Addressing the needs of autistic individuals and the autism community
Researchers from the Curtin Autism Research Group, Australasian Autism Research Council and Griffith University are looking for autistic adults, their families and caregivers, and the professionals who work with autistic people of all ages to share their experiences in one or more of the following topics:
- Built environment
- Independent living (choice of housing)
- Health and disability services delivery
- Family and caregiver support
- Gender, diversity and inclusion
Experiences about these topics will be collected in a series of meetings/focus groups from July 20th to August 11th, 2023. Each meeting will discuss only one topic. Input from participants will play a crucial role in shaping the future of autism research.
Participants must be 18 or over.
To participate or ask questions, please email Tanya Picen
View flyer for more information.
This project has been approved by Griffith & Curtin University Ethics Committee (2023/392 & HRE2023-0159).
Community strengths-based activities studies
A team of researchers from the Curtin Autism Research Group (CARG) is looking for parents/carers of children with and without physical/cognitive/developmental/mental/behavioural conditions for two studies from April to July 2022.
Study 1: Accessibility of community arts events for children with physical/cognitive/developmental/mental/behavioural conditions and their family (a teleconference interview/focus group with caregivers of children aged 0 – 12 years)
Study 2: An evaluation of arts and leisure activities for children with and without physical/cognitive/developmental/mental/behavioural conditions (an online survey of caregivers of children aged 4 – 12 years)
These projects aim to understand the participation of children with and without physical/mental/cognitive/developmental/behavioural conditions in arts and leisure activities and the barriers and facilitators to this participation. Caregivers can participate in either one or both studies if they meet the inclusion criteria. As a token of appreciation, a $20 gift card will be given to participants for their time for each study.
These projects are led by Prof. Sonya Girdler, the director of CARG and approved by the Curtin Human Research Ethics Committee. To express your interest in participating or to find out more, please contact: Dr Elinda Lee at (08) 9266 1790 or elinda.lee@curtin.edu.au
Tele-TRANSITION© Program: An online program supporting transition to adulthood (2022)
A team of researchers from the Curtin Autism Research Group are looking for autistic adolescents and young adults to participate in a fully-online and free program designed to support the autistic individuals with their transition to adulthood, the Tele-TRANSITION©. The Tele-TRANSITION© program will cover information on adult life areas such as employment, education, finances, housing, health, leisure and relationships through online modules and online group discussions. This study aims to evaluate the Tele-TRANSITION© program based on the outcomes related to adult life goals and daily living skills for the participants. More information regarding this study can be found in the flyer below. If you have any questions about this study or are interested in contributing in this study, please contact Sowmya Kasiraman, the PhD student leading this study via email.
Content validity of assessment of functioning measures: Why it is important?
For a long time, researchers and clinicians have thought that assessment measures are assessing all the things they need to (called content validity). However, some CARG researchers have compared common measures of functioning to the World Health Organization’s ICF and have found that some measures are better at assessing the things they need to than others. You can read the full research article (for free) here.
Our PhD student, Emily D’Arcy has also explained how and what they did here.
Flexible working arrangements study
A team of researchers from the Curtin Autism Research Group is looking for autistic adults with flexible working arrangements experience and employers or line managers with experience in providing flexible working arrangements for autistic adults. This study aims to develop an employment support tool to facilitate successful employment outcomes for autistic adults in a flexible working environment. If you are interested in contributing to this study or finding out more, please contact Elinda Lee
Your feedback and input will be greatly appreciated.
Help us learn about autism diagnosis
Many people on the autism spectrum were not able to receive a diagnosis when they were children. Researchers at the University of New South Wales and Autism CRC would like to learn more about autism spectrum diagnosis (including Asperger’s syndrome) in adulthood.
Any adult with a formal diagnosis or thinks they may be on the autism spectrum is welcome to participate, but currently we are looking for adults who were diagnosed before age 18 and adults with intellectual disability and autism. We are also looking for carers/support persons who helped an adult get an autism diagnosis. You will have the option of taking part in an online survey, telling us your experiences in an interview, or both. The interview can be done in-person, via phone or online.
You will have the chance to win a $100 gift card for completing the survey, and/or receive a $60-$80 gift card for the interview depending on format.
To see if you are eligible, please click to view our flyer and Easy Read flyer.
If you are interested, please click on the following links:
Survey for adults: tinyurl.com/AdultDiagnosisAA
Survey for carers: tinyurl.com/AdultDiagnosisC
Expression of interest for interview: tinyurl.com/AdultDiagnosisI
If you have any questions, please contact Yunhe Huang at yunhe.huang@unsw.edu.au or 02 9385 3025.
Personality study of adolescents with autism
People are different and this is due to their personality which is a combination of their temperament, characteristics, self-beliefs and the environment they have been living in. In the past few decades, researchers have mainly focused on adults’ personality, and its development in youth, especially autistic children and adolescents and how it affects their lives is unclear. We need your help to validate one of such measures for all Australian youth, especially those with autism spectrum disorder. If you are interested please email Eveline West.
Social group program autistic children
Sometimes experiencing difficulties in social interaction can lead to stress and mental health concerns, this is especially true for autistic youth. These effects can follow children throughout life, and perhaps that is why many of them do not want to go to school. Social skills programs held in a group setting has been helpful with boosting social and emotional skills of autistic youth. KONTAKT© is a one of those programs, developed in Germany and then tested in Sweden and has been really helpful for the autistic youth there We think it will help Australian you. If you are interested in this study, please complete the expression of interest form at https://www.autism.org.au/our-services/school-aged/school-therapy-groups/kontakt-kids/
Get exclusive access to a new manual for employers of autistic adults
Researchers of the Curtin University Research Group are offering employers of autistic adults a unique opportunity to use a new manual for employing autistic adults and then give feedback on it, so that the manual can be improved.
The manual, also known as the Integrated Employment Successful ToolTM (the IEST), has been designed to help them. After testing it Australia-wide with individuals working with autistic colleagues, the results showed that the manual helped to boost user confidence and communication skills.
Help make the IEST better
We are now reviewing the guide and would like to invite employers, managers, supervisors and mentors of autistic adults to use the IEST and provide us with feedback.
What you will find in the IEST:
- Recommendations for every stage of the employment process from job recruitment to the interview, work modification and ongoing support.
- Strategies for success, including how to create an awareness of autism in the workplace, how to identify the strengths of autistic employees and how to overcome potential challenges.
- Checklists covering things to consider, including modifications to make and providing support to autistic employees.
- Sample forms to ease the planning process. Included are a Support Plan, a Goal Planner, a Priority Planner and a Supervisor Workplace Handover form.
We will only ask you to:
- Consent to use the IEST in your organisation only.
- Consent to provide us with feedback on how the IEST can be improved and what would make it easier for you to use it.
For more information or to express your interest:
Please contact Tanya Picen at tanya.picen@curtin.edu.au
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