# Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2022 · $325,783

## Abstract

ABSTRACT– Dissemination and Partnership Core
The Dissemination and Partnership Core uses novel participatory methods to engage the autistic community
while simultaneously developing the careers of researchers from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
In these efforts, the primary aims of the Dissemination and Partnership Core are to: (1) Establish and convene
the Autistic Partners Group to enhance all Center community engagement, dissemination, and training
activities. We will use participatory methods to establish the Autistic Partners Group, a team of diverse autistic
community members that will partner with investigators for all community engagement, dissemination, and
training efforts. Convening of the Autistic Partners Group will be co-facilitated by a researcher and autistic
community leader ten times annually; (2) Create an inclusive and supportive research environment that attends
to intersectionality and prioritizes engaging diverse autistic adults and their allies. Using messaging co-
developed in our Autistic Partners Group (Specific Aim 1), we will engage with community partners to prioritize
participation by autistic adults from groups that have been marginalized (e.g. racial and ethnic identities,
female sex, LGBTQIA+ community, intellectual disability, and rural and under-resourced communities). Using
established partnerships, we will engage in community activities, such as ‘pop-up’ events and registering a
booth at the local Pride festival, to increase visibility and enhance recruitment efforts in intersectional
communities; (3) Partner with autistic adults to co-develop materials for disseminating research to autistic and
neurodiverse communities. We will partner with local autistic adults to co-develop dissemination materials (e.g.
infographics; photographic representation; videography; social stories; the Center website) to distribute in the
community; (4) Speed the translation of research to practice by disseminating findings to community-based
providers serving autistic adults. Each year, we will host a continuing education seminar series on mental
health and suicide risk of autistic adults across 4 different practitioner settings (i.e. psychiatric hospitals,
primary care providers, post-secondary education and vocational rehabilitation, and community mental health
clinics); (5) Enhance the scientific community by disseminating our research of impact broadly; and (6)
Enhance diversity in the autism scientific community by developing careers of students and early career
investigators. We will facilitate monthly Center-wide career development seminars and writing clubs for all
Center trainees, with an emphasis on supporting new investigators from diverse and disadvantaged
backgrounds. The Dissemination and Partnership core will work together with the Clinical Core to prioritize
research participation by autistic adults from groups that have been marginalized. This will simultaneously
expand and strengthen our community pa...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10523165
- **Project number:** 1P50MH130957-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelly Battle Beck
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $325,783
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-06 → 2027-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10523165

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10523165, Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach (1P50MH130957-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10523165. Licensed CC0.

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