Since OAR’s Graduate Research Grant Program was established in 2004, OAR has awarded over $222,800 in grants to fund 127 graduate research studies. These reviews describe the results of two recently completed studies. Using Apps for Appointment Completion Rachel Wright, a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee, completed an OAR-funded study, “IDirect My…
OAR-funded researcher Laura C. Chezan, Ph.D., BCBA-D., an assistant professor of special education at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., conducted a study in 2015 to test the use of an intervention that teaches children with ASD and language delays to wait to receive something they request. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of functional…
In her 2011 OAR-funded study, Hsu-Min Chiang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in autism spectrum disorders in the Teachers College at Columbia University, analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) to identify which factors predict that students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are most likely to be able to find a job after…
In 2013, OAR funded a research study that evaluated a social skills group intervention for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Principal investigators Robert Koegel, Ph.D., and Ty Vernon, Ph.D., from the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, set out to examine if the program could improve adolescents’ social skills in…
In 2012, OAR awarded a $30,000 one-year grant to Lucy Bilaver, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health administration at Northern Illinois University’s School of Nursing and Health Studies and an affiliated scholar at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. The goal of her study was to identify disparities in access to treatment for young…
For individuals with autism, a good night’s sleep can be elusive. Treating the problem with medication comes with its own difficulties, including side effects and the effectiveness of the medication. While many research studies have focused on sleep problems in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), few have been conducted that examine solutions for…
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…
