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Research

Participate in a research project

High quality research is essential to enable better understanding of autism and to develop improved supports in the future.

Why should you get involved?

Researchers are always looking for participants for their projects – the more participants, the greater the chances of meaningful results that reflect the wide range of issues that autistic people and their families face. So, get involved where you can – it will help improve their knowledge and it may benefit you!

Disclaimer: Autism Queensland aims to support research that promises to inform future directions of services for individuals on the spectrum and their families. Although we screen each project before advertising, we do not necessarily endorse the views, activities or organisations of researchers.


Projects seeking participants

Contact details of all researchers are provided for each of our projects. If you are interested in participating in a study please click on those of the following you believe will be of interest. This list is updated regularly and includes research being undertaken externally and by Autism Queensland.

How do differences in social behaviour relate to emotional wellbeing?

Participants Required:

Seeking adolescents aged 16 years or 17 years old, and adults aged 18 years or older, to participate in this study. Seeking both autistic and non-autistic people for this study. The autistic people the researcher is seeking for this study are those who are mildly autistic; autistic people who require substantial support from others are not a focus of this study.

Brief Description of Project:

The research aims to understand more about how both autistic and non-autistic people fit in with other people in social situations and how this corresponds with mental health and emotional wellbeing. To participate, you are asked to complete an online survey that should take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.

SURVEY

Benefits to Participants:

An anticipated benefit of participating in the research is that autistic people might gain some understanding about how they manage the interactional demands they confront in daily life. During completion of our pilot study a number of participants reported valuing the opportunity to reflect upon the ways in which the managed social demands.

All participants are eligible to win 1 of 50 AUD$25.00 Amazon online gift card vouchers. To be eligible, participants must provide the researcher with their email address at the end of the online survey. Doing so is completely optional; and participants are free to undertake the survey without providing their email address. The decision not to reimburse all participants for their assistance with the study arises from funding limitations. The researchers recognise this issue and hope to rectify this in future research.

Contact Details:

Feel free to contact Wayne Arnold with any questions about this research by email at [email protected]. You may also contact Wayne’s primary supervisor: Professor Vicki Bitsika, [email protected] or (02) 6773 3774.

Evaluating an alternative therapy to sleep difficulties in children on the autism spectrum.

Participants Required:

Children (6-12 years old) on the autism spectrum (level 2) and reported sleep difficulties, and their primary caregiver (children-primary caregiver dyad)

Brief Description of Project:

Sleep difficulties (SD) are significant and profound experiences that can impact the development of children on the autism spectrum.

Although cognitive behavioural therapy/behavioural sleep medicines are the first line for non-respiratory SD in children on the autism spectrum, there is increasing interest in alternative therapy. One such is using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) modality.

This research aims to document the outcomes of electroencephalogram-tailored repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (α-rTMS) on children with autism spectrum and sleep difficulties, their quality of life and those of their primary caregivers using pre-post objective and subjective measures.

The research is designed as a randomised, waitlist-controlled, open-label pilot trial (20 participants; child-primary caregiver dyad), which will collect pre-post objective and subjective data on sleep outcomes using polysomnography (home sleep study), actigraphy (wearable on the wrist) and children sleep habit questionnaire (primary caregiver rated survey form). Pre-post-therapy data on the autism spectrum and quality of life will be collected using primary caregiver rated survey forms such as social responsive scale v2, paediatric quality of life inventory and Short Form 12 item (version 2) Health Survey (SF-12v2).

SURVEY

Benefits to Participants:

The major benefits to you (child) in participating in the study include objective measures of sleep difficulties using polysomnography (three overnight home sleep studies), actigraphy (ten to fourteen day recording period), and electroencephalogram (two to three sessions of ten minutes recording of brain activities); and ten sessions of rTMS therapy.

Contact Details:

For expression of interest, click the survey link or email Lawrence on [email protected]

Industrial Design Investigation into the Sensory Needs of Children on the Autism Spectrum

Participants Required:

Participants will be parents/guardians/careers of children on the spectrum, for an online questionnaire. A focus group will also be conducted in Gold Coast/ Brisbane region with participants being autistic children.

Brief Description of Project:

This investigation will explore Human-Centred Design practices (HCD), Action Research and Participatory Action Research principles (which incorporate both co-design and inclusive design strategies) to potentially improve our ability to design devices and equipment that encourage engagement with children on the autism spectrum (a group that is understudied due to the lack of suitable research equipment for their sensory differences).

This project aims to create a sensory and material design framework referencing the specific needs of children on the spectrum, which can be used to inform future designs and improve design outcomes.

There are two parts to the study. A focus group for autistic children and an online questionnaire for their parent/caregiver.

