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Click here to register!What:The Autistic Self Advocacy Network, in conjunction with the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics, the Harvard Law Project on Disability and the UNESCO Bioethics Chair American Unit, is proud to invite you, to join us on December 10th for a Symposium on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Autism Research at Harvard Law School. The free event will run from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Harvard Law School campus, Hauser Hall, Room 105. Topics covered will include prenatal testing, community participation in research methodologies, appropriate and inappropriate intervention goals and much more. This symposium will serve a unique role in shedding light on ethics and values issues within the autism research community. By bringing together self-advocate and researcher participants, we hope this will serve as a starting point for meaningful dialogue between those conducting research on autism and the community of Autistic adults and youth. Confirmed participants include Administration on Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Sharon Lewis, ASAN President and IACC Public Member Ari Ne'eman, National Institute on Child Health and Human Developmental Director Alan Guttmacher, Harvard Law Professor Michael Stein, Paula Durbin-Westby, Emily Titon, Liz Pellicano, David Rose and many more.   This event is open to the general public without charge and is made possible by a grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.When:Saturday December 10, 2011 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM ESTWhere: Harvard Law School, Hauser Hall Room 1051563 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02138 Contact: Ari Ne'eman Autistic Self Advocacy Network 202.596.1056 info@autisticadvocacy.org

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) is seeking comments on a set of proposed research priorities from the National Institute of on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The priorities relate to Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) on Community Living and Participation, Health and Function, and Employment of Individuals with Disabilities, on Health and Function of Individuals with Disabilities, and on Employment of Individuals with Disabilities. The priorities will likely become part of a grant competition in FY 2013, and possibly later years.

Western Psychological Services, a publishing company based in Los Angeles, owns many of the common autism screening and diagnostic instruments. These include the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a widely used screening questionnaire that Constantino developed, as well as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), often referred to as the gold-standard tests for diagnosis of the disorder. Each time one of these tests is administered, the publisher charges a fee, and passes a portion of the royalties on to the test’s developers. “I don’t think there’s any other condition in medicine in which you have to pay a royalty to a publishing company in order to make the diagnosis,” says David Skuse, professor of behavioral and brain sciences at University College London. Skuse has helped develop two freely available tools, the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC) and the developmental, dimensional and diagnostic interview (3di). In many countries, paying royalties of even a few dollars represents a substantial hardship. Durkin and others say these costs not only limit access to diagnosis for individuals, but also forestall epidemiological studies, which require surveying thousands of individuals. One reason researchers have traditionally turned to publishers is a lack of alternative distribution channels, Durkin says. A new online clearinghouse of information, DisabilityMeasures.org, attempts to address this issue by gathering free diagnostic tools for developmental disabilities such as autism.

Click here to register!What:Many schools and communities are struggling to find effective ways to prevent both bullying and suicidal behavior among youth.  This webinar will provide the latest research and science on the relationship between bullying and suicide and will outline some of the shared risk and protective factors. The webinar will also discuss the main principles of a comprehensive whole school approach to bullying prevention. This presentation will be interactive, with opportunities to ask questions. Objectives: Participants will: 1.     Recognize the complex relationship between bullying and suicide. 2.     Understand key research findings related to effective bullying prevention approaches. 3.     Identify ways to integrate both bullying prevention and suicide prevention into school violence prevention initiatives.When:Thursday, February 2, 20121:00-2:30 p.m. Mountain TimeContact:Tiffany KimPhone: 202-572-3717Email: tkim@edc.org

A newly updated strategic plan guiding federally-funded autism research places new emphasis on adults with the disorder, while leaving the door open for further research on vaccines. The 2010 strategic plan released this week by the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, or IACC, provides a blueprint for the type of autism research that will likely be approved for federal funding during the course of the year. The IACC is an advisory committee established by the Combating Autism Act of 2006, which is comprised of government officials and members of the autism community.

Response to intervention has exploded into one of the most popular school initiatives in the country, but experts caution that RTI's use is far outstripping its research base. While the heightened interest has spurred research advances in key aspects of RTI, such as universal screening tools and initial interventions, other areas have little or no research support. Moreover, experts worry the historically piecemeal approach to studying RTI can give educators a skewed view of how to employ it effectively, and for what purpose.

NCRR awarded 18 grants to help determine outcome measures and increase the likelihood of success of future trials of treatments for children. The grants were awarded to 17 Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institutions to support 18 studies of pharmaceutical treatments for children. The CTSA consortium is a national network of 46 medical research institutions working together to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The $8.5 million in funding — administered by NCRR and provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development — will support studies which focus on three areas critical to health: pediatric cardiology, neonatology and pediatric neurology.

Because of stigma, lack of awareness about mental health and poor medical infrastructure, few autism prevalence studies exist outside of the U.S., Canada and the U.K. "Even though it seems like anybody and everybody has heard of autism, in many places in the world it's still sort of a new topic," says Charles Zaroff, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Macau in China. Zaroff and Grinker are part of a small but growing group of researchers charting autism in new territories. Rigorous autism screening studies are underway not only in South Korea, but in Mexico, India and South Africa. In the past year, prevalence estimates from Brazil1, Oman2 and Western Australia3 have been published in mainstream journals for the first time.

This research protocol seeks to learn more about bipolar disorder in children and adolescents ages 6-17. Researchers will describe the moods and behaviors of children with bipolar disorder and use specialized testing and brain imaging to learn about specific brain changes associated with the disorder. This protocol studies children who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and those who have a sibling or parent with bipolar disorder and are thus considered "at risk" for developing the disorder.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers long have evaluated the roles parents play in children’s development. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that mothers’ directiveness, the extent to which they try to control the content and pace of young children’s play, varies based on the children’s ages and the mothers’ ethnicities. In addition, the study found that the more directive the mothers were during play, the less engaged children were with them and the more negative emotion the children displayed toward their mothers.