Panel Submissions. The aim of panels is to present lectures around a common scientific theme of high relevance to autism research. Submissions should consist of 4 linked presentations submitted as a group by a Panel Chair. A Discussant can be included, but is optional. The role of the discussant will be to provide context for the panel, including for non-experts, and/or a discussion integrating concepts raised in the presentations rather than to serve as a 5th presentation.

The Panel Chair should submit a paragraph describing the general theme of the session and the cutting edge science that will be discussed. It is understood that all named speakers will have committed in advance to participate in the panel if selected. The Panel Chair will also provide information about the diversity represented by the group of presenters (see Review Process and Criteria section).

Panel session length is 2 hours. Each talk can be 20 minutes long, with an additional 5 minutes for questions after each presentation, and 10 minutes allotted for the discussant. If there is no discussant, the Panel Chair would determine the best distribution of that time for either presentations or question and answers.

Papers submitted as part of a panel that is not accepted will automatically be considered as an individual submission. If the abstract is reviewed favorably and is determined to stand alone as an individual submission outside a panel, the Program Committee will select oral or poster format. Do not submit material more than once (e.g., as part of a panel and as an individual oral presentation). The submitter can indicate if they do not want the abstract considered for oral or poster presentation. If this option is selected, and the panel isn't accepted, the abstract will be withdrawn from consideration.

Oral Presentations should be data-driven, empirical reports of new findings that have not been previously published or presented elsewhere at the time of submission. Oral presentations will be 10 minutes long with 2 additional minutes for questions. Please avoid using the Oral Presentation format to review the literature or describe published techniques. The Program Committee will evaluate abstracts requested for oral presentations based on their new research content.

Abstracts that are accepted in this format will be grouped into Oral sessions according to common themes by the Program Committee. There are fewer slots for oral presentations than posters. If the submitter selects the "Oral only" format, and the Program Committee does not select the abstract for an Oral Presentation, the abstract will be withdrawn from consideration. Please indicate "Oral or Poster" format if there is no objection to the poster format as a default.

Poster Submissions should be data-driven, empirical reports of new findings that have not been previously published or presented elsewhere at the time of submission.

Poster presentations will be approximately 1.5 hours long.

Technology Demonstration / Poster Submissions should highlight an area of technology and its application to autism spectrum disorder. Preference will be given to those that include empirical data, represent a broad selection of the international community, and include an interactive demonstration of technology.

Panel, poster, tech demos and oral submissions will be reviewed for scientific merit by independent reviewers. Reviewers are unaware of author identities. Submissions are rated using the following criteria:

• Importance of findings
• Clarity
• Methods
• Appropriateness of interpretations
• Relevance of topic to autism research and to meeting attendees
• For Panels Only: Proposed panels must be diverse in viewpoints and approaches, as well as diverse in other domains, including: gender, race, tenure, countries, institutions and disciplines. Panels with no diversity will not be considered.

Submissions that do not conform to submission instructions will receive lower ratings. In particular,

1. If the material is submitted more than once (e.g., same content in two different formats), this could result in the submission not being reviewed.
2. If the abstract lacks sufficient data, for example, an oral presentation that lacks enough content to occupy the 10 minute talk. Avoid lengthy reviews of background literature and published methods.
3. Abstracts should represent research that has already been carried out and has produced statistically reliable findings but which has not yet been published (at the time of submission). Abstracts that are promissory notes of research that will be conducted in the future will receive lower scores even if the topic is of interest.
4. If reviewers have significant ethical concerns.

1. Report original research.
   • All submissions should provide "new" information. Oral and Poster submissions should not have been published or presented previously at the time of submission. Panels may include previously published information, but it is expected that they will also provide new, unpublished data as well.
2. Provide Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions with enough information to allow the reviewer to assess the value of each of these categories. Indicate if the research is exploratory. Rationale, significance of results and general principles should be explained. Methods should be very brief. It is not satisfactory to say, "The results will be discussed."
3. Highlight examples of scientific rigor (sample sizes, replication, blinding and controls used).
4. Provide biological variables as appropriate (age, sex, species, etc.).
5. State units of measure using standard abbreviations.
• When using other abbreviations, fully spell out once and indicate the abbreviation in parentheses that will be used going forward.

