The following listing contains those Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Projects which currently require participants. If you are a researcher interested in recruiting participants through this page, please complete this form.
Get Involved
If you are a family or an individual affected by an Autism Spectrum Disorder you can make a valuable contribution to unravelling the mysteries of autism. One of the ways you can do this is by becoming involved in research into this complex body of disorders. Indeed, many families ask “what research is being done into autism”?
There is a lot of research into Autism Spectrum Disorders being carried out here in Victoria, and elsewhere in Australia and overseas. One key researcher said recently, “it seems every completed research project asks more questions than it answers.”
What is Research?
Why am I Important?
Current Research Projects Recruiting Participants
What is Research?
Research takes many forms. It may be a large, international project seeking to establish a cause, or locate a gene, or trial a specific treatment. It may be part of a research program that incorporates smaller student projects such as a twelve-month undergraduate project or a three-year doctoral project. Research projects can cover different areas including medical issues, education, causes and other areas related to child and family needs and functioning.
Research findings are usually presented at conferences and ultimately published in peer reviewed scientific, medical and educational journals. Some research findings feature in the media and initiate considerable discussion and debate, such as the recent debate about the MMR vaccination and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Others struggle to get their research published.
An often-overlooked outcome of honours and post graduate student research is its important role in developing the next generation of professionals. More and more students are becoming interested in Autism Spectrum Disorder, and they carry this interest and expertise into their working life.
Why am I Important?
The most important component of Autism Spectrum Disorder research is you – the families and individuals. Without your participation there can be no research findings, and thus no change in our scientific knowledge of these conditions.
Please consider being part of the Research Participant Register. You only need provide basic information about yourself and/or your family. The register is kept securely by Autism Victoria trading as Amaze and is not issued to any third party. You will be asked to provide the following information:
- Date of birth
- Postcode
- Specific Diagnosis
- Verbal/non-verbal
- Level of intellectual disability
- Gender
- Number of siblings with an Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Number of siblings not affected by an Autism Spectrum Disorder
This is an email-based list. Researchers will contact us with details of their studies and the demographics of participants they are recruiting. We will then email details of the study on behalf of the researcher to families/individuals who fit that criteria. You can then contact the researcher directly if you are interested in participating in or receiving further information about the study. When a researcher contacts you, they will explain the study briefly. You are under no obligation to participate in the study unless you wish to do so. You may remove your details from the list whenever you wish by emailing us. To register your interest in participating in research projects, fill out this form.
Current Research Projects Recruiting Participants
Eye movements and reflexive response to gaze in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disoder
Experiences of parents/caregivers of children with autism
Pregnancy, birth, infant feeding and child health outcomes
Investigating social attention in children with ASD
Understanding the support needs of university and TAFE students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Coping skills for teenagers using a mobile phone program
Conversations on Autism: Stories on Independent Living and Parental Experiences
Social Anxiety in Asperger Syndrome
A new natural treatment for Autism
Stress and coping in parents of autistic children
Teaching children with autism spectrum disorder how to write their name using video modelling and chaining
There is limited research in the field of teaching academic skills utilizing video technology. Single subject studies will be
performed to teach children with ASD how to write their name using video modelling intervention.
Research questions:
- Will video modelling combined with chaining increase participant’s ability to write their name?
- Will the increase in desired behaviour maintain over a period of time after completion of intervention?
- Will the skills acquired be generalised to different writing materials and writing tools?
This research is being undertaken by PuiTzan Chan through Monash University, under the supervision of Professor Dennis Moore and Dr Angelika Anderson. For more information, please contact puitzan.chan@monash.edu.au, dennis.moore@monash.edu, or angelika.anderson@monash.edu
Eye movements and reflexive response to gaze in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) and autism spectrum disoder
We are looking for volunteers diagnosed with Autism or Asperger’s syndrome, with no intellectual disability, to participate in a new study being conducted at Monash University that will investigate how people with these conditions visually explore their environment and respond to social visual cues.
Volunteers will be asked to attend one 3-hour session during which they will complete several short eye movement tasks and perform other activities such as responding to shapes in a computer program, providing short verbal answers, tapping and arranging blocks, analysing patterns and completing a questionnaire.
The assessment will be conducted in at the Monash Biomedical Imaging facilities, 770 Blackburn Rd, Clayton. Weekdays (business and after hours) and weekends are available for appointments.
Volunteers will receive two movie tickets as a token of appreciation for their time.
