Yiheng Wu is a senior Psychology major at the University of Washington, and a student research assistant in the READi Lab. Before joining the READi Lab, Yiheng maintained a consistent involvement in volunteer work and employment with children diagnosed with autism. In her spare time, Yiheng loves interacting with animals, especially puppies, and watching sci-fi films. She also enjoys drama performance, dancing, and playing badminton. Her goal for the future is to conduct clinical research to acquire a deeper understanding of autism and to incorporate the approach of drama therapy into her research.

Alyssa is a fourth-year psychology student at the University of Washington, and a student research assistant in the READi Lab. Before joining the READi Lab, Alyssa worked with foster children at her local Department of Social and Health Services. In her spare time, Alyssa enjoys reading, listening to music, and spending time with her dog. She is excited to continue learning about early autism research and aspires to continue her academic career by attending graduate school for clinical psychology in the future. 

Jackson is currently a senior at the University of Washington studying economics and pre-med. He has ambitions of attending medical school, where he would like to become a psychiatrist and specialize in developmental psychology. Before joining the READi Lab, Jackson gained experience as a summer research assistant for the DAID study where he worked with children with developmental disabilities and their dogs to foster a stronger connection between the two. Jackson is from Boulder, Colorado, where he originally found his passions in skiing, fly fishing,
and spending time outdoors. He also currently likes to spend his time shooting film photography and playing Lacrosse for the UW Club Lacrosse team. Jackson is excited to learn more about early autism research and continue to gain experience in the field of developmental psychology.

We are now gearing up for our next wave of trainings for our RISE Study and are hoping to enroll additional Early Intervention providers. Please contact us if you would like more information about this opportunity or have any questions!  

Visual Schedule Resource Link 

Gounah Choi, a, Special Education Doctoral Candidate, is conducting a study to examine the use of Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Families (PTR-F). She is looking for culturally diverse families who have young children with developmental delays or disabilities and challenging behaviors. She is examining whether PTR-F training, followed by supportive coaching sessions, helps parents improve their children’s behaviors. PTR-F uses evidence-based practices for promoting young children’s healthy social and emotional development and can be used at home by caregivers.  

More information about this study can be found here. 

 

 

 The Woodland Park Zoo and Olympia Children’s Museum are hosting sensory friendly events later this month. Experience costume parties, trick or treating, and more in a sensory friendly space!  

 

Woodland Park Zoo‘s Family-Friendly Pumpkin Bash 

Kid friendly trick-or-treating around the zoo, a costume parade, and special pumpkin enrichments for the animals will be available on October 29th and 30th from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.! Pumpkin Bash activities are free with zoo admission. One child Children 12 years or under will be admitted for free with a one paid adult, if they wear a costume! 

 

Olympia Children’s Museum’s ‘Boo Bash’ Sensory Friendly Room   

Special Boo Bash activities for families of children with sensory sensitivities will be available at the Olympia Children’s Museum on October 23rd and 30th, during their normal Sensory Friendly Hour (9:00 – 10:00 a.m.). A sensory friendly room is also available on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

 

Click here for more information  

 

 

Washington Autism Alliance is presenting a free special education legal clinic to help low-income families understand their children’s educational rights. Families who qualify can schedule a 30-minute appointment with a special education attorney to discuss issues related to their student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and/or 504 Plan. Topics may include service eligibility, behavior support, bullying, accessing interpretation services, and much more. This consultation is available on specific dates in October, November, and December. This should be a great opportunity to learn about special education law and advocacy!  

Click here for more information 

Daina Tagavi, a postdoctoral research fellow in the READi Lab, just returned from a  10-day trip to Iceland! This trip has been on Daina’s bucket list for years. It was also a time to celebrate graduating from her doctoral program, as she was unable to travel last year due to the pandemic.

Daina spent eight 8 days of her trip driving the Ring Road around the coast of the country. She stopped and explored several towns and national parks along the way. She spent her time hiking, soaking in hot springs, chasing the Northern Lights, and touring the countless waterfalls, craters, and volcanoes the country has to offer. She reported being surprised at how amazing the food was in Iceland and how many sheep were just hanging out everywhere! Daina also spent two days in the Capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, where she learned about the history of the country at the National Museum of Iceland and visited the famous Blue Lagoon. 

