Free Lecture for Health Professionals, 30 August 2019
The Curtin University Autism Research Group (CARG) and Telethon Kids Institute Autism Research Team are pleased to invite you to a free lecture “Minimally verbal children with ASD: Assessment and intervention” presented by Professor Connie Kasari from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Event details
Location: Tim Winton Lecture Theatre, Building 213 Curtin University, Bentley
Date: Friday, 30 August, 2019
Registration and Refreshments: 4.00pm to 4.30pm
Presentation: 4.30pm to 6.00pm
Please RSVP, places are limited and for catering purposes.
Registration starts 5pm 31 July 2019
About the lecture
About 30 to 50% of children with ASD are not verbally fluent by age 6 years, according to estimates based in the US. Nearly all children in the US have access to early intervention, so these percentages remain a concern. Minimally verbal children are also not often involved in research studies, so we have less information on how best to assess and intervene on communication and language goals for optimal outcomes. This talk will describe efforts to involve minimally verbal younger and older children in research studies. Assessments and intervention approaches will be described, as well as the inclusion of assistive technology (alternative and augmentative communication devices) for the promotion of communication and spoken language. the lecture
About the speaker
Connie Kasari is a Professor of Human Development and Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Since 1990 she has been on the faculty at UCLA where she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, and has been the primary advisor to more than 60 PhD students. She is a founding member of the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCLA. Her research aims to development novel, evidence-tested interventions implemented in community settings. She leads several large multi-site studies including a network on interventions for minimally verbal school aged children with ASD, and a network that aims to decrease disparities in interventions for children with ASD who are under-represented in research trials. She is on the science advisory board of the Autism Speaks Foundation, and regularly presents to both academic and practitioner audiences locally, nationally and internationally.
Free Public Lecture for Parents, 29 August 2019
The Curtin University Autism Research Group (CARG) and Telethon Kids Institute Autism Research Team are pleased to invite you to a free public lecture “Children with ASD at school: Inclusion, integration, and improvement” presented by Professor Connie Kasari from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Event details
Location: Elizabeth Jolley Lecture Theatre, Building 213 Curtin University, Bentley
Date: Thursday, 29 August 2019
Registration and Refreshments: 5.30pm to 6.00pm
Presentation: 6.00pm to 8.00pm
Please RSVP, places are limited and for catering purposes.
Registration starts 5.00pm 31 July 2019
About the lecture
Behavioral interventions have been critical for improving the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Notable achievements include the improved numbers of children with optimal outcomes, and the larger number of children accessing the regular curriculum. Despite these gains, our school programs often fall short of achieving complete social integration and optimal outcomes of many children with ASD. This talk will discuss several studies of interventions aimed at helping children to become more socially included at school. While studies take place at school with the goal of having the teaching staff implement the interventions, suggestions for what parents can do to help their children will be highlighted.
About the speaker
Connie Kasari is a Professor of Human Development and Psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Since 1990 she has been on the faculty at UCLA where she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, and has been the primary advisor to more than 60 PhD students. She is a founding member of the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCLA. Her research aims to development novel, evidence-tested interventions implemented in community settings. She leads several large multi-site studies including a network on interventions for minimally verbal school aged children with ASD, and a network that aims to decrease disparities in interventions for children with ASD who are under-represented in research trials. She is on the science advisory board of the Autism Speaks Foundation, and regularly presents to both academic and practitioner audiences locally, nationally and internationally.
Participants recruitment for physical activity program targeting children with autism
The Curtin Autism Research Group is undertaking a study with Autism Association of Western Australia to develop a tailored physical activity program targeting children with autism aged between 12-16 years. At times it may be difficult for children with autism to participate in physical activity due to multiple physical, social and emotional demands. This program aims to provide opportunity to engage in various sports and practise their skills. We need your help to identify what influences you/your child in participating in sports. We are looking for teenagers (12-16 years old) on the autism spectrum and their guardians to volunteer and contribute to taking part in focus groups to be run at the Shenton Park Autism Association of Western Australia offices on Wednesday 27th of March 2019, 4-5.30pm. If you have a teenage child on the spectrum or know other parents/teenagers, please feel free to share the link.