For more information about this project, please contact Ms Esther Ginsberg on Esther.Ginsberg@monash.edu, or phone (03) 9905 3947. This study is being supervised by Associate Professor Nicole Rinehart and Dr Joanne Fielding.
Conducting functional assessment at a distance using bi-capture technology and functional based interventions to decrease problem behaviours
This research is going to formally assess whether a Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) using a bi-capture videoing technique is an effective method in determining the function of a problematic behaviour in an adult with autism.
As part of this process we hope to develop an appropriate intervention based on the results of the FBA that would see a reduction in the undesirable behaviour. It is hoped that the outcome of the study will support the individual to more fully participate in both their workplace and at home.
This research is being conducted through Monash University by Alexandra Foster (Master Educational and Developmental Psychology candidate) under the supervision of Angelika Anderson. For more information, please contact Alexandra at ajfos1@student.monash.edu or on 0431 399 287, or Angelika Anderson at angelika.anderson@education.monash.edu.au or (03) 9905 2856.
Social stories as an intervention for bedtime difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorders
This project will use a single-subject research design to investigate whether the implementation of Social Stories by parents results in improvements in sleep behaviour. It is expected that bedtime Social Stories will result in reduced nightwaking, shorter sleep onset time, reduced co-sleeping, increased total sleep and fewer sleep disturbances.
We hope to recruit one school-aged child diagnosed with an ASD and his or her parents. The child will have had a persistent difficulty with sleep that occurs several times per week. Parents will be asked to keep a sleep diary and will be trained and supported in the intervention.
This research is being conducted through Monash University by Danielle Floyd (Master Educational and Developmental Psychology candidate) under the supervision of Angelika Anderson and Dr Jocelynne Gordon. For more information, please contact Danielle at dcflo1@student.monash.edu.
Towards a better understanding of adjustment, coping and supports for fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Are you a father of a child aged 4-10 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder? Would you be willing to talk about your experience?
I am a final year Master of Counselling Psychology student at La Trobe University, and I am conducting research on adjustment and coping in fathers of children with autism. There is research evidence to show that families with a child diagnosed with autism or other intellectual disabilities are exposed to a range of stressors. There is currently a gap in research focussing on adjustment and support for fathers of children with autism in particular.
The current study aims to explore how living with a child with autism has impacted on fathers’ lives, their adjustment, support and well-being. I would like to enquire about the experiences of fathers across a range of domains that include parenting roles and responsibilities, employment, supports (family, friends, and professionals), emotional impact, and interactions with the service sector. It is hoped that the research will assist with the future development of resources and the delivery of interventions by the service-sectors for fathers of children with autism. This research involves collecting data via one-on-one semi-structured interviews. The interview will be approximately 45 minutes in duration.
If you would like to find out more or register your interest to participate in this research, please send me an email at adhingra@students.latrobe.edu.au. This research is being conducted under the supervision of Dr Kathleen Gregory who can be contacted on 03 9479 5623 or by email at k.gregory@latrobe.edu.au.
Experiences of parents/caregivers of children with autism
The current research is to investigate both the mother and father’s coping processes associated with parenting a child with autism. The researcher predicts that parents who access social support via face to face groups will perceive more support then parents who access social support groups online.
Parents/ caregivers will be interviewed. During the interview, participants will be asked questions which relate to being a parent of a child with autism. The interview will be voice recorded and transcribed in order for research analysis to be done. The estimated time of the interview is 30-45 minutes.
If you are interested in participating in this research, or would like to learn more, please contact Leah Compagnino at leah.compagnino@gmail.com or Denise Charman (Supervisor) on 9813 3400 or via email: Denise.Charman@cairnmillar.org.au.
The female profile of autism
Prevalence studies indicate that there are four times as many boys as girls diagnosed with High Functioning Autism (HFA). Clinical observations suggest that girls with HFA superficially demonstrate better social and emotional skills than boys with HFA which may camouflage other diagnostic features. This may explain the under diagnosis of girls with HFA.
The aim of this Deakin University study is to compare boys and girls with and without HFA on a questionnaire measuring friendship quality. Boys and girls will complete a friendship questionnaire as an interview while their parents fill in a self-administered version of the questionnaire as well as a short-answer questionnaire.
For more information or to participate, please contact Alex Head (PhD candidate) at alex.head@deakin.edu.au or Jane McGillivray (Supervisor) on 9244 6426 or via email jane.mcgillivray@deakin.edu.au.
