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What should be the purpose, in your view, of autism research?


Autism research

Autism research

One thing I should have learnt over the years is never to discuss controversial matters on the internet and social media in particular.

To be fair I always do forget and am always surprised and the sewage that gets dropped on my head . Most especially when I have the temerity to ask questions where opinions are strong but there may be no right or wrong answer.

So with that in mind I have decided to enter another difficult area for the autism community.

I’d like to look at the question of what should be the objective or purpose of research into autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?

It strikes me that there are two main schools of thought on this matter (but there could be others of course). First there is the search for a “cure” for autism. The other is that we should focus our energies if developing new and more effective therapies for ASD.

I am very interested in finding out what you think on the matter.

We have set up a poll below and it would be great if you could take part!

Secondly we would love it if you could share your suggestions for new autism research and/or your views on current autism research in the comments section.



Please remember that views on questions like this really do vary. So we ask that you treat other readers and commentators with decency and charity!

Many thanks in advance.

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Gender and autism. Please take our poll!


Autism and gender

Autism and gender

Last week I had to pick my son up from his autism ResourceBase. I’ve talked a bit about his schooling in a previous blog post. So please do have a look here.

While of interest to all in the ASD community it is not the main point of this post. Today my interest is slightly different. One thing I noticed, when I picked John up from the school gate, was the disparity in gender. Of the fiveteen kids in the group only three are girls.

Now this has been commented upon many times. Indeed males much outnumber females in terms of ASD diagnosis. But in recent years much has been made of women/girls who have ASD but are so high functioning it does not seem to get picked up.

So I am very interested in finding out what is the real situation. And there is only one group to ask which is you – the autism community.

So to that end I am running the poll below to find out what is really is the truth about gender and autism diagnosis.


Please note that while we are aware of the issues surrounding autism and gender and the transgender community we are hoping to explore this in more detail at a later date.

Finally it would be great if you could share with anyone in the autism community you think might like to take part.

Thanks very much in advance

 

spud1296 Tony Attwood did a wonderful job explaining why there may be so much under diagnosis of girls with autism.  Many girls do not present in the classic ways that boys do and tend to go either without a diagnosis or with an incorrect diagnosis.  A chief pediatrician at Duke hospital told me that my daughter was not autistic and that I would be wasting TEACCH’s time having her diagnosed.  Boy was he shocked when he found out that Dr. Lee Marcus confirmed the autism diagnosis.  People have to remember what autism is.  A large part of it is where the person’s sensory system has many parts that are out of sync.  That does not mean that they are out of sync in the same way however.  While not liking to hug was considered a classic sign, over hugging (which my daughter did) can be just as much a sign.  Also many people consider the love of patterns to be a hallmark.  My daughter despises patterns and has a very hard time seeing them.  People have a tendency to see this as meaning she doesn’t have autism when its just the other end of a spectrum.


Leave a comment Posted on Autism, Research

Xavier University if looking for female caregivers of children with autism for some online research.


Xavier University Autism Research

Xavier University Autism Research

It seems that these days I am writing an introduction to a blog post like this. As I nearly always explain one of the main objectives of this blog is to promote academic research into autism. Not surprising since I sent 20 years in market research and have a son with ASD.

In this case Emily Schreiber , a doctoral student at Xavier University, is conducting some research with female caregivers of children with ASD. The survey is online and lasts around 30 minutes. If toy do complete the study you will be entered into a prize draw for a $50 Walmart voucher!

Of course giving this information is voluntary. No identifying information will be linked to your responses if you have any concerns.

Schreiber shared  ” Are you a female caregiver of a child with autism? We need to hear about your experience!

We are conducting a study about social support experienced by mothers raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Participation in this study will be anonymous and will be of no risk or benefit to you.”

Please click on the following link ato take part in the sudy

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6W2FDCY

If you have any queries Ms Schreiber can be contacted at schreibere@xavier.edu.

Thanks very much for your interest in advance!


 

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Mothers of children with autism – can you help a student at University of California, Irvine, with some online research?


University of California, Irvine, Autism Researc

University of California, Irvine, Autism Research

Yes I know this introduction is getting a  bit boring but, for the sake of completeness, seeing as I have started so I’ll finish.

One of the objectives is this blog is to help promote academic research into the whole area of autism and ASD.  I spent a decade in healthcare market research so I take an interest in the field.  As I am the parent of an eight year old with autism it is of huge personal interest to me any my family.

A couple of days ago we were contacted by a researcher at an US university who is look for people to help her with a survey.

Eline Kocharyan is a researcher student at the University of California, Irvine, who is currently running an online survey with mothers of children with autism.  We are hoping that you would help her with an short online survey

Kocharyan tells us  “I am a research student at the University of California, Irvine, conducting a study on “The Effects of Maternal Prenatal Stress and Exercise on Autism Severity.” The study seeks to determine if there are any possible correlations between maternal gestational stress and exercise and autism severity. The study will be conducted in a non‐invasive online survey format ‐ allowing participants to take the survey in any environment they find comfortable/private. Participants will be automatically entered in a raffle to win a $25 Visa Gift Card. Participation is completely voluntary and participants may choose to withdraw from the study at any point during the survey process. If you are the mother of an autistic child between the ages 2-17 and would like to participate, please click on the link below. ”

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YNKVVFC

If you have any queries for Ms Kocharyan please use the comments box below to ask any questions.


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Autism and Education. Please help and student at the  University of Roehampton with her research into mainstream schooling!


University of Roehampton

University of Roehampton

Khadija Tajzai of the  University of Roehampton is conducting some research with parents of children on the autism spectrum.  She’s asked us to see if any of our readers in London might be interested in taking part so we thought we would share a few more details about her research with you.

Tajzai  tells us”I am a student pursuing a Masters in Psychology for Educational Professionals at the University of Roehampton. I have planned to carry out a research on Parents’ perceptions of their own involvement in the learning of children with ASD. The aim of the research is to explore parent’s perception of personal involvement in the learning of their child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I am specifically looking at parents of children who attend Mainstream Secondary School in London.

The study will enable the researcher to explore whether the level of severity in ASD has an influence on the level of parental involvement. As well as that, this research will allow us to gain an increased understanding if there are any differences in the level of involvement amongst fathers and mothers.


In order to conduct this research I will be interviewing participants individually. The interview time will be arranged at participant’s convenience . The interviews will be tape recorded and transcribed for analysis. The data you provide for this study will be completely anonymous. Any names or identifying information will be removed from transcripts. Everything you say will be confidential unless you disclose something which indicates a risk to yourself or a third party. In these cases the researcher will need to act in accordance with British psychological Society guidelines. The recordings and transcriptions will be kept securely and destroyed 18 months after the completion of this study.”

If you would like to take part in this study then please contact the Ms Tajzai at  tajzaik@roehampton.ac.uk

Thanks very much in advance.