If you are willing to participate in our upcoming focus groups, please contact Jill Perry on 08 94898900 or email therapyservices@autism.org.au
Free Public Lecture for Parents, 6 March 2019
The Curtin University Autism Research Group (CARG) and Telethon Kids Institute (TKI) Autism Research Team have pleasure in inviting you to a free public lecture ‘Talking about Functioning and Autism’ by Professor Sven Bölte, Director Centre of Neurodevelopmental Disorders from Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Dr Ben Milbourn from Curtin University. Due to the overwhelming response, we have had to move the event from Curtin St Georges Terrace to Technology Park Function Centre at Bentley to take in more parents.
Event details
Location: Seminar 1 & 2, Technology Park Function Centre, 2 Brodie Hall Drive, Bentley WA 6102
Date: Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Registration starts 6 Feb 2019
About the lecture
In understanding the experience of living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) it is important to consider functioning and challenges beyond those captured within the diagnosis. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) developed by the World Health Organization provides a framework supporting the comprehensive description of the lived experience of people with ASD. The ICF Core Sets for ASD (i.e. a shortlist of ICF categories most relevant for people with ASD), developed by Karolinska Institute and the ICF Research Branch, provides a tool for describing functioning and the support needs of people with ASD and their families. In this talk Prof Sven Bölte will discuss functioning in autism, present the ICF core sets for ASD and discuss how they might support communication between those living with autism, service providers and funders.
This talk will help you to better understand and frame functioning in autism, supporting your communication with service providers and disability funders.
About the speakers
Professor Sven Bölte is a Professor and Director of the Centre of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institute in Sweden – a competence centre focusing on research development and education about neurodevelopmental disorders. Sven is a senior clinical psychologist with many years’ experience researching autism and providing clinical services to children with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism. He leads autism related research within the World Health Organisation. Sven collaborates extensively with researchers in Western Australia including the Curtin Autism Research Group, the Telethon Kids Institute and the Autism Association of Western Australia.
Dr Ben Milbourn is a Senior Teaching and Research Academic at the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University. Ben is an early career researcher and a member of the Curtin Autism Research Group. Ben will be sharing his experiences as a parent supporting a child with autism to transition into the National Disability Insurance Scheme and plan early intervention supports using the language of participation and functioning.
Autism Open Day, 24 March 2019
The Curtin Autism Research Group, Telethon Kids Institute Autism Research Team and Autism CRC are pleased to invite you to our annual Autism Open Day. This year, the Rotary Club of Scarborough will co-host the event as we have amalgamated the annual Autism Open Day with the Autism Awareness Morning Tea. This event is part of Curtin’s Research Rumble (24 – 27 March 2019).
Event details
Location: Technology Park Function Centre, 2 Brodie Hall Drive, Bentley, WA 6102
Date: Sunday, 24 March 2019
Time: 10.00am – 3.00pm
Join us in an exchange of knowledge and experiences. The program includes a range of topics including presentations from autistic adults and parents, as well as information from researchers on current research and programs aiming to support people with autism.
