Research Into Early Autism Interventions - La Trobe University Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC)

Another excellent, thorough discussion from LaTrobe University's  Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) focusing this time on early intervention research. 

 
"Published on 16 Mar 2014

Dr Kristelle Hudry, Dr Giacomo Vivanti, Dr John McEachin discuss the development and trends of research into early intervention. Topics covered include the neurodiversity v intervention debate, barriers to research into interventions: historical tendency to prefer high functioning autism, lack of understanding about how children learn, lack of sector accepting evidence of research, general lack of scientific culture, priorities of research funders, the problems of randomised control trials as best practice scientific design."

OTARC Panel: Dr. Giacomo Vivanti: Does Severe Autism Cause Intellectual Disability?

Excellent panel discussion by the La Trobe University Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) with Dr. Giacomo Vivanti, Dr. Cheryl Dissanjake and Dr. Cynthia Zierhut.  The panel comments on the cultural representation of autism as genius in movies such as Rain Man and television series such as the Big Bang theory. Dr. Vivanti talks about autism research tendency to focus on high functioning autism perceived by many autism researchers to constitute "pure" autism research.  He calls this bias into question as non evidence based,  circular reasoning. There is no legitimate basis to separate autism and intellectual disability as "comorbidity".  

Dr. Vivanti's recent paper, Intellectual development in autism spectrum disorders: new insights from longitudinal studies,  has looked at the possibility that severe autism itself causes intellectual disability an hypothesis which itself is controversial.