In
The Politics of Autism, I describe the difficulties of finding reliable information:
One problem is that a good deal of the solid research about autism lies in academic journals behind an Internet paywall, open only to people who have a university library card or can afford the journals’ exorbitant prices ($35 or more per article). Says neuroscientist Sophia Colamarino: “In today’s information age, where essentially anything said by anyone can be made accessible within a matter of moments, it is unfortunate that families have easy access to all BUT the most scientifically valid information, that which can be found in scientifically reviewed research literature.” NIH and Autism Speaks have tried to remedy this situation by requiring its research grant recipients to put any resulting peer-reviewed research papers on the PubMed Central online archive, but this policy affects only a fraction of the literature on autism.
Karen Baliff Ornstein, senior marketing manager at the publisher Wiley, writes at Autism Speaks:
We are going to celebrate Autism Awareness month by sharing our scientific autism resources. We want the widest possible group of people to benefit – caregivers, practitioners, family members and more. Together we can share not only studies, but also new insights and potential solutions.
Our staff worked with a team of researchers and other scientists to select some of the most recent research from a variety of journals and books. Now it’s our pleasure to offer free access to this special collection to you – those truly interested in and affected by autism – for the entire month of April. Free to read and share.
What will you find in this collection?
* More than a hundred informative articles (actually 127 at last count) from a variety of top journals, spanning a range of important topics and addressing many real-life situations.
* Information from thousands of researchers, educators, scientists and practitioners, offering global perspectives on how to create an inclusive society, how to support adults with autism, how to understand the enigma of autism, and more.
* Complimentary access to an entire online issue of Autism Research, with a set of special “Scientific Summaries for Families with ASD.”
* Our best books on autism, with free excerpts on interventions and assessments.
* And much, much more. We hope you can’t resist taking look.
Access Wiley’s free autism science collection here.
