Throughout April, several organizations coordinate national campaigns to bring awareness and understanding of autism and acceptance of people who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. Autism is a developmental disability which can affect language and communication, sensory processing, motor skills, cognition, and social interaction. The experience of autism is different for every person “on the spectrum” but, as the Autistic Self Advocacy Network points out, it is almost always presents challenges in the way a person learns, works, and interacts with their community.
In previous blog posts, we looked at current and completed projects with a primary or secondary focus on individuals with autism and their families. Today, we dive a bit deeper into some of the studies from these projects, and we take a virtual walk through the stacks of the NARIC collection.
Research In Focus
Our Research In Focus series highlights new and interesting findings from NIDILRR-funded studies and summarizes them in reader friendly summaries. Now in its fourth year, Research In Focus has summarized more than 125 peer-reviewed articles on a wide array of topics. While many cover topics generally important to the autism community, such as school to work transition or inclusive workplaces, these articles focus specifically on autism research:
- Digital Books with Dynamic Text May Show Promise to Help Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Learn Sight Words introduces a feature for digital books which may help children build their reading skills.
- Home and Community Based Waivers May Make Family Life Easier for Families of Children with Autism looks at the impact of community and financial supports for families.
- A Comprehensive Job Development Program May Help Youth with ASD Make the Successful Transition from School to Work examines the impact of a program that combines vocational rehabilitation, on the job supports, and special education.
- The Right Supports Can Improve Opportunities for Job Seekers with Autism Spectrum Disorders explores these combined programs further.
- Changes in Policy May Mean Better Access to Interventions for Children with ASD looks at the importance of mental health services and supports for young children with ASD.
The NARIC Collection
The original articles summarized in Research In Focus are part of the NARIC collection. We have more than 2,000 articles on autism indexed in REHABDATA, our “card catalog.” With so many abstracts, we narrowed our searches down to target some specific topics. Follow these links to explore these abstracts:
- NIDILRR-funded research on autism (240+ abstracts)
- Autism and employment (340+)
- Autism and assistive technology (160+)
- Autism and mental health (140+)
- Autism and wellness, fitness, and exercise (50+)
- Autism and assessment/evaluation (850+)
These are just a few examples of ways you can explore the research indexed in REHABDATA. Try a few searches on your own or contact our information specialists who can help you explore our collection and other online databases.