In 2013, OAR-funded researcher Rahul Khanna, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, undertook a study, “Health-Related Quality of Life and its Determinants in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders,” to assess the physical and mental health-related quality of life and health utility among adults with autism. Both health-related quality of…
Many adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not easily learn how to use social strategies to interact with their peers and make friends. This can cause them to miss out on friendships and peer relationships during their middle and high school years. Even worse, some may be ostracized and/or bullied. The effects may be…
In 2013, OAR funded a one-year study of the Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) intervention. Intended to improve the social-communication and engagement skills of elementary school-age children who are severely affected by ASD, the program was tested in four elementary school classrooms in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro, N.C. school district. Four children who ranged from kindergarten…
Autism emerges early in life, typically by age 2, and the most successful interventions begin then. Pre-K settings, therefore, are a frequent site for services. Parents have two main options for their young children with ASD when they are seeking services: public or private schools via an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or private interventions outside…
Being a teenager is not easy, but teenagers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face particularly daunting challenges when it comes to social and communications skills. Elizabeth Laugeson, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior,…
In 2012, OAR awarded funding from the J. Ernest Brophy Memorial Fund for Autism at OAR to support a housing research study by John Maltby, M.S., at the Westchester Institute for Human Development Impact. The Institute addresses major social and health issues affecting people with disabilities and vulnerable children and develops and delivers medical, clinical,…
Understanding (and leveraging) the factors that impact work performance is crucial for any adult, but it can be especially important for adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These individuals often have sensitivities to things that don’t bother other workers, such as fluorescent lighting or having to shake hands. At the same time, they tend…
OAR-funded researchers Joshua Plavnick, Ph.D., and Brooke Ingersoll, Ph.D., Michigan State University, conducted their study, Enhancing Traditional Group Social Skill Instruction using Video-based Group Instruction Tactics, in 2013. The purposes of the study were to: Compare the effects of video-based instructional tactics to traditional direct instruction with modeling on the social skill performance of children…
Are adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at greater risk for sexual violence than others because of social deficits? For example, do they miss information coming from sources like friends or family on what constitutes sexually appropriate behaviors? Researchers from York University in Toronto, Canada sought to answer these and related questions in a…
A classic hallmark of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is an impaired ability to appropriately interpret and respond to social cues like facial expressions. Due to this deficit, faux pas and misunderstandings can be a frequent occurrence; it’s as if many individuals with autism have a habit of deviating from the socially acceptable script. Recent efforts…
