Research Match Projects
See below for examples of projects made possible by Research Match. A full list of Research Match projects can be found here.
The Relationships, Employment, Autonomy, and Life Satisfaction (REALS) Measures for Adults with Autism and Adults With Other Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Psychometric Testing of the Self-Report and Proxy Versions
Carla A. Mazefsky (University of Pittsburgh)
This study engaged parents of dependent adults with autism (N=365), self-reporting adolescents and adults with autism (N=599) and other reporters invited by adults with autism (N=212) to develop a measure of adult functional outcomes in autism. The resulting measure is described in the linked publication below. Multiple standardized measures were also collected as part of this study.
Understanding aggression in children and teens with autism
Lauren B. Quetsch (University of Arkansas)
This study re-engaged SPARK participants to study aggressive behavior in youth with and without autism, which is rarely done. New findings include that children and teens with autism are verbally aggressive more often than youth without autism and that youth with autism might be more likely to express angry feelings.
Development of a standardized measure of social-communication abilities (DASCA)
Somer Bishop (University of California, San Francisco)
This study recruited 2,045 participants (1,015 probands and 1,030 unaffected siblings) from SPARK to support the development of a new standardized measure to quantify changes in social communication skills in children with autism and neurodevelopmental conditions. Although numerous tools have been developed to assess social-communication abilities, most instruments were designed for screening or diagnostic purposes and do not adequately record changes over short periods of time. Such quantifiable measures are needed to properly assess the effectiveness of interventions in people with autism.
Elevated parkinsonism symptoms in autism during middle and older adulthood are linked with psychosocial, physical health, and mental health outcomes
Gregory Wallace (George Washington University)
This study recruited middle-aged and older adults with autism to better understand development and outcomes for this understudied age group. The researchers found that adults with autism over age 55 are more likely to report parkinsonism symptoms than adults without autism and that these symptoms are associated with lower subjective quality of life, more memory problems, lower sleep quality and higher depression symptoms.
Remote Infant Studies of Early Learning (RISE): Scalable online replications of key findings in infant cognitive development
Elena Tenenbaum (Duke University)
Duke researchers are recruiting infant siblings of children with autism enrolled in SPARK and testing new, remote methods of studying development and language during this key developmental period. They are testing the feasibility of using remote methods to assess cognitive development and determine if remote testing can predict developmental and language outcomes.