Studies Looking for Participants

Development of Precursory Language Skills, Non-Verbal Communication Skills and Joint Attention for Children with Autism Disorder: A longitudinal Prospective Approach

McGill University's Resilience, Paediatric Psychology, and Neurogenetic
Connections team is looking for families with children diagnosed with
autism disorder 3-8 years of age.  The goal of the study is to help
understand the nature of language disorder and nonverbal communication in children with autism. 

Participation can be completed from the comfort of your own home and involves filling out questionnaires and engaging in play activities with your child. 

For more information please contact: language.mcgill@gmail.com or call (514) 398-5833.

Montreal Children's Hospital Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Clinic ~ Simons Simplex Collection Study

An exciting new research program searching for the causes of autism. Recent scientific breakthroughs in genetics and neuroscience now make it possible to better understand the genetics of autism. This study is unique because it involves “simplex” families, who have only one child with an ASD. We think that learning about simplex families will provide valuable insight into some of the unexplained causes of autism.

We are looking for families to participate in this ground-breaking study and we are hoping that you might be able to help.

We are specifically looking for families who meet the following criteria.

• Only one child with an ASD, aged 4 – 17 years
• One or more siblings without an ASD, aged 4 – 17 years
• Both biological parents must be willing to participate
• First language of the child is English
• Live within 3 hours travel distance of Montreal

What are we asking families to do?

• Participate in two telephone interviews with researchers
• Attend one clinic appointment, involving:
• Cognitive / IQ testing and behavioural evaluations for the child with the ASD, as well as photographs, measurements, and a blood sample for all family members to obtain DNA samples for genetic testing.

What will families receive from their participation in the Study?

• Families receive a full report that includes the cognitive / IQ assessment and diagnostic measures
• Each member of the family receives a $25 certificate
• Families are reimbursed for any travel or childcare costs incurred on the day of the clinic appointment
• Families are kept up-to-date on study findings
• Families will be part of a special group of individuals contributing to our scientific understanding of the causes of ASDs

For Families

Please feel free to contact us directly if you meet the inclusion criteria and are interested in finding out more about the study. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Please note that involvement in this research is completely voluntary and families may leave the study at any time. All information gathered in this study is kept strictly confidential.

This study is being conducted under the direction of Dr. Eric Fombonne, Director of Psychiatry and the ASD program at the MCH.  

We would like to speak with you further to discuss the possibility of participating in this project or working together to recruit participants for this exciting project. Please let me know of a convenient time to call and follow-up, or feel free to call to speak with the Recruitment Coordinator, Jennifer Nachshen, or the Project Coordinator, Cara Schwartz.

Contact Information
Recruitment Coordinator: Jennifer Nachshen

514-412-4400 ext 23325

sscresearch.mch@muhc.mcgill.ca

Simons Project Coordinator: Cara Schwartz

514-412-4400 ext 23325

Cara.Schwartz@muhc.mcgill.ca

Support Groups for Parents of Children with ASD: Predictors of Involvement

We want to learn about the experiences of parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We are especially interested in your experiences with parent support groups, and would like to learn how best to support all families of children with ASDs. If you are interested you will be invited to participate in an online parent support group.

There are 5 questionnaires that will take about 1 hour to complete, however, they can be completed at different times (over a one month period). Please be sure to complete ALL parts otherwise the data cannot be included in our study.

Parents or guardians of a child diagnosed with an ASD are invited to participate.

Click here to get more information about the study

Follow the directions on this page to register with ASD-CARC
Login at ASD-CARC if you are already registered.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Tess Clifford by email

Thank you for your interest!

Tess Clifford, M.A., PhD Candidate

Patricia Minnes, PhD.
Clinical Psychology Program, Department of Psychology, Queen's University

Cross-Sensory Emotion Processing in teenagers with autism at McMaster University

Our main research interest is to investigate the brain areas recruited in teenagers with autism, and those different from typically developing individuals, when they see and hear emotional faces and voices at the same time, using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).


The sensory world we live in is very complex.  We perceive information in our world through using sensory cues (things we see, hear, smell, touch and taste).  At times, we must increase our attention to specific cues, suppress others and combine cues, to determine what information is most important in a given situation. This process is called multi-sensory (more than one sense) integration.  In typically developing individuals, this process is automatic and successful.  This is because brain regions that detect sensory cues are connected in such a way that makes it easy for them to combine information.  It is suggested that these connections, however, are not as well organized in the autistic brain.  This results in multi-sensory integration that is unsuccessful at times. This is especially true, when individuals with autism are trying to understand emotion in someone's face and voice, at the same time. Our aim in this study is to observe multi-sensory emotion processing in autism, and characterize brain regions involved, and those different, from typically
developing individuals.

This study is being conducted by Dr. Peter Szatmari, Dr. Jeremy Goldberg and Dr. Geoffrey Hall at St. Joseph's Healthcare. 

Participants will be reimbursed $50 for study related expenses.  There will be no costs for taking part in this study. Please contact Krissy Doyle, at 905-522-1155 ext. 32995 if you are interested in participating in this study.

Autism Auditory Processing Study at McMaster University

Are you between 13 and 24 years old?

Have you been diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome?

If you answered YES to these questions, you might be eligible to
participate in research currently being conducted in the Department of
Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University.

Participants are asked to complete a series of computer tasks that measure
auditory processing. The study will take approximately 3.5 hours to
complete. You will be compensated $40 for your time.

Testing time will be arranged at your convenience.  If you are interested
in participating or have any questions about this study, please contact
Anne-Marie DePape by phone at 905-525-9140 ext. 27114 or e-mail
(depapear@mcmaster.ca).

Department of Psychology ~ Queen's University ~ Dr. Elizabeth Kelley and Dr. Valerie Kuhlmeier

Social Cognitive Skill in Young Children with Autism and Toddlers at Risk for Autism

Recruiting children for participation in a study with the goal of increasing understanding of the social difficulties children with autism spectrum disorders and their siblings may experience. With a greater knowledge of the early signs of social difficulties associated with ASD, it is our hope that we will be able to diagnose and treat children at an earlier age, which has been shown to be important for optimal treatment outcome.

To participate, your family must include at least one child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. We are looking for children diagnosed with ASD who are between the ages of 18 months and 7 years of age. We are also interested in the performance of younger siblings (17 to 30 months) of children with autism. The study involves a number of play-like tasks that will look at how your child understands imitation, the goals of others, and the importance of following another’s gaze. Participation will require two visits that will be between 45 minutes to one hour long. Your participation is completely voluntary, you may withdraw at any time for any reason, and the confidentiality of all information is assured. Furthermore, you will be reimbursed $10 for transportation costs, and your child will receive a small toy in appreciation.

In addition, ASD Studies is in the process of initiating new research projects for participants of all ages. We would appreciate hearing from any parents/caregivers of one or more children/adolescents with ASD and well as adults diagnosed with ASD.

For more information regarding this study as well as others, please contact us at: 613-533-2841 Or at: asd.studies@queensu.ca

Department of Psychology ~ McMaster University ~ Dr. Mel Rutherford

Dr. Rutherford and her associates are always looking for participants for her autism studies.  Click on the link above to see what they are working on.

Early Autism Study

Early Autism Study - brochure of information page 1

                              - brochure of information page 2

Sticker Study at the Rutherford Lab

Face Perception Research

Special Populations Research

www.autismresearch.ca

Autism Spectrum Disorders Canadian-American Research Consortium (ASD-CARC) ~ Invites all families with a child with an ASD to participate in On-Line Research. Once registered, questionnaires on parents, individuals with ASD, and other siblings can be completed. New research projects are added every few months.