Susceptibility to illusions: Are unisensory and multisensory illusions modulated by the extent to which individuals exhibit autistic traits?
A question that has generated much interest in psychology has been whether individuals on the autism spectrum are susceptible to experiencing illusions. You are invited to participate in a study that focuses on how individuals experience different distortions of the senses.
In the current study, we aim to find out whether or not susceptibility to illusions is modulated by the extent to which individuals exhibit autistic traits in both typically developing and higher functioning autistic adults.
If you wish to take part in this study, you will be asked to participate in a computer software program that is designed to measure how you experience illusions. This task involves a number of single visual and auditory illusions. Independent of the software program you will also view illusions that rely on more than one sensory modality. As an acknowledgement of the time and effort in completing the experiment, we will be offering you the chance to go into a draw to win double movie passes. We hope that participants find the experiment fun and engaging.
For more information or to participate, please contact Maria Karefilakis (Master of Psychology student) at S00097174@myacu.edu.au. This study is being conducted through Australian Catholic University under the supervision of Dr David Hamilton (david.hamilton@acu.edu.au; phone 9953 3118).
Early attachment and emotion-processing in children with ASDs and children with histories of maltreatment
Background and aims: This project will look at the relationship between caregiver-child attachment relationships and the child’s later emotion-processing ability. Two groups of children with emotion-processing deficits will be compared on this relationship, namely, an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) group and a group with a history of abuse or neglect. Children from both these groups have been found to experience similar difficulties in emotion-processing. Thus, we are looking to clarify the subtle differences in emotion-processing patterns in order to ensure accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Who can participate: Boys and girls between 6-11 years with a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder are invited to participate. As many of our tasks require a certain level of verbal skill, we are looking for participants in the high-functioning range for this project.
What will be required:Testing will be carried out at Monash University (Clayton campus) unless participants are unable to travel to the testing site. Over two testing sessions lasting about 1.5-2 hours each, participants will complete some emotion-processing tasks and brief questionnaires about their close relationships and social functioning, play some motor games, as well as undertake a full cognitive assessment. Parents of participants will also be given some brief questionnaires about their child’s emotional functioning, attachment styles and ASD symptomology. A semi-structured parent/caregiver-report interview lasting about 20 minutes will be conducted at the end of the second session to gauge the child’s attachment styles and patterns.Breaks will be provided for participants between tasks to ensure they remain alert and to prevent fatigue.
If you are interested in learaning more about this project, contact Carmel Sivaratnam at carmel.sivaratnam@monash.edu or Associate Professor Nicole Rinehart at nicole.rinehart@monash.edu
The influence of autistic traits and anxiety on the quality of life in young people with autism spectrum disorder
Research has particularly focused on diagnosis, intervention, aetiology and the differing behavioural expressions of Autism Spectrum Disorders. One area, however, that has received less focus is how these social and communicative problems may impact on the quality of life of young adults with ASD.
We are inviting young adults between the ages of 18-30 with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism or Aspergers’ Syndrome to share their experiences and take part in a study which looks at factors which may impact quality of life.
In particular, we want to find out about anxiety and its role in influencing quality of life for people with and without a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. It is important that we gain a greater understanding about the factors which influence quality of life for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders so that we can make recommendations that may improve treatment and interventions.
If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an electronic questionnaire that will take approximately 30 minutes. Your involvement is voluntary and your responses are completely anonymous. A copy of group findings will be made available to participants upon request upon completion of the study.
If you wish to become involved in this study please contact either Emily Hall or Dr. Angus McLachlan and an email with an electronic link to the survey will be sent to you.
Dr Angus McLachlan: a.mclachlan@ballarat.edu.au, 03 5327 9666
Emily Hall: emilyhall@students.ballarat.edu.au, 0400 893 586
The influence of social support, bullying and social problem-solving on anxiety/depression in autism spectrum disorders
There is currently a high incidence of depression and anxiety in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), however there is much that we don’t know about risk factors and protective factors for depression and anxiety. This study aims to increase our understanding of individual characteristics and environmental factors that may have an influence on mental health in ASD.
Hayley Kennedy with supervisor Dr David Hamilton from the Australian Catholic University are looking for volunteers (aged 18-40yrs) with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s to participate.
Participation involves completing an online questionnaire that involves short questions about depression, anxiety, bullying, temperament, social problem solving, social competence and social support. The questionnaire will take about 30-60 minutes to complete and can be done in your own time.
