Cafe Scientifique Videos Now Available!

On May 10th, 2012, the Autism and Developmental Disorders Lab of SFU, together with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), hosted a Cafe Scientifique event entitled "What about me? Reflections on autism and why bullying is so easy and acceptance so tough."  Our expert panel presented their research and personal experience, and participated in an engaging discussion with the audience.  The videos of this event are now available!  Part 1 is the panel presentation, and Part 2 is the audience discussion.  For more information about upcoming Cafes, please check out the CIHR website.

We're in the News!

Check out Dr. Grace Iarocci and Emily Gardiner in the North Shore News promoting the upcoming Cafe Scientifique!

Cafe Scientifique Event: "What about me? Reflections on autism and why bullying is so easy, and acceptance so tough."

The ADDL, together with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is hosting a FREE Cafe Scientifique Event on May 10th at 7pm.

Cafe Scientifiques provide an opportunity to bring together researchers with members of the public to spark discussion about critical issues.  We are thrilled to present a diverse panel who will tell you a little bit about what they know on the topic, and then we want to hear from you!  This event is not a lecture, but is focused on audience participation, and we hope to have a lively discussion.

Click here to view our poster containing event details and be sure to RSVP to sfuautismcafe@gmail.com soon as seating is limited!

Pictures from Autism Awareness Events!

Making fun crafts at the Canuck Autism Network Family Festival, April 1, 2012.

Starting the windy walk for the Victoria Autism Awareness Walk, April 15, 2012.

Congratulations Donna!

We are excited to announce that one of our volunteers, Donna, will be starting her graduate studies this fall under the supervision of Dr. Tim Raccine.  We are very happy that Donna will be staying in the SFU psychology department! Donna has been an active volunteer in our lab for over a year and has made significant contributions to various research projects. Specifically, she has worked on coding transcripts from interviews with Krista and testing preschool children with Emily.  Donna is the third volunteer in the lab who has successfully transitioned into graduate work. Congrats again Donna- this is a great accomplishment!

Upcoming Events for April (Autism Awareness Month)

The ADDL has a lot going on for the month of April!  First, we will be attending the Canucks Autism Network Family Festival on Sunday, April 1st from 10am -3pm.  This is a free event open to all families! Please stop by our table (#22) for a fun kids craft, to sign up for our free annual newsletter and for information on current research opportunities and events.  For more information on the festival, please click here.

We will be attending the Autism Community Training (ACT)'s 8th Annual Focus on Research on Friday, April 13th and Saturday, April 14th.  We hope to see you there!  For more information and to register, please click here.

Following this we will be headed to Vancouver Island to participate in the Victoria Autism Awareness Walk on Sunday, April 15th from 8:30am- 1:30pm.  This event will take place on University of Victoria campus.  Feel free to stop by our table for a fun kids craft, to sign up for our free annual newsletter and for information on current research opportunities and events.  For more information on the walk and how to sign up, please click here.

There is a FREE workshop for parents that will be presented by the ABA Learning Centre on Tuesday, April 17th from 7-9pm.  Dr. James Partington will be presenting "The Necessary Elements of an Effective Language-Based Program for Young Children on the Autism Spectrum". Registration is limited and is first come, first served.  For more information to register, please click here.

Stay tuned for details on our Cafe Scientifique on Autism and bullying coming up in May!

ADDL Winter 2012 Newsletter is here!

Our annual newsletter provides updates on our progress during the last year as well as upcoming events that our lab is hosting. Please feel free to share this with others that you think would be interested. To view our newsletter, please click here

Another Successful Defense

We are pleased to announce that Kimberly Armstrong successfully passed her M.A. thesis defense on November 23rd. The title of her thesis is: “The relation between autism symtomology and performance on a search task”. 

Kimberly is a graduate student in the Clinical Psychology program at SFU and is supervised by Dr. Grace Iarocci. 

New Online Study started!

Dr. Grace Iarocci and Theo Elfers, Dipl.-Psych. are currently looking for teens and young adults (13-21 years), with and without Autism/Aspergers and their parents in a new Canada-wide online study.

The goal of this study is to understand how young people view themselves and their future and how that is related to the young people's well-being. Participants and their parents will complete separate online questionnaires. There is a small monetary thank you for participating. To sign up please call 778-782-6746 (toll-free: 1-855-583-8061) or email us at: idstudy@sfu.ca. For more information about all of our ongoing studies, click here.

ADDL & Autism Speaks Walk

The ADDL participated in the 4th Annual Vancouver Walk on September 25 and we raised over $600 for this event!  We also had a table in the resource center to provide information to families about opportunities to participate in research and special events.  One of our volunteers, David, entertained the children with making balloon animals.  Thanks you to everyone who donated to this event and to those who participated in the walk despite the rain.  It is greatly appreciated!

Exciting Changes in the ADDL!

Congratulations to Dr. Birmingham who has been recently appointed to assistant professor in the SFU Faculty of Education (in human development with a focus on Exceptionality). We appreciate your contribution to ADDL and wish you continued success. We look forward to future collaborations with you.

ADDL + SFU Science AL!VE Summer Camps = Fun!

Over the summer, our graduate students and volunteers taught Autism awareness to children and teens (age 6-13).  We taught children and teens about some of the characteristics that other children with ASD may have and strategies on how to be a good friend. We also did fun and interactive demonstrations of the type of research being conducted in our lab.  Thanks to Science AL!VE for inviting us to visit the camps!