School psychologist Dr. Peter Faustino shares six tips to help families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) talk about tragedy. These tips not only offer families power and strength to encourage their children to cope with frightening and tragic events, but also allow families to establish a sense of security for their children. Examples of some tips are:

• Starting the conversation by asking your child what he or she already knows about the incident
• Using the communication style and level that works best for your child
• Recognizing that individual children process information differently and over a different time course
• Connecting with others to develop support networks
• Watching for behavioral changes in your child
• Focusing on positive aspects of the incident, to the extent possible

To learn more about the six tips, click here!

Doug Hebert, an art teacher and comic book artist, is inspiring and empowering teens with autism through his new comic book superhero, “Focus!” Hebert highlights autism as the hero’s super power, rather than a shortcoming or disability. Also, in order to inspire and mentor young artists with autism to fulfill their creative potential, Hebert encourages them to create the covers and panels of his comic books. To learn more about the comic book “Focus,” click here!

 

This week the READi Lab said a bittersweet good-bye to Katie Coddington, who will be pursuing her Masters in Occupational Therapy here at UW in the fall! Katie has been an integral part of the READi Lab team over the past three years. During her time in the lab, she played an essential role in coordinating the ImPACT study, training staff to perform play-based assessments with families in our studies, and mentoring undergraduate research assistants. We will miss her kindness and passion for working with children with developmental delays, but wish her all the best in this next step in her career. Thank you for everything, Katie!

Last week, Wendy represented the READi Lab and the Pathways project at the Autism Cares Meeting in Washington D.C. She was in good company, with colleagues from the UW LEND program, Seattle Children’s Autism Center, and the WA Department of Health. And yes, it was during their 90-degree heat wave. Wendy presented a summary of the results of the focus groups conducted with EI providers regarding their work with families when ASD is suspected.

As families prepare for their summer vacations, a growing number of special attractions, theme parks, and hotels are preparing and receiving training to provide sensory-friendly and inclusive services to all types of families, including those with children with autism. Among the destinations doing so are Sea World Orlando, Aquatica Orlando, and Discovery Cove. In an effort to provide a less sensory stimulating play experience for children with autism, each park has created a quiet room with neutral décor, minimal noise, lighting on dimmer switches and interactive toys where families can take a time out. Sensory guides have been created for each park that rate the attractions on a scale from one to ten based on the five primary senses – touch, taste, sound, smell and sight. They are available online and corresponding signs have been posted in each park!

 

The website Autism Travel provides a list of the certified destinations, including resorts and malls that accommodate families with children with autism. To learn more about the inclusive opportunities, click here!

The British children’s television series “Pablo” centers on the adventures of the title-character, who is a five-year-old boy with autism, and his imaginary animal friends, the Book Animals, who go on adventures in Pablo’s Art World. A typical episode will begin in the real world where Pablo is performing a daily activity and when he encounters a problem or experience he does not understand, the show transitions into his animated art world.  Through each episode’s story, the audience gets a glimpse into the real-life experiences of children with autism. The show is also unique in that it is entirely voiced and co-written by people with autism. If you would like to check it out, the show is available for streaming on Netflix here!

Yesterday, Wendy Stone joined UW colleagues Ann Vander Stoep and Elizabeth McCauley in Los Angeles to present a symposium at the 2019 International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (IRSCAP) Convention. The symposium was entitled “Solving the Problem of Poor Access to Empirically-Supported Mental Health Interventions Locally and Globally.”

Dr. Vander Stoep (Departments of Psychiatry and Epidemiology) described her program to promote healthy parenting by increasing knowledge about the effects of harsh parenting on the developing brain. She has partnered with community-based organizations both in Malawi and the Ethiopian community in Seattle to increase positive parenting skills.

Dr. McCauley (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) described the BRISC program (Brief Intervention for School Clinicians), a 4-session, flexible school-based intervention for high school students. Preliminary results revealed positive improvements for both mental health counselors and students, and she is now conducting a randomized controlled trial in public schools in 3 states comprising 52 high schools.

Dr. Stone (Department of Psychology) presented on the Screen-Refer-Treat (SRT) Study, which involves working with community-based providers in primary care and early intervention to increase the use of evidence-based screening and intervention for toddlers with, or suspected of having, autism. You can read more about the SRT study on our website!

We are so proud of Lizzy Karp and Sarah Edmunds, who participated in the Psychology Department “hooding ceremony” on Saturday, June 15. Lizzy spent the past year on internship in the TEACCH Autism Program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Sarah has been on internship at Duke University.  Upon completion of their internships, you may address them as Dr. Karp and Dr. Edmunds!  Both are off to outstanding postdoctoral fellowships next year. Though we will miss them dearly, we cannot wait to celebrate their future achievements.

Today the READi lab is saying a very bittersweet “Goodbye!” to Elyanah, who has been a vital member of our team for almost 3 years. She has been integral in coordinating the Screen-Refer-Treat study and mentoring undergraduate research assistants. We will miss her keen organizational skills and her passion for community-oriented advocacy tremendously. After being immersed in research related to early intervention, she is very excited to start working as a Family Resources Coordinator to assist families in accessing resources more directly. We cannot wait to hear about her new achievements, and we wish her all the best. Thank you for everything, Elyanah!

