Sibling influence on the development of children with autism spectrum disorder

The study aims to see how children play with each other and to find out what brothers and sisters do that helps their siblings to learn.

Brothers and sisters might help a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to learn things about language, understanding other people’s feelings, as well as managing their own behaviour.

Families can take part if they have a child who is between 2 ½ - 8 years old and who has been diagnosed with ASD, and another child who is between 2 ½ - 8 years old who does not have ASD.

The children will participate in some cognitive assessments with one of our research team. We will video the siblings playing together, so we can understand how children might help their sibling learn. We will also ask their care giver some questions about them, their daily lives, and how they get on with each other.

The study has 3 parts:

The family (caregiver and two children) visit our clinic at the University of Queensland;
Four weeks after that, one of our research team will visit the family home, and
The family (caregiver and children) will visit the clinic again, about a year later.

The visit times will be nominated by the family.

Eligibility

Families that include the following:

One child aged 2.5 – 8 years old with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis
One child aged 2.5 – 8 years old without Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis

Participant Benefits

Families will receive $100 gift voucher for their time and will also receive video footage of their children’s play time.

Register your interest

To register or find out more, please contact us at siblingsstudy@uq.edu.au.

Or, click on the link below.

This study has been approved by The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee [Approval No. 2019002689]