Two additional grants will each focus on novel treatments for understudied ASD populations. Because few interventions are designed with adults in mind, Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation to Improve Functional Outcomes for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, (Nancy Minshew, M.D., University of Pittsburgh) and Social Processing, Language, and Executive Functioning in Twin Pairs: Electrophysiological and Behavioral Endophenotypes (Sara Webb, Ph.D., University of Washington) evaluate cognitive enhancement therapy aimed for use in training and coaching attention, memory, problem solving and social skills to improve adaptive behaviors in young adults with autism.
Finally, to aid non-verbal individuals, Laura DeThorne, Ph.D. and other investigators at University of Illinois will test a computer program that facilitates speech by providing visual feedback on production, loudness and pitch in Making Words Meet: Using Computerized Feedback to Facilitate Word Combinations in Children with ASD.
From laboratory studies to community effectiveness
Establishing the efficacy of treatment approaches does not always guarantee that a treatment will be adopted into practice. Barriers to implementation of evidence-based treatments are many. Therefore, the final step in the progression from basic research to improved health services must address how to enhance dissemination of best treatment practices to the autism community. To that end, three of the newly awarded treatment grants will focus on increasing access to interventions. Starting with an empirically validated early intervention known as Pivotal Response Training, one clinical trial will assess the effectiveness and efficiency of providing parent-training in a group rather than an individual format (Pivotal Response Group Treatment for Parents of Young Children with Autism, Antonio Hardan, M.D., Stanford University). A second clinical trial by Catherine Lord, Ph.D., University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center on Early Intervention in an Underserved Population addresses the question of access by underserved populations, including families of racial/ethnic minorities, lower education, or in rural geography, using a caregiver-implemented early intervention to examine the factors related to service utilization and satisfaction. Using a unique data resource, William McMahon, M.D., University of Utah will follow up a sample of over 200 adults with autism in 20-Year Outcome of Autism to understand their current symptoms, together with their needs, gaps and challenges in obtaining services. Finally, this project will also characterize the successes of adults with ASD.
"These types of studies are so important because unless we find a way to facilitate widespread, cost-effective means of bringing treatments and services to our families, we cannot successfully improve the lives of individuals with ASD, which is our mission. Without this last step, we will not have done our job," concluded Dr. Dawson.
See the complete list of funded basic and clinical studies and their abstracts and the treatment grants and the abstracts.
Another area of Autism Speaks research funding are studies leading to an understanding of how environmental factors influence risk for autism, and the interaction between genetic susceptibility and exposure to specific environmental factors. A major environmental initiative announced in the past year includes funding of the IBIS and EARLI studies which involve longitudinal studies of over 2,000 babies from early after conception through early childhood. These studies of babies who represent families with more than one individual diagnosed with autism seek to identify, in real time, environmental factors that may be associated with onset of ASD. Through its Environmental Factors Initiative, Autism Speaks is currently supporting a project led by Bruce Hammock, Ph.D. at UC Davis, to study Vitamin D insufficiency in children enrolled in the on-going Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment (CHARGE) study. This study will provide a more complete picture of the source of Vitamin D insufficiency, the biological consequences, and the contributions to autism and co-morbid symptoms. The goal is to possibly identify a group of children with ASD who would benefit from Vitamin D supplementation therapy. Learn more about other environmental grants that have been funded.
Source: Autism Speaks