncover the root causes of brain degeneration, with the goal of creating treatments that can actually slow or prevent these diseases, not just manage symptoms. Our Approach We tackle this challenge from multiple angles. We're investigating what triggers proteins to start clumping together in the first place and how these toxic clumps travel through the brain, spreading damage as they go. We're also building sophisticated models in the lab using actual human brain cells, including miniature brain-like structures, that let us watch disease processes unfold in real time and test potential treatments in conditions that closely mirror what happens in patients. At the same time, we're searching for early warning signs, biomarkers in blood or spinal fluid that could alert doctors to disease long before symptoms appear. We're also developing new imaging tools that would allow doctors to see these harmful protein clumps forming in living brains. By piecing together this comprehensive picture of how neurodegeneration works, we aim to create a future where these devastating diseases can be caught early, tracked accurately, and ultimately stopped before they rob people of their memories, movement, and independence. Global Collaboration: The Foundation of Our Success At the heart of our research lies a robust network of international collaborations with leading laboratories at top-tier institutions across the United States, Europe, and Australia. These partnerships are not merely peripheral to our work,they are fundamental to everything we do. This global network provides invaluable opportunities for members of the Lashuel Lab, particularly early-career scientists, to gain hands-on experience with specialized techniques, access state-of-the-art facilities, and learn from pioneers in adjacent fields. Through exchange programs, joint projects, and collaborative publications, these collaborations transform our lab into a dynamic hub where knowledge flows freely across borders, where trainees work alongside experts from multiple disciplines, and where the next generation of neuroscientists gains the tools and confidence to tackle the most pressing challenges in the field.
-
Andy Shih reacted on thisAnother year at INSAR has just begun. Eziafakaku N. Tonye Faloughi
-
Andy Shih reacted on thisAndy Shih reacted on thisIn line with its vision to support people with autism, QF launched the Autism Community Hub, a digital platform that brings together services, resources and expertise for people with autism and their families and caregivers in one place. The Hub supports them at every stage in their life: from early diagnosis and special education to employment opportunities and community activities. استكمالاً لدورها في تلبية احتياجات ذوي التوحد، أطلقت مؤسسة قطر منصة "ملتقى مجتمع التوحد" الرقمية بهدف تقديم دعم متكامل يجمع بين الخدمات والموارد والخبرات المخصصة للأفراد من ذوي التوحد وأسرهم ومقدمي الرعاية لهم ليجدوا في مكان واحد ما يستجيب لمتطلبات رعايتهم عبر مختلف المراحل، من التشخيص المبكر ��التعليم الخاص إلى فرص التوظيف والأنشطة المجتمعية. https://lnkd.in/dGaMHevC
-
Andy Shih reacted on thisThank you Chuck E CheeseAndy Shih reacted on thisToday, on World Autism Awareness Day—and throughout the year—we’re proud to support inclusive, welcoming experiences for every guest who walks through our doors. During World Autism Month, Chuck E. Cheese is celebrating the autism community through two Sensory Sensitive Sundays events, fundraising for our longtime partner, Autism Speaks, and the launch of NEW Sensory Sensitive Birthdays—an inclusive celebration designed to give families more flexibility based on their child’s needs. We’re grateful to our teams and communities who help bring these experiences to life and continue to foster understanding and inclusion every day. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gVBpxawq How do you champion for inclusion in your community? #WorldAutismAwarenessDay #AutismAcceptance #SensoryFriendly #InclusionMatters
Experience & Education
-
Autism Speaks
View Andy’s full experience
By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.
Publications
-
The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration and Community Consensus Building in Improving Identification and Early Diagnosis of Autism in Low-Resource Settings
Australian Psychologist
Objective
Research has demonstrated that early intervention for children with autism can lead to improvements in core symptoms and enhance cognition, adaptive functioning, and quality of life. Unfortunately, most children are diagnosed too late to fully benefit from these services. Even in regions where diagnosis of autism can reliably be made, families often face additional barriers in accessing quality services. This article describes case examples in which Autism Speaks’ Global Autism…Objective
Research has demonstrated that early intervention for children with autism can lead to improvements in core symptoms and enhance cognition, adaptive functioning, and quality of life. Unfortunately, most children are diagnosed too late to fully benefit from these services. Even in regions where diagnosis of autism can reliably be made, families often face additional barriers in accessing quality services. This article describes case examples in which Autism Speaks’ Global Autism Public Health (GAPH) Initiative partnered with communities to facilitate a process of multi-stakeholder collaboration to better understand local autism priorities related to awareness activities, early diagnosis, and developing autism surveillance systems.
Method
This paper utilized a nested case study to demonstrate how GAPH employs multi-stakeholder collaboration, community-based participatory research (CBPR) and consensus building to enhance early identification in low-resource settings. Each of these processes influenced different phases of the projects.
Results
In the first example, Autism Speaks adopted a CBPR approach to understand and address barriers to help-seeking behavior among the Korean community affected by autism in New York City. The second example describes an international effort to develop open-source screening and diagnostic tools for autism that can be delivered by non-specialists in low-resource settings. The last example describes efforts to facilitate the development of an autism registry in Ireland to inform health policy decisions.
Conclusions
Collectively, these examples outline approaches the GAPH initiative uses to support global communities in working to overcome challenges related to the needs of individuals with autism and their families.Other authors -
-
The Autism Simplex Collection: an international, expertly phenotyped autism sample for genetic and phenotypic analyses.
Molecular autism
See publicationThere is an urgent need for expanding and enhancing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) samples, in order to better understand causes of ASD.
-
Approaches to enhancing the early detection of autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review of the literature.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Patents
-
Real time incorporation of personalized audio into video game
US US 20030227473 A1
See patentThe present invention provides a computer method and system for incorporating user-personalized music and/or sound into a video game. In part, the invention relates to a music engine that interfaces with a video game, and provides a plurality of user-personalized sound files to the video game. The invention also relates to an encoded tag text files that identifies a user-personalized sound file to be played back at a specific point in a program.
Projects
-
Autism Researchers Without Borders
Autism Researchers Without Borders is a bureau of volunteer autism researchers and service providers who wish to change the lives of millions affected by autism worldwide while advancing our understanding of autism risk factors, diagnosis, and treatments. The network was launched by Autism Speaks and the International Society for Autism Research in May 2014, in support of Autism Speaks' Global Autism Public Health Initiative, active in over 65 countries around the world.
Other creators -
Recommendations received
1 person has recommended Andy
Join now to viewOther similar profiles
-
Nora Gunn, CFRE
Nora Gunn, CFRE
St. Joseph's Hospitals Foundation & St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Foundation
Explore more posts
Explore top content on LinkedIn
Find curated posts and insights for relevant topics all in one place.
View top content