This week two groups of heroes of autism research published studies that may not be the type of major breakthrough that the media reports on, but they are more important to families: These studies help translate what works in the research clinic into the community. Specifically, is it even possible, how, and what do families need to know when they receive an intervention that has yet to be “field tested”. This is a whole field of research called implementation science, and it deals with how scientists and community services implement what is learned in research settings into real world settings. Listen to the podcast here.
Podcast: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere: preparing early interventions for the community
Did you know that in addition to the DoD’s support of the military, they all have funded $65 million in autism research? This podcast discusses some of their programs and how they support military families and benefit the autism community. Want to read more about what they fund? There’s a list here: https://cdmrp.army.mil/search.aspx. Listen to the podcast here.
This week’s podcast combines two important post Mother’s Day topics – parents and eating. Two recent studies have shown the promise of using parent – delivered interventions to help improve food selectivity and food aversions in kids with autism. These two behaviors can be one of the most frustrating and challenging for parents and kids, and can lead to nutritional deficiencies. These behaviors can range from mild to severe, and previously, only inpatient or outpatient clinic based approaches seemed to have any benefit. Now it seems that with coaching, encouragement and instruction from trained experts, parents can help their kids eat better foods. Listen to the podcast here.
Lots of news outlets have great summaries of things that were presented at the International Society for Autism Research. However, one area was relatively missed: technology. This week’s podcast summarizes advances in technology for people with autism, how they are being used, what they could be used for and how they will improve services and help for those on the spectrum. They range from ways to aid diagnosis, to better understanding of features and symptoms in different settings, to improved intervention. Listen to the podcast here.
On this week’s podcast, two chief science officers! Dr. Alycia Halladay interviewed Dr. Thomas Frazier of Autism Speaks on what’s needed to improve clinical trials and drug intervention for autism. The two CSOs also discussed other important in ASD research, including disclosure of a diagnosis, sex differences, and some of the newest more exciting findings.