There are also stalls with information on key areas such as:
• Quality of life of adults with autism
• Medication use amongst adults with autism
• Transition to school
• Peer mentoring program for university students with autism
• Getting around the community
• Early identification and early intervention
• Diagnosis
Autism Open Day 2019 flyer (pdf)
Autism Open Day 2019 Information Package (pdf)
A big thank you to Scarborough Rotary for sponsoring all the free coffee at the Autism Open Day. To receive a free coffee voucher for use on the day, please RSVP via this link: Free Coffee
Autism Open Day Program – Sunday 24 March 2019
10.00am – 3.00pm: Exhibition area open
10.30am – 10.35am: Welcome to country and Research Rumble video presentation
10.35am – 10.45am: Official Welcome by Professor John Cordery, Provost, Curtin University
10.45am – 11.00am: Event open and speech by the Honourable Stephen Dawson, MLC, Minister for Environment; Disability Services; Electoral Affairs
11.00am – 11.05am: Video presentation from the Autism CRC
11.05am – 11.15am: Speech by Rotarian Jim Joseph from the Rotary Club of Scarborough
11.15am – 11.30am: “An Aspie family – Our perspectives” – presented by Oliver, Virginia and Aaron Sta Maria
11.30am – 12.30pm: “Sleep in autism: What do we know and what can we do about it “- Keynote by Professor Peter Eastwood, School of Human Sciences, the University of Western Australia, and Professor Andrew Whitehouse, Head of Autism Research, Telethon Kids Institute
12.30pm – 2.15pm: Break
2.15pm – 2.35pm: “Talking about functioning and autism” presented by Professor Sonya Girdler, Director of Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin University, and Dr Ben Milbourn, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University
2.35pm – 2.55pm: “Finding a voice – Empowering youth with autism” presented by the Youth Advisory Council, Autism West
3.00pm: Event close
Marita’s sharing on inclusive research
CARG member, Associate Professor Marita Falkmer, gave a lecture on inclusive research related to the autistic community at Jönköping University, Sweden recently.
https://www.facebook.com/childatJU/videos/191526188456200/
AASQA wins National Award
CARG is delighted to share with you that the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance (AASQA) won the Business and Higher Education Round Table (BHERT) Award in Melbourne last November. AASQA came in top in the category of ‘Outstanding Collaboration for National Benefit’ (see https://www.bhert.com/award-winners-2018/index). Below are some of the judges’ comments which are all very encouraging:
- “This program is of outstanding value to our society. The uptake of the program is enormous. This is a great contender for the award.”
- “This is a tremendous program; it shows excellent partnerships and outcomes.”
- “The unique characteristics of this project make a fascinating application of university skills with a special group of people generating long term benefits to them and the industry using their skills.”
- “An inspiring approach that brings together a number of international components, local research and a network of collaborators.”
Further news of this award can be found here – https://news.curtin.edu.au/media-releases/curtins-autism-academy-wins-prestigious-national-award/#linkid=um-homepage-hero-austism-academy-award-2018
We would like to thank all of you (ninjas, mentors and parents) for your support over the years. Without your participation, we will not be able to achieve this success within a short period of time.
We look forward to 2019 as we continue to make greater impact in the area of learning through the AASQA CoderDojo.
Survey participants recruitment for social skills group training program
Our PhD student, Bahareh Afsharnejad, is conducting a study that is seeking to understand how Australian teenagers have fun and who they like to have fun with. This information will help inform a social skills group training program for autistic teenagers. She is looking for Australian teenagers aged between 12-17 years who do not have autism to complete a confidential survey. If you are a teenager who do not have autism and would like to volunteer for this study, please complete the survey by clicking on the link below. If you have a teenage child or know one, please feel free to share the link.
https://curtin.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UilllIH2E31Nrf
For more information, please contact Bahareh Afsharnejad.
Autism Open Day focuses on strengths and opportunities
Written by Arianne Chavez
Autism Open Day was bigger and better again this year. Following the success of last year’s Open Day, more than 500 people attended the event at Curtin University’s Technology Park including Vice-Chancellor, Professor Deborah Terry, the Minister for Environment and Disability Services, the Hon. Stephen Dawson, and the Ambassador of the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance (AASQA) and past Chief Scientist of Western Australia, Professor Lyn Beazley AO.
Curtin Autism Research Group (CARG) Director, Professor Sonya Girdler, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, said an estimated 230,000 Australians are currently affected by autism with 75 per cent of people diagnosed with autism being 19 years of age or younger.
