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Following Language Growth in Autism at Home (FLASH)

June 1, 2022 - January 1, 2025

Social communication and language skills are important intervention targets for children with autism, but we lack easy-to-use tools to monitor children’s progress in this developmental area. This study aims to develop a new tool, the Early Communication Indicator for Autism (ECI-A), to monitor children’s progress over time. Participation consists of completing online surveys and in-person developmental and play-based assessments with your child and eligible participants will receive at least $100 for participating ($50 to $150 additional compensation depending on the number of activities completed).

What are the goals of the study?

The goal of this study is to adapt an existing tool to monitor the social-communication skills, or the way that children interact with and communicate with others, of children with or at elevated likelihood for autism (ages 12 – 60 months).

What will happen during the visit or online?

If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete:
• Online surveys related to your child’s development, information about your family, and services your child receives
• University of Kansas or University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill clinic or home visits, based on family preference, for play-based assessments
• Video recordings of in-home play-based assessments with you and your child
Eligible participants will receive $100 for participating. You may be asked to participate in additional research activities, and you will receive between $50 and $150 in additional compensation depending on the number of activities.

How will this help families?

The ultimate goal of this tool is to provide families’ and other caregivers’ access to meaningful and actionable data about their children’s social-communication and language progress over time. Data generated from the ECI-A could be used to make a case for the need for early intervention or be used to determine if an intervention is working as intended.

Eligibility Criteria

Children with autism, or children who are waiting for an autism diagnosis, between the ages of 12 and 60 months whose primary language is English.

View the study flyer here.

Contact Information

Families located in the Kansas City Metro Area – Email flashstudy@ku.edu or call 913-229-6695

Families located in North Carolina – Email flash_study@unc.edu or call 919-213-1318

Research Study Website
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and University of Kansas

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