World Autism Day: 2 April 2014. Support the Babylab’s research project
The Babylab is asking families who have a baby and an older child with autism to get involved with their research
Wednesday 2 April is World Autism Day, and the Babylab at Birkbeck is asking families who have a baby and an older child with autism to get involved with their research, which aims to enable earlier diagnosis of the condition.
Autism is a lifelong condition that affects people’s social and communication abilities. It is not currently diagnosed before toddlerhood, and sometimes much later, when diagnosis is based on the symptoms infants are already displaying, such as avoiding eye contact, delayed speech or compulsive, repetitive behaviours. Research carried out at the Babylab has already shown that before these outward symptoms develop, there are differences in the brains of babies who later go on to receive a diagnosis of autism compared with those babies who do not.
Dr Emily Jones, a scientist at the Babylab, said: “There are a range of therapies that can help children with autism, whether by teaching them to cope with social anxiety or improving their verbal communication. We know that the earlier these therapies are started, the greater the impact they have. If we could look at the brains of babies just a few months old and identify those who were at risk of developing autism, then we could develop therapies that could be started at an earlier age, which in some cases might even prevent symptoms from developing.”
The team at the Babylab are currently running the world’s largest study into the early diagnosis of autism and ADHD. They are looking for families with a child with a diagnosis of autism or ADHD, and a younger child less than 10 months old. They invite families into the Babylab, where the team use state-of-the-art technology to measure the brain activity of the babies while they participate in different fun tasks, such as watching different objects appear on a screen. Parents stay with their babies the entire time.
Charlotte Warner (pictured with her family), whose oldest son Alex has autism and ADHD, brought her youngest son Freddie (now three) to the Babylab. She says: “Visiting the Babylab is great fun, and a really nice way to spend an afternoon with your baby. You have a settling-in period and then do all sorts of weird and wonderful things. There are experiments that track what your baby is looking at and how oxygen flows around the brain when they are shown various images. The staff are really nice people: very interesting and highly motivated.”
Charlotte continues: “Having had a diagnosis for Alex before the age of four would have made a huge difference to him, to his siblings and to the family. The earlier you know that your child has a life-long condition that can be significantly improved with the right intervention, the sooner you can start researching what those interventions are, and where the evidence base is for interventions that actually work in ameliorating the signs and symptoms of autism. The sooner you get the diagnosis, the sooner you can help your child be the best that they can be.”
The Birkbeck Babylab featured in a BBC Horizon episode about living with autism on Tuesday 1 April.
Workshop about young people with autism
Birkbeck alumna Judith Kerem, of CareTrade – a charity creating opportunities for young Londoners with autism, will lead a workshop about supporting autistic young people in the workplace.
She will give an overview of autism, the benefits of employing someone with the condition, and the reasonable adjustments that can be made by employers. Successful case studies will also be shared at the event from 12pm-2pm on Friday 25 April at 12 Queens Parade, Willesden Green High Street, NW2.
Book your free place at the workshop called Working with young adults with autism.
The workshop is part of Birkbeck’s Pop-Up University – an opportunity for local residents to get inspired, explore new topics, discover new passions, debate big ideas and find out more about undergraduate and postgraduate study at Birkbeck. Free workshops, lectures, panel discussions, film screenings, debates and performances are taking place at Birkbeck’s Pop-Up University until 31 May.
Visit www.bbk.ac.uk/popup to find out more or email us at tryit@bbk.ac.uk .