For more information follow the link https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=142243 to the participant information and survey or email Hayley Kennedy at: harhoo001@myacu.edu.au or David Hamilton david.hamilton@acu.edu.au
Pregnancy, birth, infant feeding and child health outcomes
Christine Brown, under the supervision of Associate Professor David Austin from Swinburne University of Technology is currently conducting a large-scale nationwide research project in regard to autism that focuses on the pregnancy, birth and infant feeding histories of children with and without an autism diagnosis. The researchers are seeking biological mothers with at least one child between the age of 3 and 13 and are offering the chance to win an iPad2 to those who complete the 25-minute online survey. The project has been approved by the Swinburne University Human Research Ethics Committee.
For more information please contact Christine on cmbrown@swin.edu.au, or A. Prof Austin on (03) 9214 8682 or daustin@swin.edu.au
Investigating social attention in children with ASD
A new study is being conducted by Claire Forsyth, a postgraduate psychology student at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre in the School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, under the supervision of Associate Professor Amanda Richdale. This research will examine the attention difficulties and capabilities in children aged 7 to 12 years and the relationship between attention skills and understanding of social situations.
Participation will involve your child completing a number of tasks and activities with the researcher such as answering questions, playing games and viewing a computer animation. In addition, parents will be asked to complete questionnaires regarding their child’s development of social and language skills and behavioural difficulties. Researchers are seeking children aged 7 to 12 years with a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder who may or may not have also received a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Due to the nature of the research tasks, participants must have verbal skills. As a thank you for your participation, you will go into a draw to win a family movie pass and will be offered a brief report on your child’s performance on the research tasks.
For more information please contact Claire Forsyth on 9479 3271 or cl2forsyth@students.latrobe.edu.au
Evaluation of nutrition educational resources about managing eating issues in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
In the past three years, we have conducted a study investigating the nutritional status and eating behaviours of children with Asperger Syndrome in Queensland. This study involved a collaboration of dietitians (Dr. Melinda White & Ms. Shu Ong), occupational therapist (Prof. Sylvia Rodger) and food scientist (Dr. Bruce D’Arcy), and also supports from the caregivers of children with Asperger Syndrome and of typically developing children.
From the experiences shared by previous families and health professionals, we have currently designed a booklet titled: “Managing eating issues in children with Asperger Syndrome: Parents’ and Professionals’ suggestions”. Now, we’d like to hear more feedback from caregivers and health professionals, who are working with children with ASD and/or children with poor eating behaviours, on the usefulness and relevancy of our designed resources. Click here for a flyer.
Your feedback is important to us. This allows us to further implement the resources so that the practical knowledge could be shared with the community. No additional cost will be charged to the consumers of the resources in the future.
If you’d like to be our first reader and are willing to share your comments, please email Shu Ong at s.ong@uq.edu.au or phone 0432 593 459.
Understanding the support needs of university and TAFE students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
University and TAFE life can be challenging and stressful for any student. The Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, is currently running a project aiming to understand the support needs of tertiary students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
This project is funded by Department of Human Services (Vic) and will result in recommendations for universities and TAFEs based on the feedback provided by students, their families, and teachers.
Part of the project involves students, family members, and teachers completing a questionnaire. There are three types of questionnaires targeting:
Students: Students diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders currently enrolled in TAFE or University.
Click here for the questionnaire.
Family members: Parents or close family members of these tertiary students.
Click here for the questionnaire.
University or TAFE staff members: Teachers or administrative staff who have worked or currently work with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Click here for the questionnaire.
If you are a student, family member or staff, it will be greatly appreciated if you can complete the questionnaire. All responses are anonymous and instructions are on the front page of each questionnaire.
Please contact Ru on the details below if you have any questions.
Ru Ying Cai
Phone (03) 9479 3271
Email: r.cai@latrobe.edu.au
Coping skills for teenagers using a mobile phone program
The Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology is currently conducting research to investigate the mood and coping skills of young people aged 12 to 18 years with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder. The research involves the young people trialling a mobile phone program that assesses these areas for two weeks and completion of some questionnaires by both the young people and a parent/guardian. Participants will be lent a mobile phone for two weeks and will be given a SIM card with $20 credit that they will be able to keep.
For more information about being involved in this research project, please contact Angela Khor on 9902 4565 or via email: angela.khor@monash.edu.
This research is being conducted under the supervision of Dr Kylie Gray (Monash University), Dr Glenn Melvin (Monash University) and Dr Sophie Reid (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute).
