Do you have a primary school child on the autism spectrum?

Researchers at the University of Newcastle are seeking parents and/or guardians to give their opinion on social support programs hosted on interactive technologies. 
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Our team is developing a game-like tablet application (app) to be used as a social support program for children on the autism spectrum.  Whilst developing such an app, we believe it is important to seek out the thoughts and opinions of interactive technologies (e.g., iPads) from caregivers of autistic children to determine how to best design it. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom, are open to parents Australia-wide and take approximately one hour.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please visit Red Cap for more information or email Natalie.G.Wall@uon.edu.au

We are aiming to learn more about infants’ developing perception of people and how infants recognise them. We are specifically interested in what grabs infants’ attention when they see pictures of people and how they might use features from bodies to tell people apart. Previous research has focussed on faces, and we aim to investigate infants’ visual processing of people in their whole forms.
If you have a baby who is 9 months or younger, we would love to hear from you. The visit to the university takes around 30 mins and your baby will sit on your lap while they view pictures on a screen (for around 5 mins). If you are interested, please contact us on babymindsstudy@gmail.com or click here for more information. 
​Please share this post if you know someone who may be interested in participating. ​

We are trying to learn more about the opportunities and challenges for Australian young autistic people to get jobs and to keep them. We are really interested in learning more about their experiences; what their aspirations are for work, what they find helpful (or not so helpful), what support they need and what hopes and concerns they have about the future.

Who can participate in the research? If you are between 18-30 years of age; have a diagnosis of an Autism; have completed mainstream schooling; live in Australia and have access to the internet, then you can participate. We would also like to hear from parents/grandparents and other carers of young people with autism.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to answer questions relating to the research topic through an on-line survey. It will take about 20 minutes to complete the survey. The questions will include ones that ask you questions about work, aspirations and goals as well as challenges and how to overcome them. 

To participate click on the link below, read the information statement and then decide if you would like to complete the survey. Make sure you understand the content in the information statement before you consent to participate. If there is anything you do not understand, or you have questions, ask family, friends or other supports that you have or contact us directly.

For young people - click here to access information statement and then click here to access the consent form and also to start the survey

For parents/grandparents and carers -  click here to access information statement and then click here to access the consent form and also to start the survey.

Thank you

Due to COVID-19, we have had to cancel our focus groups planned to be held in Sydney this month. Instead we will organise focus groups using zoom in June.

The first focus group will be for adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (also known as velo-cardio-facial syndrome). This will be an opportunity for young people with the syndrome to share their experiences, thoughts and feelings in a safe place with like-minded people. The group will be faciliated by two students at the University of Newcastle.

The second focus group will be for parents of adolescents and young adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (also known as velo-cardio-facial syndrome). This will be a chance to talk about parents' experiences of raising a child with the syndrome; their hopes, fears and expectations of the future; and their own wellbeing.

If you are interested to participate, please go to 22qConnect, read the information about the study and send an interest form to us. We look forward to hearing from you.

​Linda Campbell and the research team.

Do you have a teenager or young adult child (aged 15-30) with a diagnosis of 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, and currently live in Australia?  If so, we need your help! In collaboration with the 22q Foundation Australia and New Zealand Home, Dr Linda Campbell and her research team from the University of Newcastle are investigating the lived experiences of teenagers and young adults with 22q11DS and their families.

​We would like to invite you and your teen/adult child to participate in focus groups to talk about your experiences with a particular focus on what is and what is not working for your family, your hopes and worries for the future, and your needs for support and knowledge. We will hold separate sessions for parents, teenagers and young adults.
 
To find out more about this opportunity to have your voices heard, please click here to read the information statement and to register your interest using the contact form. 

The first scheduled focus groups will be held in Sydney on the 9th of May, 2020 - if you are able to attend that day, please let us know using the same contact form.

If you know anyone who might be interested, please SHARE the link to this webpage to help us reach as many people as possible.

Thank you for your help! ​

You might have participated in our BLT-ID study, if so you might be interested in our recent publication. 

In this paper we aimed to examine the prevalence and severity of psychological distress of women with asthma in both the prenatal and postnatal periods, and to determine whether asthmatic women with and without mental health problems differ in self-management, medications knowledge, and asthma symptoms. We included data from 120 women with information about prenatal depression data obtained from medical records and through self report at 6 weeks postpartum. We found that twenty percent of our sample reported having a current mental health diagnosis, 14% reported currently receiving mental health care, while 47% reported having received mental health care in the past (and may/may not have received a diagnosis). More specifically, we found that overall women in our sample were more likely to score higher than expected on aggression, avoidant personality and attention deficit/hyperactivity scales. Poorer self-reported postnatal asthma control was strongly correlated with elevated somatic complaints, externalizing problems, antisocial personality problems, and greater withdrawal. However, prenatal spirometry or asthma severity and control were largely not associated with measures of psychopathology. These findings indicate that pregnant women with asthma frequently report issues with psychopathology during the prenatal and postnatal periods, and that the subjective perception of asthma control may be more related to psychopathology than objective asthma measures. However, due to sample bias, these findings are likely to be understated.

If you are interested in reading more about our research information processing information processing, click on Whalen, OM., Campbell, LE., Murphy VE., Lane, AE., gibson, PG., Mattew, J., Collison, A., Mallise, CA., Woolard, A., Karayanidis, F/. (2019) Observational study of mental health in asthmatic women during the prenatal and postnatal periods published in the Journal of Asthma.

Being a new parent can be difficult. Psychoeducation has been shown to significantly benefit parents in the transition to parenthood. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of game-based learning using an interactive m-health game. M-health is the use of mobile phones in health-based communication and games. The ‘Choose Your Own Parenting Experience’ is a fun, interactive, game-based experience modelled on the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ format designed to be played on your mobile phone. It is designed to equip parents with parenting tips and knowledge to help them on their parenting journey. 
This study is being conducted by Dr Linda Campbell, Ms Jaime Wroe and Ms Miranda Cashin from the University of Newcastle.
Who can participate?New parents can participate in the study, if they:

• Have access to the internet on a mobile phone
• Have a typically developing infant aged 1 to 13 months
• Are over 18 years

Listen to Miranda talk about the study on ABC radio (Central Coast), 7/8/2018

If you are interested in participating in the study or have any questions, please email findlab@newcastle.edu.au or go to the study website by clicking on this link).