Autism Services Research


Spotlight:
In collaboration with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) interest group, we are surveying School Psychologists around the nation to ascertain in general how knowledgeable they are on areas specific to autism. With this information, it might be possible to identify areas that need to be addressed in training programs and professional development to improve school based services for students with ASD.
New Study:
We are starting a new longitudinal study and are currently in the research design and planning stage. Over 20 years ago, data was collected from a population of adolescents who were transitioning into adulthood. These data included information from family members, reports of adaptive behavior skills of individuals with autism, and case examples of supports used to offset personal challenges (Ruble & Dalrymple, 1996) . This study will seek to gather qualitative and quantitative data about the lives of these adults and their caregivers.
About our Research:
The Autism Services Research Group seeks to investigate may diverse questions that impact persons with autism and their families in the Lexington area as well as the state of Kentucky. Much of our efforts center on testing the effectiveness of the COMPASS intervention model that was created by Dr. Lisa Ruble and Nancy Dalrymple. By the end of the current study, we hope to publish our COMPASS Consultation Manual for use of education consultants and professionals nationwide. Image of a compass

Many members of the research team have interest that culminate in research and services in other areas. This has led to publications relating to public and private healthcare costs associated with autism, presentations on rurality and services available, how social skills affect loneliness and friendships, as well as many other studies.

The following sub-pages will help you explore this research in more depth. Click on Overview to get a better feel for the variety of studies that are taking place here at the University of Kentucky Autism Group. The Publication page samples peer-review journal articles and literature created by this group. The Presentations page demonstrates some of the posters presented at various scientific conferences as well as give an overview of some of our findings.