Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Autism Research Institute. Active in the field of autism for 45 years, he was named director of ARI in 2006 after the passing of autism pioneer and advocate Dr. Bernard Rimland.

Dr. Edelson has conducted research in various areas comprising behavior, biomedical, diagnosis, sensory issues, and cognition. He has spent decades spearheading research design by developing effective measures of autistic traits relevant to evaluating level of disability and establishing a network with researchers and medical providers. He frequently convenes with this network to discuss emerging findings that have the potential to improve the health and well-being of people with autism. Dr. Edelson has published research articles with many notables in the autism field, including Drs. Bernard Rimland, Ivar Lovaas, Temple Grandin, Margaret Bauman, Edward (Ted) Carr, and Manuel Casanova.

Dr. Edelson has been the Managing Editor of Autism Research Review International printed journal since 2007. He also leads ARI’s annual scientific meeting and co-leads its annual in-person Think Tank for researchers and clinicians.