autism research

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An Investigation of Early Indicators of Behavioural Difficulties in Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder – Please help Trinity College Dublin with some research


No research study has examined the relationship between the presence/absence Trinity College Dublin - Autism Researchof early indicators of behavioural difficulties and the presence/absence of core preschool life skills ).  Behavioural difficulties such as aggression towards self and others, temper tantrums, and noncompliance are often prevalent in older children with autism, yet little is known about how these manifest at a younger age. Preschool life skills include functional communication, instruction following, tolerance of delay/denials in accessing rewards, and pro-social skills. This study will examine factors related to (a) early indicators of behavioural difficulties (b) the presence/absence of the core preschool life skills in children below the age of 5 years. Absence of the preschool life skills as a risk marker/predictors of early indicators of behavioural difficulties will also be investigated.

Parents/teachers/staff members who are interested in participating will complete an online questionnaire. The questions will be used to identify early indicators of behavioural difficulties (and the type of difficulties present), to evaluate communication skills and social functioning, and to identify the presence/absence of the 13 preschool life skills.

Link to access questionnaire:

http://goo.gl/forms/HGpjDZIwwG

If you would like additional information please contact:

Carolyn Ritchey

Email: ritcheyc@tcd.ie

Phone: +353 89 452 5331


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A survey for adults with autism about relationships. Please take part


Claremont McKenna - Autism Research

Claremont McKenna – Autism Research

We are a team of researchers from Claremont McKenna College (Department of Psychology), UCLA (Department of Psychiatry), and California State University Long Beach (Department of Psychology). We are very much interested in better understanding the lives of adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In particular, we are interested in learning more about romantic relationships in adulthood and how they affect other aspects of adults’ lives. For this study, we have created a questionnaire that will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete. We are greatly appreciative of any volunteers on the autism spectrum willing to complete the questionnaire.

There is little existing research investigating romantic relationships among adults with ASD and we hope that by conducting this questionnaire we will learn more about this important part of life in adults with ASD. This could help us understand the role of romantic relationships and their impact on daily lives.

Here is a link to the questionnaire: https://claremontmckenna.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8vjRZZ3gyCKlQTX

For specific questions, please feel free to email us at: Lindsey.Sterling@csulb.edu

Thank you for your time!
Lindsey Sterling, Siena Whitham, and LillyBelle Deer


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OT Research Study: Parent Wanted! Parent Strategies for Increasing Eye Contact in Children with ASD – Please help 3 OT graduates with a survey.


Autism and Eye Contact

Autism and Eye Contact

As occupational therapy graduate students we hope to find ways to improve the quality of life of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as well as their families. The goal of our research study is to identify methods parents have found to be the most successful for increasing their child’s eye contact and decreasing the amount of time their child spends visually perseverating (fixating on an object for an inappropriate period of time). Deficits in social communication are common in the ASD community, which can result in decreased social competence; thus, impacting the individual’s ability to use effective social strategies to interact with others, including initiating interactions, responding appropriately to others, solving conflicts, and maintaining sustained engagement in social interaction.

Children with ASD commonly have characteristic deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication such as facial expression, gestures, eye contact, joint attention tasks, and rote and imaginative play, which can negatively impact their ability to orient and attend to social tasks, and engage in socializing. For many, eye contact skills are an important skill necessary for the development of social, cognitive, and language skills.


Several strategies have been found to be effective for increasing eye contact in children with ASD. Researchers have found that interventions during play, such as withholding items until the child requests them while making eye contact, reinforced the child’s behavior toward making eye contact. Strategies during play have also been used to increases eye contact in a child with ASD. These strategies include placing one’s face by a toy the child is interested in, imitating the child’s actions, or putting a preferred item out of reach and waiting for the child to make eye contact. Research has found that parents who imitated their child’s actions and used a preferred activity to engage the child, such as singing to them or wrapping them in a blanket, improved eye contact throughout the length of the parents’ interactions with their children. Other parental strategies include the use positive affect such as laughing, clapping, playful tones, and physical affection.
Through this study it is hoped that there will be a better understanding of the type of strategies (e.g., language, touch, auditory, visual-technology, object, exaggerated body placements, or other strategies) that improve eye gaze and eye contact. A benefit of this study will be to provide occupational therapists and other professionals, working with families of children with ASD, the ability to develop treatment plans according to what caregivers have found to be successful for decreasing visual perseveration and increasing eye contact.

