Projects currently recruiting families from ASD-UK:
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck College, University of London
ASD-UK is supporting Jennifer Glennon and Prof Michael Thomas to recruit children and young people with moderate to severe autism aged from 6 to 10 years in the London area for this study.
Why is the research being done?
Children with autism experience the world in a uniquely different way. Yet the exact nature of this difference remains unknown. The researchers at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development are endeavouring to see the world through the eyes of the child with autism. They hope that insights gained will inform autism support services and ultimately improve quality of life for children with autism.
What will the researchers be doing?
By using eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) technologies while children observe a short series of images and videos, the researchers wish to learn more about how children with autism experience the world. The researchers will also ask parents/carers to complete questionnaires about their child's behaviour.
Who is funding the research?
This research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Contact details
For more information about the study or if you would like to take part, please contact Jennifer Glennon (jglenn01@mail.bbk.ac.uk).
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University of Bedfordshire
ASD-UK is supporting Dr Chris Papadopoulos to recruit families from across the UK to complete an online survey.
Why is the research being done?
Dr Chris Papadopoulos and team at the University of Bedfordshire are looking at the impact of “stigma” on the carers of children on the autism spectrum.
In this study, the term “stigma” is used to describe any negative attitudes or behaviour of other people or society in general towards someone associated with autism (such as the parent of a child with ASD), and also when a person thinks negatively about themselves.
The research team at the University of Bedfordshire are trying to design a course of sessions that caregivers of children with ASD could attend to learn about ‘protecting themselves’ from potential stigma. To help the researchers plan this course, they would like to hear about personal experiences of stigma from families, and your views about how to make the planned course successful and effective.
What does taking part involve?
The team would like you to complete an online survey, which will likely take between 5 minutes and 30 minutes to complete (depending on the length of your answers). This survey has been looked at and approved by an ethical committee (an independent group of people), it is completely voluntary, the collected data will be treated with confidentiality, and your responses are anonymous (i.e. your identity is protected, unless you choose to give them your details).
Please note that whilst the results of this survey will be used by Dr Papadopoulos and team to plan a future course for caregivers of children with ASD, the course is not available at present.
How do I get involved?
If you would like to find out more about this study and complete the online survey please click here: http://tinyurl.com/autismstigma.
The research is funded by the autism research charity Autistica.
Contact Details
For more information about the study, please contact Chris Papadopoulos (chris.papadopoulos@beds.ac.uk).
Durham University
ASD-UK is supporting Miss Emily Grew, Dr Debbie Riby and Dr Mary Hanley to recruit children and young people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder aged from 6 to 16 years in the North East of England for this study.
Why is the research being done?
Understanding how to support children to do their best at school is a vital part of education. To discover the best way to do this, the researchers at Durham University would first like to understand the skills and behaviours that are related to academic success. For example, children who have good attention skills may achieve higher grades at school compared to those who have poor attention skills. Previous research has suggested that this may be true for typically developing children, however this relationship is less understood for children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
It is known that children with an ASD can experience problems that may impact on their school experience, which may in turn influence how well they do at school. The researchers would like to investigate whether different abilities and behaviours (such as attention, verbal ability, IQ, anxiety, social behaviour, sensory sensitivity) may influence how well children perform at school. They are interested in this relationship for children both with and without an ASD.
What will the researchers be doing?
The study will involve completing five assessments of cognitive ability and academic achievement with each child. The researchers will also ask each child’s parent or guardian to complete four questionnaires relating to the child’s social behaviour, symptoms of anxiety, and their sensory experiences. To take part, children should have a minimum language level of being able to use simple phrases.
Who is funding the research?
The research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of a North East Doctoral Training Centre Studentship Award, awarded to Emily Grew, who is studying for her PhD.
Contact details
For more information about the study, please contact Emily Grew (e.e.grew@durham.ac.uk).
Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), Institute of Education, University of London
ASD-UK is supporting Dr Liz Pellicano (principal investigator), Dr Themis Karaminis and Ms Louise Neil to recruit children and young people on the autism spectrum aged between 6 and 14 years in the greater London area for this study.
The Medical Research Council has funded researchers at CRAE to find out more about why sensory symptoms, such as hyper sensitivity (e.g. an aversion to fluorescent lights), hyposensitivity (e.g. only perceiving things when they are really vivid) and unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g. being drawn to spinning things) often occur in autism. Dr Liz Pellicano (the director of CRAE) and her collaborator at the University of Florence, Professor David Burr, have suggested that people with autism may rely more heavily on 'the here and now' rather than knowledge gained from previous experience, when processing sensory information. To test this possibility, researchers will be seeing children either at the Institute of Education or at home or at school to administer several tasks (fun computer games!) designed to find out more about children's perceptual experiences. Parents will also be given questionnaires to fill in.