Perinatal & Pediatric
Being aWARE: engaging the community in development of a Web-based tool for Autism Research Anisha Singh* Anisha Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh Singh National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Background: The breadth and diversity of studies examining the role of nongenetic factors in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) resulted in a large and heterogeneous body of research. This motivated development of a Web-based tool for Autism Research and the Environment (aWARE) to promote understanding of the state of science.
Objective: To identify and characterize published scientific research on early life environmental chemical and physical exposures and their association with ASD using a systematic evidence map (SEM) approach and interactive visualizations to make the information more findable and accessible. This project actively engages the broad autism community to shape relevance and uptake, representing a novel approach to community-informed evidence synthesis.
Methods: SEMs use the rigor and transparency of systematic review methodology to identify, categorize, and display data in an interactive visual format to aid synthesis and support evidence-based decisions. We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for studies of ASD-relevant outcomes and environmental exposures through September 2025. We engaged the wide autism community to inform our approach, including autistic individuals and families, advocacy groups, clinicians, and researchers through listening sessions, and a focused workshop to test the beta version of aWARE. We also conducted a qualitative analysis of community input.
Results: Over 150,003 studies were screened for relevance using DistillerSR software, and 1065 studies were included. Data were extracted with Dextr into aWARE’s interactive evidence maps (figure 1) hosted on Tableau Public. Community engagement identified key themes, one of which highlighted the need for plain-language summaries to improve accessibility of existing evidence.
Conclusion: The aWARE tool is one of a kind in merging community engagement with evidence synthesis approaches, thus creating a valuable resource resonating with diverse perspectives.