Traditional theater experiences can be difficult for individuals with autism spectrum disorder or other sensory and cognitive needs. A number of organizations in the Seattle area, including Village Theatre, the Paramount Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Seattle Symphony, and Seattle Children’s Theatre, have begun offering sensory-friendly performances to make theater more accessible. These performances alter the sound and lighting design and include warnings before any surprising or scary events so as not to overwhelm neurodiverse audiences. Additionally, some theaters offer social stories about attending a performance. The Universal Participation Initiative, one of the entities helping push for greater accessibility and offering training to arts organizations, hopes that progress on audience development can lead to long-term accessibility changes to theater settings. To read more about sensory-friendly shows in Seattle, click here.

Yesterday morning Catherine Dick presented the research project she completed through her participation in the UW LEND program (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities). Her LEND project compared parent perceptions of the family-centeredness of their Primary Care Providers and Early Intervention providers.  This quarter Catherine will be finishing up her year as a LEND trainee, as well her third year in the Child Clinical Psychology Program. Time flies, doesn’t it?

“Nothing about us without us,” is the mission behind Associate Professor Hala Annabi’s “Autism @ Work Playbook,” a new resource created by the University of Washington Information School that guides workplaces in sustainable and well-supported practices for employing people with autism. This document provides a guide to help businesses and organizations develop enriching and meaningful employment opportunities for adults with autism. The playbook suggests that organizations stay connected to the autism community by learning about needs, resources, and preferences, while avoiding making assumptions about individuals’ skills or interests. To learn more about the playbook and Dr. Annabi’s research project, Autism Ready Workplace: Creating and Sustaining Autism Hiring Initiatives, click here!

Yesterday Lizzy Karp rocked her Dissertation Defense! She will graduate from the UW Psychology program in June, and will soon be a bona fide PhD! Way to go, Lizzy!

If so, you may be eligible for a research study conducted by Drs. Stone and Sommerville. The study is examining how infants with an older sibling with ASD understand social interactions and other people’s emotions. This project will be ending on May 31, so this is our home stretch of data collection! Participation involves coming to UW, where your infant will watch videos while we measure eye movements, heart rate, and skin responses, and completing several questionnaires about your infant and yourself. This is a great opportunity to contribute to autism research! If you are interested, please email eccl@uw.edu or call 206-221-2240.

Earlier this month, 5 members of the READi Lab team traveled to Montreal, Canada to present posters and talks at the annual meeting of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR). Our presentations described our research activities and findings on a range of topics, including:

• Perspectives from EI providers about discussing ASD concerns with families
• Use of the online M-CHAT-R/F screening tool by primary care providers across WA State
• Perceptions of family-centered care among parents who have concerns about ASD for their toddler
• Use of Reciprocal Imitation Training by Part C Early Intervention providers across the state
• Improving parent-provider communication and shared decision-making for the early detection of ASD
• A new tool for measuring DSM-5 symptom expression in toddlers (collaboration with U Conn)
• The effect of ImPACT intervention on expressive communication in infant siblings of children with ASD (collaboration with Vanderbilt)

Despite being busy, our lab members still found time to enjoy the local food (like poutine and bagels!) and to view some of the sights in this beautiful city!

The Woodland Park Zoo, in an effort to accommodate children and teens with autism, has worked to create less stimulating opportunities and resources for families wanting to visit. They have developed a “sensory map,” which points out the quieter areas of the park, as well as a “sensory garden,” which has interactive activities designed to provide soothing stimulation. To read more about these inclusive opportunities, click here!

For the second year in a row, the READi Lab was excited to attend Centralia College’s Family Fun Fest last Friday! Family Fun Fest is an annual event in Lewis County, one of the counties participating in our SRT study, where kids can play while parents learn about local resources in the area. Representing the lab were John and Elyanah, who tabled alongside other autism-focused organizations and shared information about ongoing research and resources for parents. Our various crafts (including a make-your-own Julia puppet station) was a big hit with the kids, as you can see! Thank you once again to the Lewis County Autism Coalition and The Link for inviting us!

Today the READi Lab bids a very bitter-sweet farewell to Hailee Hannah as she embarks on a new journey. Hailee will be pursuing her MA in Applied Child and Adolescent Psychology here at UW starting this June! During her time in the READi Lab, she worked with caregivers and EI providers on the Screen-Refer-Treat Study and performed behavioral assessments for the ImPACT and Pathways Studies. Although we will miss her keen intellect and her passion for working with children, we are very excited for her next steps and wish her all the best.

Max Park, a 15-year-old with autism, has an exceptional talent for solving Rubik’s Cubes—so much so that he has competed in national and world competitions, and now holds multiple world records for his incredible speed. Max began “cubing” at a very young age as a therapeutic way to help him socialize with other kids and develop his fine motor skills. Early on, Max’s parents noticed that as he began competing, Max’s communication skills grew, as the shared interest helped Max feel comfortable initiating social interactions. Little did his parents know how exceptionally talented he would become as a speed cuber. Max’s plans to continue competing with the motto, ‘don’t think, just solve.’ Way to go, Max! To read more about his story in Guinness World Records, click here here!