If you or anyone you know are interested in participating in this study, please follow the link below:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASDparentstrategies

Thank you for your time.

Laura Perez, Macy Rhea Crenshaw, Divya Sakaria

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The Relationship of Parent-Child Closeness, Number of Children and Pet Ownership with Perceived Stress among Parents of Children with Autism – please help a student at HELP University with his research.


As you know I am always keen on helping promote academic (and other ) research into ASD. Firstly

HELP University - Autism Research

HELP University – Autism Research

because I’m the father of a son on the autistic spectrum but also because I spend 20 odd years in market research. Of which a decade was in healthcare!

So when Sanjivan Padman of HELP University in Kuala Lumpur got in touch I was delighted to help out.

Sanjivan writes” I am an undergraduate student from HELP University. I am doing a thesis on The Relationship of Parent-Child Closeness, Number of Children and Pet Ownership with Perceived Stress among Parents of Children with Autism. It would be very helpful if any of you could share my online survey with parents of children with Autism. It would only take around 6 minutes to complete this survey. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

I seek your kind assistance to approve this request as soon as possible. Here is a link of the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PVGpAfM6WEOJixY0T7R6rJLMH1CgVm64s6fNCli5asQ/viewform

Thank you for participating in this research. Please note that you must be a parent of at least one autistic child within the age of 3-18 years old to take part in this study. Before proceeding to the questionnaire at the back, please read and sign this consent form. If you have any questions to ask, you may contact the researcher via the contact details provided.

Description of the project:

You have been asked to take part in the study that aims to study the relationship of parent-child closeness, number of children and pet ownership with perceived stress level among parents with autistic children.


What will be done:

If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that consists of demographic questions, Interpersonal Solidarity Scale and Perceived Stress Scale that would take less than 6 minutes to complete.

Risks or discomfort:

Your participation in this study is voluntary. The researcher does not anticipate any risk or discomfort besides minimal fatigue from this study. However, if you feel any discomfort, you may decide not to participate in the study. No adverse action will be taken against you for opting out. Feel free to contact the centre listed below for assistance if you do experience any psychological discomfort arising from this study:

Centre for Psychological and Counseling Services: 03-2096121

Benefits of this study:

Although there will be no direct benefit to you for taking part in this study, the researcher may learn more about the relationship of parent-child closeness, number of children and pet ownership with perceived stress level among parents with autistic children.

Confidentiality:

Your participation in this study is confidential and anonymous. None of the information will identify you by name. All records will only be handled by the researcher. All the data will be kept confidential. No personal information will be revealed to the public unless they are required by law to report information to city, state or federal authorities, or to give information to a court of law.

Decision to quit at any time:

The decision to take part in this study is voluntary. If you have decided to not take part in this research, you may quit at any time. Whatever your decision may be, no adverse action would be taken against you. If you wish to quit, simply inform the researcher.

Rights and Complaints:

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Board, Department of Psychology and Faculty of Behavioural Science at HELP University. If you have any problems or questions in relation to this study, you may discuss your complaints with the researcher supervisor or the chairperson of Ethics Review Board through the contact number or address stated below.

I understand that this research study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Review Board, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural Science at HELP University. For research related problems or questions regarding participants’ rights, I can contact:

Chairperson
Ethics Review Board
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Behavioural Science
HELP University
BZ-2 Pusat Bandar Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone: 03-27112000

If you have further inquiries regarding this study, please feel free to contact the researcher at the addressed stated below

Thank you.

Researcher – Sanjivan Thamby A/L Padmanapan jivan92@gmail.com
Research Supervisor – Alex Lui An Lieh luial@help.edu.my

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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.