Help needed from parents/carers of children with autism spectrum conditions

[TomMuskett]

Hi there-

My name is Tom Muskett and I work at the University of Sheffield, where I teach and do research on the subject of communication difficulties. You can see my staff profile here - www.shef.ac.uk/hcs/staff/muskett - and more about the department where I work here - www.shef.ac.uk/hcs/.

I am posting this message today because I am looking for advice and assistance from carers/parents of children with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum condition. I am currently developing a research project about play in autism. I would like to discuss my ideas for this project with carers/parents to see how its findings and approach could be useful for them in their everyday lives. To clarify, I am not looking for children to participate in this project - but instead to work with a small number of carers/parents to identify ways in which the project could be improved.

If anyone is interested in discussing this further and has the time to do so, then please do let me know, either by sending a message on here or emailing me directly at [email protected].

Thanks for reading this far!

Tom.

Hmmm, sounds interesting Tom, any idea how much time would be required.

I am interested but already quite limited with spare time, also would I be required to travel to Sheffield.

I have a 9 yr old Daughter who has recently been diagnosed with ASD, she is high functioning.

I would also be interested... but like needa would want to know how much time would be involved.

My son is 5, he has a diagnosis of ASD and mild to mod learning disabilities, he is now verbal, (although this is still developing) and is in MS school with full time support.

PM me if you want...

I'd be interested too again so long as not too time consuming.

I have ds 16 with moderate autism diagnosed at three and dd 8 with autism diagnosed at two.

Hi both-

Thanks for your responses! To clarify:

1. No need to travel or anything like that - we can do this all by email/discussion board
2. Time commitment can be anything from 10 minutes upwards! This will all be very informal and require no commitments - I am just interested in having some virtual conversations (ranging from a single email to something a bit more sustained!) with carers/parents about the project.

Thanks!
Tom.

In that case Tom I will email you and then I can remain anonymous[sp] on here.

Yes I'll email you too I think we cross posted

Sounds interesting I shall definately email later on.

Have emailed (work in research myself)

would have helped but my DD doesn't play AT ALL :(

DS1 doesn't play either Fanjo

i suppose that might be a relevant answer to the questions too then :)

"no play" in some cases

I'm not sure Tom will be asking those sorts of questions anyway :)

probably not..i just tend to see "play" in a question and find it all too depressing so switch off I think

Oh I do know what you mean - I was sent a questionnaire to fill in for ds1 who is taking part in a research project on autism and dance only yesterday. The questionnaire is written from such a neurotypical perspective that it is impossible to fill in, except in a totally nonsensical way. I chucked it on the kitchen worktop growling. It's not the researcher's fault, it's just a standard psychological questionnaire.

But Tom uses something called CA which is the most sensible way to examine autism so your chance of getting pointless questionnaire from him is slim.

oh, that sounds very interesting then.

I sometimes feel I can't answer much about DD because I don't really know how she feels or thinks.

and she doesn't DO much to indicate what she likes or how she feels about things.

Yes that was my complaint about yesterdays questionnaire. 'Does your child worry about the future?' Always sometimes occasionally never. er ?????

Hi Tom,

Your research sounds fascinating. And I'd be happy to help.

I do have a question though:

'I am particularly interested in the use of multimodal and eclectic approaches to examine the `value´ of interventions and/or care pathways for children and adolescents with complex needs.'

What does this mean?

Btw, if you're interested, my verbal 5yr ds loves and complies well with assessments so if you're after any case studies that you can get an accurate picture of then we might be willing.

yes, I couldnt even answer "does your child know what the future IS"

Oh yes. Saintly I've thought about collecting rubbish questionnaires, just as a public service or something. Most coukd probably come from my LA actually.

Yes I'd be happy to help. I hace two dc with ASD, ds aged 10 very severe ASD in special school and dd aged 6 in mainstream, more able, but very limited speech. Please feel free to PM me your questions etc.

Yes, I'm happy to help too. I have a 10 yr old DS, dx AS. I'm also doing an MSc in Autism and have done modules on play, communication etc. I'm now working on my dissertation on the Lego Approach. I'll be very interested in your research. PM me any questions etc.