Participants Needed for a Study on the Social Language between Individuals with High Functioning #Autism and their Peers

If your family lives in Oklahoma and are interested in having their child participate in the following study, please continue reading!

Recruitment efforts are underway for a study conducted through the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, OUHSC, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, entitled: “Speech Act Use by Adolescents Diagnosed with Higher Functioning Forms of Autism when Interacting with Typical Peers in a Semi-structured Conversational Context.” The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of social language between middle-school adolescents diagnosed with higher forms of ASD (Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified) as they interact with their typical peers. This study has been approved by the OUHSC Institutional Review Board.

Participants need to be between the ages of 12 years, 0 months, and 15 years, 11 months of age. Both adolescents who are typically developing and who have been diagnosed with a higher functioning forms of ASD are needed. Typically developing participants need to have a history free of hearing, speech, language and learning disabilities, have no known neurological difficulties, and presently be in a grade level appropriate to their chronological age. Participants with higher functioning autism spectrum disorder must possess fluent speech, normal hearing without impairment, have an average intelligence quotient, and have a documented diagnosis of either Asperger’s Syndrome, High Functioning Autism, or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified.

All study procedures will be completed at the John W. Keys Speech and Hearing Clinic located in the College of Allied Health, on the OUHSC campus. The study consists of two sessions: the first involving assessment of receptive/expressive/pragmatic language abilities, a hearing screening, and a test of nonverbal intelligence quotient; and the second involving a session where one participant with ASD is paired with two typical peers, matched for language abilities and IQ, work together to build a LEGO© model.

Participation in this research is completely voluntary and participants may withdraw at any time during the study without consequence. The qualifying session will take approximately 90 minutes to complete. The LEGO© session will take approximately 75 minutes to complete. Participants will be compensated for their time for each attended session. The LEGO© session will be recorded for language transcription and analysis. Transcriptions will be coded to protect the identity of respondents. Results will be reported in the sub-investigator’s dissertation. They may be used in a professional paper or presentation. Neither the researchers nor the University has a conflict of interest with the results. The data collected from this study will be kept in a locked cabinet. The only identified risk to participating in this study is the identification of previously unknown hearing, speech, or language impairment. Because most impairments of these types are identified much earlier in childhood, this risk is minimal.

More information regarding the above mentioned research study can be obtained from Karen Karner (405)414-0191 Karen-karner@ouhsc.edu or faculty advisor Dr. Susan Benson (405)271-4214, ext. 46072, susan-

gilmore@ouhsc.edu. Thank you for your consideration. Your help is greatly appreciated.