1. Submission of an abstract for presentation at the INSAR Annual Meeting is predicated on the following:
   • Any work with human or animal subjects reported in the abstract complies with the guiding policies and principles for experimental procedures endorsed by the National Institutes of Health.
   • Each author has given consent to appear as an author. Each author will automatically receive notice of abstract submission.
2. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest. Any real or perceived financial conflict of interest (COI), such as royalties, pharmaceutical relationships, case litigation, etc., of each investigator must be reported. Any potential for financial gain that may be derived from reported work may constitute a potential conflict of interest. The final step in the process will be the requirement for each author to log into the site and sign the personal COI statement. This must be done by Monday, November 23, 2020 at 11:59 PM pacific time. Failure to declare a real or perceived COI, or COI statements from any co-authors that are incomplete at the disclosure deadline, will result in withdrawal of the abstract from meeting presentation, and the Program and Abstract books as well as a prohibition in submitting an abstract to the INSAR Annual Meeting for the following year. All COIs must be displayed in oral and poster presentations and they will be identified in the online program.
3. Data Presentation: Presentation of research at the meeting must be substantively identical to that summarized in the abstract. Including new data collected after submission is encouraged.
4. All authors must accept and follow INSAR's embargo policy.
   • Information submitted to the Annual Meeting as an abstract for oral or poster presentation is embargoed for the purpose of press releases until after the presentation. The Program Committee will select a small group of abstracts for inclusion in a press book and INSAR will arrange for information release and press conferences during the meeting. Press policies may be viewed on the INSAR website.
5. Online submission is required.
   • Submissions are only accepted through the online abstract system.
   • Submissions are only accepted in English.
   • A profile on the INSAR website is required to access the online submitter. INSAR members and recent meeting attendees already have a login, others can create one.
   • An individual may submit as the first author or presenter once for each submission type (oral, poster, panel).
   • For members of INSAR, there is no fee to submit abstracts. Non-members will be charged a $50 processing fee during the submission process. This fee is non-refundable.
     1. Payment must be rendered by credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or American Express only). Double-check credit card information for accuracy.
     2. Purchase orders are not accepted.
   • Abstract submission does not include registration for the annual meeting; presenting authors must register to attend the annual meeting.
   • All submissions should provide "new" information. Oral and Poster submissions should not have been published or presented previously at the time of submission. Panels may include previously published information, but it is expected that they will also provide new, unpublished data as well.
   • Abstracts must be submitted through the INSAR Annual Meeting online submitter by Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 11:59 PM pacific time.
6. TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT FOR AN ORAL PRESENTATION OR POSTER:

   The text of abstract submissions must:

   • Be 500 words or less.
   • Include the following sub-headings: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions -- with enough information to allow the reviewer to assess the value of each of these categories.
   • Not include the authors' names and affiliations.
   • Graphics (tables/figures) are optional. They do not count toward the 500 word limit. A maximum of two graphics are allowed (2 tables, 2 figures, or one of each), incorporated into a single file. Upload the graphics file using one of the following file formats: .jpg, .gif, .png.
   • For Tech Demo submissions:
     1. Note if the presentation will include a live demo at the meeting.
     2. If so, briefly describe the demo.
7. TO SUBMIT A PANEL:

   Enter both a summary of the overall panel theme, information about diversity represented, and an abstract for each proposed talk in the panel.

   • Panels require a Panel Chair who is responsible for the content within the panel. The Panel Chair can also serve as a speaker within the panel.
   • Individual authors will be sent an email with a link to their specific abstract. It is up to the Panel Chair to decide whether he/she would like to submit all abstracts or ask each author to submit his/her own abstract for the panel.
   • The submitter of each abstract can indicate if they do not want their specific abstract considered for oral or poster presentation in the case of the panel not being accepted.
   • A discussant can be included, but is optional. The discussant should be identified at the time the panel is submitted; no abstract is submitted for the discussant. The role of the discussant is to provide context for the panel, including for non-experts, and/or a discussion integrating concepts raised in the presentations, rather than to serve as a 5th presentation.

   Panels will be evaluated as a whole. If any abstract within the panel is incomplete, the panel will be considered incomplete.

   The text of Panel submissions must:

   • Include a paragraph (200 words or less) describing the overall theme of the panel, followed by a 500 word or less abstract for each presentation within the panel.
   • Include the following sub-headings in each abstract: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions -- with enough information to allow the reviewer to assess the value of each of these categories.
   • Not include the authors' names and affiliations.

   Note: ALL ABSTRACTS WILL BE PRINTED EXACTLY AS THEY ARE SUBMITTED. Therefore we recommend that you compose the text of the abstract in a separate document before beginning the online submission process. Check the spelling and grammar of the text before submitting it. The conference organizers will not edit any portion of abstracts (e.g., title, authors, affiliations, spelling errors).

   As soon as you have submitted the title of your presentation you will automatically receive an email (from insar@confex.com) that includes a password-protected hyperlink. If you must interrupt the submission process before finishing it, you can resume at any time by clicking on the hyperlink in that email.

You will have a chance to look over the submission to make sure all is complete.

No names or titles should be included in the abstract text. Names will be automatically hidden during the abstract review process and will be automatically inserted and properly formatted upon publication.

Presenting authors will be automatically informed of the unique ID numbers and passwords assigned to their abstracts. Abstracts may be viewed and modified at any time between submission and the deadline, using the assigned ID# and password.

Technical Support

Contact technical support for help in submitting an abstract online.