Some children with autism have sleep problems, while other children do not have these issues. 

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) in National University of Ireland, Galway is interested in hearing about your experiences of sleep with your child or adolescent aged 3 to 18 years with autism. We are interested in understanding how sleep problems affect both child and parent. 

We are studying sleep through actigraphs. An actigraph is a wristwatch-like device that measures sleep. 

Even if your child doesn’t have sleep problems, we can still learn a lot from your information on why some children have these issues and others do not. 

If you are interested in taking part in this study or if you would like more information, please email Carmel at c.glynn4@nuigalway.ie

Hello, My name is Susan Grennan. I am a final year psychology student in NUIG. At the Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental research (ICAN), we are currently undertaking research on Asperger Syndrome. This research involves looking at past experiences of bullying, social interactions, and one's perception of their quality of life through filling out an online questionnaire, which typically takes between 10-15 minutes to complete. 

Previous research has indicated that individuals with a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome may experience bullying in childhood. We are interested in investigating the prevalence of bullying. We are also interested in investigating how bullying and early childhood experiences affect quality of life. Currently there is little research on adults with Aspergers so it would be great to conduct this research.

My name is Louise Keegan and I am a qualified music therapist and accredited member of the Irish Council of Creative Art Therapists.

I have experience in working with children aged 2-12 with Autism and various other developmental disabilities.

I am based in Roscommon and I am available for sessional work.

If you are interested in learning more about music therapy please feel free to contact me.

Have you experienced difficulties with food with your child? Maybe feeding problems have not been an issue for your child? 

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) in National University of Ireland, Galway are interested in hearing about your experiences with feeding issues with a child or adolescent aged 3 to 17 years with autism.

 We are interested in understanding how feeding problems affect a child’s gastrointestinal symptoms, sensory problems and challenging behaviour. 

Even if your child doesn’t have these symptoms, we can still learn a lot from your information on why some children have these symptoms and others do not. 

Please click below to learn more.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_idSZPwZVjCQMD5hRl3fkvzzdzmX3T0AJaxoPbR...

Has your child experienced toilet training difficulties? Or has toileting been successful for your child? 

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) in National University of Ireland, Galway are interested in hearing about your experiences with toileting a child or adolescent aged 5 to 17 years with autism. 

We are interested in how being successfully toilet trained or not being toilet trained affects a child’s sleep, gastrointestinal symptoms, adaptive behaviour and quality of life. 

Even if your child doesn’t have these symptoms, we can still learn a lot from your information on why some children have these symptoms and others do not. 

Please click below to learn more.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1v1mOBFl5N9ll2dDFLftNWJPNeb-xDdeAX4gjJ-z...

Some children with autism have behaviour problems. Other children have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) or display some AD/HD symptoms, while some children do not have these symptoms. 

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research (ICAN) are interested in investigating behaviour problems and AD/HD symptoms in children with autism. 

We are also interested in investigating whether there is a link between behaviour problems and gastrointestinal symptoms. We would like to hear from parents of children with autism who are aged 6 to 17 years.

 Even if your child doesn't have these symptoms, we can still learn a lot from your information on why some children have behaviour problems and why others do not. 

Please click below to learn more.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1oryAGsvFfdrM3ebhRuuSqVSCLKpipKsBAm7ISjm...

Dear Colleagues,

The National Disability Authority is undertaking a consultation exercise to find out how the implementation of the National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan can most effectively address the needs of people with autism.

The consultation process consists of:

   A consultation event for autism stakeholders (which took place on the 31st of January 2014)

   Engagement with small groups of adults with autism

Dear parent/carer,

My name is Kady Francis, I am currently a student of Psychology at the National University of Ireland Galway. I am conducting research into the area of toileting problems in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and their relationship to sleep, quality of life, adaptive functioning and language.

I have a great interest in this topic and believe that it is an area which is extremely under researched.
I am hoping to recruit parents/carers of children with ASD aged between 4-17 years.

Participation requires filling out questionnaires about your child's specific behaviours. Questionnaires will be available in hardcopy and via email, depending on what suits parents best.

If you think you may be interested please contact me by email as soon as possible with the age of your child and I will send you further details. My email is k.francis2@nuigalway.ie

Dear all, 

The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research at NUI Galway in partnership Trinity College Dublin, and Autism Speaks are hosting a public consultation meeting (flyer attached) on the 28th of January at 7pm in NUI Galway to discuss the establishment of the Irish Autism Registry and Biobank (www.iarb.ie).

The goal of IARB is to lead to advancements in understanding and treating autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and neurodevelopmental conditions, inform the development of clinical practice and services, and facilitate future research. 