Electrophysiological, eye–tracking, and behavioural markers of Autism Spectrum Disorder in young infants.
Dr Jordy Kaufman and his research team at the Swinburne BabyLab are currently inviting infants between the ages of 4 and 14 months who have an older sibling with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to participate in a project that will help us learn how ASDs develop in infancy and what possible signs there are in infant brain activity.
What does participation involve?
Participation in this study is easy and is designed to be fun for the baby and parent. We ask participants to attend up to five research sessions when your child is 3-4 months, 7-8 months, 10-11 months, 17-18 months and 24 months. You may choose to participate in one or multiple visits; participation in one visit does not commit you to participate in subsequent visits. The first four visits are at Swinburne University’s BabyLab in Hawthorn. Each visit lasts no longer than approximately 90 minutes.
The 24-month visit is at LaTrobe University’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) and Child Development Unit (CDU). The whole session will take around 2-3 hours. During the visits to the Swinburne BabyLab we will present some pictures on a computer screen and with the use of an eye tracking camera at the bottom of the computer screen we will record where your child is looking. Next we will measure your baby’s brain activity while he or she watches short video clips and reaches for toys. We measure brain activity with an infant-sized “Sensor Net” that is fitted on your baby’s head. The net is designed to be safe and comfortable. Just like a thermometer would measure temperature, the net simply measures the naturally occurring activity coming from your baby’s brain. During the experiment, we will show your baby a child-friendly video comprising different animals, colours, shapes, and patterns, and we will also video-record your baby, so we can match baby’s behaviour with his/her brain activity.
We will also ask you to fill out a demographic questionnaire on behalf of your child, a developmental checklist and two self-report questionnaires. During the visit to the OTARC, a variety of games, designed to be fun and interesting for toddlers, and some standardised assessments will be conducted. We are interested in monitoring your toddler’s communication and language skills, social-interaction skills, play and imitation skills. We will also ask you questions about your toddler’s behaviour at home, and you will have plenty of opportunity to discuss your toddler’s development.
Researchers at the OTARC and CDU have expertise in child development and ASD. If you give us specific consent to do so, we will provide you with some verbal feedback on your child’s performance on assessments conducted at the visit, and a written report which will be posted to you shortly afterward.
If you have any questions or would like to register your interest in our study please do not hesitate to call us: 9214 8822, email us: babylab@swin.edu.au or please visit our website for more information and to register via the online form: www.babylab.org
Conversations on Autism: Stories of Independent Living and Parental Experiences
Dr Michael Crowhurst (School of Education RMIT), Emma Donaldson (Autism Victoria), Dr Jude Ocean (School of Education RMIT ) and Trevor Skerry (Disability Studies RMIT) are conducting a study and seeking participants. The study is in two parts. In the first part we are aiming to interview 8 people with an ASD who are living independently in the community between the ages of 18-30. We are interested to hear about your week. In the second part we are aiming to interview the parents of a different group of young people with an ASD who are living independently in the community. We are interested to hear about your week. We are hoping to interview 8 young people and 8 pairs of parents. The interviews will last for a total of 30-60 minutes each. The interviews will be taped and transcribed. We will also ask participants to take a series of photographs that communicate something about their lives. We will produce resources that will be used to raise awareness.
If you would like further information about being involved in this project please click here or contact Ms. Grace Miano – grace.miano@amaze.org.au 03 9657 1613.
Social Anxiety in Asperger Syndrome
Dr David Hamilton and Shae Gaskin from the School of Psychology at Australian Catholic University are conducting a study looking at the experience of social anxiety in adolescents diagnosed with Asperger syndrome compared with typically-developing adolescents. We hope that the information we gain will assist professionals in treating social anxiety by distinguishing which contributing factors to focus on when working with both groups of adolescents.
We are seeking both adolescents diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and typically-developing adolescents who would be willing to participate in the study. Consent for their participation will be requested from their parent/guardian. Participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire which will take approximately 30 minutes. Data will be de-identified by the use of codes and measures will be taken to ensure security of data.
If you like to be involved please contact:
Dr David Hamilton.
Phone +61(03) 9953 3118
Email: david.hamilton@acu.edu.au
Living with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: The experience of teenagers with High Functioning ASD
This project will examine the following areas:
-The lived experiences of teenagers with High Functioning Autism, their parents and siblings, including perceptions of stigma and physical and emotional health determinants.
-The relationship between siblings.
