1

Chair in ASD Treatment and Care Research 2014 Updates

November 7, 2014

2

Overview •  Purpose of the chair

•  2014 update around research projects

•  Non academic dissemination activities

•  Trainee involvement

3

Announced in November 2012

The Chair in Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in partnership with Autism Speaks Canada, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance, Health Canada, NeuroDevNet and the Sinneave Family Foundation.

4

Additional funds from the Spectrum of Hope Autism Foundation and support from York University and ORION’s O3 Collaboration.

5

Thank you! •  Organizers:

•  Carly Albaum •  Neil Walker

•  Advisors: •  KMb Unit at York (Michael

Johnny & Krista Jensen) •  KT Core at NeuroDevNet

(Anneliese Poetz & Isaac Coplan)

•  Volunteers: •  Priscilla Burnham Riosa •  Tamara Germani

¡ Speakers: ¡  Marg Spoelstra ¡  Senator Jim Munson ¡  MP Mike Lake ¡  Kendra Thomson ¡  Marg Whelan ¡  Carly McMorris ¡  Barry Isaac ¡  Esther Rhee ¡  Dan Goldowitz

5

6

Purpose of the chair Work with people with ASD, their families, services providers, and governmental organizations (our stakeholders)

•  Translate research to inform stakeholders about

mental health and ASD

•  Study ways of addressing mental health in people with ASD

•  Train the next generation of Canadian ASD researchers and clinicians

7

Guiding principles With stakeholders

•  Receive advice •  Learn from •  Research with •  Disseminate results •  Inform change

8

Research Projects: Interventions

Title Community Year Progress to date

Recruitment Data collection

Analysis KT

Predictors of sport participation in youth with intellectual disability

Special Olympics Ontario

2013 - 2016

*Secret Agent Society: Operation Regulation (PI)

Spectrum of Hope

2013 - 2016

MYMind, Mindfulness training for teens (PI)

2014 - 2016

The Program to Assist Social Thinking (PI)

TCDSB 2013 -

Mental Health Screening Tool and Mindfulness Based Supports for Students with ASD (co-PI; PI Botschener)

Conestoga College

2013 - 2015

9

One parent’s example

Retrieved June 2013: http://www.specialolympics.org/Stories/General/Autism_and_Special_Olympics.aspx

10

Research Projects: Predictors, outcomes and subgroups

Title Year Progress to date Recruitment Data Collection Analysis KT

Experiences of interpersonal violence in adults with ASD (PI Viecili)

2013- 2015

Risk factors for peer victimization in children with ASD (co-PI; PI McCrimmon)

2013 - 2015

Understanding and assessing suicide in adults with ASD (co-I; PI Mishara)

2014- 2016

11

Research Projects: Services

Title Community Year Progress to date Recruitment Data

Collection Analysis KT

*Health Care Access Research in Developmental Disabilities Program: Transition Age Youth (co-lead; PI Lunsky)

MCSS MCYS MED ICES

2013- 2015 N/A N/A

*Autism in Canada: National Needs Assessment Survey

CASDA 2013 – 2014

12

KT activities: Publications 2013 2014 In Press

First Author (7) 2 1 4

Co-Author (14) 5 5 4

13

Open Access to publications (Stats from Feb. 2014 to Sept. 2014)

•  YorkSpace (http://yorkspace.library.yorku.ca/) Total Downloads = 1,115

•  On ResearchGate.com •  4,421 downloads (in total)

14

KT activities: The ASD Mental Health Blog

asdmentalhealth.blog.yorku.ca

15

Effects of a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

What you need to know:

A cognitive behavioral therapy program and a social recreational program both helped to reduce anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents with ASD.

What is this research about?

Many children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have high levels of anxiety. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) has been shown to be an effective treatment of anxiety for children with ASD. Interventions that include social recreational activities may also be beneficial for children with ASD by teaching social skills and creating opportunities for social interaction. At the time this study was published there were no other studies that compared CBT to other forms of non-CBT based treatment. The purpose of this study was to compare CBT to a non-CBT based treatment for treating anxiety in children with ASD.

What did the researchers do?

Seventy children diagnosed with ASD and anxiety-related issues, aged 9-16 (66 boys and 4 girls) participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to a CBT program or a Social Recreational (SR) program.

The CBT program consisted of sixteen 90-minute weekly sessions led by two psychologists in groups of 3-4 participants. The first three sessions focused on the recognition and understanding of emotions. The following six sessions focused on anxiety management techniques. The final seven sessions focused on problem-solving strategies based on the “Stop, Think, Act, and Reflect” strategy.

The Social Recreation program (SR) also consisted of sessions led by two psychologists in groups of 3-4 participants. The SR program was comprised of age appropriate individual and group activities fostering self-development skills.

Researchers assessed the child’s anxiety using the Spence Child Anxiety Scale-Child (SCAS-C), which is a self-report measure, and the severity of the participants’ anxiety using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S), which is based on clinician ratings. Assessments were given before treatment, immediately after the treatment, and at three and six month follow-ups.

What did the researchers find?

The results indicated that children from both groups reported significantly fewer generalized anxiety and total anxiety symptoms at the six month follow-up. Children who participated in the SR program reported fewer total anxiety symptoms at the end of the treatment and significantly fewer panic attack symptoms at the 6 month time point. There were no significant differences in child reports of anxiety between the two groups at any of the time points. The proportion of participants who improved based on

16

KT activities: The ASD Mental Health Blog

(Stats from Jan. 2014-Oct. 2014)

Unique page views in 2014 = 8162 Subscribers = 122

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Research Summary

Editorials In the News Videos Other Posts

Number of posts

2013 (Total posts: 34)

2014 (Total posts: 39)

asdmentalhealth.blog.yorku.ca

You can also follow us on Twitter @ASDMentalHealth and @DrJonathanWeiss

17

Invited Presentations/Workshops

•  12 invited talks on mental health and ASD. •  Early Childhood Resource

Teacher Network of Ontario.

•  Ontario Southern Network

of Specialized Care Annual Research Meeting.

•  Ministry of Education; School Board ABA Expertise Professional Learning Day.

•  2 Ottawa Hill Day events •  NeuroDevNet Day on the

Hill

18

Trainee Stipends •  Research stipends (5)

•  Victoria Ting, Andrea Maughan, Jennifer MacMullin, Ami Tint, Katherine Wincentak

•  Conference travel (7) •  Kendra Thomson, Jennifer MacMullin, Ami Tint, Michelle Viecili,

Suzanne Robinson, Stephanie Fung, Victoria Ting

•  SAS-OR therapists (12) •  Priscilla Burnham Riosa, Kendra Thomson, Melissa Rourke,

Nidhi Luthra, Katherine Wincentak, Odette Weiss, Nicole Racine, Jordana Waxman, Azin Taheri, Andrea Maughan, Rebecca Shine, Victoria Ting

19

Students/Trainees •  2014

•  Funded Post-Doctoral Fellows– Drs. Kendra Thomson & Priscilla Burnham Riosa

•  New MA student – Andrea Maughan •  New PhD students – Stephanie Fung & Suzanne

Robinson •  New Research Assistants – Andrew Goodwin, Rachel

Grant & Emily Guertin •  New Social Media/KT Correspondent – Jordan Cleland •  New Lab Manager/Coordinator – Carly Albaum

20

Looking  forward  to  your  input  

Jonathan Weiss, PhD,CPsych

Associate Professor

Dept. of Psychology

York University

jonweiss@yorku.ca

Tel: 416-736-5891 http://asdmentalhealth.blog.yorku.ca/

@ASDMentalHealth @DrJonathanWeiss