“People with autism are ambitious and aspirational and possess unique strengths and abilities that can be harnessed in the work environment, often performing well in jobs requiring systematic information processing and a high degree of accuracy, precision and repetition,” Professor Girdler said.
“Employment can help improve the quality of life for people with autism, mainly through financial support, but also by encouraging personal dignity and improving their cognitive abilities. Currently, there are only a small amount of appropriate services available to support these adults, specifically in finding employment.”
Professor Girdler said that Autism Open Day offered a unique opportunity for adults and children with autism to learn more about their skills, which could be utilised by potential employers.
“Autism Open Day provides a space that encourages parents and individuals on the spectrum to join in on informative discussions about employment, meet autism researchers from Curtin and Telethon Kids Institute, see live demonstrations of the newest technologies available, and learn about engaging programs that support people living with autism,” Professor Girdler said.
At the event, people on the spectrum joined researchers, families, clinicians and interested community members for all the latest news on autism research, social skills programs, pathway planning for school leavers, peer mentoring for university students and workplace initiatives. The Vice-Chancellor delivered the official welcome, followed by Minister Dawson launching the Neurodiversity Hub, which will be run by AASQA and CARG in partnership with DXC Technology, the world’s leading end-to-end IT services company. Professor Beazley delivered a keynote presentation titled, ‘Tapping the talents of people with autism’.
There were discussions about strengths-based programs that support people with autism, and parents of autistic children and autistic individuals shared their stories and experiences with the hundreds of guests. The day included a series of short presentations by researchers and experts, with and without lived experience of autism.
During break times guest visited the exhibition area, which held stalls with information on key areas such as:
- Pathway planning for school leavers with autism
- Social skills training for teenagers with autism
- Emotion recognition training computer games
- Peer mentoring program for university students with autism
- Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance
- Getting around the community
- National guideline for autism assessment and diagnosis
- Autism Register
There was a popular playroom for autistic children, whose caregivers were attending the presentations nearby, which was filled with toys and staffed by able volunteer students from the School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology and volunteers from Telethon Kids Institute. Much to the delight of the children, there was also a visit from an Autism Assistance Dog from Guide Dogs WA.
A quiet area for guests who needed downtime was available, and delicious food and coffee could be purchased from food vans throughout the day.
Professor Girdler said the 2018 Autism Open Day was a fantastic success, and paid tribute to everyone involved with the event.
“Curtin staff and students put many hours of work into ensuring Autism Open Day runs smoothly, and many people volunteer their time. I am very grateful to everyone who was involved in making the event so engaging and successful,” Professor Girdler said.
“Autism Open Day offers a unique opportunity for the autism community to gather and discuss fascinating research, including proposed future research areas, wonderful initiatives and, of course, hear about the wonderful successes and achievements of people with lived experience of autism.”
Social groups for teenagers with autism
Adolescence is a time of increasing social demands, during which peer networks become important. Contrary to popular belief, teenagers with autism often accurately perceive their social interaction and communication skills and their limitations in networking with their peers. The social difficulties associated with autism along other co-morbidities such as social anxiety, can make this period in life very difficult for the teenagers, negatively impacting their and their families daily functioning. It has been argued that social skills training programs can be really helpful improving social communication skills, reducing anxiety and improving family quality of life.
Curtin Autism Research Group has chosen one of such programs, named KONTAKT, which has been really successful teaching Swedish teenagers social skills. With a partnership with Autism Association of Western Australia, the research group aims to modify and fit the program into Australian context.
The questions the research group is really interested in, are: 1) will this program help the teenagers achieve their socially meaningful goals (e.g. finding a new friend, see what my peers are interested in, how to understand the emotions they are expressing) and improve their social functioning as compared to a social cooking group? 2) Will it be cost-effective to run such groups in Australia?
To learn more about this study, please contact Bahareh Afsharnejad.