-The meaning of motherhood and fatherhood among mothers and fathers of teenagers with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- How families deal with the experiences of living with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The parents participating in this study must have a child between the ages of 13-18 years who has been diagnosed with High Functioning Autism or Aspergers syndrome. Parents are required to be involved in a focus group discussion and a one on one interview. They will also be asked to fill in a diary of their day to day experiences over two week period.
The children participating must be between the ages of 13-18 years and must be diagnosed with High Functioning Autism or Aspergers syndrome, or be a sibling of a child with the above condition. The children will be asked to participate in a drawing method and a one on one interview, siblings to also participate in a focus group.
The data collection process is anticipated to take place between April and December 2011.
If you are willing to be a part of this project or require further information please email Jessica Gill at jmgill@students.latrobe.edu.au or phone 0439 324 295.
A New Natural Treatment for Autism
We would like to study the benefits of adding an antioxidant to the usual treatment for autism. It is believed that in autism there may be an abnormality in the metabolism, or oxidation, of certain chemicals resulting in interference in normal brain function. There is evidence that antioxidant treatment may improve some of the symptoms of this disorder.
We will be using a substance called N-acetyl-cysteine that is found naturally in proteins such as meat and fish and also in green leafy vegetables. It is approved by The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Children aged 3-10 who have been diagnosed with autism are eligible for this trial. The trial period will last 6 months, with follow-up visits 6 and 12 months later. The trial will not involve any costs and children will continue their usual treatment.
This trial is a joint venture between Barwon Health, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Rotary Health Fund. Persons wishing to take part in the trial can obtain more information from Kristi Villagonzalo on (03) 5226 7428 or via email on nactrials@barwonhealth.org.au.
This research is being conducted under the supervision of Prof Michael Berk, Dr Seetal Dodd and Dr Olivia Dean (University of Melbourne) and Dr Kylie Gray (Monash University).
Fluoxetine Trial
Repetitive behaviours are a common feature of autism and can cause problems at home, school and interaction with society. Fluoxetine is an SSRI medication that is commonly prescribed for OCD and also ‘off label’ for autistic patients with repetitive behaviours. We are conducting a multi-site double-blinded placebo controlled trial of fluoxetine, and hope to recruit ~150 subjects. The trial will include an initial assessment and several phone interviews to assess treatment and tolerance during medication. There will be a final assessment after 16 weeks of treatment. We seek diagnosed ASD participants aged 8 to 18 with troublesome restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behaviours.
For more details on the study, click here, or contact Steven Kloprogge, Clinical Trials Coordinator, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute steven.kloprogge@mcri.edu.au
Autism and Medication Use
Are you a caregiver of a child or adult with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and the person you care for routinely takes medication?
Are you an individual with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who routinely takes medication?
We are from Deakin University and we are conducting a study about the use of medication by individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. We need your help. We want to find out about the type of medication and the reasons for its prescription, as well as your perspectives about its use. It is important that we gain a greater understanding about medication use so that we can make recommendations that may improve practice.
We would very much appreciate you taking the time to complete our survey and to forward this message to other people you may know who can complete the survey. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete a questionnaire that will take approximately 20 minutes. Your involvement is voluntary and your responses are completely anonymous. If you would like to participate in this important study, you can contact me via email for a paper version (with a reply paid envelope for return to us), or you can go directly to the survey at: http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/autismstudy
A copy of group findings will be made available to participants upon request.
If you wish to obtain further information about this research, please contact Associate Professor Jane McGillivray or Belinda Minett on Email: bami@deakin.edu.au or phone (03) 9244 6426
Stress and coping in parents of autistic children
This research project, conducted by Joshua Whelan and Dr David Hamilton, is investigating how parents deal with stress in different types of situations. Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder are being sought for participation. Participants will be tested in a single online session which should last about half an hour. The online questionnaire includes a number of demographic questions (such as your age and gender), items measuring current emotional functioning, and items measuring how you deal with certain stressful situations.
We hope your participation in the research will contribute to what we know about the ways in which parents of autistic children deal with stress, and that this may assist in the development of services which are more sensitive to the needs of parents and their children.
If you have any questions about the project, before or after participating, please email Dr David Hamilton at david.hamilton@acu.edu.au in the School of Psychology at the Australian Catholic University. If you wish to participate please go to www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=135928.
Research Participants
If you would like to become a research participant, please complete this form and return to us at research@amaze.org.au to be added to our database. We look forward to hearing from you.