Participants will be children on the spectrum and their parents/caregivers. The age range is not specific and will be between 5 and 14 years old. Participation in the study is voluntary, and participants can withdraw at any time. Having input from both children on the spectrum and their parents will give us valid insights into the sensory preferences these children experience.

SURVEY

Benefits to Participants:

Due to these sensory differences children experience, their engagement with objects and environments can be limiting, cause distress and disrupt their daily lives. Developing a material design framework that focuses on the sensory needs of children on the autism spectrum will allow researchers and designers to create better, more inclusive outcomes for children on the spectrum to interact and engage with their world. In addition, understanding the sensory preferences of children on the spectrum could improve designers’ choices when creating products, devices, and wearables.

Contact Details:

[email protected]

A study of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Investigational Products in an ASD population

Participants Required:

We are looking for young people between 5 and 17 years of age diagnosed with ASD who also experience emotional dysregulation (e.g. easily irritable)

Brief Description of Project:

Research has shown the irritability may be the end result of a complex system of underlying difficulties including anxiety, sleep issues, mood concerns and epilepsy. These difficulties may be linked to serotonergic dysfunction. Investigational Products may modify this serotonergic difficulty thus improving the downstream outcomes noted above.

SURVEY

Benefits to Participants:

We hope that this study will add to the body of literature relating to the impact of Investigational Products on irritability. Furthermore, we hope that participants will benefit from the experience of participating in a clinical trial and understand how medications “come to market” from this process. Participants may also benefit from frequent trial appointments with a multidisciplinary team.

Contact Details:

Contact the CCTRND via 30697532 or                                          [email protected]

Exploring Experiences of Repetitive Behaviours

Participants Required:

Adults (18+ years) who are autistic and have a co-occurring diagnosis of OCD.

Brief Description of Project:

We want to better understand what kinds of repetitive behaviours individuals engage in, and how they may be experienced as helpful or challenging. We are seeking autistic adults with a co-occurring diagnosis of OCD to complete a brief 15 minute survey and an interview (approximately 30-45 minutes), including individuals with formal diagnoses or who self-identify as autistic.

Interviews can be conducted online or face-to-face depending on participants’ individual preferences. The online survey asks questions about experiences with repetitive behaviours and interests and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. We will ask for more details about these behaviours in a follow-up interview. Once participants have completed both the survey and the interview, they will be provided with a $20 gift voucher as reimbursement of your time.

Participation is completely voluntary, and your responses will be deidentified. This project has ethical approval from Griffith University Ethics Committee (GU ref no: 2023/327). To access the information sheet, consent form, and survey, please click here:

LEARN MORE

Benefits to Participants:

This research will not directly benefit participants. However, participating will help us to better understand the complex nature of repetitive behaviours, and the ways in which different repetitive behaviours may contribute to psychological health and life quality for individuals on the autism spectrum and those with OCD. We hope this will inform clearer parameters for identifying and providing support for autistic individuals and persons with OCD. We hope the findings of this research will increase our understanding of behaviours that may be helpful and those that may be harmful. This knowledge is likely to benefit others on the autism spectrum and people with OCD in the future.

Contact Details:

Jess (Jessica O’Loghlen), phone 0412 437 299, e-mail [email protected]
Jess (Jessica Paynter), phone 07 5678 7058, e-mail [email protected]

Learning about neurodivergent adults’ thoughts on using a self-guided online program for mental health

Participants Required:

We would love to hear from neurodivergent adults (aged 18 and over) who live in Australia to help raise neurodivergent voices and improve care. We are looking for self-diagnosed or officially diagnosed adults who have any of the below neurotypes: Autism, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) including 2e presentations, AuDHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and Dyspraxia.

Brief Description of Project:

We would like neurodivergent adults (aged 18 and over) to complete a short 15–30-minute online survey on their perspectives towards the use of self-guided online programs for mental health.  In the online survey you will be asked both closed and open questions and you do not have to answer all questions or give a great amount of detail (unless you want to). These questions will explore your previous experiences and attitudes of using various types of mental health interventions as well as some information about your circumstances. Findings from this study will inform the future development and implementation of these programs with the neurodivergent community, with the hope of improving care and allowing the voices and needs of neurodivergent individuals to be heard.

Benefits to Participants:

Your participation will help improve the mental health support we are able to provide to neurodivergent people and allow them to have a voice about what sort of interventions suit their needs.

Access the survey

Contact Details:

Dr Shelley Viskovich
Principal Investigator
The University of Queensland
[email protected]

Georgia Darr
Co-investigator
The University of Queensland
[email protected]

James Fowler
Co-investigator
The University of Queensland
[email protected] 

Researchers

If you would like to have your project listed on our site, please click here.

For more information about research at Autism Queensland