Australia – A new study conducted by Dr. Liz Pellicano, former University of Western Australia psychology graduate, and current director of the University of London’s Centre for Research in Autism and Education, showed that the autism community is unhappy with recent research.
18% of researches from 2007-2011 have focused on the biochemical causes of autism while only 6% focused the effectiveness of current services offered.
Dr. Pellicano said in a recent lecture at UWA that new knowledge from those studies is not being put into practice.
The 1,600 person survey was made up people with autism, their relatives, practitioners, and other researchers. Each group agreed that research should focus on how people on the spectrum think, how services should meet their needs, and how to improve their life and social skills.
“These aspects highlight priorities different from the current research profile in the UK,” Dr Pellicano said in her lecture.
Telethon Kids Institute head of autism research Professor Andrew Whitehouse agrees he told Science Network of Western Australia:
“What researchers feel is important is not necessarily what is important to those touched by the condition,”
He further added that the inclusion of people with autism in what should be studied is long overdue.
The original article by Anke van Eekelen on the Science Network Western Australia website can be found here
Contributed by Audrey L. Hollingshead