To accomplish this goal, a Stakeholder Consultation Process is being carried out nationwide to establish the needs of people with ASD and related disorders and their families and to give the community the opportunity to highlight critical issues and concerns, and to have their view heard. 

hello
very new to this.

My son is currently under assessment for Dyspraxia and there is also a query for mild autism.  He is showing a lot of the signs for dyspraxia and some sensory signs under the AS. I filled in an assessment of needs form because after an appointment with a pediatrician, we were told it would take two years for a clinical psychological report.

He is 11 this month and 2 yrs is a long time. a very nice lady called yesterday and chatted with my son, she said he met the criteria and said he should start his assessment in January.

Just wondered has anyone out there similar situation, regarding the mild autism. as some days my son is completely fine and others he is quite a handful. as i said this is all very new and im a little lost. iv read as much as i can about this but perhaps talking to others in similar situations might help.

thanks :)

Qualified and experienced Teacher/Play Therapist available for home tuition, mornings only. Meets requirements of Department of Education. Full Teaching Council Registration. Boyle area.

In Lough Allen Adventure, Ballinaglera, Co Leitrim.
Activities include Kayaking, Sailing, Archery, and sail away to Burger-Bay for a camp fire bar-b-q lunch. Qualified carers and instructors will supervise all activities. Wear old clothes. BRING TOWELS, WATER SHOES (crocs / old trainers) & A PACKED LUNCH.
Free for autistic child / teen and one sibling. Age 6 to 16.
Additional sibling places may be booked and paid for depending on numbers, at a subsidised cost of €20.
Sunday 04/8/2013 & Sunday 11/8/2013 & Sunday 18/8/2013
12 noon to 5 pm
booking form attached or available from cathbeirne@gmail.com

The incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorders is rising in prevalence worldwide. We, here in NUIG, are would like to investigate some potential risk factors associated with this increasing trend.

Specifically, we are interested in studying the differences in brain size that occur prenatally in the womb.

Some previous studies demonstrated that the brains of children with Autism are smaller at birth which may suggest that differences in brain maturation may be occurring during their development in the womb. We expect that prenatal ultrasound records will help us determine if any differences in the size of the brain are present before birth.

Participation in this study involves giving us permission to view your ultrasound pregnancy scans that are stored in hospitals in the West of Ireland. All information would be confidential and anonymised so that your child’s records would not be identified.

Following the success of our first conference The Irish Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Research at NUI Galway in collaboration with Autism Speaks, are pleased to announce the 2nd International conference on Autism Spectrum Disorders on the 11th and 12th of June 2013, entitled: Autism Spectrum Disorder: from Research to Practice.

I am attaching an information flyer and conference programme and would be grateful if you could circulate to any colleagues that may be interested in attending.

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come basis so please register early.

Dear parent/carer

My name is Martina Herbert, I am currently studying for a Masters in Health Psychology in NUIG.  Having worked as a nurse for a long time I am interested in studying ways to increase well-being and reduce stress for carers/parents and I am looking for a number of people to take part in a study.

Dear All,

Submitted on Monday, March 18, 2013 - 01:29    - Expires 30th April 2013
 
I am looking for an ABA tutor for my 3yr old son who has recently being 
diagnosed with autism for home tuition in the Ennis, Co Clare area. 10 hrs to 
start extending to 20hrs.

Regards Helen

RTE are currently researching a documentary which concerns young people
with Asperger's who are preparing to do their Leaving Cert this year.

The idea is to to make a documentary which shines a light on the challenges
faced by young people with AS and their families, which this experience
brings. If there are any families who are in this situation and who
would be interested in talking to the production team, please contact
David O'Sullivan on 01 208 2723 or by email at david.osullivan <AT> rte <DOT> ie

Hello,

My name is Michaela and I am currently studying for a MSc in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience at Goldsmiths, University of London. I have a great interest in learning more about the origins of neurodevelopmental disorders and what can be done to improve treatment and early intervention strategies.

I have decided to focus my research dissertation on Autism Spectrum Disorders, and will be conducting a study which seeks to explore the sensory correlates of the core social impairments observed in children with ASD, aged between 5 and 10.

Rainchild members are invited to a kids Christmas party hosted by MWB autism support group on Friday 21/12/12 in PV's bar, Ballymahon St, Longford town from 3pm to 6pm. If you would like to go please contact Catherine on 0868281439 with childs name, age & gender.

“Learning from 25 years of change in supporting Families and People with Disabilities”

(hosted by the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies)