Groups and Research Studies

Asperger's Support Group for Young Adults to Begin in Newburyport

Starting Date: January 17, 2004
Time and Place: TBA (but close to downtown Newburyport)

The purpose of the group is to provide a comfortable and validating setting in which members in their 20's and 30's will feel free to explore their concerns, fears, strengths, and difficulties as they relate such issues to the Asperger's experience.

When members feel the need to change behaviors in order to meet life goals, group techniques will be used to help with this effort. Acting, the use of adult social stories, the use of art, literature, music, poetry, field trips, and special projects will be incorporated into our work when needed. Specifics, such as organization skills, may be covered in a variety of ways and as requested by group members.

The Leader, Pat Hurzeler, has been a nurse therapist for 34 years. She has extensive experience in teaching, group, couple, and individual therapy, and psychopharmacology. She is the mother of three sons, one of whom has Asperger's.

Cost: $10 per session with a fee reduction available if needed.

For Information: Call Pat Hurzeler MS, RN, PC at (978) 465-0697 ext. 2, leave a message with your phone number and a time when you can be reached.

Manchester Area
Activity Group for Young Adults with Asperger's

Facilitator: Jocelyn Lister, MA/CCC-SLP
Full Spectrum Wellness, Manchester
Thursdays starting January 29, 2004
   6:30-8:30pm       

Hands-on Work with Students with Asperger Syndrome

Presenter: Lynne Mitchell, LICSW
Sandwich Mass., March 1, 2004

Registration and info at www.cccollaborative.org
or email Anita Woods at anita@cccollaborative.org

             Johns Hopkins University presents
                The Autism NetVerse Project
            to collect poetry and artwork from individuals on the autism  spectrum

Please visit collaborator Autism Arts website for more information and submission details:
http://www.autismarts.com/gpage4.html2.html

Visual Processing Study
Adults, ages 16-50, with Autism or Asperger Syndrome

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston University School of Medicine are investigating how the visual system is organized in the brains of people with autism.

Participation requires one 4-5 hour visit to BUSM for psychological testing and one 2-hour visit to the Charlestown Navy Yard Campus of Massachusetts General Hospital for brain imaging. Participants will receive $10/hour for the visit to BUSM and $50/hour for the visit to the Charlestown Navy Yard Campus of Massachusetts General Hospital.

If you are interested, please contact Kelly Larrow at 617-414-1304 or klarrow@bu.edu for more information.    

You are invited to consider participation in ongoing research projects studying how people with autism think and the genetics link to autism. Nancy J. Minshew, M.D., Director of the University of Pittsburgh based Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism (CPEA) and an internationally recognized expert in autism, is collaborating with a team of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Illinois-Chicago to find the neurological and cognitive basis for autism.

Click Here for Full Recruitment Brochure

Mothers of Children Diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in the Last Two Years

Sally Booth, a clinical social worker and doctoral stusent at Simmons Graduate School of Social Work, is conducting this research project for her doctoral dissertation. She is conducting interviews with biological mothers of children between the ages of three and ten who have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome for six months to two years. Her particular interest is in learning about the period of time from which a mother first senses that her child is different in some way from typically developing children to the point at which a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome is made by a psychologist or psychiatrist.

If you are interested in learning more about participating in this research please call Sally at (603) 624-5588 or send an e-mail: s.s.b@juno.com.

Autism Tissue Project

http://www.memoriesofhope.org

What's Your Moral Sense?

If you are interested in finding out more about the nature of your moral judgments - what makes some things appear right and others wrong - the please take the Moral Sense Test.

Engineered by Marc D. Hauser
Psychology Professor at Harvard University
617-495-3886
mdhauser@wjh.harvard.edu

Tracy Rackensperger is conducting a study for her Masters Thesis and needs to interview people with disabilities via instant messaging, about their experiences with seeking employment. The purpose of this study is to understand more about people with disabilities' use of communication and resources when seeking help with finding and attaining employment opportunities and the related influences on that communication. This study will specifically investigate how and with whom individuals express their need for assistance (or less assistance) with the employment process in respect to using individuals in their social support while managing and avoiding stigma-related obstacles to employment.

Individuals who participate in this study should meet the following conditions:

1. Individuals must have a disability(ies) during the time of the employment search. For this study, the definition of disability cited in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 will be used. The ADA defines disability as an impairment significantly affecting one's ability in one or more major life activities, such as communication, mobility, self-direction, economic self-sufficiency, and/or independant living.
2. Individuals must be in the process or recently (nine months ago or less) in the process of seeking community-based employment opportunities.
3. Individuals must be adults at least 18 years of age. This study will focus on adults because they make up the majority of people in need of employment opportunities.
4. Individuals must be willing to participate in an interview lasting approximately one hour.
5. Individuals must be willing to install (if needed), create a user ID for, and use an instant messaging computer application.

If you are interested in being a participant in this study, please contact Tracy Rackensperger at tracy@mailo.ucf.edu.

Adult Asperger Syndrome Study
University of Kansas Dept. of Special Education

This study will examine the preferences of adults (age 20 and older) who have Asperger Syndrome. Individuals who participate in the study will be asked about their likes and dislikes, and preferences in their daily lives including home, work, and free time. In addition, they will be asked for information about their life history and sensory needs. It is our hope that we have many participants since this study will be the first of its kind. This study is sponsored by researchers at the University of Kansas.

All information will be gathered by mail using surveys and questionnaires. Participants will be sent questionnaires through the mail with return postage paid envelopes provided for their convenience. All information will be confidential. Individuals will recieve the results of their surveys and questionnaires. If you are 20 years old or older and have Asperger Syndrome, please email the researchers if you are interested in participating in this study. The contact email address for this survey is: adultasstudy@@mail.ku.edu.

Brenda Smith Myles, Ph.D. and her colleagues at the University of Kansas are undertaking two large-scale studies to better understand children and youth with Asperger Syndrome in order to plan effective interventions.

The first study will involve completion of surveys and interviews via phone by parents and children/adolescents. Brenda and her colleagues will assist in these tasks.

In the second study, children/adolescents with Asperger Syndrome will be provided with a software program that teaches emotions and will be asked to use it for 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. Parents who have children with Asperger Syndrome (ages 8 to 18) who are interested in learning more about the study are asked to contact Brenda at asdresearch@ku.edu.

Study on "Balancing Work and Family" out of UMass Medical Center in Worcester. They'd like to recruit 200 families. See their flyer.

The Seaver Center and NY Autism Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai currently has several studies for Adults with Aspergers. The link to their website that has a description of the center and what they do as well as contact information is http://www.mssm.edu/psychiatry/autism/seaver.shtml

A mother of a child with AS in central New York is gathering funny, outrageous, and/or amazing stories about children with AS for posting on a website as a preliminary to a book. The purpose is to cheer on us parents --and provide us with some comic relief. Please send along your anecdotes to kburns49@twcny.rr.com.

Language and Social Communication
Research Program

Lab of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Boston University School of Medicine
Director: Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD

For Children ages 7-16 who have autism or Aspergers, or have a history of language delay, etc.

This study is intended to investigate:

• how children process social information from people's faces
• language abilities, including grammatical and pragmatic skills
• brain structure and function related to face and language processing

http://www.bu.edu/anatneuro/dcn/autism/
ongoing_programs/language_and_social.html