Looking for Parents for Boston University Research Study

PYD has a long-standing relationship with Jessica Kramer at Boston University’s School of Occupational Therapy. She does great work and has helped PYD out in many ways, so please check out her latest project and consider getting involved!

Are you a parent or guardian of a child or teen with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?
The Boston University Kids in Context Research Lab needs your help to develop a new way of assessing your child’s strengths and needs.

Dear Parents,

The adaptive behavior of children and teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is measured in a lot of different ways. Some assessments of adaptive behavior take a long time for parents to complete, only ask questions about specific behaviors associated with ASD, or are targeted to children in one age group. This makes it hard to track your child’s progress and development over time. 

The purpose of this project is to develop an efficient and comprehensive assessment of adaptive behavior of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study will test a revised version of a widely used measure of adaptive behavior, the PEDI, and validate the computer-based tool for use with youth with ASD. Your responses can help us create a shorter assessment individualized to each child’s strengths and needs.

Parents indicating interest in participating in this study will be contacted via phone or e-mail and asked to complete a few screening questions. Once eligibility is determined you will be mailed a packet and asked to complete a series of questionnaires. Questions will be about your child’s past and current abilities and level of functioning.

You will then be asked to return the forms via mail in a pre-stamped envelope provided to you. Once the returned packet is received by project staff a phone conference will be scheduled at a time most convenient to you. During this phone conference you will be asked to complete the computer based PEDI adaptive behavior survey over the phone and answer a few short feedback questions.

This project also involves the collection of data for a national repository. Parents who complete all aspects of the project will receive a $25 gift card.

If you are interested in learning more about this project, please email asdcat@bu.edu, or visit: http://www.bu.edu/kidsincontext/

This study is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute Of Child Health & Human Development, Award Number R21HD065281 to Boston University, Dr. Wendy Coster, Principal Investigator.