Welcome back, Daina! We’re glad you enjoyed your trip.

Shana Attar, a graduate student in the READi Lab, was recently awarded the UW Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Psychology Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year. This fellowship provides advanced interdisciplinary training in adolescent health to develop leaders who will reduce disparities and improve adolescent healthcare. As part of this fellowship, Shana will participate in didactic sessions and advocacy activities, and she will serve as a clinician on several adolescent health projects at UW Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Shana will also complete a leadership project under the mentorship of LEAH advisors, and she hopes to begin developing an autism-specific, culturally responsive parenting program for caregivers of adolescents with autism who identify as culturally and linguistically diverse. The LEAH fellowship will fund Shana for three quarters. Way to go, Shana!  

Dr. Daina Tagavi, a postdoctoral research fellow in the READi Lab, recently received a Suzanne Wright Memorial Research Accelerator Grant from the Autism Science Foundation. Her co-investigator is Dr. Yael Dai, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Both awardees are working on our multi-site RISE Study. This funding will be used to compare the results of the virtual diagnostic tool we developed for RISE (the Communication Play Protocol), to those obtained from a traditional in-person assessment. Virtual assessments have the advantage of reaching a more diverse community and potentially improving opportunities for early intervention, so we are excited to see the results of this important research!. Congratulations to Daina, and Thank you, Autism Science Foundation!

Clara Herrera, BA, Research Study Assistant 

Clara is a Research Study Assistant at the READi Lab working on the RISE and Sprout studies. Born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Kent, Washington, she received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of Washington. Prior to joining the lab, Clara was a student intern at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center and worked as a Certified Behavior Technician providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for children diagnosed with ASD. In her spare time, Clara enjoys taking dance classes, reading, and trying out new food spots around Seattle. She is excited to be a part of the READi team and aspires to pursue a PhD in clinical child psychology in the future.

The Sprout Study is still enrolling Part C Early Intervention Providers to examine the impact of Reciprocal Imitation Teaching (RIT) on provider practices and child and family outcomes. Read more about our study here and for any additional information, contact sproutstudy@uw.edu.

Congratulations to Shana!  Shana Attar is one of Wendy’s graduate students, who was invited to submit a poster for the 25^th National Conference on Mental Health Services Research (MHSR). This virtual conference took place this past Monday and Tuesday and included over 1,000 attendees.

Shana’s poster was based on data obtained from our Screen-Refer-Treat (SRT) study, which provided training to providers working in four underserved counties. She examined the extent to which our brief intervention (a 2-hour office based-workshop) for primary care providers increased and sustained their knowledge, practice, and fidelity of autism screening at 18-month well-child visits.  The majority of practices sustained their use of a digital M-CHAT-R/F (webM-CHAT-R/F) without experimenter intervention or incentives, suggesting that our low-cost, brief intervention can be scaled at-large to promote universal autism screening with fidelity in underserved communities nationwide.

 

Shana also participated in the New Investigators Workshop, which is part of the MHSR conference, where she heard from leaders inside NIMH about grant opportunities and picked up tips for how to successfully submit a grant application. We wish her the best of luck on future submissions!

 

August is finally here, meaning a new school year is just around the corner! Returning to school can be stressful for all children, but especially for children with autism and their families. When considering how to best start the transition back to school, visual supports are a great tool for preparing children for new or unfamiliar situations. Check out the link below to our website resource; “Visual Supports for Home and School” to learn more.

Tools & Materials

After nearly three years in the READi Lab, Taylor Kalmus will be transitioning from a Research Study Assistant to a graduate student!   Taylor will be moving closer to her hometown to pursue a Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  She is excited to learn how to support the language and social communication development of young children through family-centered care and to contribute to the understanding of language and cognitive development in young children for whom there are social communication concerns!   The Packers have another huge fan returning home, but those of us in the READi Lab will miss her!  Good luck, Taylor!